A Dishonorable Knight (25 page)

"A person will stand on each
stump, a long rope held between them. When the game is begun, they both pull on
the rope. The object is to force your opponent off his stump or pull the rope
out of his hands. I imagine someone will begin playing soon enough and we can
watch.

"But how simple--doesn't the
biggest person always win?"

"Actually, no. There is a great
deal of strategy and dexterity in the more skilled players."

As Elena ate, she wondered if women
were allowed to play.

***

"Samuel, I would speak business
with you a moment," Gareth said nervously.

The middle-aged weaver turned away
from the small group of men talking in one corner of his shop. "Business,
eh? I'm always willing to talk business, especially if it concerns you giving
me money!" He laughed heartily and slapped Gareth on the shoulder. Seeing
that Gareth was not laughing, he quickly sobered and asked, "What can I do
for you?"

Gareth cleared his throat and began,
"I need to purchase some cloth."

"Cloth, eh? I'm not sure if I
can help you there." Again bursting into laughter--laughter that reminded
Gareth of a braying mule--he turned to the wall of stacked bolts. Spying a
mangled piece of crimson fabric, his laughter turned to sputters of outrage.
"Look at this! People have no respect for a man's merchandise!"
Pulling out the fabric, he shook it vigorously, smoothing out the wrinkles.
"Now what type of fabric do you want and how much are you willing to
spend?"

As he continued to shake the
cranberry-colored fabric, Gareth had a sudden vision of Elena in the rich
color, full skirts swirling around her feet, the soft fabric clinging to her
hips.

"Is
there
enough of that fabric to make a lady's gown?"

"Oh, ho! A gown is it? Let me
see." Carefully measuring the fabric from the end of one outstretched hand
to the middle of his chest, he said, "There are eight lengths here, plus a
little I won't charge you for."

"How much does it cost?"
asked Gareth, pulling out the leather money pouch Morgan had given
him.

Samuel gave his price, but before
Gareth could naively hand over the money, Cynan bellowed, "That's highway
robbery, old man! Don't pay it, Gareth, I'll take you to a much cheaper shop a
couple of streets over."

Confused, Gareth looked back and
forth between the two men, Samuel looking worried despite his smooth merchant's
mask, and Cynan looking smug and slightly challenging. Suddenly distracted,
Gareth asked his friend, "Where did you come from?"

"I just got off watch and came
to find out the news."

Quietly, Gareth asked, "Is that
really too much for the cloth?"

"I've no idea," Cynan
responded in a whisper. "But one thing I've learned from Enid is that you
never agree to a merchant's first price."

Gareth nodded, beginning to
understand. In a louder voice, he said, "Perhaps I should look at this
other shop. I need money for a chemise as well and this fabric would take all I
have."

"Now, now," Samuel said as
he rushed to block their exit. "You didn't let me finish. When I told you
the price, I didn't get a chance to let you know that includes an equal length
of this fine linen that would make a beautiful chemise.

"Linen?" Gareth asked,
thinking quickly and getting into the negotiations. "Aren't chemises
usually made of Italian cotton?" He remembered Elena bragging about that
at some point in their journey.

Samuel laughed. “Only very expensive
chemises for very grand ladies."

"Precisely," said Gareth
and moved to leave.

"Alright, alright. You are
stealing more from me than your father did this morning. Here," he said,
pulling down a bolt of creamy cotton. "I'll give you five lengths--that's
more than enough to make a chemise."

As Samuel measured out the cotton,
Gareth fingered the soft wool. "Cynan? Do you think this color will look
good on Elena?"

Cynan's eyebrows shot up. A smirk
crossed his face and he looked like he was about to say something, but paused
with his mouth open, studying Gareth's face. He must have seen something in his
friend that made his own face soften as he gently said, "I think that is
an excellent choice. Lady Elena will look beautiful in it."

Relieved, Gareth turned back to
Samuel and counted out the money. Cynan looked down the hall. "Speaking of
your lady, where is she?"

Gareth did not remember seeing Elena
in the back room or the kitchen. Just a little worried, he said, "I'm not
sure." His purchase in hand, he turned to go back to Samuel's living
quarters, thinking she may have been cleaning up.

"Are you talking about that
bonny redhead?" Gareth turned to see a short wiry man who'd been in the
meeting upstairs.

"Yes, have you seen her?"

His arms full of bolts of cloth, the
man gestured with his chin towards the door. "She left with some young man
to the market."

"What young man?
To the market?
Why?"

"I think they were going to get
something to eat. The man was upstairs. Your friend, I think."

"Bryant?" Gareth asked.

"I didn't catch his name."

"Food sounds like a wonderful
idea to me," Cynan interrupted. "Let's join them."

Gareth nodded, suddenly aware of his
own hunger. Turning, he tucked his package behind Samuel's counter. "Don't
you dare sell that.
"

"What kind of merchant do you
think I am?" Samuel asked indignantly. Gareth laughed and followed Cynan
towards the door. As they left the small shop, they heard the wiry man say,
"I'll take ten lengths of that brown if I get the same amount of linen for
free, too."

Gareth and Cynan's laughter prevented
them from hearing Samuel's sputtered response as they headed down the street.

Coming into the crowded marketplace,
Cynan said, "I want three sticks of lamb and a huge tankard of ale!"

Gareth laughed. "Control your
hunger for a moment. Let's find Elena and Bryant first."

"Find them in this crowd? We'll
never eat!" Cynan wailed.

"Some mighty warrior you
are!"

"I'm no warrior. I'm a simple
shepherd who's used to eating regularly."

"Of course you are," Gareth
said.

As they made their way through the
crowds of people, Gareth wondered how Elena would react to his gift. Truly,
clothing was a rather personal gift, but after all they had been through
together, Gareth couldn't see how Elena would think him too forward. Then
again, she could fling his gift back in his face. Perhaps, an insidious voice
in his head said, what he feared was that she would reject him, not his gift.
Gareth shook his head. Reject him? As if he was even offering himself!

"Gareth, what are we going to do
with Elena?"

Glad to have something to get his
mind off his feelings for Elena, Gareth looked over his shoulder and said,
"What do you mean?"

"I mean, when you return to
England, is she going with you?"

"Well, of course. That is her
home."

"I know, but what will she tell
Richard?"

"Tell him? Why should she tell
him anything?"

"Come on, Gareth," Cynan
paused as he ducked under a low-hanging sign offering repairs to saddles and
bridles. "She's part of his court. You don't think he's going to have
worried about her and wonder what she's been through?"

"She can tell him we were simply
lost in the forest and made our way back with difficulty," Gareth said.

"Why should she?"

Cynan's question made Gareth stop and
look at his friend, forcing people to walk around them. "Why should she?
Why shouldn't she?"

Cynan looked uncomfortable.
"Look, Gareth, I like Elena as much as you and Bryant do. But our lives
are on the line here. Elena still considers herself one of Richard's ladies-in-waiting.
She hasn't asked to remain here. We can only assume that she still considers
Richard the true king of England."

"But she nearly died trying to
warn us of the English soldiers!" Gareth protested.

"I know, I know."

"Then why are you doubting that
she will continue to protect us?"

Cynan ran his hand through his hair
and then let it drop by his side. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Gareth,
Enid is pregnant."

Gareth grinned broadly and said,
"Cynan, that's wonderful! Congratulations!"

"No, listen to me. I must be
around to be a father to this child. I can't be running off to each new
adventure like I've been doing since we were kids. Enid has put up with it
these three years we've been married, but I won't put her through it
anymore--not with a babe on the way. This next battle I will fight because I
have to and Enid agrees with me. But I will be more cautious than I ever have
been. And if wondering about Elena's true loyalties makes me suspicious, then
I'm sorry."

Gareth stared in open-mouthed surprise
at Cynan. Never had he heard his usually buoyant friend so serious or so
earnest. And though he thought Cynan was wrong about Elena, he could understand
the motive behind his worry.

"I think Da said I was not to
leave for three days. I promise you I will discover whether Elena's rose be
white or red and we will deal with her accordingly, alright?"

Cynan nodded. "Thank you."

Trying to lighten the mood, Gareth
said, "Now let's find those two--I could eat an entire flock!"

***

Elena looked around furtively and
when she saw no one was looking, she licked her fingers, leaned over, and wiped
her mouth on the hem of her dress. Turning to Bryant, she took the second
skewer of meat and went to work on it.

"Look, my lady," Bryant
said. "The game is going to start." Elena looked up from her meal to
see a young brawny man step up onto one of the stumps, a stout rope in hand.

"Who's foolish enough to think
they can pull me off the Viking stump?" he called out.

The crowd, which had quickly
gathered, looked around at each other. Within seconds, a wiry man with an
unruly shock of black hair pushed his way through.

"You know your boasting always
gets you in trouble, Aldred," the wiry man said.

"I doubt there's any trouble you
could give me, Owain," the brawny man shot back with a laugh.

Owain bent to pick up the other end
of the rope before climbing on the opposite stump. A third man stepped out of
the crowd and appointed himself the marshal.

"Are you good men ready?"
he asked.

Both men nodded, looks of
anticipation on their faces. "Very well, then.
On the
count of three.
One, two, three!"

Hand over
hand,
the opponents pulled the slack of the rope in quickly until it was taut between
them. Then the tug of war began. Aldred pulled so hard his opponent was forced
to give up some slack or be pulled off his stump. He gave up several feet of
rope so quickly that Owain, still pulling, nearly fell off the back of the
stump. The crowd shouted encouragement to both contestants as Owain struggled
to maintain his balance and then laughed as he tottered and fell off.

"See?" Bryant whispered in
Elena's ear. "That is strategy."

Elena nodded understandingly. She was
intrigued by this simple game. Again she wondered if women ever played it, if
they would play it this evening.

Aldred defeated two more opponents,
one by pulling the rope clean out of his opponent's hands, the other by simply
jerking the rope, and the man on the other end, forward.

"Now if he had given up some
rope," Bryant explained. "He could have stayed on the stump longer.
Some men just hate to give an inch, though."

Aldred flexed and bent his fingers
while he waited for another challenger.

Finally, a man stepped out. Elena's
eyes widened and she fervently hoped he would not notice her sitting on the
edge of the crowd.

The tall blonde sailor grabbed up his
end of the rope and leapt onto the stump. As soon as the count was called, he
snatched up most of the slack and began giving short, sharp tugs to the rope.
Within seconds, he toppled his brawny opponent and was calling for another.

Elena forgot to eat as she watched
the muscles in his arms and back flex and release as he pulled man after man
off his stump. Sweat made his thin shirt cling to his ribs and Elena could not
tear her eyes away.

"There you are!" Gareth
shouted. Elena jumped and dropped the stick of lamb in her lap. With a
disgusted sigh, she quickly snatched up the stick and rubbed at the grease spot
on her skirt. Wonderful, she thought. Each day away from court and courtly
manners was taking its toll on her. Soon she would look and
act
like
a common scullery maid. Before too long she'd have snarled hair and
a toothless grin. Turning to glare at Gareth, she was further surprised by his
exuberant grin and sparkling eyes. She could not remember seeing him so relaxed
or happy before.