Aryn said nothing, but stepped up behind her, meeting her timid gaze as she peered over her shoulder at him. He, too, had a multitude of thoughts running through his head.
How had it come to this? It was supposed to be as simple a job as they came, to retrieve the girl and bring her to Turgall. She would have been worth a fortune, a fortune within his grasp, one that he never even dared dream of having. How easy would it have been to take her to Turgall and turn her over? But he had never counted on this, getting that feeling of a quickened heartbeat everytime he got near to her. By Ansgar, he couldn't even touch her! He didn't understand how he could possibly have developed any affections for her.
But here they were in the darkness of this empty castle, and there she stood in front of him. With a mumble of, "Anything for the Lady," he placed his metal hand gently on her hip and, with his free fingers, began gently pulling away at the laces of her dress.