One Knight Only Read online

  But as they went inside, she could not help but blame herself for this whole dilemma. Philip had warned her that a man could misunderstand her playfulness, could go further with intimacy than she had meant. His imprisonment was her fault.

  Chapter 13

  W hen she returned to her bedchamber, Anne was grateful for Margaret’s kind treatment of her. There was a hot bath waiting, and she sank into it to banish the last of her shivering. But she did not linger long—she had to win Philip’s release. Margaret helped her dress in the most royal gown she’d brought, decorated with enough gold and pearls to shine at court. When Anne finally descended into the great hall, she knew that candlelight caught and reflected in the gown, making her glitter like a rare treasure.

  Lady Egmanton was seated on one of the two chairs on the raised dais. Her daughters stood nearby, holding hands, looking confused. But Anne saw several maidservants turn sympathetic gazes on her. Anne had been spared, but perhaps these women had not been so fortunate.

  The baron himself was standing before the hearth, talking to his steward. When he turned at Anne’s entrance, she saw the bruises that swelled his eyes, the crusted blood in the corner of his mouth. Though he glared at her, Anne ignored him and went right to the true power of the household, his mother.

  Instead of taking a place below the dais, Anne stepped onto it before the affronted baroness.

  “Your son has wronged me,” she said in a cold, powerful voice that rang through the great hall. “He tried to take what I have only given to a man in marriage.”

  Lady Egmanton’s eyes went wide, as if she hadn’t imagined Anne would speak so plainly. “Your man attacked a baron,” she protested in a high voice.

  “Your son deserved more than a black eye for his cruel behavior.” Anne plucked at the threads attaching her sleeves to her dress, and since they’d been loosened by Margaret, both came free, sliding off to the floor. Anne lifted her arms so that the baroness could see the bruises mottling her skin above both elbows. “This is what was done to me, and if Sir Philip had not intervened, your son had planned to do more.”

  While Margaret picked up the sleeves, Lady Egmanton looked at her son, who kept his chin raised, although at last worry flickered briefly in his eyes. Anne knew she could take these charges to the highest court in the land—and both Egmantons knew it, too.

  But when the old woman turned back to Anne, Anne could have sworn she saw faint relief in those eyes, as if her son had done a good deed by ridding them of Lady Rosamond’s favor. Anne felt nauseated by the whole family.

  “I wish nothing more to do with you or your offspring,” Anne said, turning her back on the baroness. “You will release my knight at once, and we will leave this keep immediately.”

  No one said a word as Anne ascended the stairs again. But she met the gaze of Walter, who nodded to her, his expression full of satisfaction.

  The dungeon dug out beneath Markham Keep was as damp and cold as the French dungeons Philip had been in—or even the one at Alderley, where he and John had spent a night when they were trying to rescue Lady Elizabeth. At least they had left him a candle. He imagined that the never-ending darkness might drive a prisoner mad after awhile. He had a wooden pallet, a blanket he didn’t dare touch, and two buckets. He thought the one had only brackish water in it, but he wasn’t about to try it until he was desperate. Though the door was made of solid wood, he did not bother to test it. He had faith in Anne’s ability to earn his release. After all, she was Lady Rosamond, wife of an earl, daughter of a duke. And Egmanton was a mere baron.

  But it was at least an hour before he heard a door creak open somewhere in the distance. Through the cracks of the door he could see the wavering light of a torch approaching. With the jingling of keys, a lock turned, and the door swung open. But instead of being allowed out, Philip was ordered back by a Markham guard. Walter entered, and the door shut behind him.

  Walter looked around. “Comfortable accommodations.”

  “I’d ask you to have a seat on the pallet, but it might not hold us both.” Though Philip was relieved to see the knight, there was now a wall between them because of what the League had withheld. “So I am not to be released?”

  “You will be. They are simply delaying it as long as possible.” Walter briefly explained Anne confronting the Egmantons.

  Philip gritted his teeth. “Their behavior is appalling.”

  “Before you leave this place, I wish to speak my mind.”

  Philip regarded him warily, but said nothing.

  “You did not handle the situation well.”

  “You did not see what I saw,” Philip said in a low, cold voice. “He was between her bare thighs and she was fighting him. I was worried that he’d already—”

  “Believe me, I understand,” Walter interrupted, his voice tired. “But it was only necessary to get Lady Rosamond away from him, not beat him. You cannot allow your heart to rule you.”

  “My heart—”

  Walter lowered his voice. “I know you have been alone with Lady Rosamond more than once, that there is an attraction between you.”

  Clenching his jaw, Philip waited to hear what the captain would say.

  “Lady Rosamond will move on with her life someday, perhaps with you, but for now you could have jeopardized our mission with your rash behavior.”

  “Lady Rosamond’s life is at Alderley,” Philip said, “not with me.” He wanted to tell the knight that Anne had already decided her life was with the League, but it was not his place to make such a revelation.

  Walter arched an eyebrow. “I owe her a debt. If she wishes to spend time with you, regardless of how it will end, then I will allow it, as long as you are seen to be acting as her bodyguard. She seems to need your companionship. It cannot be much longer before we are finished.” He turned toward the door. “You will be released as soon as we are ready to depart.”

  When he had gone, Philip propped his arm on his bent knee and closed his eyes. Once he would have believed Walter’s words at face value, but now he could no longer trust him. The man’s devotion to the League was more important than anything else. Was he just trying to appease Philip? Would he do anything to make sure his mission succeeded?

  Walter had said Anne needed Philip, but she obviously didn’t think so. The desire between them was proving dangerous. Philip kept trying to resist, and only found himself ever more desperate for her kiss, for her touch. And she seemed to feel the same. But they each had separate plans for their lives. He’d even told her some of his past, so that she would understand.

  He remembered his jealousy over Egmanton, how the thought of Anne hurt had been a blow such as he’d never received before. There had been a despairing look in her eyes as she remembered being a woman of little power. What had happened to her? She needed him, yet the last time he had been so desperately needed by a woman, it had changed his life. Was he just going to allow that to happen again, all because he could not stop caring about Anne?

  They had too late a start to reach Newark that night, and rather than risk their horses being injured traveling in the dark, the small party ended up making camp in a deserted hunting lodge near the edge of Sherwood Forest. It was nothing but four walls and bare earth, with a thatched roof overhead, but they would be safer from attack than if they slept outside.

  While the knights prepared for the night, Anne tried to ignore her sadness as she watched Margaret lay out their bedding near the hearth fire. Joseph had snared several rabbits, and as they ate with their fingers, she found herself watching Philip. She’d never been so relieved as when he’d been released, unharmed. It saddened her that he was no longer as jovial with the Bladesmen. She could understand that she hadn’t been told things they’d considered unimportant, for she’d spent her life as a woman and a servant. When Philip had been a soldier, surely he’d been used to taking orders unquestioningly. But once he’d tasted life’s freedom as a knight, made choices because of the knowledge he’d been given, it w
ould be difficult to learn that he’d been manipulated.

  After pulling the meat off a small bone, she licked her fingers, then found herself meeting Philip’s gaze across the fire. For just a moment, he revealed a smoldering intensity as he watched her eat, but it was gone so suddenly, she wondered if she’d imagined it. But no, she knew how little they could resist each other. He seemed almost hasty as he turned to speak to Joseph. But his stare had been real, because it left her feeling as warm and languid inside as if he’d caressed her. Last night, she’d tossed restlessly, barely able to sleep, for wanting what they had not finished.

  Philip took the first shift guarding the lodge that night, and Anne lay down, feeling secure. He paced between the two shuttered windows and the door, occasionally peering out to listen.

  Again, sleep would not come to her. She could feel Margaret’s blankets twitch as she slept, heard several different snores. An owl hooted overhead, and the running of the stream outside seemed so loud in her ears.

  At last she sat up and wrapped a blanket tighter about her shoulders against the chill. Philip came over and knelt down nearby.

  “Is something wrong, Countess?” he asked softly.

  She inched closer to the fire, grateful he’d been keeping it well fed. Awkwardly, she said, “I am sorry that you had to suffer today for the results of my flirtation.”

  He sat back on his heels, his expression surprised. “Suffer? I spent a couple hours being chilly. I’d hardly call that suffering.” He grinned. “And you rescued me.”

  She found herself playing with the long braid of her hair. “But what if it happens again? I am supposed to be at ease with men. Am I doing something wrong?”

  He rubbed his hands on his thighs and looked at the fire. “You are doing nothing wrong except being trusting. If you feel the need to be alone with a man, then do it on your terms, when you can be protected, and not because he suggests it.”

  He wasn’t meeting her gaze, and his lips were pressed thin.

  “But you don’t like when I have to do that.”

  His gaze met hers. “Nay. But it is not my place to object.”

  “And it would not affect my decisions,” she said, lifting both hands apologetically. “I am…Lady Rosamond. I have a mission.”

  He smiled. “I know.”

  She hesitated, then confided, “’Tis coming to me so much easier now. I even think I’m beginning to delude myself, as if I’ve become her.”

  “How?”

  “’Tis too easy to imagine it really is me these prospective grooms want. I have much to learn to distance myself from the character I portray. I know this is an opportunity to meet different kinds of men, to understand how they think. This knowledge will allow me to serve the League.”

  “I guess that is one way to use your experiences.” He studied her. “So you’ve learned a lesson about the Lord Egmantons of the world. Back in the forest this afternoon, you made a comment about believing such attacks did not happen to women with power. Were you remembering something else?”

  She was tempted to deny any hidden meanings, but she owed him the truth. Linking her hands together, she stared into the fire and said, “Do you remember several days ago when I told you that my parents thought I’d ruined my chances at a good marriage?”

  “Aye. They took away your dowry when you wouldn’t marry the man they’d chosen. You said you hadn’t even told them you were leaving Alderley on this journey.”

  “’Tis because they no longer consider me their daughter.”

  He hesitated. “That seems a harsh reaction.”

  “’Twas not simply that.” She took a deep breath and faced him, and the fact that he watched her gravely suddenly gave her courage. “They bade me return home, to meet a man whom they had interested in me. I obeyed them, since they were my parents and my duty was to them. After all, I knew my whole life that I would marry. I had just hoped I would have some say in the matter.”

  “But they had already chosen this man.”

  She nodded. “Perhaps I like being Lady Rosamond because of the control I have. I didn’t have any when I returned home. They bade me spend time with the miller, and he was old and filthy and had too many children already, but he was going to give my father land to marry me. He tried to force himself on me, just as Lord Egmanton had done. When I fought him off, he confessed his confusion, because he said my parents understood his need to see if I was fertile enough to give him more healthy sons to work for him.”

  Philip’s eyes widened. “Your parents gave him permission to bed you?”

  She was surprised how much it still hurt. “After eight years of age, I had spent most of my life with Lady Elizabeth, so I no longer knew them well, but their desperation, their disregard of me, wounded me deeply.”

  “I know many villagers who did not marry until the woman had proved she could carry a child, but to have it forced on you is a terrible fate.”

  “I should not have blamed the old miller for what my parents had promised, but I kicked him and ran. When I went home to gather my belongings, my parents told me never to return, that I was no longer their daughter. To my dismay, I was more relieved than sad.”

  “Because now you could make your own choices,” he said shrewdly.

  “Aye, I thought so. But after consideration, I realized that with no dowry, I was even more limited.”

  “Until the League asked for your help.”

  She smiled with growing enthusiasm. “It opened up a new world for me. I am no one’s servant here, and I am helping people. It is my chance to do good in the world, to live an exciting life.”

  “A dangerous life,” he said.

  “I know, but you choose that every day, do you not, with your tournaments and mercenary work? And you would deny me my choice?”

  He smiled faintly. “I seem to be able to deny you nothing.”

  Oh, that wasn’t true, but she didn’t want to force him to change. Like everyone, he was partly ruled by his past. He had mentioned his mother being a seamstress to Lady Kelshall. It had taken her a few hours after the trauma of the day, but at last she had remembered why it had seemed familiar.

  “Philip, after you mentioned that your mother worked for Lady Kelshall, I finally remembered where I had heard that name.”

  He didn’t seem surprised at the change in subject. “I already know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’re near Kelshall Castle. I had heard that my old mistress had died several years ago, so I questioned Walter. We’re going there next.”

  “I was concerned that you would be upset that your first master was on my husband-hunting list.”

  “I haven’t had time to think about it,” he said, wearing an ironic smile. “He is a good man, who deserves to find another wife to cherish. I am just saddened that I have to be a part of misleading him, especially since he only has a daughter, and no heir of his own blood for the earldom.”

  “He would understand, if he knew the reason,” she said softly, tossing her broken twigs into the fire. “Do you want me to request that we avoid Kelshall Castle?”

  He shook his head. “Then we’d only have to answer Walter’s questions. Fear not, the past is behind me—as it is for you.”

  He was watching her again, so intently. Even now, the lure of his body could easily make her forget caution. She murmured a good night and crawled back under her blankets. She was developing a terrible weakness where Philip was concerned.

  Through half-closed eyes, she watched him put more wood on the fire. Every moment she spent with him, whether talking or being held in his arms, seemed worth the hurt she would suffer in the future when she left him behind. Soon she would stop playing Lady Rosamond, and take on a new character, never again plain Anne the maidservant. But until then, she and Philip played with fire, she thought, watching him move silhouetted before the flames. Yet she couldn’t stop—didn’t want to stop.

  Chapter 14

  S ix years had passed s
ince the last time Philip had seen Kelshall Castle, and he’d changed from a boy to a man. The castle itself had changed little, although strangely it seemed smaller to him, especially when they rode through the village on their way in. Sheep roamed the village green, and a flock of geese floated contentedly on the pond. They passed the tavern next door to the brew house, and more than one person stepped outside to watch them go by. No one recognized him, of course, although the brew mistress was still the same old woman whose name he couldn’t remember.

  As the lane led out of the village and toward the castle, he finally saw the old cottage his parents had shared with him. Though a tree branch had fallen on the thatched roof, no one had bothered to remove it. The door hung slanted, and there were no animals in the wooden enclosure. It was obviously abandoned, which saddened him. It would have been easier to see a family happy there, with children playing in the yard.

  He noticed Anne watching him from behind her veil, and he simply nodded to her and turned to face the castle rising above the line of trees. At last the road cleared the trees and Kelshall Castle rose imposing on its own island, surrounded by a moat. There were five towers in the curtain wall, the central one being the gatehouse. The drawbridge was down, and Joseph was riding over it toward them, as if he’d been waiting for them. He’d gone ahead to prepare the castle for Lady Rosamond’s visit, and the fact that he wasn’t waiting inside made Philip uneasy.

  Walter raised a hand, and the party halted until Joseph rode up to them. “Sir Joseph, you have a report?”

  The knight nodded. “Lord Kelshall is in residence, as you can see from the banner flying above the gatehouse. He would be pleased for an introduction to Lady Rosamond. But there are also two other noblemen visiting, both of whom also requested an introduction. They claim not to have met the lady before.”

  Philip looked at Anne, who wore a doubtful expression. Rather than speaking, she turned to Sir Walter.

  The captain said, “Their names?”