Knights of Honor Books 1-10: A Medieval Romance Series Bundle

by Alexa Aston

  Elysande’s heart beat strong. And with each beat, it said, Michael. Michael. Michael.

  Chapter 13

  Elysande watched as Ancel hugged Alys. Though each twin favored a different parent and looked nothing alike, in that moment, she saw a resemblance in their attitude. The two were cut from the same cloth and their time in the womb together had bound them in a way that others would never understand.

  “The next time I see you will be Christmas time,” Alys told her brother.

  “Take care at court,” Ancel told her. “Learn from the queen, but remember that you’ll always be a de Montfort first.”

  “And the firstborn of we two,” she teased. Alys then embraced her twin once more. She turned away and came to stand next to Elysande.

  “I can tell that you’ll miss Ancel a great deal.”

  The girl nodded. “He’s the best of brothers. Oh, I love Hal and always will. But there will always be something special between Ancel and me. Sometimes, I wonder if even my future husband will know me as well as my twin does.”

  Elysande put an arm about Alys’ shoulder. “It will be different with a husband, but he’ll come to know parts of you that even you don’t know exist. You’ll discover things about each other together.”

  Alys looked at Elysande with new eyes. “That’s quite sage advice, Cousin Elysande. Mayhap you have discovered things about yourself with your future husband?” She didn’t bother trying to hide her smile.

  Elysande squeezed the girl affectionately. “Just because you threw Michael and me together yesterday, you already have us paired off.”

  “What if I do?” Alys challenged. “You’ve seemed very happy since we returned to the keep yesterday. Although the time we spent grinding herbs has probably fled your mind now. And I’m sure you couldn’t possible remember all the tidbits I told you about what Mother and I will do with what we collected yesterday.”

  Elysande felt her face grow warm. It had been hard to listen and remember everything Alys tried to teach her when all Elysande could think about was Michael’s mouth on hers. His hands caressing her body.

  And when they could share a repeat performance.

  Geoffrey motioned them over to where he stood with Merryn, Ancel, and Elia, who juggled a squirming Hal in her arms.

  “Come. Your father wants us,” she told Alys.

  Elysande watched as Ancel shook his father’s hand. Then her young cousin looked to his mother. Merryn had tears in her eyes.

  “Mother, I’m only one estate away from you,” Ancel chided gently.

  “’Tis not that,” Merryn said. She looked around at the tight circle that had formed. “Before Ancel leaves, I need to share some news with you all.” She took a deep breath. “I’m going to have another child a few months. After the new year begins.”

  Both Ancel and Alys squealed in delight and hugged their mother tightly. Elysande saw the fond look her uncle gave his wife. Without thinking, she glanced over at Michael, who stood nearby. She could tell by the grin on his face that he had overheard Merryn’s words.

  “I wanted you to know before you left, Ancel. Alys, too. And I wanted to tell you at the same time.”

  “It’s wonderful news, Mother,” Alys said, her eyes narrowing. “I only hope you’ll have a girl this time.”

  “Well, I hope for another boy,” Ancel declared. “One even wilder than Hal.” He ruffled his brother’s hair fondly.

  Geoffrey slipped an arm about Merryn’s waist. “Our hope is for a healthy child.” He glanced at his youngest. “And mayhap for one a bit more sedate than this last one.”

  “That’s why you need another girl, Father,” Alys said primly.

  Elysande joined in as everyone laughed at Alys’ simple logic. Then the final goodbyes were said. Ancel and Geoffrey mounted the horses that had been brought to them.

  “I’ll be home in time for the noon meal, my love,” called Geoffrey.

  “Goodbye!” Ancel hollered. “Nice to meet you, Cousin Elysande. I hope you come back with Aunt Mary and Cousin Avelyn to celebrate the Christmas season with us.”

  “Thank you, Ancel,” she replied. “That would be my wish as well.”

  She watched the riders leave the inner bailey and wondered what the next few months would bring.

  *

  Elysande had just broken her fast when Kinwick’s head groom came to her.

  “It’s time, my lady. Hera exhibits all the signs. Her waxing started last night, with beads on the end of each teat. And now the secretion has gone from clear and watery to sticky and thick.”

  Elysande stood quickly from her seat on the dais. “Is she still in the pasture?”

  “Yes, my lady, just as you instructed. I moved the other horses away from her. They’ve all been returned to their stalls. Hera will have the privacy she needs to deliver her foal.”

  “Let me change into something more practical before I go to the pasture.”

  “Is there anything special you need?” asked Merryn.

  “Nay. I’ve done this many times with dams far less docile than Hera.”

  Geoffrey laughed. “Hera has been a handful for the past week around everyone but Elysande,” he informed his wife.

  “We’ve gotten to know one another. I understand her better than I do most people,” Elysande said. “I need to put on my pants and a gypon. It’s much more comfortable and easier than having to deal with keeping my skirts out of the way.”

  Michael joined them. “I hear that Hera is ready to foal. I assume we’ll be in the pasture for most of the day?”

  She nodded. “You might want to ask Cook for some bread and cheese and a flask of wine. I doubt we’ll make either the noon or evening meal.”

  “I’ll see to it,” he told her.

  Elysande hurried to her bedchamber and slipped from her clothes into the brown gypon, cotehardie, and pants that she had brought along in case she needed them. She returned downstairs and found Michael waiting for her by the foot of the stairs, a sack in his hand. She, in turn, had brought a bag with a few things of her own that she might need to use for the foal’s delivery.

  “Sustenance for our long day,” he said, holding up the sack. “Cook was only too happy to provide it for us.”

  “Then we should make haste to the pasture.”

  The August day was warm and partly cloudy. Elysande saw Hera standing in a secluded spot under the shade of a large oak tree. As they approached, the horse began swishing her tail angrily.

  Elysande climbed over the fence. Michael eased the sack to the ground and followed behind her.

  She approached the mare and soothingly said, “I hear you’re fussy today, my sweet girl. Are you out of sorts?”

  As she spoke, she removed the linen cloth she had brought and moved to capture the horse’s tail. Swiftly, she wrapped it before Hera knew what she did.

  Michael quietly asked, “What does that do? I can’t remember if you told me during our first delivery together.” He gave her a smile.

  “It will keep the tail from having dirt cling to it when she gets up and down. We need to keep the foal as clean as possible in order for it to remain healthy.”

  Elysande stepped away and backed toward the fence. She gestured for Michael to join her and they sat on top of it as Hera continued her pacing in the pasture. Elysande’s eyes swept over the area. She had instructed that any rocks or brush be moved and saw that had occurred. As they waited, Hera paused to eat a few oats and drink some water.

  “All seems to be going well so far,” Michael said. “I see droplets of milk falling as she moves about. So we sit and observe quietly for now?”

  She nodded. “Some dams like a fuss to be made over them, but I can tell Hera doesn’t want us to hover. We’re here for when she needs us.”

  He reached over and took her hand in his. A pleasant tingling began. It caused her breath to quicken, but Elysande remained focused on the restless mare. They sat in the sunshine in silence.

  Hera moved
closer to them. Elysande saw that the horse had broken out into a sweat which dotted her neck and flanks. She slipped off the top of the fence, pulling Michael along with her.

  “It’s very warm today. If she’ll allow us, we need to bathe her some.”

  Elysande took out more cloths and went to the water bucket. Plunging them in, she twisted the excess water from each and handed one to Michael. They slowly ran the cloths over Hera’s flanks and along her neck. The mare stood patiently and seemed to enjoy their ministrations on her behalf.

  Then the uterine contractions became more severe. Hera became jittery. She broke away and nervously paced along the fence line, pawing at the ground at intervals. Then she lay down for a minute and rose, repeating the process several times.

  “I can see she’s distressed,” Michael noted. “Can’t we do more for her?”

  “Nay. Let her work things out in her own way. Hera is helping position the foal with her movements.”

  Once again, they returned to sit on the fence and keep their distance. Michael took her hand in his again, entwining his fingers through hers. As they sat in the warm sunshine, Elysande experienced perfect contentment. She didn’t know if a day—or any given moment—could be as sweet and wonderful as sitting beside the man she loved. She relished his very nearness as they patiently awaiting the birth of the foal.

  Hera drew up suddenly, frozen for a moment, a faraway look in her eyes. Then the sac ruptured. Fluid poured out from the horse. Elysande saw the horse’s abdomen began contracting more violently.

  When Hera didn’t lie down as expected, Elysande leapt off the fence and motioned Michael to follow her.

  As they rushed over, she told him, “It’s the rare horse that wants to stand to give birth. I think Hera may be one of them.”

  “What do I need to do?”

  “If she remains standing, we need to catch the foal and lower it gently to the ground to avoid injury.”

  Elysande returned for a large, clean blanket and shook it out, setting it on the ground close by the mare. Michael squatted down, hands ready, waiting to see what would happen. But Hera changed her mind and lay down again.

  Some minutes passed. Concerned, Elysande said, “I need to check the position of the foal. I hope it’s not breech.”

  She rolled up the sleeve of her gypon and knelt next to the mare. Stroking her gently, she said in soothing tones, “I must feel for your little one, Hera.”

  Elysande inserted her hand into the birth canal and moved it upwards. As she suspected, the foal was in the breech position. She turned it as best she could and then slid her arm out. Immediately, Hera stood and walked anxiously for some minutes, pausing once for more food and water.

  “Was it breech?” Michael asked.

  “Aye. Hopefully, between what I did and her pacing, the foal will be in a better position now to be born.”

  The horse came again to lie on the ground. She had barely stretched out when the foal’s head and neck squirted out, encased in a bluish-white sac. The shoulders soon followed. Then a hoof appeared, followed by another one, as the foal’s front legs appeared. Hera rested for a while and then began straining.

  After some minutes, Elysande became concerned with the mare’s lack of progress.

  “I’m afraid we’ll need to step in and help her. She’s very tired and weak now.”

  “Tell me what to do.”

  “We’ll each need to take one of the hooves in our hand and hold the foal’s leg in the other.”

  They bent in front of the panting dam. Each took firm hold. Michael looked to Elysande for further instructions.

  “On three, we’ll both pull gently.” She counted and they moved as one, helping to expel the foal to its hips.

  “Stop,” Elysande said. “Hera will need to rest again before we can continue.”

  The pair sat on each side of Hera, stroking her gently. When Elysande judged that enough time had passed, she said, “Let’s work together again. Pull the foal’s hooves toward Hera’s hooves. ’Twill help rotate her hips and ease the foal from her.”

  Again, she and Michael grabbed hold of the foal and pulled. This time, the hind legs appeared and the entire foal came out.

  But the small creature wasn’t breathing.

  “The foal hasn’t lifted its head,” she warned Michael. “That usually happens when the sac breaks.”

  He quickly passed her his dagger before she could reach for hers. Elysande tore away the membrane. She reached for a bit of straw in order to use it to clear the nasal passage.

  Nothing happened.

  Panic swelled within her. She bent over the foal. She hadn’t ever attempted this before, but her father had told her he had done the same once when a newborn foal did not begin to breathe on its own.

  Elysande firmly cupped her hands over the foal’s mouth and nose. She drew in a deep breath and expelled it into the animal’s nostrils. She waited and repeated the breath.

  “The chest rose and fell,” Michael told her. He moved next to her and rested his hands on the newborn’s belly. “Try again.”

  She did. Once. Twice. Tears began to well in her eyes. But before she could blow air a third time, the foal whimpered and sucked in a breath on its own.

  Elysande fell back in relief. Michael pulled her to her feet and encompassed her in his arms. Uncontrollable tremors rushed through her. She buried her face in his chest and began to weep.

  “What if the foal hadn’t taken a breath? What if—”

  “It did,” he reassured her. “Thanks to your quick thinking. I would never have thought to try and breathe into it like that.” He brushed soft lips against hers. “You saved its life, Elysande. You worked a miracle, my love.”

  She clung to him, trembling as if she had the palsy. He murmured soothing words of solace as he held her tenderly, stroking her back, kissing her hair. Finally, she believed her knees would not cause her to fall. Elysande looked up at him.

  “Thank you for being here with me. I couldn’t have done it without your assistance.”

  Michael’s fingertips wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I recall we still have more to watch for.”

  She nodded. “The afterbirth.”

  They observed the mare for some time, but her contractions didn’t expel all of the afterbirth. Elysande knelt and tied it into a knot that hung above Hera’s hocks.

  “This will prevent her from stepping on it or tearing it away too early,” she explained to Michael. “It will also add gentle pressure as it hangs down and help it to come out on its own.”

  They remained with the mare and foal several more hours. She and Michael cheered as they watched the newborn learn to stand. She allowed Michael to help guide the foal to drink from its mother’s teat. As the foal nursed, Hera expelled the afterbirth. Elysande examined it to make sure nothing remained behind inside the mare. She also discovered that the foal was a filly.

  As they leaned against the fence for support, watching the foal nurse noisily, Michael turned to her.

  “I don’t know if Lord Geoffrey had a name in mind for this little one, but I believe she should be named Miracle.”

  “Miracle,” Elysande repeated, liking the sound of it. “It’s what we witnessed. Together.”

  With that, she pulled his head toward hers and rewarded all his hard work with a lingering kiss.

  Chapter 14

  Michael looked across the room and watched Elysande as she danced. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy red. Those bewitching amethyst eyes sparkled as she partnered with Hugh, Lady Merryn’s brother. Hugh’s wife, Milla, heavy with child, sat visiting with Merryn. The couple had come for the evening meal and to meet Elysande. Hugh had been away on business previously. Milla waited for his return before they traveled to the de Montfort estate to make Elysande’s acquaintance.

  Geoffrey joined Michael. “She’s quite fetching.”

  He watched Elysande twirl about, laughing. “That she is, my lord.”

  “I hope to hear from
the king any day now,” Geoffrey confided. “My rider found the royal progress and delivered my message. He’s just returned and said that King Edward promised a long missive to Lady Merryn.”

  Michael grunted. “Our king is quite taken with Lady Merryn. ’Tis a good thing he has Queen Philippa to keep him in line.”

  “I agree. The queen puts up with no nonsense. She’s very fond of Merryn and Alys, too. I hope the king will share with his wife that Elysande is in my custody and what we would like to see to her future.” Geoffrey squeezed his shoulder. “You will make my niece a fine husband, Michael.”

  “It’s my fondest desire, my lord.”

  The music ended. He watched Elysande make her way over to where Merryn and Milla sat. Hugh came toward Michael and Geoffrey.

  “I quite like her, Geoffrey,” Hugh enthused. “She’s lively and witty. I hope your sister, Mary, will soon visit Kinwick with your other niece. It would be nice to see Lady Mary again. I had a small crush on her when I was a boy. She was older by a handful of years and beyond beautiful.”

  “Mary has spoken to me about returning to Kinwick for a visit in the near future,” Geoffrey replied. “It’s been many years since she saw the place of her birth.”

  Michael’s thoughts turned to how long it had been since he had laid eyes upon Sandbourne. Over fifteen years had passed since the day he’d ridden away from his boyhood home, vowing never to return until his father’s death. He wondered how much longer he’d wait to come into his earldom.

  In truth, he remembered very little about the castle. He’d spent many hours alone in his small bedchamber, playing with toy soldiers on the floor, daydreaming about becoming a great, feared knight who would be respected by his peers. Though his mother had taken him for rides around the estate in his early years, she eventually kept to her rooms more and more. Michael believed she did so to prevent running into her husband. One thing he did recall was going to her airy bedchamber and listening while she read to him and told him tales. He reached into his pocket and stroked the small rock that they’d found on one of their trips walking about the estate. The rock, an unusual pink color, had become the only thing he had left of her. His memories of what she looked like had faded over the years.