She nodded, a bit reluctantly. I could see that she was scared, but so was I. I held her and stroked her hair.
Sophie lifted her head and kissed me, a mixture of ardor and tears.
[23] A stirring rose in me. I couldn’t hold it down. I could see in Sophie’s eyes that she felt it too. I held her by the waist and she moved on top of me. Her legs parted and I gently eased myself inside. My body lit with her warmth.
“My Sophie …” I whispered.
She moved with me in perfect rhythm, softly moaning with pleasure and love. How could I leave her? How could I be such a fool?
“You’ll come back, Hugh?” Her eyes locked on mine.
“I swear.” I reached and wiped a glistening tear from her eye. “Who knows?” I smiled. “Maybe I’ll come back a knight. With untold treasure and fame.”
“My knight,” she whispered. “And I, your queen…”
Chapter 6
THE MORNING OF THE DAY I was to leave was bright and clear. I rose early, even before the sun. The town had bid me godspeed with a festive roast the night before. All the toasts had been made and farewells said.
All but one.
In the doorway of the inn, Sophie handed me my pouch. In it was a change of clothes, bread to eat, a hazel twig to clean my teeth. “It may be cold,” she said. “You have to cross the mountains. Let me get your skin.”
I stopped her. “Sophie, it’s summer. I’ll need it more when I come back.”
“Then I should pack some more food for you.”
“I’ll find food.” I pumped out my chest. “People will be eager to feed a Crusader.”
She stopped and smiled at my plain flax tunic and calfskin vest. “You don’t look like much of a Crusader.”
I stood before her, ready to leave, and smiled too.
“There’s one more thing,” Sophie said with a start. She hurried to the table by the hearth. She came back a moment later with her treasured comb, a thin band of beech wood painted with flowers. It had belonged to her mother. Other than the inn, I knew she valued it more than anything in her life. “Take this with you, Hugh.”