’Twas Amaury’s fault.
He had frightened the maiden beyond all expectation. This was no reward for her protection of Persephone. He knew she had injured her ankle, for he had seen her fall. She had fainted at the sight of him, a sure sign that he was responsible for her terror. He crouched beside her, doffing his glove to check that she yet breathed. To his relief, he felt the erratic flutter of her pulse at her throat.
Her skin was so soft that his mouth went dry.
He lifted the hem of her skirt, though she would certainly have been dismayed by that. Her ankle was swelling already and soon she would be unable to walk. How then would she survive in the forest, without proper shelter or her comrades’ aid?
He must make the matter right.
His dogs surrounded her, wagging their tails in thei
