One Knight Only Page 14

  They rode into the trees of Sherwood Forest, along ancient dirt paths that seemed well used for this purpose. At last the huntsman set loose the hounds, and Anne smiled as they streamed off into the forest, baying loudly, searching for hare, the quarry of the day. Then the chase was on, as the riders threaded their way through the trees, trying to keep up with the hounds.

  Though Anne had tied back her hair, the streaming wind caught the curls as she leaned low over the horse’s neck. She threw her head back and laughed in sheer exuberance, and found Philip riding nearby, watching her. As the horses dodged trees, Philip moved nearer and apart, and they were often separated by David or Joseph. It was a game, who could keep ahead of whom, and Anne almost forgot the hunt in the exuberance of racing against her knights.

  At last a great cry went up from the riders in the lead, and as Anne slowed, she could hear the frantic baying of the hounds as they cornered their prey. Anne and the twins remained toward the rear of the party, not needing to see the bloody rituals of the hounds being awarded their share of the dead animal.

  Philip rode back to them, and Anne noticed that the girls blushed and giggled when he smiled at them.

  Philip noticed, too, because he leaned on his pommel and said, “Ladies, do you often hunt with your brother?”

  They nodded vigorously.

  Anne reminded herself that they were the sort of young women Philip should be pursuing in his own personal hunt. They were even of the right age, and she knew that she should not be jealous, not if she wished a better future for him.

  But she was jealous. She was the one he could not keep his hands from; she was the one who could have him in her bed, if she wished. It would be easier for a Bladeswoman to experience pleasure, but not love. Love would be too complicated in this life she planned to lead. As she watched Philip talk to the twins—and he wasn’t even flirting, just being polite—she wondered if he thought about returning here someday, to woo and win the favor of the baron’s sisters. They would not be too above the reach of a champion knight.

  Besides Philip, David also remained nearby, as if it was his turn as her bodyguard. Joseph’s ankle still pained him. She knew David, too, would keep her safe, but she wished Philip’s words against the League hadn’t put such doubts in her head.

  They set off in a different direction for another hunt, and then at last, the hunters brought their spoils to a clearing in the forest, where a pavilion had been set up to eat out of doors. Cooks worked over a fire, and Anne watched Lord Egmanton formally present the hare carcasses to be roasted on a spit. There was cheering and laughter. Even the minstrels had arrived to lend music to the afternoon’s entertainment. She made herself relax.

  Lord Egmanton helped Anne dismount. “My lady, I am impressed with your horsemanship. Your father allowed you to ride astride like a man?”

  “Aye, he did, my lord, and perhaps that was unwise of him. Many men have said it gave me unnatural ideas.”

  The other hunters laughed, the twins looked bemused, and Philip appeared resigned.

  “Come walk with me, Lady Rosamond,” the baron continued, smiling broadly. “There is a stream nearby that my sisters tell me is pretty enough for a painting.”

  Anne allowed Lord Egmanton to lead her by the hand. She saw one of his lordship’s soldiers fall in behind them, and David did as well. She did not look back to see if Philip watched her. He could not always be with her—and there were young ladies he could flirt with.

  The sunlight in the clearing was muted through the leafy branches of the oaks and hawthorns overhead. Lord Egmanton seemed unusually quiet, and his hand perspired in hers. But when she smiled at him, he smiled back with a boyish eagerness that amused her. She heard the stream before she saw it, and when they walked around an ancient oak, it spread out in dappled sunlight before her. The stream fell from boulder to rock, raising mist as it splashed. Pockets of yellow primroses and purple columbine grew near the rocks, wet with the stream’s spray.

  “How lovely,” she said softly, as if her raised voice might disturb the beauty.

  Lord Egmanton led her forward, and a bunny darted into the underbrush as they approached. Anne glanced back casually, and then did so again in surprise when she saw no one behind them.

  “The soldiers are within hailing distance,” Lord Egmanton said, as if reading her mind. “I didn’t wish to be disturbed.”

  She felt uneasy, and she chastised herself silently. After all, a whole party of people relaxed nearby while the meal was being prepared. David was only a shout away. And she had already proven that she had Lord Egmanton well under control.

  But in the lady’s garden last evening, Philip’s shout had interrupted them. Would the young baron have pressed her further without Philip’s intervention? He led her toward a large boulder and leaned against it, smiling devilishly.

  It seemed she was about to find out.

  “How many noblemen have you visited so far, my lady?” he asked.

  Anne walked to the water’s edge, where she bent to pick a primrose. “You are the third, my lord.”

  “And are we all very different—or the same in our search for the proper bride?”

  After smelling the flower, she laughed. “Different—and alike. Several of the men were far older than you, and searching for their second wife.”

  “Ah, then they already had an heir.”

  “Aye, they did.”

  “But of course, you realize I would need that from you.”

  When he grabbed her hand, he startled her so much that the flower fell to the grass. He pulled her closer, and her unease increased. He had allowed her to lead in the kiss the previous evening, but he was proving bolder today.

  She put her hand on his chest and smiled firmly. “And I would be glad to give you an heir, my lord—if we marry.”

  “But there is so much we can do before that,” he said, pulling her against him and pressing his mouth beneath her ear.

  “Your youth is misleading, my lord.”

  She told herself to relax, allowed him to kiss her neck, to fondle her back. She could not help but realize how little he moved her, compared to even one caress from Philip.

  Lord Egmanton slid his hand around her waist and then covered her breast.

  She tried to rear back. “My lord, you must not touch what is not yours.”

  But instead of releasing her, he only pulled her tighter. When he fondled her, she squirmed with the discomfort of it.

  “I have asked you to cease,” she said firmly. “Forcing yourself on me will not make me choose you.”

  He grabbed her head and held her still for a quick, deep kiss that almost made her choke. Unease blossomed into worry, yet still she told herself to be calm. Help was nearby. And if she were to be a Bladeswoman, she would have to be able to handle such occasions herself.

  Ending the kiss, he said, “Rosamond, I can make your choice easy. If you were to carry my child, then of course you would choose me.”

  She pushed hard against his chest, but he was stronger than his thin frame suggested. She hated the feel of his arousal pressed into her, especially when he continued rubbing against her.

  “Cease now or I will scream,” she commanded him. He suddenly seemed to have more hands than she did as she kept fending him off. She was overmatched. Her worry was quickly escalating to fear. “David!” she suddenly shouted.

  Lord Egmanton only smiled, then turned and pushed her back against the boulder. His hips pressed so hard into hers that her legs were forced apart.

  Where was David? she thought frantically.

  “He won’t come,” the baron said, his gentle words the opposite of his tight grip on her upper arms. “My man has been instructed that I wish to be alone with you.”

  She spoke as calmly as possible, hoping to reason with him. “My lord, your sisters are nearby. When they discover what you’ve done—”

  “They won’t discover, because if you tell anyone, then I will never marry you. You will be s
hamed before the court, and no man will want you.”

  If he thought that would be enough to calm her, then he was mistaken. She stomped hard on his foot, and though he winced, he forced a kiss on her. As she struggled, she found herself reliving another time when she was helpless, although that time she was but a maidservant in the same circumstance—with a man who felt he had the right to marry her. The sadness, fear and vulnerability from that time just months ago mixed in with her emotions now, until she couldn’t remember which man she struggled against.

  Philip barely kept himself from pacing after Anne left. He had tried to keep himself distracted by talking to the Egmanton twins, but they seemed so young and naive.

  He kept remembering the soldier who’d followed Egmanton. Why would the baron need even more protection than David could provide? Who would attack such a large party?

  Unless…the soldier was to keep David in line.

  Philip glanced toward Walter and saw the older knight watching him. They had been awkward with each other since the morning’s revelation, but now he seemed to know exactly what was on Philip’s mind. Philip nodded his head in the direction Anne had gone. He waited for Walter’s assent, praying he’d get it, because he did not think he could obey an order to remain here.

  Though Walter’s eyes narrowed, he gave a small nod.

  Philip slipped among the trees and moved silently, swiftly. He had already asked one of the twins about the stream and knew the general direction. But before he reached it, he heard the obvious sound of fist meeting flesh, and a grunt of pain. On the far side of an oak tree, he saw David and Egmanton’s soldier rolling on the ground.

  God’s Blood, Philip thought in shock, his suspicions had been correct. His fear for Anne’s safety gave way to the darker, single-minded emotions of a battlefield, where all that mattered was defeating your enemy.

  David got in a particularly good kick, and then saw Philip. “They’re just beyond!” he shouted in obvious relief, and then took a fist to the mouth.

  David’s opponent had seen Philip, too, and now struggled to get away, but David held him fast. Philip sprinted beyond them and into a clearing beside the stream. He saw Anne pressed against a rock, bare legs spread wide, and Egmanton between them holding her down.

  Philip launched himself at the enemy, caught him around the waist and knocked him hard to the ground. Somewhere deep in his mind, he knew he need only reveal Egmanton’s crime, and that would be enough, but the soldier in Philip, once released and angered, would not be denied. He held the baron down and pummeled his face with his fists.

  “How do you like being restrained!” Philip shouted.

  Egmanton bucked beneath him, but could not throw him off.

  At last, Philip heard voices, felt someone take his shoulders, and he allowed himself to be pulled away.

  David restrained him. “Enough, Philip. She is safe.”

  He found himself breathing heavily, listening to the satisfying sounds of the baron groaning. He turned and saw Anne standing alone, away from the rock, hugging herself.

  Philip tried to move, yet still David held him fast by the arms. “See to the baron,” Philip said. “I’ll go to Lady Rosamond.”

  David’s reluctance to release him was obvious, yet at last Philip was free. Anne looked up at him, dry eyes wide, her face set in calm lines. She was trying to be so brave, the perfect Bladeswoman. His need to hold her was so fierce that he ached with it. He could still picture her bare thighs, and Egmanton between them, and it shook him.

  He didn’t know how to ask, what to say, but at last he murmured, “Are you well?”

  She nodded. “You arrived in time.”

  He closed his eyes momentarily in relief, and then asked, “Did he just…lose control and attack you?”

  “It was deliberate,” she said, glancing beyond Philip.

  He turned and saw Egmanton’s soldier limping toward his master, just as David helped the baron to stand. Philip remained aware of them, in case the two men attacked David.

  “Deliberate?” Philip repeated in shock, glancing down at the blood on his knuckles.

  “He thought if there was a chance I was with child, I would be more inclined to marry him.” Her voice was bitter. “I thought that only happened to women too powerless to object.”

  Frowning, he studied her, wondering if she meant more than she was saying. But he did not have time to ask her, because he heard Egmanton’s voice behind him and turned around. His face bloody and beginning to swell, the baron marched through the clearing and back into the trees, along with his soldier.

  David approached them and nodded to Anne. “My lady? How badly did he hurt you?”

  She shook her head. “Not badly.”

  “Forgive me,” the knight said. “I could not get past his soldier in time.”

  “But you kept him out my way,” Philip said.

  “I am very grateful to you both,” Anne said. “But I fear Lord Egmanton will not take this well.”

  “He could dispute our account,” David said heavily. “And we are amongst his people.”

  Anne closed her eyes. “I should never have allowed him to lead me away. I thought he would not be so foolish as to try anything with the hunting party so near.” She laughed with no amusement. “And to think I thought he was rather naive.”

  “Do not blame yourself,” Philip said. “You are trapped having to behave a certain way.”

  She looked at him with worried eyes. “Yet you are the one who might suffer.”

  When Anne emerged from the trees into the meadow where the hunting party gathered, the mood was somber. The steward and bailiffs turned to glare at them, and Egmanton was already mounted on his horse. He rode past them, not looking at Anne, and she had no idea what he might have said to his men.

  His injuries looked painful, and she was secretly glad.

  The cooks and servants were already putting away their equipment and the food. The Egmanton sisters, pale and frightened, avoided Anne. Had they been told that it was her fault?

  Walter and Joseph came to them, leading their horses.

  David took his reins. “What was said when the baron returned?”

  Walter looked at Philip. “That you had attacked him for no reason.”

  Anne could not control her gasp. If everyone believed the baron, then it was as if he hadn’t tried to force himself on her.

  Philip rolled his eyes. “If I had attacked for no reason, I think I would already be under his soldiers’ control.”

  David said, “His soldier prevented me from going to Lady Rosamond.”

  Walter narrowed his eyes, and glanced at where Egmanton had ridden between the trees.

  “Forgive my crudeness,” Philip said to Anne, “but when I arrived, he was already on top of her.”

  Walter’s gaze softened. “My lady, how do you feel?”

  She smiled faintly. “Well enough. But I feel the need for a hot bath.”

  “You’re shaking,” Philip said, putting an arm around her.

  Anne stiffened as all three knights frowned.

  Philip removed his arm.

  For just a moment, she’d been warm, but now she could not control the shivers that wracked her body. What was wrong with her? It was a warm summer day. She hated feeling so weak.

  “You are suffering from the shock of the attack,” Joseph said in a kind voice. “It will fade away soon.”

  She nodded. The men fussed over her horse, and tried to help her mount as if she were an invalid. But it wasn’t until they emerged from the forest, that she pulled up to look at Markham Keep.

  “I wish we did not have to return,” she said.

  Walter nodded. “I promise we will only remain long enough to pack. Newark is not far off, and we can be there before nightfall.”

  She sighed her relief. “You have my gratitude—you all do.”

  But when their horses clattered beneath the gatehouse, they were met by a sea of soldiers.

  Anne drew in
her reins, and her mount danced to a halt. “What is the meaning of this?” she cried. She did not see Lord Egmanton in the courtyard.

  A man stepped forward. “I am Sir Martin, captain of the guard. I have orders to take Sir Philip into custody.”

  “You will not,” Anne said firmly. “Sir Philip but rescued me from an unseemly attack.”

  “I will carry out my orders until I am told otherwise.”

  When Anne would have said more, Walter rode up to her side and shook his head.

  “My lady, we can resolve this peacefully rather than attempt to battle here in the courtyard.”

  She looked back at Philip with wide eyes, but he smiled at her.

  “Do not worry for me, my lady,” he said, dismounting. He unbuckled his belt and handed his dagger and sword, still in their scabbards, to Walter.

  Two soldiers came to walk at his side.

  “Where are you taking him?” she demanded.

  “To the dungeon, my lady, where all prisoners await their hearing,” said the captain. “I promise he will not be mistreated.”

  If ever Lady Rosamond’s forceful personality was needed, it was now. “If you harm him in any way, I promise that the king will be told, and his might will be wielded in my favor.”

  Sir Martin bowed to her. “I understand, my lady.”

  Anne was glad that her trembling had finally fled in the face of her anger. When her knights stood around her after their mounts had been led away, Markham Keep’s soldiers finally dispersed, leaving them alone.

  “What now, Walter?” she asked.

  “We go inside and confront Lord Egmanton with his deception. I assume you can play the part of the aggrieved countess?”

  “Gladly,” she said with cold determination.