Beloved in His Eyes (Angel's Assassin #2)(13)

She turned toward him, keeping her chin lowered so her dark hair fell forward to hide her face.

Gawyn stepped before her. He cupped her chin with his finger and lifted it.

Justina’s entire mouth and cheeks were engorged like a squirrel preparing for hibernation. Her eyes met his and her cheeks flamed red.

“How many?” Gawyn asked.

Justina cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“How many grapes?”

Justina groaned, and her shoulder slouched.

“We were going for ten!” Adam exclaimed. “She almost did it!”

Gawyn glanced at Linda to find her head bowed, but a grin on her lips.

Gawyn cupped his hand near Justina’s chin. “So, you must have been able to hold nine,” he said to Adam.

Adam nodded, beaming with pride.

One grape slid from Justina’s mouth, then another and another, until they were in a wet pile in Gawyn’s hand. Gawyn deposited them in Linda’s skirt.

“Nine was the most I’ve ever done!” Adam said, handing the tray to Linda.

Gawyn wiped his hand on his sleeve. He patted Adam on the head. “Well done.”

Justina stood. “I’m so sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Gawyn admitted. “But I have to admit, when I entered the room, this was one of the last things I expected to find.”

Justina nodded guiltily.

“He dared you, didn’t he?” Gawyn wondered.

Justina grinned. “I just couldn’t let him get away with being the reigning grape champion.”

“Plus, I dared her.” Adam smiled.

Gawyn nodded in understanding. He and Damien had played few games when they were young, but they were close. As close as Adam and Justina. “We shouldn’t keep the lord and lady waiting.”

Gawyn led them through the hallways toward the Great Hall. Adam regaled him of everything that happened the night before. Justina was silent, letting her brother talk. But she watched, her gaze scanning the hallway, the people they passed.

They entered the back of the room quietly. They were late and had to stand at the back of the line, which was near the large double doors. It looked like Aurora had made progress in hearing the petitions and arguments, but Gawyn wasn’t sure if they would make it to the front of the line before the day’s hours were up. That was one thing Damien had insisted on. That Aurora keep reasonable hours for hearing her people’s troubles. It took a lot out of her and he didn’t like to see her so tired.

Villagers, freemen, and merchants packed the room, standing in small clusters near the tall stone walls.

Gawyn liked to sit in during the judgements and listen. He heard a lot of what was going on in the city. Many times, the troubles stemmed from arguments between neighbors. But there were other times when there were security issues that directly involved him. He stood in the line, his hand resting over the pommel of his sword.

Aurora sat in a chair at the front of the hall, on a small platform three stairs above the main floor. Damien stood beside her. It wasn’t long before Damien locked gazes with Gawyn. Gawyn nodded slightly to him, almost imperceptibly. Damien’s gaze moved away, sweeping the crowd. His brother was always searching the crowd, watching, to protect his lady.

They moved forward. Gawyn glanced at Justina. He still wondered how she knew Damien. He hoped for her sake that it wasn’t his past. That she hadn’t seen something she shouldn’t have. She was straining to see the front of the room where Damien and Aurora were. Her eyes narrowed slightly. “Is this what you expected?” Gawyn asked softly.

Justina glanced at him. “Nothing is what I expected.”

“Acquitaine can be overwhelming. But I am here to help you,” Gawyn reassured with a grin.

Her return smile lit her face, making her eyes shine with an inner light, making her entire face beam like some sort of beacon.

Beautiful. Simply beautiful. He had never met a woman like her, a woman that could sneak up on him, a woman that could pin him to the ground. A woman so full of life and conviction and surprises.

She turned back to the front of the room.

Gawyn followed her gaze. Near the platform where Aurora sat, Gawyn spotted a colorful garment. He stepped away from Justina to get a better view.

A man with a thick mustache and thicker accent was speaking earnestly. A slender woman with bare feet stood beside him. Gypsies. There had been reports of the gypsies seducing village men and dancing for coin. The villagers did not like the foreign gypsies. They were viewed as outsiders and, therefore, untrustworthy.

Gawyn shifted to hear Aurora’s proclamation, although he had not heard the complaint from the gypsies.

“You may conduct your activities at market. You are welcomed inside the city walls to purchase necessary items,” Aurora stated.

A murmuring trickled through the gathered crowd in the Great Hall.

The gypsy man bowed. “Thank you, Lady Aurora.”

The gypsies were happy with this. The crowds in the city would not be. This was not the end of it. Even though it was a fair ruling, the villagers saw Acquitaine as their home and didn’t want the foreigners in it. Still, the gypsies had to make a living. It would be an unpopular decision.

Gawyn watched the man and woman walk past them toward the rear doors. Even the way they moved was foreign, languid, and sexy. They moved up the center aisle as the next person presented their troubles to Aurora.