Her Mating Scheme

Chapter 4

She could see the guy staring at Fordes through the mask. He had one hand on his sword and the other clenched into a fist by his side. But when she stopped in front of him, he looked at her with wide eyes and a smile on his face.

A soft "Are you okay?" was asked with his hand on her cheek.

"Yes, yes," she said under her breath. "You found me."

He laughed with real surprise in his eyes and happiness in his heart at the sound. She put it away in her mind and hoped she could figure out how to make him laugh again so she could feel the warmth of it again.

"Here I thought I'd shown up in time to save you, but I see perhaps I'm here to protect Lord…what did you say his name is?"

"Miller . Fordes Miller . He's a wanker. Ignore him."

The curse made her Lord blink, and he looked like he was trying hard not to laugh. Diane hoped that she hadn't used the word wrong again. She learned a new one from her Knight Defender. There was a wanker who groaned and rolled over on his hands and knees, but neither of them paid attention. As they watched, Fordes got up and stumbled out of the yard without turning around to look back. Diane wasn't sure if he would remember it tomorrow. It didn't matter, though.

However, she looked at her Lord once more and saw that it did matter a great deal. He could feel the anger and violence in his jaw as he watched Fordes walk away. When she put her hand on his arm, he stopped trying in the same way that her horse did when she told him to stop.

Behind the mask, her Lord turned his head to look at her. His eyes were wide. He said, "I found you," as if that were something he'd planned to do his whole life.

"Yes, you did," she said with a smile.

They looked at each other for a long time, and her throat twitched with jitters. He touched her cheek with his thumb. She was wearing a sparkling sapphire demi-mask that showed only the bottom half of her face. Sparks moved like a comet's tail after he touched her.

She asked in a whisper, "Do you feel that?"

"Yes," he said slowly as he looked into her eyes. He said with awe in his voice, "It's like you've charmed me." "I'm drawn to you like magnets to the blacksmith. That's how I found you."

Diane didn't want to blink for fear of missing a moment with him.

But right then, a deep voice just a few bushes away yelled, "Boo!" and screams broke the silence.

They were both shocked. Diane turned around, but he moved faster and put himself between her and the noise. He then held her behind him until he was sure they weren't going to be attacked.

He dropped his voice when he turned back to her, grabbed her hand, and led her into the shade of the tree. He then bowed. "I cannot stay here, for your sake, we cannot risk being discovered," he said gently.

They both knew that they would have to get married if they were found alone in the dark. Diane's parents had made it clear that her goal during the Festival weeks was to find a husband, but she thought they wanted her to take longer than a few hours. And most likely not by being caught up in an incident.

Still, she didn't move.

"I can feel you," she told him straight out.

He said yes. "And I, you. Do you know why?"

She turned her head away. "No. And I cannot think that we have met before. I have never felt this. I would have noticed," she said, sure.

He said yes. They both looked at each other. She was out of breath when she spoke. "Please stay."

He took a deep breath in and then looked at the maze's bushes before turning back to her. "Your reputation could be ruined if we are found."

She laughed, and he looked like the noise was funny to her. "I cannot help but think," she said, "that I am already ruined for anyone else, sir."

He made a small noise in his throat and took a half-step forward. He put one hand back on her cheek and the other on her waist, and all of a sudden, their mouths were only a few inches apart.

To get ready, Diane took a big breath and licked her lips. He saw her tongue dart out when he looked down, which made his eyes get really big. He was shaking, she could tell. More than anything else, she wanted to pull him close.

That was crazy!

His body tightened up for a moment, and he put more pressure on her. He shook his head and didn't look away. "I can't... It's not right...

She asked in a low voice, "What?"

"We're by ourselves. You need to have a guardian. I can't just be here with you. I can't kiss you. "Light, I want to kiss you."

She asked quietly, "Please?"

He blinked twice and thought about it, but when she turned her head to meet his, he yanked himself away, cursed, and took two steps back, then back again. "That's not right. I don't want to start this off badly. If I sullied your honour at the first chance, you would never think of me as a good guy. Too fast, his chest went up and down, and his eyes were wide behind the mask.

She slowly said, "True." "So… perhaps at the next chance then?" When she smiled, he growled and almost grabbed her again, but he stopped himself. She thinned her lips, but she smiled by pulling them up. She said, "But you still don't leave me."

Simply, "I cannot," he said.

Diane let out a frustrated sigh. On her way to her first kiss, she was excited. She was excited, though, because she knew that the wait would only make her happier. "Very well, Sir…?"

He hadn't taken his eyes off of her. He said, "The rules say we have to wait for the unmasking." His voice had a hint of the devil in it. He then spoke in a whisper. "Can I ask you a rather personal question?"

"Of course!"

Even though he frowned, he never took his eyes off of her. "Do you… as I do… often find that the people around you speak to you as if you are your position in society, rather than a person?"

Her mouth opened a little. So, he had to be a king.

She told him, "You guessed right, Highness."

He looked amazed at her. He said in a quiet voice, "Then I have an idea." He then offered to lead her to the bench behind her.

"What is it?"

Don't talk about what we are; talk about who we are. Let's do it from behind our masks. In our hearts. Then show us the faces that match our hearts at midnight?"

She gave him a squeeze. She whispered, "That's a great idea."