One Enchanted Evening by Lynn Kurland Page B

bang his head against it repeatedly until good sense returned.
    The alternative was to believe what his eyes told him.
    He turned away and looked for someplace to sit. He rubbed his hands over his face, then wondered what in the hell he was going to do now. He didn’t want to believe in the fables he’d given credence to in his youth. He was almost a score and eight, far too old to be beguiled by tales told by his mother to entertain small children.
    He couldn’t deny, however, that he had seen things earlier that evening that had been nothing less than magical. If he’d been a more gullible lad, he might have believed what all signs pointed to.
    He had the Queen of Faery and her handmaid in his bed.
    He rose and began to pace, only because he thought better when he was moving. If the women were faeries, then why had the maid’s wings not been attached to her flesh? Was she merely a servant who had not earned any privileges, or were there rites of passage in her world that he knew nothing of? He had no idea, but he certainly wasn’t going to examine the queen to see if the answer lay on her back.
    He found himself longing for nothing more taxing than a morning spent in his solar, listening to his very capable steward scratching on his parchment, tallying up numbers that continued to march across the page thanks to that steward’s diligence.
    He stopped at the foot of his bed and looked down. The queen, if that’s what she truly was, was still an angel of perfection. Her maid, if that’s who she was, continued to be lovely in a way that he couldn’t lay his finger on. She seemed almost familiar, if such a thing were possible. And he continued to be just as baffled as he had been not half an hour ago.
    Where had these gels come from, if not Faery?
    He took a deep breath, then walked around to the side of the bed and looked down at the maid. He leaned over to make certain she was still breathing, then reached out to touch the bump on her head.
    She hit him so hard he staggered back. He realized only then that she was still unconscious and her arm had fallen off the bed. It had to have been a reflexive reaction to the pain. He picked up her hand, settled her again, then smoothed the hair back from her face. She was very lovely, true, but there was something about her—
    He stepped back and shook his head sharply. It had been a very trying handful of days and he needed nothing so much as sleep. Unfortunately, he suspected that wasn’t to be found that night. But before he took up his vigil in the passageway, he would go make certain Phillip was seen to and the hall as secured as it was going to be. He took one last look at the women in his bed, shook his head, then turned and left the chamber.
    He ran bodily into Ranulf before he realized his captain was standing in the passageway, waiting for him.
    “My apologies,” Montgomery said with a weary smile. “It has been a very long day.”
    Ranulf waved aside his words. “Not to worry, my lord. Our young lord Phillip told me you’d wanted to see me. Forgive me if I took the time to make one last check of the hall.”
    Montgomery was profoundly grateful for the lads nearest him who were consistently diligent beyond what he could reasonably ask of them. “And?”
    “Most of the guests are snoring where they’ve fallen, Lord Phillip is safely ensconced in your solar, and the gates are secured.” He paused. “Lord Everard seems to be looking for someone to tell questionable tidings to, but there are none sober enough to listen to him. I had no interest in them, if you’ll forgive my saying so.”
    “He has a vivid imagination,” Montgomery said slowly. “I’m not sure I would give credence to what he says, either.”
    Ranulf shrugged. “The world is full of inexplicable happenings, but there is no purpose in discussing them overmuch.”
    Given that Ranulf had squired for Montgomery’s brother-in-law, Jackson, Montgomery supposed Ranulf had seen more than his