The Falcon in the Barn (Book 4 Forest at the Edge series) by Trish Mercer

bits of crumbs remained on their
chins. Men should smell like her father: earthy-sweet.
    That evening Thorne smelled as if he had
rolled around in pine sap and violets. Likely something he brought
with him from Idumea to splash on his face after he shaved each
morning. It was all wrong.
    “ Captain,” she said
formally and tried to make her way past him.
    “ Whoa, whoa,” he said with
an unnatural chuckle as he caught her arm. “Quite a lively filly
you are tonight. Game night again?”
    “ Yes. My father’s expecting
me,” she said, hoping that might alarm him.
    “ He won’t miss you for a
few minutes,” he said confidently. “I haven’t had the chance to
speak with you lately. You look well.”
    “ Thank you. I really should
go—”
    He firmed his grip on her arm. “I’d like to
come talk to you some time. Some evening after dinner? Perhaps take
a walk?”
    “ In the cold and
snow?”
    “ We wouldn’t have to go
far. I could find someplace for us to warm up.”
    It was his eyes, Jaytsy decided. They were
clear and blue and beautiful and told lies left and right.
    “ I’m not interested,” and
she made another lunge to leave.
    Still he held on to her, taking yet another
step closer. “You will be,” he said in a low voice he probably
thought sounded seductive. It just made her break out in goose
bumps—the bad kind. “You will be, very soon. I’m watching for that
moment. It’ll be worth the wait, I’m sure.”
    “ I have a book waiting for
me, Captain,” she informed him.
    Half of his face smiled. “Studying for your
End of Year exams already are you?”
    She latched on to that. “Yes, as a matter of
fact I am.”
    “ Why? You know those tests
are really only for the men. They let the girls take them just to
make them feel part of something important. But you, Miss Jaytsy,
as the wife of an officer, need only worry about looking pretty and
producing a son or two.”
    Jaytsy clenched her teeth. She didn’t even
know where to start stabbing with so many targets presented. She
zeroed in on the most annoying one. “Captain, I’m not sure I will marry an officer. My tastes tend to—”
    “ There’s no one else you
could marry, Miss Jaytsy. And no other female worthy of a man like
me.”
    He glanced quickly to either side—as did
Jaytsy—and seeing no one around, he began to lean into her
face.
    She ducked abruptly and pulled out of his
grip. As he was about to kiss the wall, she was already running
down the hall to the training arena.
    That’s where she ran smack into the back of
her father.
    “ Jaytsy!” he bellowed in
surprise as he spun around. “What’s wrong?”
    “ Nothing!” she said in a
nervous laugh. “Just . . . racing myself to get here. Didn’t
realize you’d be standing in the doorway.” She backed away from his
inquisitive glare. “I’ll just go . . . sit down now. Over there.”
She retreated to her usual bench with her usual book, and looked up
at the door.
    Her father had walked away to talk to a
soldier, and there stood Thorne again, his gaze intent on her. A
moment later he sidled over to a group of soldiers.
    Jaytsy glanced at her mother, hoping maybe
she noticed, but she didn’t. Neither did her father. But Thorne had
stepped over to a sergeant who came to watch Peto’s wrestling
matches, whispered something into his ear, then left. The sergeant
glanced at Jaytsy, then began to watch the soldiers in the
room.
    That’s why the soldier who smiled at her
fifteen minutes later received a few words from the sergeant, then
never looked her way again.
    “ This is the worst Raining
Season ever,” she told the book. It was a bad time to be nearly
sixteen years old with vague dreams of meeting a young man with
gentle eyes. He wouldn’t even be able to get within ten paces of
Jaytsy before a falcon or a mountain lion would attack
him.
    Struck with an idea, she slapped the book
shut and edged over to her father.
    His brooding eyes evaluated her.