My Noble Knight

by Laurel O'Donnell

  Griffin opened his mouth and then closed it. Humiliated? He had never meant… His jaw tightened… Had she been with Ethan? How could she not? He was handsome and fun. Like Richard. He bowed his head, and searched the ground as if for an answer. He had said horrible things to her, things his father had said to him. Things he could not take back. He was not worthy of her. He didn’t want her to go. But he could never make her stay. “Make your choice,” he said to her and turned away.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Layne watched him go, miserably alone standing amongst her brothers. She raced after Griffin and demanded, “I would know only one thing before I make my decision.”

  Griffin stopped, but did not turn to her.

  “Did you kiss any of those women?”

  It seemed like he winced, but she couldn’t be certain. Finally, he turned to her. There was such agony in his eyes that she wanted to throw her arms around him and hold him, but she stood stone still.

  “Layne,” he whispered, sighing her name as if it were a cry of pain. “Those women mean nothing to me. I was expected to be there amongst the nobility. I was expected to be there for the ceremony. I didn’t want you to go because I knew… I knew how those noble women acted. I knew they would throw themselves at me. I am a precious commodity, a very eligible knight. They want me to pick a bride. But I want none of them.”

  Her gaze scanned his face.

  He looked at the ground. “No. I did not kiss any of them.”

  Relief welled up inside her. She believed him, because she wanted to or because she knew he wouldn’t lie, she wasn’t sure. She wanted him to tell her he wanted her with him. She wanted him to laugh and smile. But he was so tortured and anguished she knew he would do nothing.

  Griffin turned and walked across the field.

  She wasn’t even sure he knew what he wanted.

  “I don’t want you with him any longer,” Colin ordered from behind her. “I will take Ethan’s loan.”

  Ethan joined them. “I’ve never seen him act like that before. He’s usually so in control.”

  She said nothing as Griffin vanished back into the dark. She could never be what he needed her to be. She didn’t belong with those other ladies. She didn’t belong in fine dresses and perfumed hair. She walked toward the tent. He could never present her to his family, because she had unhorsed him. And she couldn't change that.

  “Layne!” Colin called from behind her.

  But she didn’t stop. She needed to think. She needed to clear her head. She needed to decide what to do.

  Griffin didn’t sleep. He kept waiting for her to walk into the tent. But she never did. He imagined Ethan’s hands on her body, his lips kissing her. Like Jacquelyn. Women were not to be trusted. But somehow, this betrayal ran deeper than Jacquelyn’s. He had believed Layne was honorable, that she would never do something like that.

  When he awoke, the Fletcher tent was gone. He stared at the empty spot for a very long time. An incredible feeling of longing and sadness gripped him.

  It was for the best, he told himself. She was becoming a distraction. All that was important was winning the tournament. And he would have enough on his mind with his family at the next tournament at Woodstock.

  But somehow, he couldn’t quite get his mind over the fact that she was gone.

  Chapter Twenty

  Layne picked up the flasks and extra pieces of bread her brothers had left after breaking their fast, then paused, staring at them. It hadn’t been her duty to pick up after them before she was in Griffin’s care. With her brothers, everyone cleaned up after themselves. There were no assigned duties; they all helped out with everything. She sat back on her heels. Now, it had just become habit. Yes. Griffin had taught her much. Organization mostly. He was so neat, whereas her brothers were not. But he also taught her heartache. He could do so much better than her. He deserved to marry someone beautiful.

  But more than that, she missed him terribly. It was a long moment before she realized she had stopped working and was blankly staring at the bread she held in her hand. She glanced up to find Colin watching her from his seated position across the campfire. She quickly looked away from him.

  “You think I was wrong to accept Ethan’s loan?” he asked.

  Layne shrugged. “It doesn’t matter where the loan came from. A debt is a debt.” She picked up a bone from the morning meal and placed it into a pot.

  “Are you actually cleaning up?”

  “We don’t want wild animals coming into the camp. I’ll just toss these droppings into the forest.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  Colin’s question startled her. “No.” She shook her head. “He didn’t until… Well, you were there.”

  “Others have said you were less than lady-like before. It never bothered you.”

  “That’s not what bothered me,” she confessed. Her throat closed and she bowed her head to concentrate on her task.

  Colin shook his head and leaned forward. “Then what, Layne? The way he spoke to you…”

  “He never used that tone before. It was like… like he was embarrassed of me.”

  “What difference does that make? What should it matter to you what he thinks of you?”

  She lifted her gaze to him and he wavered before her eyes. “It does matter.”

  Alarmed, Colin climbed to his feet. “What is it?”

  She looked away again. “I just… admire him. I just think he is a skilled… knight.”

  Colin was beside her. “Oh, Layne. You didn’t… you didn’t fall in love with him, did you?”

  She let out an exasperated breath and vehemently shook her head. “No,” she insisted. “No, not at all.” But she knew the words were to convince herself as well as Colin.

  “Layne,” Colin groaned. He reached down and stroked her hair.

  She shrugged him off. “Don’t treat me like a little sister. You know I hate that.”

  He knelt before her. “But you are my little sister.”

  She looked up at him and the tears wouldn’t be denied. She pressed her face into his shoulder.

  His arms went around her.

  “He doesn’t like me.” It was the lamest excuse. And it didn’t even touch on the truth, but it was all she could mutter.

  Colin stroked her back. “Then he doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

  She let him soothe her for a moment, then nodded and wiped at her eyes. She sat back. “We have to concentrate on winning this joust,” she said. “We don’t have time to think about Griffin.”

  “You’re wrong. He’s won the last three tournaments we’ve been in. He is all we should be thinking about.”

  Layne softly grunted and began to pick up more of the bones on the ground. “If Frances would take his practices more seriously.”

  Colin narrowed his eyes. “You were around Wolfe for a while. Did you watch any of his practices?”

  Layne nodded. “Just one. It wasn’t very lady-like to want to watch the practices. Or so he said.” She wiped the remainder of her tears away.

  “Did you see anything?”

  Layne looked up at Colin in confusion.

  “Any flaw? Anything we could take advantage of?”

  Layne thought back to the practice she watched. She thought of the way Griffin’s blonde hair glimmered like gold beneath the moonlight. She thought of the rippling power in his arms, the expert way he handled his horse. “He was amazing,” she whispered. “He knows his skill well. And he is strong…” She met Colin’s gaze. “He splintered the quintain. It was unbelieveable.”

  Colin nodded. “You told me. But what else? Think Layne. He has to have a weakness. No man is perfect at every aspect of jousting.”

  Layne shrugged. “If I saw something, so would another opponent. If he has a weakness, he hides it well.”

  “How did you beat him?”

  Layne sighed softly. “At first I thought it was me.” She shook her head. “But someone cut his leather stirrup. Someone tr
ied to sabotage him.”

  Colin put a hand on her shoulder. “You do understand that we have to win this tournament. This is our last chance.”

  “I know,” Layne whispered. “I know.”

  Tents dotted the Woodstock hillside. The castle rose in the distance, a large wall of stone surrounding it. Griffin had Carlton set up camp as close to the forest as he could. He knew the Fletchers would be there. And he knew Layne was still in danger from the other knights who disapproved of her. Disapproved. He grunted as the word that came to mind. At least they didn’t humiliate her. Griffin scanned the hillside, but didn’t see her tent.

  Carlton walked up to him. “The tent is set up. The horses are resting comfortably.”

  Then it was time to enter the lists. Griffin moved up the hillside, through the competitors’ pavilions. There were more colorful tents here than at any other tournament he had attended all year. He skirted knights, nodding his head in greeting, as he made his way toward Woodstock Castle. Laughter and the clang of metal against metal rang out. “Have you seen my brother yet?”

  Carlton shook his head. “He’s probably in the palace.”

  Griffin narrowed his eyes and looked toward the field of honor. More likely prancing around on the field, displaying his prowess.

  “She is near the forest.”

  Griffin swung his gaze to Carlton.

  “Layne. She and her brothers have set up camp near the forest, around the bend from our tent.”

  Griffin stared at Carlton for a long moment. How had he known what he was thinking? Carlton had squired for him for years. The boy knew him well. Perhaps too well. Griffin nodded.

  Carlton’s face softened. Was that sympathy in the boy’s eyes?

  Griffin faced the wind, feeling the breeze pushing his locks from his face, and pretended that relief didn’t surge in his body. She wasn’t with Ethan. She was with her family. He took a deep breath and continued toward the castle.

  “Your father is at the castle.”

  Griffin stopped so abruptly that Carlton slammed into his back. He whirled on his squire. “My father is here?”

  Carlton nodded. “And your sister.”

  “God’s blood!” Griffin muttered and looked at the looming castle. It was a trap! He had guessed they would be here, but to hear it was actually so... Every instinct inside of him demanded he run. His entire family, here. Looking for him, no doubt. He had made no attempt to avoid them or to hide from them. They knew where he was and what he was doing. But this... This felt different. It felt like they were descending on him like lions on a hunt. He knew it would only be time before they cornered him. But that didn’t make facing them any less daunting. He had only this joust to win to prove to his father, nay all of them, that he didn’t need them and had no intention of returning.

  He faltered for a moment, hesitancy in his step. Perhaps he could wait until later to enter the lists. He groaned inwardly. It would do no good to wait. He would have to face them eventually. He continued toward the castle.

  The crowd was daunting. Knights who didn’t usually travel the circuit of tourneys were here, either to impress Prince Edward or to win the purse. It made no difference to Griffin. They may be knights, but that didn’t mean they knew how to joust.

  Griffin made his way into the Great Hall. Tables were set up with banners behind each one. All the knights who had already entered the lists had posted their banners. He scanned the crowd. A group of knights lounged near the hearth, laughing. Other knights sat at dozens of tables, drinking and listening to the troubadour near the dais. More newly-arrived knights were still hanging their banners.

  It took a moment before Griffin spotted Layne’s brothers, Frances and Michael. A moment of anxiety seized him and he continued to scan the Great Hall, hoping she was not here, hoping her brothers made her stay back at the tent. For her own safety. This was not a place for her. He glanced back at the door. Maybe he should check. Maybe he should make sure she was safe.

  What was he thinking? He would enter the lists and practice. She was not his concern. He should be concentrating on who might have sabotaged him and focus on stopping those who might try it again.

  After entering the lists, and welcoming all challengers, Griffin left Carlton to attend the remaining formalities and turned to leave the crowded room. He paused when he saw a tall man with blonde hair pushed back from his face enter the room. It was his brother Richard. Richard walked beside a shorter man with dark hair. The way everyone bowed and scrambled around the shorter man, Griffin knew it must be Prince Edward.

  Richard greeted the room with a stunning smile, one that had always made friends quickly. He swept in confidently, perhaps a bit arrogantly, but the knights rushed to greet him, surrounding him and the prince in a cocoon of praise.

  Griffin grimaced in disapproval and turned away. There was a side entrance he could use to quickly escape before Richard spotted him. As he ducked into the hallway, he almost ran over a woman. With a mumbled apology on his lips, he suddenly recognized her familiar face. The only woman who had ever broken his heart. The woman who had sent him on this journey of escape. Jacquelyn. She was still lovely, after all these years. But he now noticed the coldness in her gaze, the assessing sweep of her eyes, eyes that glimmered like blue ice crystals. Her blonde hair was immaculately styled up, surrounded by a golden veil.

  “Griffin!” she greeted and moved forward as if to embrace him.

  He quickly took her hand and pressed his knuckles to it. He had no desire for her to hold him. But he had every desire to remain in control of the situation. “Lady Jacquelyn.” He stood tall, releasing her hand. “The years have been kind to you.” God’s blood! He should have known she would be at Richard’s side.

  Her lower lip protruded in a practiced pout. One he knew all too well. “We were friends once. Is that how you greet a friend?”

  “We were never friends. And after you married my brother –”

  “I had hoped you were over me.”

  He leaned in closer. “Very. Over. You.” She had hurt him. Badly. But that seemed like another lifetime. He had no desire for her to turn her venomous attention on him again. He would make it clear he had no interest. “I assume you and Richard are happy.”

  Jacquelyn cast a glance over his shoulder at the crowd surrounding Richard. She nodded with something close to longing in her eyes. “At times.”

  Griffin didn’t know how to respond to that. He should have known her greed would make her unhappy. One man would never be enough. Now, staring down at her true nature, he was glad she had let him go. “Gwen is here?”

  Jacquelyn nodded. “When they heard you were going to be here, they all agreed we had to come. You know, that was why Richard joined Prince Edward in hosting the tourney. He wanted to see you.”

  Griffin had guessed as much. His gaze scanned the Great Hall as if expecting to find his sister there.

  Jacquelyn laid her hand on his arm. “I understand you don’t want to come back. Don’t fear. I’ll keep you informed of their plans. We can be allies.” She smiled conspiratorially at him.

  Griffin eased his arm from her grip. That was the very last thing he wanted. She was not to be trusted. He didn’t think he could believe a word that came from her lips. “I’m perfectly capable of dealing with my family.” He turned from her and began to walk down the hallway to the door leading to the inner ward.

  “Then why do you keep running away?”

  He grit his teeth. Is that what Richard had told her? Or did she draw that conclusion herself? He didn’t run. Not any longer.

  “Griffin!” He winced at his brother’s voice and slowly turned to find Richard moving into the hallway toward him.

  Griffin straightened. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen his brother. But the man had not changed. He was exactly the same. Arrogant, confident. He, no doubt, expected to win the joust. Not this time, Griffin thought.

  Griffin extended his hand and Richard greeted him with
the customary clasping of arms.

  “Trying to steal my wife?” Richard asked, holding Griffin’s hand tightly.

  Old wounds didn’t heal. It had been Richard who had slept with Jacquelyn. “She’s all yours,” Griffin said, dropping his hand.

  Richard threw his head back and laughed. “Still the same old Griffin.”

  Griffin only nodded. When Griffin had last left, they were barely on speaking terms. Richard, embarrassed into silence by his betrayal of his brother with Jacquelyn, Griffin just stewing in wordless anger. Their gazes shifted to Jacquelyn. All because of a woman. Now, she was well in Griffin’s past. But the betrayal still hung between them like a curtain of shame. Griffin looked at his brother. “Good to see you, Richard.”

  Richard grinned his thanks and placed an arm about Griffin’s shoulders, guiding him into the Great Hall.

  Jacquelyn trailed them.

  “No wife yet?” Richard wondered.

  “What wife would want to be hauled around from joust to joust?” Griffin wondered. Only one woman came to mind.

  Richard laughed, casting a gaze over his shoulder at Jacquelyn. “None that I know of.”

  “Is that why you haven’t participated?”

  Richard leaned in close to whisper, “Not that I don’t envy you. But, alas, I have a castle and lands to run. There is the constant threat of invasion. And Father… Well, Father is Father. You can never please him.”

  “You always pleased him.”

  Richard shrugged slightly. His face darkened. “Not always.”

  Griffin looked at his brother, wondering what he meant. For as long as he could remember, Richard had been his father’s favorite. He always gave Richard whatever he wanted. There were no consequences for Richard. He did what he wanted. And now, with the responsibility of the lands and castle on his shoulders, Griffin was surprised he had straightened up and done what was required of him. He supposed Father was pulling strings in the background. Perhaps that was what his brother was talking about. “Will you joust in the tournament?”