One Knight Only Read online

  Anne found herself glancing down the corridor, trying to be inconspicuous. She was hoping Philip would leave quickly, so she only had to deal with Sir Joseph when—

  Margaret appeared at the top of the stairs, pushing her hood back from her head.

  Anne winced. She had allowed Margaret to ensnare her in a minor deception, all because she wanted the maid’s friendship—or at least her respect. She had seen Margaret’s cool reaction to the “kissing” exercise earlier in the day, making her feel unworthy to be Margaret’s mistress. They would be traveling together for many days yet, and Anne wanted to feel at ease with the only other woman in the party. And the fact that Margaret dared to leave the inn, even if only for the nearby courtyard, made Anne realize how much it meant to the girl.

  “Margaret?” Sir Joseph said with a frown. “I thought you had gone to your bed. Surely you know how dangerous it is to leave us.”

  “I had to use…” Her voice died away as she blushed.

  Sir Joseph cleared his throat. “Of course, but I never saw you go. And you have your cloak.”

  “I feared it might be rainin’.”

  Anne stepped back into her doorway. “Margaret, could you please assist me?”

  The maid hurried past her, and Anne simply smiled at the two bemused knights. “Good night, gentlemen.”

  She shut the door. When she turned to face Margaret, the maid was removing her cloak before the hearth. Margaret glanced at Anne, and her face relaxed into the first true smile Anne had ever seen from her.

  “Milady, I cannot thank you enough,” Margaret said.

  Anne hurried toward her, speaking softly. “I had great regrets about allowing you to meet your friend. I was so worried!”

  Margaret briefly squeezed her hand. “I told ye I grew up near here. Doncaster holds no secrets for me. And surely ye don’t think Sir Walter would let us stay here if he had any worries?”

  Anne didn’t think the Bladesman as infallible as that. “But you should have taken one of the knights with you.”

  “But he was with me, milady, protectin’ me, do ye not see?”

  Margaret hugged herself, looking so happy. There was a radiance about her that Anne envied.

  “Stephen met me in the courtyard. ’Twas so many weeks since I last saw him!”

  “And how did he know that we had arrived?”

  Margaret blushed. “I told him we would be passin’ through Doncaster. This afternoon, I paid a groom to take a message to the inn Stephen told me he would be stayin’ at.” As if she couldn’t remain still, she almost danced to the window and threw back the shutters. “Tonight when he met me, he took me walkin’ by the river, and we talked and talked.”

  Anne sank down on the edge of the bed. “Margaret, you did not discuss me, did you?”

  Her eyes flew wide. “O’ course not, milady. He thinks I’m travelin’ with Lady Rosamond. I would never risk her life—or yours.”

  Anne smiled with relief. “Thank you.”

  “Now that we’ve seen each other again, and the feelin’s are as strong as ever, he promised that he’ll ask his lord if he can marry me, and bring me to live with them.”

  Anne was still rather amazed at how much Margaret was telling her. It was as if, now that Anne had proven herself by helping her, Margaret considered her a friend.

  “I hope everything works out for you, Margaret.”

  The maid nodded, clasping her hands together and looking out the window, as if she could see her whole future before her.

  Anne felt a little envious, a little sad. By placing her lot with the League, she thought she would never marry. Philip’s face appeared in her mind, but she immediately banished it. They wanted different things from life, and she did not believe she was the sort of woman who could give herself to a man with no thought to the future.

  Before dawn, Philip ended his shift at Anne’s door and escorted her downstairs to the private dining room where they would all break their fast. Bells from a nearby church tolled the hour, but they would miss mass this day in the interest of safety. God forbid Lionel Fitzhugh decide to come see his old duke’s daughter.

  Anne patted her mouth with her napkin and turned to Walter. “What time will we arrive at Lord Egmanton’s?”

  “Late in the day.”

  “And are we staying one night or two?”

  “We were asked to only stay one, but I explained that since we would be arriving late, you would have little time tonight to converse with Lord Egmanton.”

  She frowned. “Why were they requesting only one night? I’ve never heard of such inhospitality.”

  Walter put down his spoon next to his porridge bowl with his usual precision. “My lady, Lord Egmanton is younger than you, and this request actually came from his mother.”

  Philip choked on his buttered bread.

  Anne shot him a glare, but all she said was, “I guess having an older widow for a new daughter is not her preference.”

  Margaret and Anne glanced at each other, and an unspoken sympathy passed between them, a new ease that had not been there the day before.

  Until last night, Philip thought with suspicion.

  When the knights rose to go finish packing, Philip whispered to Anne, “Tell them you’re not done. I wish to speak with you.”

  She frowned at him, opened her mouth, and then seemed to think better of it. “Sir Walter, I would like another cup of cider. Sir Philip will wait with me. Margaret is so efficient, that she has everything ready for the journey.”

  Margaret flashed her a smile so brilliant, Philip wanted to tell her that she was making everyone curious.

  When they’d all gone, Philip frowned across the table at Anne. “Think not that I was too drunk to know something was going on last night. Where had Margaret gone and why did you help her, when being alone outside might have gotten her captured or killed?”

  Anne winced. “Philip, she didn’t leave the courtyard. I’m finally earning her trust. Do not make me—”

  “You already have my trust. I don’t wish to regret it.”

  “’Tis nothing important, really, just a matter of a woman’s heart.”

  “So she met someone.”

  “Not here—I mean not originally.”

  “Just tell me, my lady,” he murmured. “I need to know, and I will not tell anyone else.”

  With a sigh, she quickly told him about Margaret’s suitor.

  He sat back in his chair. “I understand that it is difficult to see one another when two people are servants in different households, but it seems to me that this Stephen put her in danger by having her go out in the evening unaccompanied.”

  “He was with her.”

  “Tell me that you were not foolish enough to meet this man.”

  “I did not.”

  “I wouldn’t have been surprised if you volunteered to go with her.”

  When she hesitated, he groaned.

  “Philip, you must understand that I am not used to anyone caring about my reputation or my safety.” She lowered her voice. “I am but a maidservant, just like Margaret.”

  “And you’re also Lady Rosamond, who far too many men are interested in—and not just for romantic reasons. As for Margaret, your behavior suggests that you wanted to be her friend, instead of her mistress.”

  She sighed.

  “Promise you will tell me when Margaret feels the need to sneak off again. It is too dangerous for both of you.”

  “I promise.”

  “I care about your safety.” He wanted to reach for her hand, but thought better of it. The touch of her tended to make him forget words. “And I’m sure Lady Elizabeth has always cared, too.”

  At the mention of her friend, Anne stiffened and turned away from him.

  “I miss her,” she whispered. “I always had her to talk to, to confide in, to—” She broke off, giving him an annoyed look, as if she regretted revealing so much of herself.

  “And now you’re trying to fill her place wi
th Margaret.”

  “Nay, I know it could never be the same. My friendship with Elizabeth took a lifetime to form. But I just want things to be…easier with Margaret.”

  “It seems you have your wish.” He stood up, tossing his napkin onto the table. “Shall we go? I fear any more togetherness will fuel Walter’s suspicions.”

  As she preceded him to the door, she glanced at him over her shoulder. “Why should he be suspicious?”

  It was his turn to sigh. “I don’t know—perhaps because I offered to kiss you yesterday? And we are alone right now?”

  Saying the words aloud seemed to rekindle the tension that always hummed between them. She looked up into his face, and without conscious decision, he lifted his hand as if he meant to touch her cheek. He wanted to feel such softness again, to explore the way her pulse pounded beneath the curve of her ear. Her breasts rose and fell with her quick breaths, and the urge to cup them was so strong—

  But outside the door, the stairs shook as guests came pounding down them.

  Anne backed away and grabbed for the door handle.

  Philip closed his eyes and shook his head. So much for keeping his thoughts to himself. He almost felt like a boy unused to being around women—yet he had had the best tutor in the ways of noble ladies, his first master’s daughter. She had taught him to read, to dance, and most importantly what to say to women. But the memory was a sad one, and didn’t bear dwelling on, he thought as he followed Anne out of the dining room. With Anne, every lesson in propriety seemed to be for naught.

  When they were waiting for the horses to be brought from the stables, Philip managed to speak privately to Margaret.

  She stared at him nervously. “Aye, Sir Philip?”

  “Margaret, I confronted Lady Rosamond about your absence from the inn.”

  “Oh, ’twas not her fault!” she hastened to say.

  “I know, and she didn’t reveal much to me, but I just need to know if your suitor is still here. I should talk to him.”

  “Heavens, no, sir! He has already left Doncaster. ’Twas why we could only meet last night.”

  Though her eyes lowered subserviently, and Philip accepted her words, he felt…uneasy. Something wasn’t right. But Margaret had followed her own mother into service for Lady Rosamond, and deserved the benefit of the doubt. But he would keep her under closer surveillance from now on. He didn’t like that a strange man had come so close to one of their retinue.

  Anne watched Philip and Margaret, and knew with a feeling of guilt what they were discussing. Of course Philip had every right to be concerned, and she had probably made a mistake allowing Margaret her freedom. But nothing terrible had come of it. When Margaret glanced at her, Anne widened her eyes, but all the maid did was smile and shrug. Relief swept through Anne.

  When they were all mounted, Sir Walter looked back at them and said, “I must make one stop at a nearby merchant’s shop.”

  Sir David and Sir Joseph did not even glance at each other, as if they understood. Yet Philip looked curious, so she wasn’t the only one ignorant of a change in plans. They walked their horses through the narrow streets of Doncaster until Sir Walter stopped beneath a sign with the crude image of a hat. Through an open window, they could see several people being waited on by the haberdasher.

  Sir Walter dismounted, staring within the shop, then glanced at Anne. “Lady Rosamond, I could use your assistance. The rest of you can wait here. This will not take long.”

  Sir Walter came to help her dismount, even holding her briefly to set her down where the ground was not muddy.

  She put her hand on his arm as they walked slowly to the shop. “I assume I am functioning as your noble lady?”

  He gave her a faint smile. “You will be my distraction, Lady Rosamond. Exclaim over the hats and draw the shopkeeper and the other customers to you at the front of the shop.”

  “And you don’t care how I do it?” she asked, nervous and excited as she warmed to her part. He trusts me!

  He shook his head, and then went through the door first, hands on his hips, inspecting the establishment as if the king himself needed the security. Peeking past his shoulder, Anne could see a neatly dressed man, standing with three other customers, give Sir Walter a curious frown.

  She took that as her cue, raising her veil so that her face was visible, and sweeping past her knight. “Come, man, move aside. There are hardly men waiting to attack me amidst the hats.”

  At the sight of Anne in her fine garments, the haberdasher’s eyes went wide, and he swept forward through his customers, scattering them like a flock of startled birds. “My lady,” he said with emphasis, “do come in. How may I help you?”

  “I have heard of your fine hats for gentlemen, good sir,” she said, “and I admired the beaver hat with the feather in your display. Do show it to me.” As he came toward her, she lowered her voice a bit, saying, “But I would want to be the only one who owns such a design.”

  And with those words, she felt the other customers crowding around her for a better look. While the haberdasher held up the hat for her, embellishing its merits, Anne was able to glance over his shoulder several times at Sir Walter. The commotion had drawn another man from the rear of the shop, an apprentice by the plain cut of his wool garments. When he saw Sir Walter, his eyes went wide for only the briefest moment. Sir Walter put something on the counter—Anne could not see what it was—and the apprentice took it wordlessly, only giving a nod.

  And then Sir Walter approached her, bodily pushing people away as they came too close to her. “You heard my lady!” he said. “Aside, aside, I say!”

  In a huff, Anne sailed to the doorway. “I cannot buy such a thing if everyone will have it,” she said crossly. “I will return, sir, at a quieter time.”

  She felt a twinge of guilt at the haberdasher’s crestfallen expression, but Sir Walter had his hand under her elbow, guiding her firmly through the door and to her horse. After she was mounted, she pulled her veil over her face, and allowed her horse to pick its way through the holes in the street, back past the Trout and Goose, and into the countryside. As a light rain started to fall, she maneuvered until she was riding beside Sir Walter. Philip was right behind, and she allowed it, knowing he was just as curious as she.

  “I saw you make contact with the haberdasher’s apprentice,” Anne said. “Does he work for the League?”

  Sir Walter nodded.

  “And you knew of him?”

  He shook his head. “I do not know everyone, but there are places and ways to make contact. I discovered that no one from the League has sent us a message, but I sent one of my own, detailing the attack and our suspicions.”

  “What if someone intercepts it?” Philip asked.

  “They’ll read a missive to my mother, concerning a bout of the flu I’m suffering.”

  “A secret code,” Anne said with admiration. “And how will you hear back?”

  Sir Walter only shrugged, and Anne thought he almost seemed amused at keeping them in such suspense. But then he looked back at the town, his frown growing.

  “Last night we moved through Doncaster and the surrounding countryside, and still we have seen no evidence of being watched. The quiet disturbs me.”

  “As if they’re preparing for an attack?” Anne said, looking at the foggy fields patchworked with long fences of stone.

  “I know not. But we can only keep going.”

  Through the rest of the day, as they left Yorkshire and entered Nottinghamshire, the trees of Sherwood Forest gradually dominated the west, and to the east the flat plains ran into the marshes of Lincolnshire—or so Sir Walter said, as he was obviously attempting to distract Anne with a lesson in geography. Rain drizzled on and off all day, and she huddled miserably in her cloak, swaying side to side as her horse walked. She kept imagining approaching riders coming at her through the fog, and she felt tense all day, even though her knights took turns scouting the area. When Markham Keep rose like a craggy mountain near t
he forest, she was looking forward to being warm, and didn’t care that they would have to be wary.

  But there were no welcoming crowds, no one to greet them at all. Sir David had gone ahead to announce their presence—had he gotten lost? Or attacked? She looked back down the road, wondering in sudden fear if he had even made it here at all. Soldiers manning the battlements and gatehouse allowed them in. When Sir Walter questioned them, they said that Sir David had been admitted not an hour before. Anne took a deep, shaky breath.

  The keep was ancient, with no windows cut into the building itself, as was now happening to more and more castles. It looked gloomy and old and Anne’s spirits sank. Rain dotted in puddles in the inner ward, and the party sat on their horses, staring at each other in disbelief.

  Several grooms, hunched against the rain, finally came out to take their horses. Her slippers, already wet before, were now soaked and filled with mud. She noticed that Margaret, so small and slight, was shivering uncontrollably. Anne put an arm around her, and the maid gave her a grateful smile.

  Sir Walter took Anne’s other arm. He looked up at the keep, rain dripping from his gray eyebrows and splashing his cheeks. “My lady, allow me to help you inside. I cannot believe the ignorance of these people.”

  “We already know that Lord Egmanton’s mother isn’t all that excited by my visit,” she said ruefully, between chattering teeth.

  He gave a grim nod, and together, all three of them climbed up the stairs to the great hall on the first floor. Anne glanced over her shoulder and saw Philip and Sir Joseph fall into line behind. Philip gave her a grim smile, and she quickly looked away. She dwelled too much today on that one moment in the dining room when he’d stood so close and looked as if he wanted to touch her, perhaps to kiss her. And she would have let him—again. Even though she knew he but used her for a moment’s pleasure, she couldn’t make herself stop wanting to lose herself in his arms.

  The great double doors of the hall slowly opened wide, and a welcome current of heat engulfed them. Anne sighed with pleasure. Tallow candles lit the gloomy afternoon and fires burned in hearths at both ends of the hall. She savored the delicious smell of roasted meat. They had had no hot food since breaking their fast, and her insides were as cold as her outside.