Touch of Gold: (Rumpelstiltskin) (Tangled Tales Series Book 4) (12 page)

Chapter 15

Kin walked into the stable alongside his brothers, Wolf and Arnon. “I don’t know why you think you need to accompany me on my ride with Olivia,” he told them.

“We don’t. It was just an excuse so the baron wouldn’t go with you, and so you and Olivia could be alone,” explained Wolf.

“Oh. Thank you.” Kin looked over his shoulder, waiting for Olivia.

“We’re also going to stop in Tavistock and ask Father if he’s found out anything else from Hecuba about your curse.”

“No need to do that, said Kin, yanking on the end of his mail gauntlet. “As long as I’m wearing these, no harm can come to anyone. And when I want more gold – I’ll take them off and touch a few things.” He chuckled, liking the feel of so much power.

“Don’t let that touch of gold get out of control,” said Arnon.

“That’s right,” agreed Wolf, mounting his horse. “Hecuba warned it could be your demise.”

“Don’t worry; I have it under control. Nothing will happen.”

“What are you going to tell the baron when he wonders why you don’t take off your gloves at the table?” asked Wolf.

“That’s right,” said Arnon, mounting his horse as well. “And how are you going to couple with a woman without touching her? I can’t imagine any woman would like the feel of chain mail against her skin.”

Kin hadn’t thought of that. It surely was going to pose a problem.

“Our golden brother just might have to give up his love for the ladies,” said Wolf, and he and Arnon laughed at the thought.

“Enough,” snapped Kin. “I’m not giving up anything. I’m going to have more than I ever dreamed of with my newfound gift.”

“Curse. It’s a curse,” Wolf reminded him. “Anything that comes from Hecuba is bad, and you’d better not forget it.”

“I don’t believe that,” Kin said, his head filled with thoughts of an entire castle made of gold. He would never want for anything again.

“Why is the miller with Olivia?” asked Arnon, looking across the stable at the door. “I thought he was staying here.”

“He is.” Kin took the reins of his horse from his squire and headed over to the girl.

“Here he comes,” Olivia told her father. “I was hoping he wouldn’t spot you, or care, but he doesn’t look happy.”

“I’ll tell him –”

“Nay. Don’t tell him anything,” Olivia warned him. “I’ll be the one to do the talking.”

“What’s this?” asked Kin, nodding toward her father. “He’s not coming with us on our ride.”

“Father is going down to the river to watch the boats,” she said quickly.

“I am?” Her father looked confused.

“Nay, the baron wouldn’t like that,” said Kin. “Miller, you’ll go back to the keep and wait for us there.”

“But my father –” Olivia started to protest.

“I said no, and that’s final,” came Kin’s stern command. “My squire will make sure the miller stays behind. Now let’s go before I change my mind and make you stay here as well.”

The miller stayed, and Olivia rode out of the castle with Kin and his brothers.

“Now where are the herbs you need to collect?” asked Kin, catching her off guard.

“They’re . . . they’re everywhere,” she told him. “You just need to look for them.”

“This is where we leave you,” said Wolf after a while. “We’ll get back to you with word from Father regarding that given situation.”

“Don’t bother. I have it under control,” said Kin.

“Brother, you’d better not let this curse get the best of you,” warned Arnon.

“It’s a gift,” Kin told his siblings. “A gift I’m sure either of you would want more than anything. It’s a good thing, not a bad thing, and I urge both of you to remember that.”

Olivia watched the brothers exchange glances and shake their heads, and then ride off quickly. She knew if she were going to escape, she would have to catch Kin off guard. But now her father wasn’t going to be here, and she wasn’t sure what to do.

“I think there are some herbs I need up by the creek,” she said, hoping to be able to sneak away.

“All right, we’ll stop then.” Kin rode right next to her. “But I still don’t understand why you need to collect herbs when you’re not even a healer.”

They dismounted, and Kin took the reins of her horse. “Go ahead and collect your herbs, I’ll water the horses.”

Not what she wanted him to say since now she wouldn’t have a means of transportation. She half-mindedly gathered up anything that looked like an herb, sticking the greens into her bag. Her mind filled with thoughts of escape, and she didn’t even realize Kin was behind her until she felt his mail gauntlet on her shoulder.

“Oh!” She twirled around, dropping the bag.

Kin’s eyes followed it to the spilled herbs on the ground, and he made a face. “I can’t say I know a lot about healing herbs, but I do know that what you’ve got there is nothing but weeds.”

“Some people call herbs weeds,” she said, bending over to gather them up, but Kin’s hand on her arm stopped her.

“Why don’t you tell me the real reason you wanted to come here?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” She figured he knew her plan of escape. That is, until his next words which caught her by surprise.

“I have to admit, I had the same thoughts and wanted to come here for the same reason.”

“You did?” She looked at him oddly, not understanding why he would want to escape. He wasn’t the one being forced to marry the baron, or having his life threatened.

“Yes. I wanted to be alone with you.” He tilted her chin upward and their eyes interlocked. “That is what you wanted, wasn’t it? Or was there another reason for coming here?”

Looking into his clear blue eyes, all thoughts of escape diminished from her head. Now that he mentioned it, she liked the idea of being alone with him when he wasn’t drinking or spinning. Even if it wasn’t her initial reason for wanting to be here.

“Yes,” she found herself saying, and her eyes traveled down to his lips. She craved another kiss from Kin de Bar, no matter how dangerous of a man he was right now. As long as he kept the gloves on, she would be safe.

He kissed her then, and her world melted around her. His enticing lips melded with hers, and she felt the power and passion in not only his kiss but also his caress. He pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. Oddly, it made her feel calm and safe being in his embrace. It wasn’t what she expected at all.

“Mayhap I’ll spread a blanket on the ground, and we can relax for a few minutes,” he suggested.

“I’d like that,” she said, wondering if her face was flushing since she felt warm all over.

Once he spread out the blanket, he took her hand and sat down with her on his lap.

“I have to admit that I don’t want you to marry the baron either.” He murmured as he nuzzled his face against the crook of her neck.

“Why not?”

He kissed her again before he answered.

“Because I want you for myself.”

“So you said.” Their kisses continued, and he slid her off his lap and lay back on the blanket, pulling her into a reclining position with him. “And in what way do you want me since you made it quite clear it wasn’t in marriage?”

“You are so beautiful, Olivia,” he said, running a hand through her hair as he spoke. His mail gauntlet snagged in her hair and pulled it, causing her pain.

“Ow!” she exclaimed, her hand going to her head to untangle it.

“Your hair is like a midnight sky and your eyes like the gold I spin – bright and shining.” This time, he touched her on the shoulder and slid his hand down to squeeze her breast. She might have enjoyed it if the mail hadn’t snagged on the lace of her bodice this time. His hand felt hard and scratchy.

“You’re ruining my gown,” she said, unsnagging the gauntlet once again and sitting up and moving away from him. This isn’t how she wanted to experience her first intimate time with a man. This was all wrong.

“I’m sorry,” he told her. “I wish I didn’t have to wear these blasted things, but I don’t want to turn you to gold.”

“Believe me; I would prefer not to be turned to gold either.” She stood up. “Or to be touched by you wearing those gauntlets. I’m sorry, Lord Kin, but it is not pleasurable.”

“That’s not fair.” He shot upward to a standing position. “You know I don’t have a choice.”

“Well, I do. And I’m sorry, but I can’t continue to be intimate with you in this situation. I’ll collect my herbs now if you don’t mind and then we’ll go.”

Kin felt as ornery as an old mule and didn’t like a woman walking away from him when he was trying to woo her. Still, he didn’t blame her. It couldn’t possibly feel alluring being touched through mail gauntlets.

“God’s eyes, this isn’t how I want it.” He headed to the river in a huff, feeling tired, dirty, and as if he needed to cool down. Olivia had him so hot and bothered, that he was to the point of feeling very uncomfortable.

He made his way past the horses and to the creek and sat down on a large rock. Pulling off his boots, he threw them to the side, then struggled to remove his hose and braies, cursing every time the gauntlets snagged on the material. Having had enough of this inconvenience, he took off the gauntlets and set them atop the rock. He then used his bare hands to remove his tunic. At first, nothing happened, and he felt relieved. But then his tunic turned to gold right before his eyes.

“Now I’ll have to ride back to the castle bare-chested,” he grumbled to himself.

He wanted to take a dip in the water, but right before he entered, he had a thought. If he touched the water, would the whole river turn to gold?

Spying some water by his feet, he reached down and put a finger in the center of the puddle. Sure enough, it turned to gold – liquid gold. “Interesting,” he said, making his way naked to the water. That skill might come in handy in the future, but for now, he couldn’t go turning and entire river to liquid gold. He’d have to keep his hands in the air and out of the water at all times while he tried to swim.

He walked out into the water, managing to keep his hands in the air as he dipped his head into the water to cool off completely. How would he ever bathe again? He’d have to wear his gauntlets and wasn’t looking forward to scrubbing his skin with chain mail.

He heard a horse wicker and looked up to see Olivia mounting her steed. Damn, he’d been careless, and now she meant to escape!

“Nay!” he shouted, running from the water. But by the time he got to where the horses were tethered, she was gone. “Bid the devil, how am I going to explain this to the baron?” he asked aloud.

Feeling a nudge from behind him, he realized it was Lightning’s nose against his shoulder.

“We’ve got to go after her, Lightning,” he said as the horse nudged him from behind again. “I think I’m falling in love with the girl, and I don’t know what to do about it.” Deep in thought about Olivia, he reached up to run his hand over the horse’s nose like he always did. Lightning wouldn’t leave him alone unless he paid her some attention. People thought he was mean and heartless, but it wasn’t the truth. He did have love in his heart, but he just didn’t always know how to show it.

He rubbed the side of the horse’s head with his fingers, all the while keeping his eyes fastened to Olivia who never once turned around to look at him as she rode away. He could have sworn she felt something for him the way he did for her. Her kiss acknowledged it, even if she did deny it. So why was she leaving him? Didn’t she know that he would protect her and find a way to keep her from marrying the baron? Mayhap he hadn’t told her, or perhaps he had. He no longer could remember.

“Let’s go get her, Lightning, shall we?”

Instead of nudging him for another pet, or neighing like Lightning usually did when he talked to her, she stayed still and quiet. “Did you hear me, Lightning?” He turned his head to see the horse, at the same time realizing the mare’s nose no longer felt soft and silky. Pain shot through his heart when he saw what had happened. He’d been so deep in thought about Olivia that he’d forgotten he wasn’t wearing his gauntlets when he touched his horse.

He cried out in anguish. Because of his carelessness, and to his horror, he’d accidentally turned his horse into solid gold!

Chapter 16

Olivia heard Kin cry out, and it sent a shiver up her spine. It didn’t sound like an angry shout, but rather like a sad one. She looked over her shoulder as she rode away, and gasped out loud at what she saw.

Kin, naked and on his knees, had his head down in front of Lightning. His horse stood upright, stiff and unmoving, as it had been turned to gold.

She pulled on the reins and stopped her steed and turned a half circle. Her head told her to keep going and not to look back. She’d be able to escape effortlessly now, and he couldn’t follow. She could hopefully come up with a plan to rescue her father as well. But her heart told her otherwise. Saddened by what had happened, she knew how much Lightning meant to Kin. She was very fond of the horse herself.

It was out of the question to leave him now at a time like this. Besides, he’d have no way to get back to the castle. Not that she should care, but she did. Finding herself thinking about their kiss, she also thought of the way he’d saved her neck by spinning the wool into gold for her. She couldn’t leave him because she realized she cared about Kin de Bar, even if he was at times greedy, overbearing, and crude.

“Come on,” she said to the horse, directing it back to the river. “We’ve got to stop Kin from doing anything else so stupid, or you might end up just like your friend there someday too.”

Kin heard hoofbeats against the earth and realized Olivia was coming back instead of riding away. He jumped up and ran to the rock that held his clothes. After putting his gauntlets back on, he donned his clothing – all but his tunic that had turned to gold. Then he walked over to meet Olivia.

“Kin – I’m sorry,” she said, looking at his poor horse. It pained him to see the golden mare standing there with her head down, frozen in the act of enjoying one of his rubs.

“So am I,” he grumbled, donning his weaponbelt and yanking it tightly around him. “I was distracted and didn’t realize what I was doing.”

“If I know Lightning, she was probably nudging you looking for your attention. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Like hell, it wasn’t! I killed Lightning, and I won’t let this mistake happen again. And where were you going by the way?”

“Would you believe me if I said, hunting for herbs?”

“Not unless you take me for a fool. I’m not daft, Olivia. You were trying to escape.”

“Mayhap I was.” Straightening her spine, she held her head higher instead of looking away. “But tell me – do I really have another choice?”

“I told you to trust me,” he complained, pulling himself up onto the back of her horse and putting his arms around her waist.

“What are you doing?”

“Did you think I was going to walk back to the castle? We’ll ride together.”

“What about Lightning? Are you just going to leave her here?”

“I am, unless you have a suggestion how to move a horse made of gold.”

“No, not really.”

“I’ll have my squire come back and bury the horse before anyone finds it, and I’ll decide what to do about it later.”

“Where’s your tunic?” she asked, her cheeks turning red since he was pressed up against her with his chest bare.

“Gold,” was all he said, and when she looked back over her shoulder, their eyes met.

“I don’t understand you,” she said, sounding confused. “You enjoy turning things to gold and want to be rich, but yet you keep leaving the gold items behind and not taking them with you. Kin de Bar you are a very complicated man.”

He just grunted, not understanding it either.

“Do we have to go back to the baron’s castle?” she asked as they rode toward their destination.

“You heard the baron. He has another dozen barrels of wool for you to spin into gold.”

“For you to spin,” she told him.

“But he thinks you’re doing it, and so you must be there as well. After one more time, it will all be over.”

“Do you honestly think the baron will stop there? After all, a greedy man always wants more. And don’t forget he said he’s marrying me on the morrow. I will die before I let myself be married to a man like him.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to marry him because he is short, old and ugly? Or is it because he puts heads on spikes?”

“All of those reasons. But what bothers me the most is that he’s a greedy, distrustful man who always wants more. I can’t be a wife to someone like that!”

Suddenly, Kin wondered if she considered him to be the same way. He’d told her he wanted her but never said he wanted to marry her. But if he did – would she even want him in return?

* * *

They rode over the drawbridge, and once inside the courtyard, the baron and his men ran out to meet them.

“Gillingham,” said the Baron, calling Kin by the name of his town. “What happened to your tunic? And where is your horse?”

“We were attacked on the road after my brothers left,” Kin lied. “My horse was injured, and I used my tunic to stop the flow of blood from its leg. I had to leave the horse behind.”

Quaid ran up to greet them with Olivia’s father at his side.

“Lightning is injured?” asked Quaid.

“Nay, she’s dead,” Kin said in a soft voice. “Quaid, go down to the river and bury her before the vultures start pecking away at her body.”

“I’ll send my guards along to help him,” offered the baron.

“Nay. The miller will go with to help him,” said Kin, not wanting anyone else to know about the gold horse. “That’s all he needs.”

“I don’t fancy burying a horse,” said the miller, gripping a goblet of wine in his hand.

“Father, it’s important that you go,” Olivia urged him. “Lightning meant a lot to Lord Kin, and I’d like you to help Quaid bury her. Please. Do it for me.”

“Oh, all right,” grumbled her father, heading to the stables on the squire’s heels.

“I’m glad you’re finally back, my dear,” said the baron. “I’m anxious for you to start spinning the wool into gold right away. I added an extra half dozen barrels to the previous amount. I figured it would be nice to have a little more on hand for the wedding tomorrow.”

“An extra half dozen?” groaned Kin, already feeling tired since he’d had very little sleep. With all this work, he’d be spinning forever.

* * *

As soon as the baron left the room and the door to the ladies solar closed, Olivia slumped down into a chair feeling defeated. The baron had been sure to tell her that their wedding would be on the morrow. If she decided not to spin this last shipment of wool into gold, he’d behead her father and put it up on a spike. He didn’t mention doing the same to her, but she had no doubt that once she refused to marry him and he found out she really couldn’t spin wool into gold, he’d have no qualms in carrying out the same punishment for her.

She let out a sigh and looked up, surprised to see Kin just standing there, staring out the window.

“Why aren’t you working?” she asked.

“I don’t think I will. I don’t feel like it,” he told her, looking out over the courtyard as he spoke.

“You’ve got to do it,” she said, jumping up and joining him at the window. “Are you still sad about your horse?”

He turned to look at her with hooded and half-closed eyes.

“Of course, I miss Lightning. But that’s not why I’m not working.”

“Then why?” she asked, noticing he was in deep thought.

“I’ve just got things on my mind and need time to think.”

“Well, perhaps you can think while you’re spinning,” she said. “The baron will be here first thing in the morning and expect all this wool turned to gold.”

“Funny, isn’t it?” he asked, taking off his gauntlets. “You’re the spinster, and I’m the one spinning wool. I’ve yet to see you do it. I don’t even know if you can.”

“Of course, I can! I do it for a living.”

“Then show me.”

“Show you? Why? I can’t spin wool into gold, and you know it.”

“I’m not asking you to do that. I just want to see you spin.”

“You never told me how you know how to use this spinning wheel.”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It just came with the curse, I guess. Now, I’m still waiting for you to show me that you, too, can spin.”

“Fine. I’ll do it if you’ll stop playing games and get to work.” She walked over and picked up a handful of wool and a drop spindle that had a whirl attached to one end of the stick and a hook on the other. Holding the wool atop her right hand, she attached it onto the spindle and used her left hand to spin the wooden rod. It dropped toward the floor, as the yarn got longer. She kept feeding more wool into the twisted yarn and spinning the spindle until it reached the ground. Then she unhooked the yarn and wound it around the spindle and started again.

“Nay, not like that,” he told her. “Do it on the spinning wheel like I did.”

“The spinning wheel?” She looked up and shook her head. “I can’t. I’ve never used one. We don’t have the money for such luxuries, and I’ve never tried to do it that way. I spin only by hand.”

“Then sit down at the spinning wheel and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

“We don’t have time for this.” She put her spindle down on the table. His hand lifted in the air as if to touch her and she gasped and stepped out of his reach. “Put your gloves on if you’re going to touch me,” she warned him. “Or have you already forgotten about what happened to Lightning?”

“How could I forget? I loved that horse.”

It made him seem more relatable and vulnerable when he said the word love. And though he was only speaking about a horse, she hoped he’d say the same thing about her someday. She’d come to care for him lately. His kisses about drove her out of her mind, and she fond herself enjoying being around him. Yes, she liked Kin de Dar. It was more than like. She’d been fantasizing about marrying him instead of the baron lately but knew that would never happen.

Once he donned his gloves again, she settled herself on the bench in front of the spinning wheel. “All right, I’m ready,” she told him. “I’m assuming this is just like the way I spin, but it wraps around a wheel instead.”

“It’s similar,” he said, setting it up and then coming up behind her and putting his arms around her. “You put the wool here, and it wraps around the bobbin,” he explained.

Olivia closed her eyes and basked in the comfort of Kin’s strong arms. She knew how to use the spinning wheel since she’d watched him do it for the last two nights. Plus, spinning was her profession. She only acted confused because she wanted him to show her.

“Go ahead, try it,” he said, his mouth right next to her ear. Just use your foot on the pedal to make the wheel spin. Then feed the wool to wrap around the bobbin. Understand?”

“I – yes,” she said, purposely fumbling, wanting him to stay close to her. It felt right to be in his arms and she found herself growing very fond of him.

“Use your foot like this.” He slid onto the back of the bench with his legs spread around her. His foot reached forward and pushed the pedal. Then he gently took his foot and used it to pick up her foot and put it on the pedal as well. The action was alluring, and she felt very warm from the contact. “You’ll have to feed the wool through because I can’t do that wearing my gauntlets.”

“I understand.” She managed it expertly. “I wish there was a way to break your curse,” she said, feeling her heart go out to him.

“I have a feeling it won’t be as easy as the way my brother, Stefan’s curse was broken.”

“And how did that happen?” she asked, curiously, liking the conversation between them.

“Bonnibel told Stefan she loved him, and that was it. The curse was broken.”

“That’s it?” she asked, devising a plan in her head. “I – I love you, Kin,” she blurted out, taking the risk, but feeling as if she meant the words as well. Hopefully, this would also break his curse. She couldn’t stop thinking about him lately, and didn’t want to marry the baron – she wanted him.

“I know what you’re doing, but it won’t work,” he told her. “I’m sure Hecuba has thought of this and made her curse harder to break this time. Now let me see you spin the wool.”

Saddened by the fact that Kin didn’t return words of adoration to her, she realized he wasn’t taking her seriously. But why should he, when she’d given him little reason to believe her words. She hadn’t liked him at first, but she did now. Any man who would go to such extremes to help her when he didn’t even know her, wasn’t all that bad.

“There you go. Nice work,” he told her as she started to work the spinning wheel with ease.

“Thank you. But this isn’t what the baron wants. He doesn’t want yarn; he wants gold.”

“I have an idea.” Kin got up from the bench. “Keep spinning.” She did as he told her, while he pulled off his mail gauntlets one at a time and laid them on the table.

“What are you doing?” she asked when he came toward her. Her heart beat faster. He wasn’t wearing his gloves.

“I’m going to let you experience how it feels to spin wool into gold. It’s exciting! Just wait – you’ll love it.”