Love Beyond Time (15 page)

“Hugo was not selfish. He always thought of
me. It’s why we never lay together.” She blushed a little at the
intimate confession, but did not lower her eyes from his.

“Don’t you think it’s time you stopped
dreaming about the past and started living in the present?”

“As vou have done? Except that vou have been
forced to put aside the future in order to live in the present in
which you find yourself. Michel, I marvel at your courage.”

“You’ve taken all this very well yourself,”
he said. “I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me.”

“A story so strange must be true. No one
could invent such a tale. It’s also true that your explanation has
answered most of my questions about you, and has laid to rest some
lingering concerns about the happiness of my dear friend, India. Do
you think we should tell Alcuin? He was fond of India.”

“The fewer people who know about this, the
better,” he said, lacing his fingers through hers. “You did promise
to keep the secret.”

“I will do so.” She sat silent for a while,
staring at their linked hands and thinking that their futures were
linked together, too. Michel’s honesty had forged a new bond
between them to strengthen the connection she had always felt to
him. “Shall I tell you a secret of my own?”

“Must I swear to keep it to myself before I
hear it?” he asked lightly.

“You may do what you like with it. It is only
a simple secret, not a great and terrible one like yours. You
advised me to stop dreaming of the past. I have stopped. Here, now,
in this present moment with you, I am happy.”

“So am I, because of you. You make all of
this bearable.” He drew her into his arms. She went willingly, and
rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed her brow, her cheek, her
ear, then lifted her chin to kiss her soft lips.

When his hand drifted downward to caress her
breast she did not protest, but leaned into his palm, letting him
feel the delicate roundness, murmuring softly when her breast
tightened and grew hard at his stroking touch. He eased her
backward onto the ground, half covering her body with his so he
could more easily scatter heated kisses onto her throat and face.
Danise now lay with her head on his arm and one of his legs thrown
across hers, letting him explore the supple curves of her body.

“We belong together,” Michel whispered. “I’ve
known it since the first time I saw you. There is something binding
me to you.”

“I feel it, too,” she admitted. She raised
one hand to skim tender fingers over his face and then to smooth
back his dark hair. “When you touch me as you are doing, when you
kiss me, my blood begins to stir and I do not want you to
stop.”

“I don’t want to stop, either. But we must.”
He drew away from her. “I owe it to you, and to your father, to
treat you with some respect. We have to face the truth, Danise. My
future is highly uncertain.”

“Do you think there is a chance that you will
be taken home again?” She clutched at his arms as if she would keep
him with her by force of will and sheer physical strength.

“Nothing in life is certain, least of all in
my life,” he said roughly. “But, as I explained to you, I don’t
think Hank will make any effort to return me to the twentieth
century. I was talking about my lack of property. In my own time
there would be no problem. I had a career I enjoyed and I had been
honored for my work. I had saved a fair amount of money. But none
of that means anything here in Francia, in this time. I came to
Duren with only the clothes I was wearing. My Frankish clothes, my
armor, even the horse I ride, are gifts from your father. I have
nothing to offer you, Danise. If I tell Savarec how I feel about
you, he will refuse to accept me as one of your suitors, and I
couldn’t blame him. I wouldn’t want a daughter of mine to marry an
unknown, penniless man.”

“Then, what are we to do?” she cried.

“Unless a war erupts in the next week or so,
to provide me with a chance to prove what I can do, I don’t know,”
he said. “I just don’t know.”

* * *

Charles arranged a large hunting party for
the last day but one of Mayfield. Hunting was his favorite sport
and he urged anyone who was physically able to take part in the
day’s activities.

“We will have a great final feast tomorrow,”
he declared. “We’ll eat the game we bag today and give the
leftovers to the folk who make their permanent home here at Duren.
Clodion, I’m glad to see you have recovered from your
indisposition. I hope you feel well enough to join us.”

“How could I miss such an event? I am eager
to start,” said Clodion.

Danise was sorry to hear this. She had been
hoping that Clodion would keep to his tent until Mayfield ended.
She was not fond of hunting, but when Charles personally asked her
to be there, she did not want to refuse him, not even if her
presence meant she could not avoid speaking to Clodion. Gowned in
sturdy brown wool, with the hunting knife all ladies wore at such
times belted at her waist, she sat upon her horse, waiting until
Charles, his uncle Bernard, and the huntmaster together decided how
to organize the large group of participants. Redmond rode up to
join her, but she did not see Michel.

“’Twill only take a short time until they are
ready,” Redmond informed her. “Over the past days, they have grown
used to dividing us into smaller groups.”

Danise gave him only a distracted smile in
answer because she was still looking for Michel.

“Ah, there is the signal,” Redmond said,
craning his neck to see what was happening. “We are to leave in the
next group. Come this way, Danise. And there is Michel. Michel,
will you join us?” Redmond shouted. He waved an arm in the air.

“Where is Michel? I can’t see him.” Even as
she spoke, Danise was separated from Redmond as the other hunters
began to move forward, heading toward the forest. Eager men and
women streamed past her on both sides.

“Danise.” Savarec drew abreast of her.
“Clodion has asked my permission to ride next to you today.”

“No, Father. I do not like Clodion. I would
much prefer to ride with Redmond and Michel.”

“Humor me, my dear.” Savarec leaned across
the space separating their horses to touch her hand and speak to
her in a quieter tone. “I am not completely blind. I have noticed
the way you try to avoid Clodion. I know now that you will not
marry him. It may be that Clodion knows it, too. But this kindness
from you will make him believe that you are seriously considering
his suit, so that when you do finally refuse him, he will be less
likely to claim the contest between him and Redmond was
unfair.”

“Father, I wish you would not insist on
this.” Danise knew her father could not afford to have so important
a nobleman as Clodion angry with him. Perhaps she could agree to do
as Savarec wanted and then lose Clodion during the heat of the
hunt. At Clodion’s age and having recently been ill, he might well
find it difficult to keep up with the rest of the hunters. Besides,
what real harm could he do to her while they were both mounted and
while there were so many other people, including her father, around
them? It would not be the entirely pleasant morning she had
envisioned, but she would refuse to listen to any salacious remarks
Clodion might make.

“Very well, Father,” she said, intending to
separate herself from Clodion as soon as possible in order to join
Michel and Redmond. Turning in her saddle she looked for them, but
she could see neither man.

“You will be surprised by how well Clodion
rides,” Savarec said to her. “He is a famous horseman.”

“Really? How interesting.” Danise groaned
inwardly, suddenly fearing she would not be able to escape
Clodion’s presence as easily as she had hoped.

At Savarec’s sign to him, Clodion, who had
been waiting off to one side, quickly joined them, moving through
the crowd of horsemen with a deftness Danise found dismaying in
view of her plans. With Savarec present, Clodion was on his best
behavior.

“I thank you for allowing me to spend this
time with you,” he said to Danise. “I fear that Count Redmond has
had the better opportunity to win your approval, since my recent
illness has kept me away from you. I hope to rectify that unhappy
omission today, and make you realize what a fine husband I will be
for you.”

“My father must have told you. Count Clodion,
that I still have not decided whether to marry at all. But you are
welcome to ride with us.” It was all she could do to get the words
out. She despised the man, could scarcely bear to look at his smug
face, and she wished he were at the uttermost end of the world.
And, like Sister Gertrude, she wished her father had exercised
better judgment when choosing her suitors.

“Danise, perhaps I did not explain that I
will not be riding with you after all,” said Savarec, looking
embarrassed. “There is a certain lady who asked me to ride with her
today. You must excuse me.”

“Father!” Danise was appalled. “I have told
you about Clodion. Please don’t leave me with him.” But Savarec had
kicked his horse’s flanks and moved out of hearing. “Father, how
could you!”

“The lady who wants to ride with him is a
friend of mine,” Clodion informed her, “a wealthy widow, and still
surprisingly attractive. I suspect your father of lusting after
her. He will not be disappointed. I doubt if anyone will see
Savarec again before nightfall.”

“Did you arrange this – this -?” Danise was
so angry she could not complete the sentence.

“Assignation?” Clodion supplied the missing
word. “Your father is usually so protective of you that I had to
think of some clever means of getting you to myself. Isn’t it
amazing the way any man will rise to the bait of a charming woman
who pretends to be interested in him, even to the point of
neglecting his beloved daughter? Foolish Savarec.”

“I will not ride with you!”

By now the hunt had begun in earnest, with
riders moving quickly into the nearby trees. Danise’s mount was
caught in the midst of this rush of horses. Savarec was gone from
sight, and Danise could not find Michel or Redmond. Nor could she
turn her horse and return to camp. There were simply too many
horses, too many people, and all heading in a direction opposite
from where she wanted to go. The best Danise could do was try to
work her way to one side, away from the other riders, hoping to
find a place where she could turn. She did her best, but she was
not an expert horsewoman, being accustomed only to the gentle
palfreys provided at Chelles. The horse she was riding on this
morning was a more restive beast and difficult to control.
Unfortunately for her, Clodion was every bit as good on a horse as
Savarec had claimed he was. Through every movement Danise attempted
in her efforts to get away from him, Clodion stayed with her. In
fact, she had the feeling at times that he was directing her
progress by the way he rode his horse next to hers.

“Do you like your new mount?” he asked. “It’s
a gift from me, Danise. I trained it myself and gave it to your
father for you to ride today.”

She hadn’t paid much attention to the horse,
except to note that it was not the one on which she had ridden from
Chelles. She had been so busy looking for Michel that she just
assumed her father would choose from among the horses he owned the
right animal for her to ride in a hunt.

Clodion moved closer, until his leg brushed
against hers. Before she could protest the familiarity, he seized
the reins from her.

Danise reached for the knife she wore at her
belt. It was long and sharp and would make an admirable weapon of
defense against her unwanted companion. Before she could pull it
out of its sheath, Clodion struck her hand away and took the knife
from her, tucking the blade into his belt.

“Let me go!” Danise cried, trying to wrench
the reins out of his hands. “Give me back my knife. Let me go,
Clodion.”

“You are coming with me, Danise.” With
unerring skill Clodion worked his way out of the press of
riders.

“Help!” Danise shouted. “Someone, help
me!”

No one heard her screams or paid any
attention to what was happening to her. Horns were blowing, dogs
were barking, people were calling to one another, men and women
shouting and laughing, and now the hunt picked up speed. Charles
and his friends burst out of the forest into a wide meadow, where
almost everyone broke into a full gallop. Danise continued her
struggle with Clodion for the reins until he swerved his horse and
she was compelled to grasp her own horse’s mane with both hands if
she wanted to stay in the saddle. Wildly she looked around, praying
she would see Michel.

“Clodion, stop this! Someone, help! Help! Oh,
Redmond!
Redmond
!” From across the field she saw his face
momentarily turned toward her. Letting go of the horse’s mane she
waved frantically. “Redmond! Help me!”

Clodion caught her arm, pulling it down so
she could not wave again.

“You are mad!” Danise screamed at him. “You
cannot hope to carry me away. There are too many people here. They
will not allow it.”

“It’s as good as done,” Clodion said. “They
are all too intent on the hunt to see what is happening here at the
side of the field. If they note us at all, they will only think
your horse has gone lame and that I am helping you. Now, Danise, we
go back into the forest on this side of the meadow.”

“I won’t go with you,” she declared.

“What do you plan to do instead?” he asked,
laughing at her. “If you throw yourself off your horse, you risk
serious injury. How far do you think you could run with a broken
leg or a sprained ankle or worse?”

“I’d rather die than go anywhere with you,
Clodion!”

He did not bother to answer her. Instead, he
drew back his right hand and slapped her hard. Danise was so
stunned she could not move at first. While she sat staring at him
Clodion caught one of her long braids, pulling it hard, ignoring
her cry of pain as he twisted it around his fist.