Castles, Knights, and Chivalry: 4 Medieval Romance Novels

by Ruth Kaufman

  “Lord Warden,” said Garrett, trying desperately throughout the entire meal to get the man’s attention. “Now that the meal is finished, would you like to see that my ledgers are in order? Or mayhap you would join me and my knights by the fire for an ale. I know several of my men would like to hear your tales of how you were captured and ransomed after the Battle of Crecy.”

  “Aye,” agreed Echo, hoping to finally be away from the man. “I will leave you now to your business.” She got up to go, but he grabbed her wrist, not allowing her to leave. She bit her bottom lip and looked down to his hand squeezing hers. Oh, what she would give for her sword right now.

  “I would much rather hear about Lady Echo’s capture by the pirates instead. Was it truly awful, my lady? Did they hurt you or threaten you in any way?”

  “I would rather not speak of it since it still upsets me,” she told him.

  “Lady Echo is still recovering from her traumatic ordeal,” said Garrett. “I am sure she would like to retire to the solar to rest.”

  “Nay, I don’t believe that will do, Baron Hythe. Instead, call to your gallery of minstrels to strike up a tune as I will dance with your beautiful wife to make her feel better.”

  “Dance?” Echo asked in surprise. She hadn’t learned to dance from the ladies. Learning to walk in a gliding motion and to talk without cursing had taken up most of her time. She certainly didn’t want to dance! And dancing with the old coot would definitely not make her feel better.

  “Aye,” said Garrett, leaving his chair and escorting Echo to the dance floor himself. “My wife is an accomplished dancer as well as a singer.”

  “Wonderful,” said the man. “And after that, I would like to hear her read poetry to me as well.”

  “What are ye doin’, are ye tryin’ te kill me?” she whispered to Garrett. “I don’t know how te dance.”

  “What the hell,” he whispered back, “you told me the whores taught you.”

  “If ye want te see me dance by shaking my breasts or grinding my hips, then aye, I can do that.”

  “Aye, I would like to see that, but not now. Damn it, Echo, then I’ll make an excuse and you just sing something and be done with it and excuse yourself so I can finally talk business.”

  Lord Warden came to her side then, and Garrett bowed to the man. “With all due respect, my lord, my wife is feeling ill. Instead of the dance she will sing for you.”

  “Oh, I see.” He frowned, and Echo knew this wasn’t going smoothly. “Minstrel,” he said calling over a man with a lute. “Play a tune so this beautiful woman can sing her siren’s song.”

  Garrett couldn’t believe his ears as Echo tried to sing a common song of the times and not only her words came out wrong, but the notes were more sour than the pickled lambs’ feet he’d had for supper.

  “Thank you, wife,” said Garrett nodding to Echo and trying to lead the Lord Warden across the room.

  “Not yet,” said the man, “I’ve yet to hear her recite poetry.” He nodded to one of his men who pulled a scroll from a pouch at his waist and handed it to her.

  Echo looked at Garrett and shook her head. Damn, she really didn’t know how to read, either. Why had he believed her lame story?

  “I’d prefer to recite a poem of my own,” he heard her say. She handed the scroll back to the knight and led the Lord Warden over to the fire. “Page, please bring the good Lord Warden some rum.”

  Rum? Garrett almost shouted aloud not to do it. Now this could not possibly end well. He cringed as he watched a page return with a bottle of rum. Echo took it from the boy and filled the old man’s cup to the brim.

  “You must share this with me,” said the Lord Warden, handing the cup to Echo.

  “If you insist,” she said, taking a lady-like sip. But when the Lord Warden drank some and held it back up to her mouth, Garrett knew he was in trouble.

  It didn’t take long before the two of them were laughing, and every so often Echo slipped with a word not suited for a lady which only seemed to make the man laugh more.

  “Thank you, Lady Echo,” said Garrett, trying to lead his wife away.

  “Not so fast, Hythe,” said the old man. “I’ve yet to hear the poem the beautiful Lady Echo is going to recite.”

  As Echo stood and straightened her gown, Garrett grabbed the bottle of rum and filled his cup as well. Mayhap if he were soused, none of this would seem so bad in the morning.

  Echo opened her mouth, and to his utter surprise, she recited one of the most beautiful poems he had ever heard.

  “I beseech the hand of God,” she started and the whole hall turned quiet. “As he paints upon the pallet of the vast sky. For ’tis naught but the elation of my soul that I have seen in my lover’s eyes. Aye, as the glow encompasses by being, I am rejoiced – for the new dawn brings a new beginning. And I once more look to the sky . . . and also to the man I love.”

  Her eyes interlocked with Garrett’s, and he knew this was no poet’s masterpiece. This was a poem she wrote herself, probably while sitting up in the lookout basket of the Seahawk, staring at the sky. But she’d said something about the man she loved, and she was looking straight at him. Could he be the man she referred to as loving? In his heart, he only hoped it was so. She had never proclaimed her love for him, though he had told her he loved her many times.

  Just then, Edgar ran through the hall and wrapped his arms around Echo’s leg.

  “And who is this young one?” asked the Lord Warden.

  “’Tis my son . . . our son, Edgar,” she said looking up to Garrett and smiling.

  “Is this man grandpa?” asked little Edgar, and everyone laughed.

  “Is your grandfather a Lord Warden like me?” he asked.

  “Nay,” the boy shouted. “My grandpa’s a pirate! And he has a ship called the Seahawk. Tell him, Mommy. Tell him how you’re a pirate and how you fight with a sword.”

  The hall became suddenly quiet, and you could have heard a pin drop among the rushes. No music. No talking. Just dead silence at what they’d all just heard from the mouth of a child. Garrett saw the astonished look upon the Lord Warden’s face, and knew he had to say something fast. However, he was just as shocked as the rest of them, and couldn’t think of a single thing to say to remedy that!

  “Baron Hythe,” the Lord Warden said in a low, angry voice. “You’d better have a good explanation for this.”

  Aye, thought Garrett. He agreed with the man, however, he knew he wasn’t going to be able to get out of this mess. The damage had already been done.

  Echo didn’t wait to hear more. She scooped up Edgar and ran from the hall. She’d ruined everything, and Garrett would hate her now forever. She would most likely be hanged, and who knew what was going to happen to little Edgar.

  “Edgar, how could you say that?” she scolded him, wishing she could do it all over and have put him to bed before the Lord Warden arrived.

  “Did I do something wrong, Mommy?”

  She hugged him to her chest and made her way to the stable. The sun was just going down, and she thought if she could get on a horse and get to the docks she might be able to hide for a while until she could decide what to do.

  She’d just entered the stable and put Edgar down in order to ready a horse, when a voice from behind her stopped her actions cold.

  “Well, sweetums, did ye really think ye’d be able te lose us by hidin’ here?” Filtch stepped out of the shadows along with Drogo and Lank. He motioned with his head.

  “Lank, get the child.”

  “Nay!” She lunged forward, but was stopped by the end of his sword. Damn, she didn’t have her blade or she’d run him through. She didn’t even have her dagger, as she’d never donned it today, hoping to look more like a lady for the Lord Warden. And even her eating knife was left behind in the great hall, because she’d been in such a hurry to leave the table.

  “Mommy,” cried out Edgar. Lank put his hand over the boy’s mouth to silence him.

  “Drogo, ge
t us some horses,” ordered Filtch. “I’ll get the necklace and we’ll be on our way te the Cap’n.”

  He tugged at her necklace, but she fought him with her bare hands. She could have laid him flat even without a weapon, but the long dress and obnoxious sleeves tangled around her and Filtch got her to the ground.

  “Jest bring her too,” said the pirate named Drogo. “I see movement at the manor, and half the damned Cinque Ports fleet is here. We haven’t a chance.”

  “Help me get her on the horse,” said Filtch, using his dagger to rip off part of her tippet of her gown to gag her. He then tied her arms around her with the remaining of the long sleeves.

  Echo felt so helpless as the pirates rode away with her and her son in their possession. She looked back to the manor, but it was a dark night and everyone was inside at the feast. She couldn’t even shout out for help or fight, as she was gagged, and her hands were tied. But then again, there would be no help coming anymore. Everyone inside would probably be after her as well, now that they knew the truth of who she really was.

  As they rode over the bailey making their escape, she heard a clank on the cobblestones below. She turned her head in the direction of the noise but could see naught in the darkness. As they rode out the gate and toward the dock, she felt as if she were saying goodbye to Garrett and her life as a lady forever.

  Chapter 16

  “Pirate?” asked the Lord Warden in rage. “Baron Hythe, tell me what the boy meant when he said his mother was a pirate?”

  “He’s just a child,” stated Garrett. “He was confused, since his mother had been captured by pirates.”

  “He spoke of her using a sword. No woman wields a sword, now what did he mean?”

  “We had to fight for our lives to escape,” he told him. “But the boy exaggerates. I am sure he meant a dagger.”

  “Well, if she isn’t a pirate, why did she run? Something does not add up here, and I intend to find the truth before I leave. But if she is a pirate, Hythe, you will not only be stripped of your lands and title but thrown in the dungeon for harboring a bandit and consorting with the enemy. How do I know you are not one of those cutthroats yourself and planning treason to the king?”

  “Nay, Lord Warden, I assure you I am a loyal vassal to my king. I take my position of Baron of the Cinque Ports seriously. ’Tis an honor and well respected. You need not worry that I am one of them.”

  “That better be true,” the man warned him. “’Twould be such a pity, as I’d taken such a fancy to the girl.”

  Garrett felt his walls crumbling down around him. Everything he’d worked so hard for his entire life was about to be taken from him because of the words of his young son. Echo had played her part well – up until the end. If the boy hadn’t approached them, they might have been able to pull this off. Now, he was about to lose everything – and he had no idea where Echo had run off to, either.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” Garrett said with a bow of his head. “I must step out for a minute, my lord.”

  Garrett made his way to the corridor, furious at the turn of events. He needed to find Echo and she had to work her magic on the Lord Warden and convince him she was a lady and not a pirate. As long as they kept Edgar away from the man, he hoped they would be able to fix this horrible situation.

  Garrett looked in the solar, and even in the mews, but couldn’t find Echo anywhere. He’d climbed the battlements and asked everyone he’d seen, but with the excitement of the Lord Warden in his manor, everyone had been in the great hall at the time.

  He searched the stable and found three of his best horses missing. That didn’t make sense, since the boy was too young to ride alone and Echo would have only taken one horse had she left. He was heading back to the great hall when his foot hit something on the ground. The sound of metal sliding across the cobblestones caught his attention. He looked down and picked up the object, holding it closely to see it in the darkness.

  “Echo’s necklace.” He cradled the silver disk in his hand, knowing how much this meant to her. She’d never take it off. She had refused to even remove it to bathe or when they’d made love. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones.

  “Captain Garrett!” His first mate, Silas, and the young crew member, Blaise, rode horses across the drawbridge and into the courtyard. They had a third horse tied and following behind them. Peering through the darkness, Garrett recognized the horses as his missing ones from his stable.

  “What is it, Silas? What brings you here from port? Is something wrong?” He rushed forward to meet them, having heard the urgency in the man’s voice.

  “They have her,” he said.

  “And the boy,” added Blaise.

  “What the devil are you talking about?” he ground out. “Now slow down and tell me what you’re trying to say.”

  “We were on the docks,” said Silas, “when we noticed a ship with Port Cinque flags, but realized ’twas not one of ours.”

  “That’s right,” added Blaise. “We thought it might be from Dover at first, but knew the Lord Warden’s ship was docked at the opposite end.”

  “And then we recognized it,” said Silas. “And that’s when they came charging up on horses with the girl and the boy.”

  “They took them aboard the ship and left port b’fore we could do anything to stop them,” said Blaise. “We’re sorry, Captain, but there were just too many of them and only two of us. But Silas recognized your horses, so we brought them back here anon.”

  “God’s eyes, what the hell are you trying to say? Who are you talking about? Give me names already or do I have to beat them out of you?”

  “Lady Echo and a child,” said Silas.

  “What?” asked Garrett. “Are you saying someone’s taken them against their will?”

  “Well, I don’t know if it was against her will,” said Silas. “But after all, the captors are pirates, and I don’t know anyone who would go with them willingly.”

  “Pirates?” Garrett’s heart beat furiously. Now it all made sense. “Was it the same ship we’d encountered at sea when I was abducted?”

  “We believe so, Captain,” said Blaise. “Except for the different flags, ’twas the same ship. We’re sure of it.”

  Garrett had a sudden thought that Echo had taken her son and went back to her father. But then he looked down to her necklace in his hand and knew she would never be so careless as to lose it. He thought she was happy here and with him. But then again, she was scared and running. After all, her son had just called her a pirate in front of everyone. He didn’t think she’d go back to the man who’d threatened to sell her son, even if she were frightened. Nay, she had to have been abducted and he needed to go after her at once.

  “Get the crew together,” he told Silas, “and ready the ship.”

  “Captain?” asked Silas in question.

  “I’m going after her,” he told him. “I love her and the boy. Now are you with me or not?”

  “Aye, Captain,” said Silas. “Of course.” Blaise nodded his head as well.

  “Then hurry,” he told them. “These pirates are dangerous and very mean. There is no telling what they’ll do to her or my son.”

  Silas and Blaise rode off, and Garrett made his way inside quickly. Commotion was brewing, and the music had stopped. The Lord Warden walked over to meet him.

  “What kind of a welcome is this for me?” he grumbled. “Now I demand to know what is happening around here.”

  Garrett closed his hand around Echo’s necklace, his heart already aching, wondering if he was ever going to see her again. “My wife and son have been taken by pirates,” he told him.

  Gasps went up from the inhabitants of the hall, and Garrett’s knights rushed up to join him.

  “What are you going to do?” asked Sir Jacob.

  “I’m taking a ship and going after her,” he said.

  “Then I’m coming with you,” said Sir Jacob.

  “As well as I,” added Sir Dwight. “I wou
ld do anything to protect Lady Echo.”

  Half a dozen more of Garrett’s men stepped forward giving the same sentiments and showing their loyalty for Garrett as well.

  “These are pirates,” Lord Warden pointed out to the men. “There is a good chance you won’t come back alive.”

  “We know that,” answered Sir Jacob. “But the lady’s life is in danger as well as her son’s.”

  “Very admirable indeed,” surmised the Lord Warden with a nod of his head. “Especially since the boy just told us she is a pirate herself.”

  “I apologize for my hasty departure,” Garrett told the man, “but I must leave you now. I only wish your visit to my manor could have been on better terms.”

  Then he looked up to his men and raised a hand. “Everyone who’s with me, collect your weapons and get to the docks immediately.”

  Garrett looked at the angry face of the Lord Warden once more, knowing whatever happened tonight was going to seal his fate one way or another.

  “Welcome daughter. So nice te have ye back.”

  Echo stumbled onto the deck of the Seahawk, being pushed from behind by Filtch. He removed the gag from her mouth. The other pirates followed with her son, and the ship shoved off into the sea.

  “Father, what is the meaning of this?” she asked, struggling to get her hands free.

  “What’s the meaning of this attire?” growled the captain, lifting his dagger and cutting her hands free from the tippets that served as her captors.

  Echo angrily ripped the long hanging sleeves off the gown and threw them onto the deck. “How dare you send your lackeys to collect me and Edgar as if you had the right to.”

  “What’s the matter with ye?” he asked, squinting his eyes and moving forward to have a better look at her. “Ye not only don’t look like a pirate but neither do ye sound like one anymore. What happened to ye, Echo?”