Harlequin Historical July 2021--Box Set 2 of 2

by Madeline Martin

  ‘I do not know about that, but I’ll be glad of the protection you provide for us, sir.’

  ‘It shall be my pleasure, my lady.’ He nodded. ‘And just to give you further peace of mind, there’ll be de Clancey guards dotted around the keep and outside your chamber, courtesy of Lady Isabel de Clancey.’

  ‘Then please pass on my thanks to the lady, until I am able to convey them in person.’

  ‘I’ll be happy to.’ He strolled beside her. ‘And how is our mutual friend?’

  She sighed. ‘As well as can be expected, when you consider that he’s spending the eve of the most important combat against Stephen le Gros in a dungeon.’ She frowned. ‘Was there nothing that could have been done about it?’

  ‘I’m afraid not. I tried to share the burden with him, but Ralph would not have it. He insisted that it was his penance and only he would spend the night in that hovel.’

  ‘But it is hardly fair.’

  ‘I agree, yet it was the only way to appease a man as powerful as the Earl of Hereford.’

  ‘So, while Ralph has to sleep in that rat-infested hovel, as you put it, his cousin can spend the night on a warm comfortable pallet.’

  ‘Let it not trouble you, Lady Gwenllian. Ralph has slept in worse places without it impacting his performance. You forget he is a seasoned warrior.’

  ‘I shall try not to, sir, but it still worries me greatly.’

  ‘I understand.’ He gave her a reassuring smile as they approached the entrance to the keep. ‘I shall leave you here and bid you goodnight, my lady, Mistress Brida. Until tomorrow.’

  Yes, it all rested on what would happen on the morrow.

  One thing was certain; she was not going to get much sleep this evening either.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Gwen sat in the canopied spectators’ area with the royal party, twisting her hands in her lap nervously. As predicted, she had a very difficult night, tossing and turning, anxious about the event about to commence and unfold. It was not a cold day, yet she could not stop shivering and breathing unevenly.

  She scanned the area and caught Lady Isabel de Clancey’s eyes further along the way, sitting with Lady Eleanor Tallany and her young son. It seemed that they were just as nervous as she, which for a strange reason was quite comforting, knowing that she was not the only who cared for Ralph and the outcome today.

  Gwen smiled and inclined her head when she realised that she was being beckoned over to sit with them. ‘Gwen, Brida, come and sit with me!’ William Tallany said loudly.

  The two young women shuffled along to sit with their small group and greeted one another before sitting down beside them.

  ‘I wanted to thank you, Isabel, for providing the guards around the keep yesterday. It meant that I could go to my bed feeling far more secure than I otherwise would have.’

  ‘Oh, it really was nothing.’ Isabel shrugged. ‘And it was the least I could do after what you did. I am told that without your statement of support for Ralph, he would have not been successful in convincing the Crown of his true identity.’

  ‘I could hardly sit by and allow that to happen.’

  ‘No.’ Isabel smiled knowingly at her. ‘I suppose you could not.’

  Gwen sobered. ‘Lady Isabel, I believe that you are under a misapprehension regarding Ralph and myself.’

  ‘Do not distress yourself about such trifles and I am sure that you are right.’ Her smile deepened briefly before it slipped away. ‘Look, they are about to commence.’

  Gwen snapped her head around to watch Ralph stride towards the royal stands, his hauberk mail armour worn over a gambeson, carrying his shield and helmet in one hand and his gleaming metal sword in the other. He seemed every part the raw, menacing, powerful warrior exuding strength and confidence. And he had never looked more wonderful. He walked with purpose, his cousin on one side as he reached the dais in front of where King Henry sat in his royal regalia, flanked either side by the two Marcher Earls of Chester and Hereford who maintained their roles as hosts of the tournament.

  The men knelt with their swords in front of them, solemnly making an oath to God, to the King and to the rules of the combat they would soon engage in.

  Gwen kept her eyes on Ralph de Kinnerton, the man she loved deeply, but had to forsake. She noted that he had wrapped her token around his wrist and hoped that it would bring him the fortuity that he deserved. He got to his feet and met her eyes briefly before turning his attention to his weaponry. It amazed her that this man, who seemed so assured and confident, could be the same as the one who had spent the night in that stinking dungeon.

  Either way it mattered not, when her heart clenched tightly at the sheer sight of him. When tiny wisps unfurled in her stomach, just by being near to him.

  She reproached herself, knowing it was futile to continually acknowledge these feelings. If last night proved one thing, it was that they were not destined to be with one another, however much they both might desire it. The life-changing events from the past made a future together a sad impossibility.

  ‘Do not worry about him, Gwen,’ Isabel muttered in her ear. ‘I’m sure he shall prevail.

  ‘I hope so. His cousin is also skilled and would not think it beneath him to use underhand tactics.’

  ‘That may well be true, but Ralph will see through anything. I am certain.’

  She nodded. ‘I’m sure your estimation is right and I’m glad that his night in the dungeon does not seem to have had a detrimental effect.’

  William Tallany turned to her and responded earnestly. ‘That is ’cos I made sure Ralph had lots of honey cake when he came out of that hellhole.’

  ‘William! Where did you hear such coarse language?’ his mother reprimanded.

  ‘Papa said it.’

  ‘And yet it’s not the proper thing in front of ladies,’ Eleanor said as William shrugged an apology, making them all smile, breaking the tension briefly.

  ‘Well, in any case, we shall soon find out, but do not forget that today Ralph fights for honour and the chance to have Kinnerton restored to him in front of the most important men in the land. And as himself, without another’s mask.’ Isabel squeezed Gwen’s hand.

  ‘Yes, very true.’

  It also meant that, above all, she hoped Ralph would be victorious after overcoming adversity with everything that he had endured. He deserved nothing less.

  * * *

  Ralph felt darts of apprehension and tension flicker down his spine. This momentous occasion that he had, in some way, been waiting six long years for had finally arrived. His day of reckoning with Stephen le Gros.

  God, but the man was vile and reprehensible. He had betrayed his father and been instrumental in his downfall, taken Kinnerton, betrayed Ralph and tried to bring about his demise, time and again. But above all, he was the man who had hurt Gwenllian ferch Hywel in the most abhorrent, unspeakable manner. All because of his insatiable greed and lust for power. But Ralph must not think about her now, could not be distracted by his thoughts of her. He must channel his own anger.

  Ralph allowed this to penetrate his mind again and again, reminding himself of everything that Stephen had done. All the futile pain and destruction the man had caused.

  They stood adjacent to one another, kneeling in front of King Henry and the Marcher Earls, making an oath of peace to King Henry. They then turned to face each other with a perfunctory bow as customary under the chivalric knightly code. And then it begun...immediately with their clashing swords.

  Stephen came at him with a succession of attacking strikes, sweeping his sword across his body, pushing Ralph back into defending himself. Neither man spoke as they were both wrapped in these initial encounters, trying to gain the measure of one another.

  Over and over Ralph turned and tilted his sword to defend the onslaught of Stephen driving and pushing his attacks forward,
ruthlessly. It mattered not, as Ralph was ready for the relentless wave of strikes, noting with satisfaction that not only did he match his cousin’s strength with ease, but he held him back with such force and determination that it was making Stephen become increasingly subdued, his movements slightly laboured.

  Still, he would not underestimate the man who was known for his cunning. The clash of the metal blades continued as his cousin lunged forward, swiping and slashing his sword across, making Ralph spin around to his side to engage in the riposte and counter-attack. Oh, yes, he also had a few tricks under his gambeson.

  ‘Not bad, my young cousin. Not bad for someone like you,’ Stephen muttered from under his helmet.

  ‘Someone like me? And pray what is that, Stephen?’

  ‘Now, I would not want you to run off crying, Ralph. Not in front of all these people, including the gullible young King, come to witness this little family squabble. But come now, Ralph you know exactly what I mean. It seems you have been busy these past few years. Why, you could barely hold a sword before, let alone yield it.’

  ‘I have certainly lived through the most arduous of years,’ Ralph said, swinging his sword around his body effortlessly.

  ‘I suppose you must have,’ his cousin said uninterestedly. ‘And yet I cannot help being a little disappointed.’

  ‘I am sure you must be, since all your attempts to stifle me have only ended in failure.’

  ‘Have they?’ He chuckled. ‘We shall see. To think that after all this time and effort, you’re still going to lose, Ralph. Oh, yes, how very disappointing and predictable you are.’

  ‘I do not think so.’ Ralph would not allow this man to crawl under his skin like he used to and spread his venom. ‘I am no longer the boy you used to know and manipulate for your own gain.’

  And to prove his point Ralph stepped back and removed his helmet. The hum of the crowd’s gasps and murmurs enveloped them. Stephen had no choice but to follow suit and take off his helmet, throwing it at Ralph’s feet.

  ‘Yes, this is better. At least I can now see the pathetic look on your face when I bring you down.’ He thrust forward suddenly, taking Ralph by surprise. ‘Boy or man, it makes no difference to me.’

  ‘True, why hide beneath the veneer of respectability or even chivalry? You have never possessed either.’

  ‘God’s breath, Ralph, you are a bore. You were back then as well, if memory serves, an insufferable dolt.’

  Ralph countered another attack with one of his own, regaining the upper hand as he pushed the other man off his course. ‘You know, this was always something I never understood about you—your hatred for me. The fact that you bullied and intimidated and then set out to spread lies about me to anyone you could. Why? What did I ever do to you?’

  ‘You surely cannot expect me to answer such trite nonsense.’

  ‘But then you would say that, since you always took pleasure from another’s misery, misfortune and hardship, borne out of this strange need to subjugate others.’

  ‘It is called being a strong, ruthless leader, Ralph—something you have never understood. Nor could ever be.’

  ‘I suppose, by crushing your opponents by any means?’

  ‘Exactly, my young cousin. It is the way of the world.’

  ‘You are right, that is something I can never understand. And as the head of our family—with our motto of Honore et Fide Imus—you have brought nothing but dishonour and disgrace. Look what you have reduced us to.’

  ‘What I have reduced us to?’ His cousin’s eyes widened. ‘If you were not such a simpering weakling, Ralph, I would never have had to do any of it.’

  ‘What a convenient excuse.’ Ralph laughed without any humour. ‘God, to think that I did nothing other than admire you, revere you when I was young. Damn it, I looked up to you as though you were my older brother.’

  ‘Yet that was precisely the point,’ Stephen sneered as he brought his sword forward, striking out. ‘I was not your brother, Ralph, but a lowly cousin. One who was given all of the advantages with none of the rewards.’

  Ralph defended himself aggressively. ‘Is that what all of this has always been about—the rewards you felt were your due?’

  ‘What else?’ the man spat. ‘Your fool of a father made me believe as though I would be his heir, the way he always he showed his partiality and preference. Constantly parading me in front of his sergeants, sheriffs, even lords and earls. Soon I came to believe it.’

  ‘Then that was your own foolish mistake, as it was never true.’

  They continued to dance around one another, the tension stretching and building between them. Stephen attempted to push him back and subdue him, but his efforts were repulsed as Ralph countered every blow with far more aggressive parrying ones of his own.

  ‘It was your father’s fault for making me believe that. The man had always sought my advice and never yours, Ralph. And as he had constantly berated your shortcomings and defects, I only mimicked his continual disappointment in you.’

  Ralph ground his teeth, knowing that there was some truth in that. Everything he had done was always seen as some sort of failure and flaw in his sire’s eyes. He had never been good enough for the man.

  ‘That may be so, but it changed nothing, Stephen.’

  ‘That is where you are wrong because it changed everything. How was I to know when your father made me think the opposite? Eventually I asked him to legitimately declare me as his heir, but do you know what my uncle said? That he already had an heir. Can you believe it, after everything he had said and done to the contrary?’

  Ralph turned swiftly to deflect another strike. ‘So, you decided to become turncoat and denounce him as a traitor.’

  ‘He had enemies enough who wanted to join with me, so it was hardly difficult to convince anyone of my uncle’s deficiencies or, come to mention it, yours as heir apparent.’

  ‘God, but you are an arrogant, presumptuous ass, Stephen.’

  ‘Am I? How droll,’ he said on a chuckle. ‘And yet I still maintain the necessity of what I did.’

  ‘Is that so? Did you somehow command Kinnerton well in the past six years?’ Ralph bent his knees and lunged forward on the attack. ‘Because from what I understand you have done nothing other than line your own purse while mismanaging the castle and demesne lands.’

  He did not miss the flicker of anger in his cousin’s eyes. ‘That is nothing other than idle talk. Besides, I do not answer to you, my young cousin.’

  ‘We’ll see.’

  ‘We shall.’ The man turned on his heel and swung his sword up from a downward motion so quickly that the blade nipped Ralph’s scarred cheek.

  Hell’s teeth but Stephen was using a sharp sword instead of a blunt blade as proscribed for tournaments such as this.

  ‘How very predictable that you have resorted to cheating, Stephen.’

  ‘When there is so much at stake, I cannot afford to take any chances.’ He shrugged. ‘I suppose you shall now want to halt this and whine and whinge about it all. Either way I shall still triumph over you.’

  Ralph knew that he should alert the Crown of his cousin’s flagrant rule breaking, since a man as erratic and unreliable as Stephen le Gros in a volatile situation like this could cause any manner of disturbance. Especially, as he’d said himself, when he had so much at stake.

  But Ralph could not do it. He had endured so much at the hands of his cousin, so much that he had had to overcome and survive. The very real danger of sharpened swords did not alter anything now. Ralph felt numb to it. After all, he had suffered the man’s verbal and physical intimidations when he was young. He had survived the assault and ambush in Aquitaine and, more recently, at this very tournament, he had survived being poisoned while taking a beating by Stephen and a few of his cronies.

  ‘You keep your weaponry, if it gives you comfort, but it ma
kes no difference to me.’

  ‘I see that you are still as naive as ever,’ Stephen scoffed.

  ‘Better that then to use trickery to get ahead.’

  ‘Whatever you say, cousin. But tell me, out of curiosity, did it hurt? In Aquitaine?’ The man jabbed forward as Ralph felt a small trail of blood trickle down his face. ‘I can assume it must have, just as I’m convinced of the hideous consequences that I can see before me.’

  ‘You should know all about that, Stephen—after all, you caused it.’

  ‘How remiss of me, as I had hoped to cause more,’ he jeered. ‘It looks so sore in its disfigured ugliness that I wonder how the lovely Gwenllian even looks on you.’

  The very mention of Gwen’s name on Stephen’s lips made Ralph stiffen immediately. How dare the man even attempt to use her good name after everything he had done. Gwen was Ralph’s weakness, but he could not allow himself to fall for his cousin’s trap, however difficult it might be. He understood that it would be best to ignore Stephen’s mocking. But, of course, the man was not finished yet.

  ‘Although it was vexing that the lady came so readily to your rescue, but then she did always leap forth to save lost puppies like you, Ralph.’ He struck out, turning to shield from Ralph’s attack, a slow smile curling on his lips. ‘Oh, do I sense a little anger here? Could it be possible that you know how unworthy you are of Kinnerton, but more importantly that you’re undeserving of her—of Gwen?’

  The men continued to circle around one another before engaging again with a quick succession, clashing swords.

  ‘Suddenly so quiet, Ralph. What has happened? Have you lost your tongue?’ Stephen’s voice seemed to drip with scorn. ‘I do hope it is not something I said about Gwen that has made you as tense as you are.’

  Ralph continued to keep his silence, knowing that he did not want to discuss anything regarding Gwen. Not with a man like Stephen. It would be disastrous to allow his cousin to draw him in, flaming his anger and fury to such a magnitude that it could threaten to consume him. That would not serve him well in the middle of a combat when Ralph needed his wits about him. Unfettered anger that could spill out of control would never do in this situation.