Lady of the Knight
Page 20
After a while, she tossed aside the quill and bathed her face again. She poured herself some wine and liberally watered it. Then she opened the tent flap and prayed for a stray cooling breeze. She heard cheers and a fanfare of trumpets coming from the distant tiltyard. She wondered if Jack Stafford had fallen on his face yet. She put no credence in his boast that he was the finest jouster of the lot. She yawned and didn’t bother to cover her mouth as Andrew had often chided her to do. There was no one in sight except her guard. Even the camp dogs had disappeared. Everyone was out enjoying themselves except her.
Nym stirred from his spot in the scant shade. “Sir Andrew said you’re supposed to stay inside, mistress,” he muttered.
She sighed. “Tis hot and stuffy.”
“Aye, mistress, tis that.”
Rosie lowered the flap and paced restlessly around the ornate border of the Turkish rug. After finishing her wine, she got out the deck of cards from Andrew’s portmanteau. She returned to the table, pushed aside her writing materials and shuffled the cards. Andrew had told her that all ladies were expected to know how to play several diverting games of chance. She laid out a hand of patience and attempted to beat the deck. She poured herself more wine, but did not add as much water to it this time. The long, lazy afternoon dragged on.
After losing a third round, Rosie tossed down her hand with disgust. She yawned again and decided that a nap would be the best way to make the time pass. She went into the inner chamber, clambered on top of Andrew’s large bed and soon drifted into a light sleep.
A sudden movement roused her. When she opened her eyes, a heavy woolen blanket was thrown on top of her. Then she was scooped up and tossed over someone’s shoulder.
“Put me down, Guy! Tis too hot for such tricks.”
The churl only laughed.
She tried to kick him, but her toes flailed in the air. “Jack! Brandon! Stop! Andrew will be furious! This is no way to treat a lady!”
Her abductor slapped her soundly on the backside. Even through several layers of skirts and petticoats, the blow stung. “True enough, but you are no lady, are you, Rosie?”
A stab of panic coursed through her as she recognized Sir Gareth’s voice. She quelled her icy fear through sheer willpower. She would need her wits to escape this man. She had already seen what violence he was capable of.
He chortled in a nasty fashion. “You are a guttersnipe in borrowed feathers,” he continued. “But I will amend that mistake shortly. I intend to pluck you bare.”
Rosie shuddered. “Help!” she shouted. “Nym! Help me!”
With a terrible oath, Gareth cuffed her. “If you are screeching for that oaf Ford left outside, he is…indisposed.”
Rosie’s ears rang and she felt sick to her stomach. I must leave a sign so they will know I have not run away again. She fumbled with the clasp of her precious necklace. It slipped from her neck and fell on the edge of the rug. Fortunately, neither Gareth nor his silent accomplice noticed it. Rosie prayed that Andrew would find it soon.
“Help me!” she shouted when they ducked through the entrance.
Gareth struck her again, much harder this time.
“Sweet Jesu!” she murmured, just before she fainted.
Chapter Eighteen
The supper hour had already arrived by the time Andrew and Jeremy returned from the masque rehearsal. Andrew was in excellent spirits. He had been given an especially large part to memorize and he knew he would be the center of attention when they presented their piece before Henry and his queen. Jeremy ran ahead to set the table. Andrew whistled the tune of the new galliard he had just spent the past hour learning. He prided himself on the height of his leaps.
The squire met him at the entrance. “Rosie’s gone!”
Andrew ground his teeth. “I expressly told her to stay inside, but she flouts me at every—”
The youth interrupted, “Nay, my lord. She was taken and Nym has a large bump on the side of his head.”
Andrew tensed. Jeremy tied open one of the tent flaps. Inside, Nym lay on the rug nursing a gash behind his ear. “He dragged himself in here but passed out before he could help her,” Jeremy explained in a low voice.
“Fetch water and clean his wound,” Andrew instructed. He knelt down beside the guardsman. “Who did this foul deed?”
Nym grimaced as he pulled himself into a half-sitting position. “The devil, my lord! I was struck from behind. From a distance, methinks I heard Mistress Rosie acalling help, but…” He grew silent.
Rage engulfed Andrew. He wanted to tear through the entire encampment, slashing open every tent until he found his beloved. Then cold reason took the upper hand. He realized that he needed help. “Touch nothing but Nym’s head,” he told his squire as he strapped on his sword and scabbard. “I will return anon.”
He dashed through the village of pavilions toward the Cavendish family campsite. He prayed that the Thornburys had returned from their visit to the French. The soft glow of candlelight shining through the canvas cheered him.
“What ho, Sir Thomas! I am in dire necessity!” Andrew shouted outside their tent.
He almost wept with relief when the earl himself lifted the flap.
Sir Thomas Cavendish furrowed his graying brows when he saw his former squire. “How now? What is all the fuss about?”
Andrew barely paused for breath. “My Rosie has been snatched from under my nose. My guard lies sore injured and my own blood boils. I have come to beg your help and Buttercup. I fear the worst.”
The earl stepped outside in the gathering twilight. A fierce spark leapt into his Nordic blue eyes. “Softly, old friend. You know better than to begin a hunt while hot under the collar. Jan!” he bellowed for his current squire. A tall young man appeared around the side of the tent. “Fetch my sword and dagger. Put Buttercup on her leash. Tell my wife—”
“Tell me what, Thomas?” Lady Alicia appeared in their entranceway.
Andrew groaned inwardly. She would kill him for his neglect. “Rosie has been abducted by some enemy of mine, my lady. God help me, I wish it were not true.”
Her eyes flashed. “Thomas! You must find the poor child!”
Thomas swore under his breath as he guided her back inside. “Aye, my love, but until I do, I request that you remain here in safety. Nay, Alicia, I will brook no arguments now. Haven’t the time. When the boys return from their bathing, send them after us. Tell them to come armed. Nay, not a word!” He kissed her hard on the mouth, then backed out of their tent and dropped the flap.
Jan reappeared with Thomas’ heavy sword in one hand and the leash of a large, yellow hound in the other. The earl grunted his approval as he girded himself. He gathered Buttercup’s leash in his hands, then turned to Andrew. “Show me where she was. Step lively!”
Ford needed no urging. He ran to keep apace with the earl’s long strides. Buttercup strained at her leash and wagged her whiplike tail with anticipation. When they reached Andrew’s tent, Thomas released the dog and allowed her to explore the interior. He called for more light, then he dropped to all fours and investigated the rug.
“Someone with dirt on his boots came in here. Observe.” He outlined the faint mark. “Tis not yours nor the boy’s for you make a religion of wiping your feet. Tis your villain, I warrant.”
He crawled forward, following the tracks. Buttercup joined him, sniffing deeply. Andrew watched them, his heart hammering in his throat.
“Aye, girl. Scent him out.” When they reached the inner chamber, Thomas stood and leaned over the rumpled bed. He plucked one of Rosie’s long blond hairs from the pillow.
“The lass lay down—asleep, no doubt. See here?” He pointed to the prints of two boots beside the bed. “The knave grabbed her here.”
Andrew gritted his teeth. “I will flay him alive.”
Sir Thomas grunted. “Must catch him first, my boy. Buttercup, mark!” He pointed to the place where Rosie had lain. “And here, mark!” He pointed to the boot prints.
Thomas watched his dog with grim satisfaction. “Most sensitive nose in Christendom. Can smell out a single man in a mob. Like her great-grandsire Deuce. Pup looked fit to die, but he turned out to be the best tracker I ever had.”
Buttercup quivered. The hair on the scruff of her neck bristled.
Thomas licked his lips. “Find him! Seek, Buttercup. Find him!”
With her nose inches above the rug, the dog circled the main chamber again. Andrew opened his mouth to complain that she wasted time, but Thomas held up his hand for silence. Buttercup hovered over a spot near the edge of the rug. Jeremy crept closer to the huge animal, and pounced on a small object that Andrew had missed.
“Tis her necklace.” He held up the slim gold chain with its roses.
Thomas patted the dog. “Good girl! Seek! Find her!”
Like an arrow shot from a bow, Buttercup jumped through the open entrance. She circled the ground outside, then trotted to the left around the rear of Lord Emerickes’ tent.
The earl, Andrew and the two squires followed close behind her.
In the purple gloaming, Thomas’ eyes gleamed with the thrill of a chase. When Andrew had served as his squire, he had often seen that look and it boded ill for the pursued.
“The game is afoot!” the earl rumbled under his breath. “Do you know whom we seek?”
Andrew gripped his sword hilt. “Methinks tis Sir Gareth Hogsworthy. He has coveted Rosie and plagued me for keeping her.”
“Aye,” Thomas replied. “But where has he hidden the lass? The man is no lackwit. He would not drag her back to his own lair.”
Andrew nodded grimly. He did not want to contemplate what Gareth would do to her once he felt he was safe from discovery. Rosie, my love, hold on! I will save you, or die. I am dying now.
Buttercup led them away from the nobles’ area. Then she veered to the right, and cut around the tents of the royal servants. People glanced up with wide-eyed surprise as the dog and her followers raced past them, but neither Andrew nor the others spared a breath to enlighten them.
They crossed one of the wide avenues that radiated out from the center of the English encampment. Buttercup swept into the plainer, smaller tents of the hundreds of clergymen who had accompanied the great Cardinal Wolsey to France.
Andrew mopped the sweat from his streaming face with his sleeve. “My lord, methinks Buttercup has taken a wrong turn.”
The earl shook his head. The dog picked up the pace. She headed for the last ragged row in that holy section. Thomas stopped so suddenly, Andrew nearly fell over him. Ten feet ahead, Buttercup circled outside a brightlylit tent. The flaps were closed and were securely tied from within. Muffled laughter seeped through the thin canvas.
“Methinks we have found our quarry,” he whispered.
Andrew started forward, but the earl held him in a vise grip. “Never charge a maddened boar, my boy. You get more by stealth.” He gave a low whistle and Buttercup bounded back to his side. Thomas rubbed her ears and held her by her collar. Then he turned to the panting squires.
“Creep close and cast an eye through the flaps if you can. Be nimble on your feet, boys. If they spy you, race away from us. Now, foot it!”
The squires slipped past them. Andrew chaffed at the wait.
“Why send those striplings to do a man’s job?” he whispered.
“Because they can run faster than either of us, Andrew. We are not in the springtime of our youth, no matter how sprightly your Rosie makes you feel.” He squeezed Andrew’s arm. “Hold fast! We’ll get her back.”
The squires flitted among the deep night shadows. When they reached their objective, they slithered along the side until they passed slowly by the slit entrance. Andrew held his breath. The boys doubled back and made a second pass.
“A pox on their hides,” he whispered to Thomas. “They will give the game away.” His nerves screamed under his skin.
The squires disappeared behind a neighboring tent. The sounds of merrymaking continued unabated. Jeremy materialized out of the darkness. His face looked white in the faint light of the quarter moon. His lower lip quivered.
“Aye, she’s there, but…” He gulped.
Andrew dug his fingers into the boy’s shoulder. “Is she hurt?”
Jeremy swallowed. “They have tied her down across a trestle table, my lord,” he whispered. His voice shook with his anger.
Andrew’s wrath boiled up in his throat. He unsheathed his sword. He would kill them all. Thomas tightened his grip on his arm. “Nurse your fury in silence a moment longer. Jan, how many within?”
“Five,” the older squire said. “Two lords, their squires and a cleric.”
Andrew ground his teeth. “There is no man of God in there, but one who worships Satan. I’ll send him to his infernal master.”
Thomas drew his great sword and his dagger. “Jan, find my sons and lead them here. Jeremy, return to your tent and prepare for your master’s return. He and the lass will require food and warmth. See to it!”
Both boys dashed away in the darkness. Then Thomas turned to Andrew and grinned wickedly. The earl’s teeth gleamed in the moonlight, giving him an unearthly look. “Shall we join the feast, my boy?”
Andrew didn’t trust himself to speak, but merely nodded. He gripped his sword tighter. The two men and the dog crept up to the tent. Thomas motioned to Andrew to stay by the entrance with Buttercup while he circled to the rear. The minutes dragged on leaden feet. Andrew felt as if he would jump out of his skin.
Then the peace of the night was shattered by the earl’s battle cry. “A Cavendish, to me!” he roared in bloodcurdling tones. Andrew sliced open the tapes that held the flaps and charged inside. “Attack!” he shouted to Buttercup.
Many things happened at once. Buttercup sprang at Hogsworthy whose back had been to the entrance. Thomas, still bellowing his war cry, slashed a large rent in the rear. The other four men tumbled over each other in their frantic haste to get away from the dog’s fangs.
Andrew noted little of this. Instead, his gaze was riveted to Rosie. Her beautiful eyes dark with fear, she lay dressed only in her shift on the table. A cloth had been jammed into her mouth to silence her cries. When interrupted, Gareth had been in the act of unlacing his codpiece. ‘
The earl touched the villain’s private parts with the tip of his sword. “Move a whisker, I beg you. Twill be my pleasure to relieve you of this.”
Gareth blanched and stood very still. Meanwhile, the dog had backed the other four into a whimpering, cowering huddle. With a strangled cry, Andrew severed Rosie’s bounds then gently pulled the cloth from her mouth. Recognizing him, she burst into tears and turned away, hanging her head in shame.
Andrew covered her with his masquing cape and held her close to his chest. “Rosie, tis all right. You are safe now with me.”
She shivered inside the scarlet satin and gave herself over to convulsive sobs. The pitiful sound tore at his heart. While he held her tight, he stared over her head at the putrid knave who had degraded her so abominably.
“You are not fit to walk in the company of men, Hogsworthy. Your name should be stricken from the list of honorable knights for the distress you have caused this fair maid.”
Despite the proximity of the earl’s sword point, Gareth had the gall to retort, “I see no damsels in distress here, but only a whore being well-used—bought and paid for by me. You had her for over a week. Tis my rightful turn now.”
The earl nicked Gareth’s sensitive skin. The man shrieked several curses. “Is this how you fight your battles, peacock?” he jibed Andrew. “You call on your old master? Afraid to dirty your pretty clothes?”
The fire of Andrew’s rage had already spent itself, leaving an ice-cold hate in its place. He narrowed his eyes and regarded th
e other man as if he were a mangy rat in a trap. “Nay, I do my own fighting. I challenge you to a joust of war, Hogsworthy. The tiltyard at two o’clock tomorrow afternoon. Look to it, you loathsome canker, for I swear to you that my sword and my lance will not be blunted. They thirst for your foul blood.”
He lifted Rosie off the table and carried her out of the reeking place. There, he encountered the Cavendish brothers and Jack. “Your good father and Buttercup have brought a crew of patches to heel and they would be much glad of your assistance in some hearty sport. Do not prick Hogsworthy too badly for I have vowed he is mine alone.”
Brandon and Guy exchanged grins and drew their swords. Jack came alongside Andrew and touched Rosie’s cheek. She flinched.
“Is she hurt?” he asked in a hoarse voice.
Andrew kissed the quaking girl on her forehead. “Aye, Jack, in body and in spirit.”
Jack’s handsome face hardened. “Then I will ride with you against her foe.”
Andrew looked deep into the young man’s eyes and saw a brother’s revenge burning there. “Tomorrow at two in the tiltyard.”
Jack nodded and then followed after his cousins. Andrew shifted Rosie into a more comfortable position and started back toward his tent.
Her sobs subsided into hiccups and whimpers. “I…I am so as…ashamed,” she said through her tears.
He brushed another kiss on her forehead. “Not your fault, my love,” he soothed.
“I tr…tried to fight them off.” Her teeth chattered with shock.
“Shush, my sweet,” he crooned. “You upheld your honor as a lady.”
His words brought a fresh round of tears. “Haint a lady. Never was except in your imagination. Any halfwit can see that now.”
People stared as Andrew stalked past them. He ignored their questions. Only the angel in his arms mattered to him. “I see no one but my much maligned darling.”
Rosie closed her eyes. “Haint nobody’s darling. I am nothing.”