A Dishonorable Knight (52 page)

"I never intended to fight with
Richard. I only returned to learn what I could about his troop strength and his
plans. I lied to you because I was afraid that you would betray our cause if
you knew the truth."

Elena stared at him, her brow
furrowing as what he said sank in. "In other words, you didn't trust
me!"

"It wasn't a matter of trust--I
just," Gareth pushed his hair out of his eyes and sighed. "You had no
reason to care for Henry Tudor and I felt you would be safer if you simply
didn't know what was going on, for there is every chance we will be defeated. I
had to protect you and that was the only way I knew how."

"But if Richmond is victorious,
I will be just another lady-in-waiting cast aside or if lucky, married off to
appease some lord! Did that thought never cross your mind?" Elena's voice
betrayed her rising hysteria and Gareth put his hands on her shoulders to calm
her. Elena pushed his arms away and demanded a response.

"I did think of that possibility
and I was hopeful that if I petitioned Henry, he would grant me your hand.
For I do love you, Elena.
I think I even loved you back when
I hated you."

Elena refused to be appeased and was
still furious for having been left out of Gareth's plans. "And what now? I
am to travel this very night to my parent's manor, banished from Richard's
court because I refused to marry Brackley."

Gareth stared at her, "Why did
you do that?"

Elena stamped her foot and glared
angrily at the sky. When she lowered her head to look at him, a tear spilled
down her cheek, tracing a wet path. "I've already said it. Because of you!
Because I love you!"

"Ah, sweet." Gareth quickly
pressed his warm lips to her. "It is best you return to your parent's
home. You will be safest there, I think."

"And what of you? You ride not
to safety, but perhaps to your death? And all while I sit in the country and
twiddle my thumbs! This is not the first time I've saved your life, Gareth
ap
Morgan. The least you owe me is the chance to remain with
you, perhaps help you again."

"There is nothing I would like
better, my love, but I must ride treacherous terrain for I dare not get within
a league of any traveled road. Though you have become an excellent horsewoman,
I fear you will slow me too much in which case we might both lose our
lives."

Elena stamped her foot again. How
could she love such a man? Surely her reason had long since left her!

"If I live through this, I
promise to come for you, Elena. I promise."

Still angry, she refused to answer
him or meet his eyes. She heard him sigh and felt his hands on her upper arms.
"Goodbye my love." He kissed her softly and waited for her to say
something. When she remained stonily silent, he turned to go.

In an instant, he had disappeared
within the hazy darkness of the stables. Suddenly drained, Elena collapsed
against the rough wooden wall. She allowed her mind to go pleasantly blank
until she realized that it would be very close to the time Richard had ordered
her departure. If she were not calmly gathered and ready to go when her escort
came for her, it would look suspicious indeed. Oh curse Gareth!
she
thought. He would put her in just such a predicament.

Pushing herself away from the stable,
she rushed back to the main keep and hurried up the back staircase to her room.
To her great relief the room was empty and she quickly smoothed her hair and
washed her face. She had only just closed the lid on her trunk when a loud
pounding on the door startled her. Taking a deep breath and willing herself to
remain calm, she crossed the room and slowly opened the door. "Yes?"
she said to the three men standing in the hallway.

The one closest her spoke up.
"We have come to escort you to your father's home on order from His
Majesty, King Richard."

"Of course, " she said pleasantly
and stepped back to allow the men room to enter. "That is my trunk there.
Let my gather my cloak and I shall be ready."

"The King did not say we were to
take your trunk, lady."

Elena laughed, hoping the men did not
detect the nervous hysteria in the sound. "Don't be silly. Of course I
shall take my trunk. It contains all my clothes--you wouldn't want me to go
without my clothes now would you?"

The men looked at each other
awkwardly and then two of them moved to retrieve the leather case. The third seemed
to be suppressing a grin, but Elena paid him no notice as she quickly gathered
her blue cloak and a cloth pouch in which she carried her small personal
things. Without another glance back, she preceded the guards out of the room
and down the main stairway. The few people she passed in the main hall fell
silent and watched her as she made her way towards the huge door. Elena willed
her warm cheeks to cool. She would not give these gossipmongers the
satisfaction of seeing her depart in disgrace. She would make it appear as if
she were all to happy to be leaving Richard's court, which in fact, she was.
Smiling and nodding at the gawkers, she walked slowly and gracefully outside
where the huge, mangy horse she had ridden from Wales awaited her. The guards carrying
her trunk loaded it onto the packhorse and then climbed on their own mounts,
paying no heed to Elena who was waiting for assistance. The third guard--the
one who had seemed to find the way she had handled the other two men upstairs
amusing--hastened to help her onto the sturdy beast. He was tall and lanky and
his brown hair, though short, was also lanky. A thin mustache and beard covered
his face but did not disguise his friendly smile. His shoulders were narrow and
looked bony even through his rough tunic but he swung her up onto her horse
with little effort. Though he looked nothing like Gareth, something about the
man reminded her of him. When she was settled, she smiled prettily at him and
then gathered the reins. The helpful guard quickly mounted his horse and led
the way towards the main castle gates. They rode through the opening in the
thick
stone walls
and Elena breathed a sigh of relief.
She had not had to see Richard, Brackley, or even Catherine. Within two days,
she would be home. Though she had not thought of her parents much in the last
few months, she now looked forward to seeing them and spending time in the
peaceful quiet of her father's substantial library or the neatly tended gardens
where flowers, fruits, and vegetables grew in neat, even rows and beds. Yes, in
two days she would be home and she could only be happier were Gareth with her.
No, not Gareth.
He was an evil cad who constantly toyed with
her emotions and reason! Elena pursed her lips and refused to think of him
further. He absolutely did not deserve the ache of worry lodged beneath her
breastbone.

Gareth looked over his shoulder,
fully expecting to see a contingent of armed men hot on his heels. He was
pleasantly surprised to see nothing but hazy fields of wheat and flax dotted
with an occasional serf or farmer finishing his tasks. The sun was just
touching the horizon and when Gareth turned back to his course, its golden
beams warmed his face and filled his eyes with their radiance. For all that it
was a beautiful sight, he wished he were traveling any direction but west. The
light in his eyes made it difficult for him to guide Isrid around obstacles.
Shifting in the saddle, trying unsuccessfully to escape the blinding sunset, he
trusted in his horse's ability to pick a safe path as they traveled through
fields and forest. Luckily the sun would dip beneath the edge of the earth in
just a few minutes. Then he would make quicker time until darkness forced
caution on him again.

Unable to see exactly where he was
going and therefore unable to concentrate on his path, Gareth's mind crept back
to the image of Elena's face as she admitted her love. When she uttered those
words, he could have cheerfully faced the executioner's blade, content that he
had won what no man ever had. He lost all awareness of the hardness of the
saddle, the discomfort of the sun in his eyes, even the worry that Richard's
men where after him, prepared to present his head to their king as proof of
Gareth's punishment. All those thoughts were lost as his lips tingled with
remembrance of Elena's last kiss. She had offered to escape to France with him,
leaving the comforts and wealth she had lived her whole life with. She had
offered to travel with him, perhaps to certain death, across the country as he
ran for Wales. Surely she had not made those assertions lightly. It had taken
every once of strength he possessed not to agree to her mad plan. Even now his
heart ached with regret that he had not done so.

Gareth pulled his mind from the
recent past and looked to the distant future when the inevitable battle between
Henry and Richard was over. If Henry won, Gareth meant to wed Elena. Since she
had been dismissed from Richard's court and sent home, she would not be around
when Henry took possession of all of Richard's castles, and Henry would not
have the opportunity to bestow her upon one of his more powerful supporters as
a reward, or marry her off to one of his adversaries in hopes of gaining an
ally. Gareth was uncertain of what his position would be in Henry's new
government, but if he
was
not granted means which
would provide for Elena and himself, he would return to Wales where he could at
least offer her the comforts of Eyri Keep which would one day be his. Elena
seemed to have grown fond of the rambling manor and he would do everything in
his power to make it profitable.

As the sun slid halfway behind the
horizon, Gareth's fond daydreams were interrupted by two unsavory thoughts: the
first was the memory of Elena's fury when he had told her he had lied to her
about his plans in Richard's court. Suppose she talked herself out of love
while he was gone? He wished he could have had more time to explain, to diffuse
her anger, but he had to make good the escape she had granted him. He only
prayed he would be granted the chance to see her again, to right the wrongs
that had plagued them since their first meeting.

Of course, came his second concern,
should Henry Tudor and his followers fail…Richard's superior troops, and if
nothing else, Gareth had discovered that Richard had upwards of 10,000 troops
he could rely upon, could easily make short work of Henry’s army. In their most
hopeful estimates, Henry’s supporters had only come up with 7,000 troops. There
was certainly a very good chance that they would not only be defeated, but
decimated to the last man, in which he prayed that Elena' father would find her
a husband worthy of her, one who would not try to curb her strong spirit.

Before Elena had uttered her love for
him, Gareth had resigned himself to watching her wed another man. He figured
that she had only viewed their affair as a tryst to be forgotten once she
married a man of rank. Now that he had her love, however, he could not bear the
thought of another man with her.

The last rays of the sun finally sank
beneath the horizon and Gareth found himself able to see where he was going. He
spurred Isrid to a faster pace, grateful to have something to think of now
besides losing Elena.

Elena had spoken not a word to her
escorts and she had no intention of doing so until they reached her father's
manor. Though she strove to deny it to herself, her silence was not a result of
the men being beneath her. She was too preoccupied with cursing Gareth and
wondering just what she was going to say to her parents when she returned home.

The latter was easy enough. She could
simply tell them that she had grown weary of court life. That was true enough.
She could even go so far as to say she had lost favor with the king by refusing
to marry an old codger of Richard's choosing. That was very nearly the complete
truth. Either way, she was confident her parents would not question her return.
In fact, she suspected her father would actually be relieved that she was no
longer a lady-in-waiting. He had been hesitant when her cousin Sarah had
offered to help her gain the court position. He had, in fact, tried to bribe
her with several new gowns and a new palfrey if she would but stay at home to
"keep him company in his old age." At the time, of course, she had
longed to escape the gentle pace of manor living and the marriage hopes of a
neighboring swain. Now she would revel in the peace of not having to constantly
worry that she had been slighted for this favor or that, that her newest gown
would be out of fashion before her allowance arrived, and any number of trivial
subjects that had occupied her mind for the past two years.

That problem solved, the remaining
hours on horseback were devoted to cursing the day she laid eyes on Gareth.
Anger, she had discovered, was far preferable to the nagging fear of knowing he
rode toward danger, the ache in turning to look at his handsome face, his
crooked grin and seeing only three blank-faced men-at-arms. Of all the gall!
she
thought. She saved his life not once, but twice and
still he did not trust her. He abandoned her to what fate may await her. Not
only did he abandon her, he scorned her love! Her newly developed sense of
fairness started to protest that he did not scorn her love, but she refused to
have any of it. She offered to leave all luxury and perhaps live her life in
danger and poverty (which, in Elena's mind hazily constituted no servants and
only a few new gowns a year). What did he say in return? "I'm off to join
the Tudor army. I lied to you about my original intentions and now that you've
freed me, I'm going to leave you to Richard's men and run off to play
hero."