by Mary Sutton / @mary_sutton73
Last week, I offered a sneak peek at a current work-in-progress from The Laurel Highlands Mysteries. This week, here’s a peek at the upcoming Wedding Bliss: Hero’s Sword Volume 3 (cover art currently in progress, so it’s coming, I swear!).
Note: This is the book formerly known as Wedding Bells.
It didn’t take me long to realize two things. One, Perry was a really good swordsman. I never got caught out of position, but his blend of real attacks and fakes kept me guessing. I didn’t quite feel like a cat toy, but it was close.
The second thing was that he might have said this match was just for fun, but he didn’t act that way. Several times I barely avoided blows that would have caused serious injury. I was parrying one such blow when I realized that Perry wasn’t just trying to disarm or embarrass me in front of the townsfolk. He was also trying to hurt me, maybe even badly enough that I’d be killed. No doubt he’d claim it was a “tragic accident,” more evidence of how a girl couldn’t really be a hero.
I ground my teeth. Not if I could help it. The sun climbed higher in the cloudless blue sky. Sweat dripped into my eyes, and rolled down my back, but I didn’t dare wipe it away. I had no doubt that Perry, instead of stepping back like a gentleman, would take advantage of an opportunity to land a blow.
I heard muttering from the crowd, but I couldn’t tell if people were on my side or not. My guess was that the manor staff was hoping I’d knock Perry on his butt and that the townspeople were hoping he’d do the same to me.
I don’t know how long we’d been at it. I was certainly getting out of breath and thirsty. I wasn’t going to call for a break, though. Perry’s shirt was damp at the armpits. He grinned, not bothering to hide the fact that he was enjoying the way things were going, confident that he could bring the match to an end.
Maybe too confident. I could use some of his cockiness against him. I dropped my guard, inviting an attack. He obliged and I beat it back. My eyes stung from the sweat dripping into them. Patience, I thought. You can do this.
I dropped my guard again, pretending to be a little more tired this time. Once again, he attacked, and I let him get closer. I felt the whoosh of air and heard the whistle of his sword near my head as I blocked. I circled. He was smiling now. He was sure I was beaten and it was just a matter of time.
For a third time, I dropped my guard. But now, I didn’t merely block his attack, I darted in close. My blade slid down his with a whine. I dropped the blade, twisting so it came to rest on top of his. With a grunt, I rolled my wrist, wrenching his sword out of his hand.
I stopped, foot planted on his sword. I wouldn’t have put it past him to make a grab for it, and I saw his gaze flicker down to my boot.
“Well fought.” He stepped back and gave a half-bow. The manor staff applauded. “Perhaps you will show me how you did it.” He didn’t smile.
“Of course.” I picked up his sword and handed it to him, hilt first. He didn’t dare attack me now, not when the match was over. He’d look bad.
“What’s going on?” Starla had appeared in the crowd, worry lines between her eyes. “Is anything wrong? Lyla? Perry, darling, what happened?”
“Nothing, my love.” Perry kissed her hand, and I bowed. “Lyla and I were just having a friendly match. You know, one expert to another. I thought I had her, but she disarmed me quite neatly. I was just asking how the trick worked.”
I didn’t miss the jab. A trick, huh? That’s what he thought? “Yes, my lady. Just a friendly show. I was telling Perry—“
I broke off as a jumble of voices reached my ears. A crowd of people, some sounding pretty angry, were headed toward us. A man was in the middle of the crowd. Some looked to be mocking him, and others were protecting him.
Starla looked puzzled, Perry triumphant, and my heart sank. Only one person could possibly put that gloating look on Perry’s face.
Sure enough, as the crowd approached, I recognized the man. He was dirty and his hands were bound, but there was no mistaking his identity. Roger Woodbridge, former chief steward of Mallory, had been caught.