Unfortunately, in the last couple of days, Sarah had begun to drop hints about a particular young nobleman who had caught her eye. Apparently she had decided he would be a perfect suitor for me and had adopted the role of matchmaker.
No. I shook my head decisively. If I hunt down Sarah, she’ll drag me along to some court function and try to introduce me to this noble fool she’s got lined up for me.
Naturally I had no idea if he actually was a fool, but it seemed depressingly likely.
What I really needed was a good training session. But I was honest enough to admit I’d been avoiding the training grounds. Or, more accurately, the other guards.
Ah well, I thought, I’ll have to face them sometime. Plus, I didn’t want the captain of the guard to hear of my absence and think it was caused by fear.
Once I’d changed into my practice gear, I headed towards the area of the castle grounds reserved for the guards. I’d seen them training through the windows several times and had longed to be out there, stretching my muscles.
When I arrived at the main training ground I was gratified to find it almost empty. A group of young trainees had just finished a session, and they stared at me as they filed back towards one of the guardhouses. I ignored them.
Piling my equipment on the ground, I began my warm up routine.
“I haven’t seen you around here before.”
I started, so absorbed in my stretches that I hadn’t noticed the man approach.
“I’m new.” The words came out shorter than I’d intended. I turned to look at him and had to repress a gasp.
His eyes twinkled at me while his mouth curved into a smile. “That much I gathered.”
It was the other observer from the night of the wedding! No wonder I hadn’t seen him amongst the nobles – he was a guard. I was still staring at him, and his friendly smile changed into a look of curiosity.
I quickly gave him a reluctant smile and offered him my hand. I still wasn’t sure why he had been observing the impromptu meeting, but I didn’t want him to know that I recognised him.
“I’m Evelyn.” If he didn’t know who I was from my name, I didn’t see any need to enlighten him.
“I’m Jake.” His grip was firm and his expression friendly. “I don’t think I’ve seen a woman out here before.”
I shrugged. “As I said, I’m new.”
Like me, Jake was dressed in the casual clothes that marked him as off duty. But there was no mistaking his occupation. He carried himself like a guard and, despite my misgivings, I found the familiar bearing rather comforting. I wondered how I’d missed it the other night.
And whatever his intentions had been at the celebrations, now at least he was showing no inclination to throw stones, physical or metaphorical at me.
My lips curved upward again at the thought of the caravan boys who used to do exactly that whenever they caught me training. I hadn’t been amused at the time, but the years had softened the memory. Many of those boys had grown up to be my companions in the caravan guard, and my success in winning them over gave me confidence that I would eventually do the same with the palace guard.
Jake raised an enquiring eyebrow, and I had to repress a flush of embarrassment. He probably thought I was smiling at him!
I shook my head and quickly resumed my warm up.
Jake fell into place beside me, joining in the exercises without comment. We were just completing the last of our stretches when a small group of guards entered the training grounds from the other side. They began to pair up in obvious preparation for sparring practice when one of them noticed us across the yard. He pointed us out to his companions, and I heard a surprised murmur sweep through the group. I was too far away to hear the actual words, though, and the men quickly returned to their own activity.
With my warm up completed, I hesitated. I glanced at Jake, wondering what he intended to do next, but he just stood there, watching me curiously. Moving slowly, I buckled on my practice sword and then hesitated again.
My instinct was to begin the series of individual sword exercises I used to train with in my youth. They were a useful tool to allow a lone swordsman to maintain fitness. And it was what I’d been planning to do when I arrived at the empty yard. But I also knew that I would never have hesitated to join the other guards if I’d been back with the caravan.
Don’t be a coward! I told myself firmly and started across the grounds.
Once again, Jake mirrored my actions.
“Where did you train?” he asked, his manner just as open and friendly as before.
“With Caravan Hargrove. I was one of their caravan guards until recently.”
Jake gave a quiet whistle. “You must be good, then.” He stated it matter-of-factly.
I glanced at him with curiosity. I hadn’t expected him to recognise the name of my old caravan.
He shrugged. “Everyone knows the Hargrove Guardsmaster is the best amongst the merchant caravans. Although I’d wager our own Captain could give him a beating.”
I just smiled. Any of the other caravan guards would have hotly refuted this assertion, but I had always found the male need to champion their own turf rather amusing. I couldn’t see how it mattered who would win in a fight between the Rangmeran Captain of the Guard and the Caravan Hargrove Guardsmaster. Both men were excellent at their jobs, and both had accepted me as a guard. As far as I was concerned, that was all that mattered.
Jake had paused, as if waiting for my cry of protest. When I said nothing, he continued. “The Guardsmaster wouldn’t have offered you a job unless he thought you were one of the best merchant guards around. There would have been plenty of others happy to take the position, I’m sure.”
“True enough.” I shrugged. “I was raised in Caravan Hargrove, though, so I’m sure that gave me an advantage.”
Jake raised an eyebrow again. “A female guard and modest to boot! I would have expected an overabundance of confidence.”
When I threw him a mild glare, he raised both his hands and laughed.
“Just to balance out all the male machismo constantly surrounding you.”
“Of course,” I said dryly. But after a moment I couldn’t help smiling. “It can get a bit much sometimes.”
He grinned at me. “I can imagine. I don’t know what brings you to Rangmeros in general and the castle in particular, but you won’t find it any better here. We’re just as bad as the next lot I’m afraid.”
So he didn’t know who I was. I wondered if he would treat me differently when he found out what I was doing at the castle. Or perhaps he already knew and was just pretending ignorance. After seeing him at the royal celebrations, I was on edge.
But I also had to admit that I found his cheerful demeanour appealing. He certainly seemed nothing like Count Anhalt. In fact his friendly warmth was at complete odds with the nobleman’s cold scheming. I tried to think of a way to prove he had nothing to do with the treacherous noblemen without asking outright. Nothing came to mind.
While I was thinking, we arrived at the group of guards. Slowly the men broke off their practice to stare at me.
“Hello,” I said when it became clear no one else was going to say anything. “Mind if we join you?”
“Join us?” The speaker sounded incredulous.
“We don’t fight women, wouldn’t be a fair fight.” There was amusement in the voice of the second guard but somehow it sounded nothing like Jake’s light-hearted humour.
I stiffened, and my eyes narrowed. “Probably true enough,” I said, keeping my voice light and shrugging my shoulders. “I’d hate to dent one of Her Majesty’s prize guards. But this is the first I’ve heard of Rangmeran guards turning coward.”
A shocked gasp ran through the group, and Jake raised both eyebrows at me. I ignored him.
“Coward, do you say?” The first speaker stepped forward aggressively. “I’ll show you who’s a coward.”
I drew my practice sword. “One on one, standard practice bout.”
/>
The rules of a standard practice duel forbade the drawing of blood, which was hard enough to do anyway with the dull practice blades. Instead the match would end when one of us disarmed the other or managed to land a blow that would have been disabling with a regular blade. In a normal training situation, such blows were softened, but I felt sure that my opponent would put his full force behind any blow he managed to land.
I’d better make sure he doesn’t touch me then, I thought grimly.
The rest of the guards formed a loose circle around us while we both fell into a preparatory crouch.
One of the watching men called a start to the bout, and my opponent was quick to attack. I blocked him instinctively, falling back and carefully assessing his form and tactics.
When I continued to parry, dancing out of his reach immediately afterwards instead of responding with an attack of my own, he grunted in frustration and increased the tempo of his strikes.
After several minutes of this sort of back and forth, I was confident that I had his measure. He was slightly taller than me and significantly heavier, but he was also a bit slower and lacked the finesse of the better caravan guards. For Ava’s sake I hoped he wasn’t an example of the best of the royal guards.
Shifting gear, I went on the attack. My opponent was caught off guard and fell back before my blade, parrying my strikes recklessly. There was no question as to who was the more skilled swordsman, and I was confident it would take me only moments to land a winning blow.
The man’s movements had carried us right up to the edge of the ring of watching guards, and as I lunged forward, preparing to finish the bout, one of the men thrust his foot into my path. Clearly he thought me too focussed on my attack to notice and expected to send me tumbling to the ground.
But the caravan boys and their stones had long ago taught me to always keep one eye on my surroundings. At the last possible second, I leapt over the outthrust foot and drove my blade home.
“Bout,” I said calmly, the tip of my sword resting above my opponent’s heart. I wasn’t even winded.
He stared at me in shock, his face twisted in rage. It took him several long seconds to master himself enough to speak. The delay gave me time to register that the mood around us had the potential to turn ugly. But when my opponent did finally open his mouth, another voice cut in before he could spit out whatever insult he was planning.
“Well, that was illuminating.” It was Jake who spoke, and his simple words held an unmistakable tone of menace.
No one replied, but there was the sound of shuffling feet, and I noticed that many of the guards were carefully avoiding Jake’s gaze. And despite the simmering anger still evident in several pairs of eyes, including those of my opponent and the man who had attempted to trip me, no one directed any comments my way.
That’s interesting, I thought. I wonder if he’s an off duty officer.
“We seem to have a talented swordswoman in our midst.” Jake directed his eyes back towards me and the warmth returned to them. “I realise we’ve hardly shown ourselves in the best light so far, but would you consider another bout?”
“With you?”
“If you’re game.” His smile took any potential sting out of his words.
I looked around the circle and then shrugged and nodded my assent. Despite my win, these men didn’t like me, so I really didn’t have anything to lose.
Jake drew his own practice sword and stepped into the circle of onlookers.
My previous opponent had melted back into the crowd, but I took careful note of his location, resolving not to allow myself to travel anywhere near him during this bout.
Jake was much slower to attack than the previous guard, but it took considerably less time for me to assess his skill. He was a far superior swordsman. His movements were quick and graceful, and he outmatched me in both speed and strength.
I grinned. There were things the palace guard could teach me after all.
My competitive instincts rose to the challenge, and I knew I was fighting much more skilfully than in the previous match. And yet, I couldn’t help but wonder if Jake was prolonging the bout on purpose. Testing me, perhaps, or simply giving me a chance to practice.
After ten minutes of hard fighting, Jake snaked his sword under my guard and lightly tapped my stomach. We both fell back, smiling and breathing heavily, and I felt certain he could have ended the bout much earlier, if he had chosen to do so. I wondered again if he was an officer. Whatever else he was, he was a master swordsman. I suspected he could have beaten my old Guardsmaster from the caravan.
And as I stood there, catching my breath, I realised that Jake had orchestrated our conflict to ensure we never came near any of the watching men. I felt grateful for this sign of his consideration.
My emotions were tugging at me, telling me to trust him, but I kept picturing his thoughtful face as he watched Anhalt walk away through the crowd. I was in unfamiliar territory in court, and I would do well to watch my back.
The rest of the guards seemed somewhat cheered by my defeat, and several even gave me cursory nods. I hoped I had performed well enough to win some respect. I knew from experience that respect was a base I could build from – as good a beginning as any.
Still, it seemed like a good moment to withdraw, so I thanked Jake for the fight and headed straight back to my room in the castle.
I’d barely had time to clean myself up and change out of my practice gear when Sarah arrived.
“There you are! Where in the kingdoms have you been all day?”
I opened my mouth to reply but didn’t get any words out before she continued.
“Oh, never mind. Who cares about today, it’s tonight that matters.” She was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, her eyes shining at me.
My heart sank. “Out with it then,” I said, with a sigh. “What’s happening tonight? I can guess from your overabundance of enthusiasm that I’m not going to like it.”
Sarah’s face transformed into a pout. “I do wonder how we can possibly be related sometimes, Eve. And I don’t know why you’re so set against the court. You haven’t even met most of them. A lot of them are quite nice, you know.” She gave me a conspiratorial look. “One in particular.”
I responded with another sigh. “I have no idea if you’re referring to that noble you’ve been busy stringing along for the last week or the one you’re trying to foist onto me.” She opened her mouth to reply, and I held up my hands to forestall her. “And I don’t want to know. I’ve spent the week in meetings with Ava, and I’ve seen firsthand that the only thing the nobles are interested in is what they can get out of their new sovereigns.”
Sarah flopped onto my bed and let out a sigh of her own. “You’re not being fair to them. They’re not all like that. You’ve just seen the worst of them. And I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer. You’re coming to the soiree tonight whether you want to or not.”
I groaned and sat down beside her. “Do I really have to?”
“Yes.” Sarah’s voice was firm. “And I don’t know what’s gotten into you. You never used to dislike parties so much.”
I closed my eyes and rolled my shoulders. “You’re right, of course. I’m just out of sorts after a run in with some of the other guards.”
“Oooh.” Sarah was instantly sympathetic. “Were they as bad as they used to be at the caravan?”
“Most of them were. But it wasn’t all bad, so I shouldn’t be so despondent really. One of them was downright friendly. And you won’t believe who he was.”
Sarah bounced upright, her eyes trained on my face. “That’s intriguing. Tell me, quick.”
“It was the mystery man from the celebrations. The one who was also observing Anhalt.”
“Oooh, the other spy.” Sarah sounded excited at the news.
“Spy might be a bit much,” I said dryly. “He’s an incredible swordsman, though. I don’t know if I’ve ever fought someone as skilled. He was off duty, but I thin
k he must be one of the guards, possibly one of the officers. His name is Jake.”
“Jake.” Sarah said the name thoughtfully. “I wonder if Miles knows him.”
I raised both eyebrows at her. “Miles, is it?”
She lifted her chin in an attempt to look dignified and then quickly burst into laughter. “I only do it because it annoys the other girls so much.”
“I thought you wanted an in with the court, not to annoy them,” I said.
“Oh, I don’t want to get close to these particular girls,” said Sarah. “They’re the ones who’d never have time for a simple merchant’s daughter, however close she is to the queen.”
She wrinkled her nose, and I was reminded of her old feud with one of the other girls from our caravan. Winning herself a place and a social position had always been a game to Sarah. It reminded me that we were family – our competitive instincts just came out in very different ways.
“I’ll ask around, see if anyone knows this Jake of yours,” she said.
“Hardly my Jake.”
She waved one of her hands dismissively. “I saw your face when you described his fighting skills. Clearly we’re going to have to find a way to exonerate him of all suspicion.”
She was openly laughing at me now, and I wondered if that meant she was giving up on pairing me off with the nobleman she’d found. Of course, it wouldn’t be much better if she started trying to match-make me with Jake. I flushed at the thought.
“Ha, see! I know you too well,” she crowed. “Which is how I know that you’ll enjoy yourself at the party tonight if you just give it a chance. Ava and Hans are still locked away, so it’s going to be a pretty informal affair. Mostly just the younger crowd.” She paused to consider. “Of course, we’ll still need to look amazing, so come straight to my suite as soon as you’ve eaten. We’re going to need plenty of time to get ready.”
Before I could protest, she was gone. I looked at myself in the mirror and shook my head. There was simply no point trying to resist Sarah when she was in this sort of mood. And maybe she was right. Maybe a party was just what I needed.
Happily Ever Afters Page 4