A Dishonorable Knight (44 page)

Gareth wished there were another
option to tomorrow's short journey. The voice in his head, which had been
silent for days, now awoke to taunt him and remind him that had he spoken his
heart a week ago, he might now be wed to her and safely in Wales. Or she would
have rejected him and it would be easier to erase her from his mind and his
heart. Well, perhaps not easier, but at least his pride would not have allowed
him to pine for her the rest of his days. Gareth sat on the edge of the bed as
the series of weights tied round his neck and shoulders settled back into their
places. For the past week he had shoved them aside, forbidding them to mar his
time alone with Elena. Now they were back, heavier than ever and clamoring for
his attention. Worry, guilt, and apprehension bowed his shoulders and he rested
his head in his hands and prayed for assistance--something he could not
remember doing since he was a child.

Some time later, he kicked off his
own boots and climbed into bed, pulling Elena to him and holding her tightly as
he waited for the dawn.

Elena awoke late the next morning to
a bright shaft of sunlight pouring in the dirty windowpane and a timid knock at
the door. Groggy, she sat up and pulled the covers to her chin as she said,
"Yes?"

A young girl with a pink-scrubbed
face and her hair tied in a kerchief stuck her head in the room and said,
"Excuse me, milady. Yer husband asked me to help ye get ready for your
travels today.

Elena nodded and studiously ignored
the flush of pleasure she felt at hearing Gareth referred to as her husband. It
had been the most expedient way to secure their room the night before.
"Very well. You may enter."

The young girl quickly entered the
room, shutting the door behind her, and bobbed an awkward curtsey. Elena
glanced around the room for her clothing. Spotting it hanging on the wall, she
said, "You may bring me my chemise and gown."

The girl scurried to fetch them and
in a few minutes, Elena was dressed. "I can also fix yer hair, lady. I've
two older sisters who allow me to fix theirs all the time."

"Have you a comb and pins?"

"Aye, yer husband gave them to
me," she replied, bringing them out of her apron pocket to display.
"Bought new they were just this morn."

Elena smiled to herself and sat on
the corner of the bed. The young girl, who introduced herself as Mary, went to
work, combing the tangles out of Elena's long hair and jabbering about goings
on in the city. "Do you know the king is in residence at his castle just
outside the city?" she asked.

"Really?" Elena said.

"Oh yes. He's been there near a
sennight and he's not once been to town."

"Is that unusual?" Elena asked,
knowing that it was. Richard loved to make a display of his power, especially
in the northern parts of England where he was more popular.

"Aye, he's been in his castle
this whole time and soldiers from all over have been arriving."

"I wonder why."

"I do too, milady, though
whenever I ask my father, he boxes my ears and calls me impertinent."

Elena, whose ears had never been
boxed, turned in horror to look at Mary. "How horrid."

"Oh he don't mean it and I'm so
fast that he usually never catches me. All the same, he never answers my
questions."

The girl rattled on for another ten
or fifteen minutes while she braided and twisted Elena's hair into three
buns--one over each ear and another at her nape. When each section was secured
with the new wooden hairpins, Mary handed her the comb. "There's a mirror
downstairs you can look in, yer ladyship. I hope you like it."

Elena patted her hair, judging the
style. "I'm sure I will. Thank you."

Mary grinned broadly. "Oh yer
welcome, lady. Yer husband awaits ye out back when yer ready."

Elena left the small room and went
downstairs. There was a smoky mirror hanging in the small dining area and she
judged Mary's work to be quite acceptable. She smoothed her collar and shook
out her full skirt before exiting the back door into the small stable area.
Gareth was securing the last satchel on their packhorse when she approached
him.

"Good morning Gareth."

Gareth whirled around and the
appreciative look in his gaze warmed her cheeks. "Good morning. I thought
we could stop at that pub and break our fast before continuing on to the
castle."

Elena nodded, thinking that in a few
hours, they would be separated--she to the quarters of the other
ladies-in-waiting, he to join the other knights no doubt training for the
imminent battle. Looking to the horse he had purchased in Aberstwyth, she
thought of their entrance into the bailey of Nottingham castle. Though she had
grown accustomed to riding in the saddle with Gareth, she knew they must not
arrive pressed together on one horse. It would be difficult enough to convince
everyone at court, especially those who envied and despised her, that she was
not a fallen woman. Nodding to the horse, she said, "It would probably be
best if I rode that horse today."

Gareth frowned and then, as if realizing
what she meant, nodded and looked away. "Of course. I'm just used
to--"

"I know," she interrupted,
wishing she could explain that it would go harder for him if Richard discovered
Gareth had taken the virtue of one of his attendants, especially one who’d been
bestowed on a supporter; knowing that she could never explain the nuances of
court life in a few words.

Gareth quickly rearranged the leather
satchels so that Elena would be able to ride her horse. When he was finished,
he helped her into her makeshift sidesaddle. Taking the reins of both horses,
he led them out of the narrow alley and down the cobbled street to Henry
Billingsley's pub. As he turned to help her down, he paused. With her hair
intricately arranged, her back straight, and her new gown spread over her
horse's back, she looked every inch the noblewoman. She looked nothing like the
impudent lass he had made love to beneath the star-sprinkled velvet of the
summer night's sky in Wales. Intimidated against his will, he carefully helped her
down and stiffly escorted her into the pub.

Henry Billingsley remembered them
from their previous meal and he bid them a hearty welcome, bringing mugs of ale
and a plate of cold meats.

Elena ate the meat but avoided the
ale. She had felt a definite change in Gareth's attitude toward her since she
had bade him good morning and she was at a loss as to how to bring back the
smiling, teasing Gareth of just a few days ago.

They ate in uncomfortable silence and left the pub as
soon as the platter was cleared. Gareth lifted her into her saddle and paused,
his hand on her knee. "My lady," he began.

"Yes Gareth?" she asked,
hating that he had not called her by her name.

He looked up into her eyes.
"I--you will be back in the comfort of His Majesty's court before dinner."
Elena had the distinct impression that was not what Gareth had intended to say,
but he quickly turned and mounted Isrid.

They made their way slowly out of the
city, content to let the horses choose the easy pace. They exchanged comments
about the weather and the scenery they passed as they made their way towards
Nottingham castle, which loomed on the horizon.

Silently, Gareth chastised himself,
hating that he hadn't taken advantage one of the hundreds of appropriate times
to tell Elena that he loved her, to beg her to marry him. What was pride now,
he thought? What matter if she had rejected his love from that first day?
'Twould have been better to suffer the temporary misery of wounded ego than to
forever wonder if they might have made a life together if only he'd had the
courage to speak.

His reverie ended as sentries on the
parapets of the castle wall spotted them and called out for identification.

"Lady Elena de Vignon handmaiden
to King Richard and Sir Gareth ap Morgan, knight of His Majesty's realm,"
Gareth yelled back to the sentries. "We are only now reunited with the
king after becoming separated from His Majesty's entourage near
Middleham." One of the soldiers left the parapet and within minutes, the
great wooden castle gate was creaking open.

As they passed into the shadow of the
castle, Elena shivered, though not from cold. The day was warm, with nary a
cloud in the sky to keep the sun's warmth from the earth. Elena shivered
because the shadow was like a seal to her fate. Who knew how long it would be
until Richard married her to Brackley? Elena had been around castles enough to
know that this one was preparing for war. As they passed through the thick
stone walls on either side of the gate into the bailey, she saw knights
training for battle: engaging in mock combat, preparing their horses for war,
repairing worn armor. The full impact of the inevitable war with Henry Tudor
struck Elena. She wondered what would happen to her…friends? Yes, friends back
in Wales. Surely they did not have the weapons or the armor or the training
that these knights had. She looked to Gareth and was greatly relieved that he
had chosen the side that was most likely to win, most likely to keep him alive.
As if feeling her gaze upon him, Gareth turned and smiled grimly back at her.

A foot soldier approached and saluted
Gareth. "The king has been notified of your arrival, Sir Knight. Please
continue on to the main hall," he said, gesturing to the large stone
fortress that was the king's residence and meeting rooms.

As they drew nearer, Elena heard her
name called from up above. "Elena!" cried Margaret. "You're
alive!" Elena glanced up in time to see Margaret turn from the second
story window and call down the hall, "Your Majesty, it's true! Lady Elena
is alive and she is here!"

The sense of doom that had settled on
Elena as she passed into the castle's shadow grew heavier. Behind them, the
knights in war training began a melee of blows and shouts. Elena's
heretofore calm
horse suddenly grew nervous, jumping and
sidling away from the noise as it pressed up against Isrid. "Gareth!"
Elena called, frightened.

"Easy," Gareth said to the
horse as he grabbed the reins and sawed back on them. The horse calmed somewhat
though it continued to jerk at the reins. Elena's apprehension grew and she
looked to Gareth for help as she held onto the edge of the saddle with both
hands.

"Elena," he said in a low
voice. "There is something I must tell you before we are surrounded by
people and separated."

Distracted by the huge carved doors that
were suddenly thrown back, Elena looked up to see Richard surrounded by people
start down the stone steps into the bailey. The urgency in Gareth's voice
called her back. "Elena! I must tell you! I have tried to say this for the
past week, but I just--"

Richard and his entourage were
drawing closer. "What Gareth? What is it?"

"I love you." Another burst
of metal upon metal clattered behind them and Elena's horse tossed its head
wildly, jerking the reins out of Gareth's hands. Several groomsmen rushed up to
grab the horse and in the process, pulled it away from Isrid. Elena stared in
amazement at Gareth, unable to respond, especially as they were drawn further
and further apart in the crush of people.

"Elena, sweet girl," boomed
Richard's voice. She dragged her eyes from her lover's face. "We had all
but given up hope that you were alive. What a joy it is to see you well and
unharmed." Suddenly fixing Gareth with a suspecting glare, he continued,
"You are, I trust, unharmed?"

Still reeling from Gareth's admission,
she had to force her mind to concentrate on the king's question. "I--yes,
I am in excellent health. Sir Gareth saw to my every need and protected me with
utmost chivalry, risking his very life to keep me safe."

"I would expect no less,"
Richard said, though he had yet to remove his gaze from Gareth's face.

As she looked at her king, Elena
noticed that his face had an ashen color to it and deep circles marred the skin
beneath his eyes. He fidgeted with the jeweled belt at his waist and her eyes
were drawn to his hands, which trembled slightly. His nails were ragged, the
cuticles torn. The matter of Henry Tudor must be weighing heavily on him, she
thought.

"Come," he said, gesturing
to the grooms to help her down. "I must hear everything about your adventures."

The groomsmen helped her off of the
still-jittery horse but before she turned to follow the king, she gazed at
Gareth who was now even further away.
He was surrounded by
his fellow knights who were plying him with questions
, but he ignored
them, his gaze locked on hers.

"My lady?" said the soldier
who was waiting to escort her after Richard. Tearing her attention from Gareth
with an effort that felt physical, she turned and allowed herself to be led
away.

***

From across the bailey, Gareth watched
Elena being led after the king. When she had disappeared into the great hall,
he turned his attention to those knights gathered around him.

"What in God's creation happened
to you?" asked one he recognized as Sir Jasper.