Rise of the Defender (42 page)

     She shoved him playfully and he missed the
bite he was trying to put in his mouth, smearing it on his cheek instead. She
laughed loudly at his misfortune until he turned to her and smeared the rest of
the goo on her chin. She jumped back with a yelp, but her laughter over took
her and she was once again screaming with her delightful, happy laugh. Edward
stepped back. If this deteriorated, he did not want to get caught in the
crossfire.

     It was as he feared. Dustin, seeking
revenge, picked up an apple confection full of nuts and dates and charged
Marcus, smashing the whole thing right into his face, even shoving nuts up his
nose. He sputtered, alternately licking and wiping his face as Dustin laughed
herself weak.

     “If you were not my liege’s wife, I would
make you lick it off,” he growled, although he was not angry in the least.

     Edward shook his head. “I shall go find
something to clean you two up with,” he muttered, disappearing back into the
kitchen.

     Dustin was still giggling as Marcus sat
down, wiping his face. There was one more pastry left and, unable to resist the
temptation, she picked it up and pretended to eat it. Instead, she came around
behind him and smashed the whole thing into his face.

     Marcus’ hands flew up and snatched her
arms, yanking her so hard that she and the remainder of the pastry flew into
his lap. They were both laughing and struggling with each other, not realizing
that Dustin had landed in a very compromising position until it was too late.

     Dustin was clutched to Marcus’ chest, her
face not an inch from his own goo-smeared one. His cobalt-blue eyes bore into
her, as much from shock as from the excitement. Dustin’s face grew very warm as
she stared back into his eyes. She didn’t know why she didn’t pull away; it was
as if he had somehow hypnotized her. She could not quite seem to tear her eyes
away from him and the whole time her mind screamed of the impropriety of it.
Christopher was her husband, this man was his vassal - she cared for Chris, not
this man she had only known a matter of days.

     But it was more than that. Dustin thought
she was going insane, for she had known dozens of suitors and not one of them
ever appealed to her. Then she married a man and grew to find him extremely attractive,
and then on his heels comes another man she finds attractive, too. But it was
of no matter; she knew right from wrong. Sitting on Marcus’ lap was wrong and,
awkwardly, she tried to climb off.

     Unfortunately, Marcus had her tightly. She
was too close, too beautiful, too tempting. Against his better judgment and all
that he stood for, his lips descended on Dustin’s, hard and forceful and firm.
There was pastry everywhere on his face, now on hers, and Dustin yanked away
from him, twisting free of his grip and stumbling several feet away.  Somehow,
she ended up on her feet, glaring at him.

     Marcus could only look at her, his eyes as
wide as her own. He could still scarcely believe what he had done.

     Dustin stopped glaring and her eyes welled
up with confused, frightened tears. “Marcus…,” she breathed, tears spilling
over. “How could you do that?”

     Before he could find his tongue and apologize,
she dashed up the stairs and he heard the door to her chamber slam. Edward
reappeared out of the kitchen, holding a wet cloth.

     “Where is Dustin?” he asked innocently,
handing the linen to Marcus.

     Marcus was still in shock. He accepted the
cloth and wiped his face clean of the sticky mess.  He was struggling to cover
up his blunder.

     “Up in her room, I suppose, gathering her
things,” he said, unable to look Edward in the eye.

     But Edward was unaware of Marcus’ manner. “Good,”
he said. “The sooner we get to London, the better. Chris must feel fairly
exposed without his full complement of men.

     Marcus didn’t reply. He was anxious to get
out of there. He set down the cloth and took the stairs to his own room to
collect his belongings, leaving Edward to follow him in blissful ignorance.

***

     Later on the road, Dustin was determined to
ignore Marcus. She blamed him for what happened, yet in the same breath she
blamed herself and her guilt was terrible. As they rode side by side along the
road, she was pleased that he seemed to ignore her, too, and that allowed her to
collect her thoughts.

     Dustin was naive, but she wasn’t
scatterbrained. She accepted the fact that she found Marcus attractive, and she
accepted the fact that she had grown to consider him a friend over the past few
days. He had been kind and gentle and attentive to her needs, and she had inadvertently
fallen victim to his charms.

     But she missed Christopher terribly. She
thought of him constantly and looked forward to the moment when they would be alone
together again. When she thought of his hands on her, his hot mouth and scratchy
beard, she went warm and liquid inside. The more she thought of Marcus and
their kiss, the more she missed her husband. She knew everything would right
itself once they were together again. She wondered if he had missed her, too.

     She had been so caught up in her train of
thought that she hadn't seen Marcus steer his destrier over to her until it was
too late. She caught a glimpse of the dark-brown animal from the corner of her
eye.

     “My lady is quiet,” Marcus said softly.

     “I have nothing to say, my lord,” she
replied evenly. “I am trying to conserve my strength for the remainder of our
journey.”

     He didn't say anything for a moment. “Dustin,
I am sorry. I never meant….”

     She jerked her head around, looking to see
who might be around them. Edward and Dud were several yards back, talking
between themselves, and the men-at-arms were behind them still. She and Marcus
were quite alone were they rode.

     “I do not wish to discuss this, Marcus,”
she hissed. “It happened. Leave it at that and we shall get along fine.”

     He sighed. “Aye, it happened, but I wanted
you to know I was sorry. I never meant to do it. It just happened somehow.”

     She nodded curtly, her only reply. He
watched her as the horses plodded along, her stiff back and taut features.

     “Are you going to treat me like dirt for
the rest of my life?” he asked, half in jest.

     She turned to him in irritation, her gray
eyes dark. “What is it you want from me, Marcus? Why can’t you simply leave
well enough alone?”

     He flipped up his visor, his dark blue eyes
riveted to her. “I am going to be serving your husband for a long time, my lady,
and it would make both our lives considerably easier if we could move past this
incident. I do not want your hostility every time I come near you, for sooner
or later Christopher is going to deduce that something is going on and he will
demand truths. I, for one, do not wish to divulge this particular moment of
weakness. He would be most unforgiving.”

     Dustin’s anger faded and she swallowed
hard, looking away. Then she sighed. “I am sorry it happened, too. ‘Twas no one’s
fault alone.”

     Marcus was greatly relieved. They rode
together for a few moments in silence, each feeling the tension draining away
between them.  But Dustin found the need to clarify something.

     “I…I care for my husband, Marcus,” she said
softly, looking at him. “Had I met you first, things might be different, but I
did not meet you first and I am married to Christopher. You must understand
that.”

     He nodded. “I understand completely,” he
said.  “Since you are being truthful, I shall be with you. I am intrigued by
you, Lady de Lohr, yet it will go no further than that. You have my oath as a
knight of the realm.

     She still wouldn’t look at him. She wished
he would simply drop the subject. “I believe you.”

     That was the end of their conversation. 
There were two more days of minor conversation and Dustin avoided Marcus as
much as she possibly could. Essentially, they rode together in silence the rest
of the way to London with Dustin struggling to forget what had happened.

     Marcus, however, was not. He did not want
to forget.

***

     Windsor Castle.

     Built of blond stone with the biggest walls
she had ever seen, the sight was enough to fill Dustin with awe and dread. She
almost fell off Hercules gazing up at the massive, turreted structure as the
party rode in from the north west and she heard Marcus laugh at her.

     “It’s so big.” she gasped.

     “Aye, it is,” Edward rode behind them. “The
seat of the great Christian Empire.”

     Dustin shook her head, overwhelmed with the
all of it. As they rode under the portcullis of the western gatehouse, soldiers
yelled of their arrival and Dustin swore she had never seen so much activity in
all her life. There were hundreds, even thousands, of men everywhere and it suddenly
dawned on her that her husband was in charge of all of them. It was nearly too
much to comprehend.  She very much wanted to see her husband at that moment.

     “Do you see Chris, Marcus?” she asked
excitedly.

     “He will not be out here on the walls, my
lady,” Marcus replied. “More than likely, he is over in the practice arena or
in the knight's quarters. We’ll find him.”

     Even more than her excitement of arriving
at Windsor, she found she was shaking with excitement to see her husband. She
had felt so lost without him, and the whole incident with Marcus had frightened
her.  The past three days of travel had been hellish and she was anxious to
find comfort in his arms.

     As they approached the massive round keep
of the castle, several stewards in silk tunics and hose came rushing out to
greet them. Dud and Edward took charge of the men-at-arms as Marcus helped
Dustin dismount. There were servants dashing about everywhere, stripping her
belongings off her horse and unloading the wagon.

     A thin man as tall as she was approached
her and bowed deeply. “We were told that you would be arriving, Lady de Lohr.
Your husband has requested that you take to your rooms and he will seek you
later,” the man said.

     Dustin eyed him. “How did you know it was
me? We sent no word ahead announcing our arrival.”

     The man bowed quickly again. “If it pleases
my lady, your husband instructed us to watch for the most beautiful woman in
the realm with hair like spun gold. When we saw you passing through the
portcullis, we assumed he meant you. Were we wrong?”

     Dustin grinned bashfully and Marcus
answered. “Nay, you were not. ‘Tis indeed Lady de Lohr,” he said formally. “Show
her to her rooms for she is weary from her ride.”

     The man bowed again, motioning to a few men
behind him. They began rushing forward to assist in carrying Lady de Lohr’s
belongings.  

     “Where is Baron de Lohr?” Marcus asked.

     “He is over on the tournament field, my
lord,” the steward replied. “Our illustrious Prince John has scheduled a
tourney the day after tomorrow, and he and his knights have been practicing. He
asks you and your knights to join him immediately after seeing to his wife’s
comfort and safety.”

     “Very well,” Marcus nodded curtly,
motioning to Edward and Dud.

     After a brief conference to divide up the
duties, Marcus went with Dustin and the herd of servants while Edward and Dud
went to saw to the men. Marcus and Edward would join up later, on the practice
field, leaving Dud to guard Dustin.

     Windsor had more than just a massive
cylindrical keep and a few outbuildings.  It also had a block of apartments that
stretched all along the west side of the castle. Inside the cavernous block,
Marcus took Dustin’s cloak personally as she followed the stewards and porters
with her baggage. She could not take her eyes off the women and their beautiful
dresses, having never cared about her appearance before but now extremely
self-conscious. Her gold surcoat was simple and tasteful, but these women had surcoats
with studded jewels and gold leaf embroidery. She did not mean to stare, but
she was.

     She fell back in step beside Marcus, clutching
his elbow. “Marcus, have you ever seen so many richly dressed women?”

     He had and was not in the least impressed. “Rich
surcoats are all they have in their favor, my lady. I would wager to say that
their intelligence equals a stalk of celery.”

     She giggled, noticing the women were
starting to stare back at her. One woman’s gaze was particularly hostile and
Dustin stiffened.

     “Why is she looking at me like that?” she
demanded. “I am going to teach her some manners.”

     She meant what she said, but Marcus clamped
a huge hand over her arm and stayed her. “Now is not the place, my lady,” he
said evenly. “She is simply envious of your beauty, surely you cannot fault her
that. In fact, I’d say that rumors of your loveliness are even now spreading
through court like wildfire. If I were you, I would learn to accept the openly
hateful looks from jealous women or you are going to be fighting a great many
of them.”