Desire (3 page)

If she was to be saddled with the encumbrance of a husband, she had told Joanna and Margaret, she was determined to have some say about the man she would wed.

"They are coming closer, Lady Clare," William yelled now from the gatehouse.

Clare brushed the fine dark earth of the convent garden from her hands. "I pray that you will excuse me, madam. I must get back to the hall so that I can change my clothing before my guests arrive. These fancy knights from the south will no doubt expect to be received with a certain amount of ceremony."

"As well they should," Margaret said. "I know you are not looking forward to this marriage with any enthusiasm. But be of good cheer, my child. Remember, there will most likely be three, possibly even four candidates. You will have a goodly choice."

Clare slid her old friend and teacher a quick, searching glance. She lowered her voice so that neither William nor the porteress at the nearby gatehouse could overhear. "And if I do not care for any of the three or four suitors Lord Thurston has sent?"

"Why, then, we shall have to ask ourselves if you are merely being extremely selective, mayhap even too particular about the choice of a lord for Desire, or if you are seeking excuses not to go through with the thing."

Clare made a face and then gave Margaret a rueful grin. "You are always so practical and straightforward, madam. You have a way of going to the heart of the matter."

"It has been my experience that a woman who is practical and honest in her reasoning, especially when she is arguing with herself, generally accomplishes more than one who is not."

"Aye, so you have always taught me, madam." Clare straightened her shoulders. "I shall continue to bear your words of wisdom in mind."

"Your mother would have been proud of you, my child."

Clare noticed that Margaret did not mention her father. There was no need. They were both well aware that Sir Humphrey had never been interested in the management of his lands. He had left such mundane matters to his wife and later his daughter, while he himself had pursued his scholarly studies and experiments.

A loud shout went up from the street on the other side of the convent wall. Voices rose in wonder and excitement as the villagers gathered to see the new arrivals.

William shoved his packet of gingered currants into the pouch that hung from his belt and hastened over to a low bench that stood against the wall.

Too late Clare realize what he had in mind. "William, don't you dare climb up on top of that wall. You know what your mother would say."

"Don't worry, I won't fall. I just want to see the knights and their huge horses." William got up on top of the bench and started to hoist his pudgy frame atop the stone wall.

Clare groaned and exchanged a resigned glance with Margaret. There was no doubt but that William's overprotective mother would have had a fit if she were present. Joanna was convinced that William was delicate and must not be allowed to take any risks.

"Lady Joanna's not here," Margaret said dryly, as if Clare had spoken aloud. "So I suggest you ignore the matter."

"If William falls, Joanna will never forgive me."

"One of these days she'll have to stop coddling the lad." Margaret shrugged philosophically. "If she does not cease hovering over him like a mother hen with her chick, he's going to turn into a fearful, anxious, extremely fat young man."

"I know, but one cannot entirely blame Joanna for wanting to protect William," Clare said quietly. "She's lost everyone else. She cannot bear the risk of losing her son, too."

"I can see them." William swung one leg over the top of the wall. "They're already in the street." He shaded his eyes against the spring sunlight. "The giant gray horse is in front of the rest. I vow, the knight

who rides the beast is almost as big as his horse."

Clare frowned. "I requested candidates of moderate size and stature."

"He is wearing a shiny helm and a mail hauberk," William exclaimed. "And he carries a silvery shield that glitters like a great mirror in the sun."

"A great mirror?" Intrigued, Clare hurried forward along the garden path to see the newcomers for herself.

"It is very strange, my lady. Everything about the knight is silver or gray—even his clothing and his horse's trappings are gray. It is as though he and his stallion were fashioned entirely of silver and smoke."

"Silver and smoke V Clare looked up at William. "Your imagination is running off with your wits."

"Tis true, I swear it." William sounded genuinely awed by the sight he was witnessing.

Clare's curiosity grew swiftly. "Just how big is this smoke and silver knight?"

"He is very, very big," William reported from his perch. "And the knight who rides behind him is almost as large."

"That will not do at all." Clare went to the gate and peered out into the street. Her view was blocked by the throng of excited villagers.

Word of the newcomers' arrival had spread quickly. Virtually everyone had turned out to witness the grand spectacle of a troop of mounted knights on Desire. John Blacksmith, Robert Cooper, Alice the brewer, and three muscular farmers stood in Clare's way. All of them were taller than she was.

"Do not alarm yourself about the matter of this gray knight's size." Margaret came up to stand beside Clare. Her eyes gleamed with amusement. "Once again, we must allow for young William's somewhat limited experience of the world. Any knight astride a horse would appear huge to him. It's all that armor that makes them seem so large."

"Yes, I know. Still, I would like very much to see this gray knight for myself." Clare measured the height from the bench to the top of the wall with her eyes. "William, prepare to give me a hand."

William tore his gaze away from the sights long enough to glance down at her. "Do you wish to sit up here on the wall with me, Lady Clare?"

"Aye. If I remain down here, I shall be the last person on the isle to see the invasion." Clare lifted the skirts of her long-waisted overtunic and stepped up onto the bench.

Margaret gave a small snort of disapproval. "Really, Clare, this is extremely unseemly. Only think how embarrassed you will be if one of your suitors sees you comporting yourself like a village hoyden up there on the wall. He might chance to recognize you later at your hall."

"No one will notice me sitting up here. From the sound of it, our visitors are far too occupied with putting on a fine show for the village. I mean to see the performance for myself."

Clare grasped the edge of the wall, found a chink in the stones with the toe of her soft leather boot, and struggled to pull herself up beside William.

"Have a care, my lady." William leaned down to catch hold of her arm.

"Do not concern yourself," Clare panted as she swung first one leg and then the other over the broad stone wall. "I may be a spinster of three and twenty, but I can still climb walls." She grinned at William as she righted herself and adjusted her skirts. "There, you see? I did it. Now, then, where is this knight made of silver and smoke?"

"He's at the top of the street." William pointed toward the harbor. "Listen to the thunder of the horses' hooves. Tis as if a great, howling tempest were blowing in off the sea."

"They are certainly making sufficient noise to wake the dead." Clare pushed back the hood of her mantle and turned to look toward the top of the narrow street.

The rumble and thunder of hooves was closer now. The villagers grew quiet in anticipation.

And then Clare saw the knight and the stallion fashioned of silver and smoke. She caught her breath, suddenly comprehending William's awe.

Man and horse alike appeared to be composed of all the elements of a magnificent storm: wind, rain, and lightning made solid flesh. It needed only a single glance to know that this bleak, gray fury, once roused, would be capable of destroying anything that lay in its path.

For a moment the sight of the silver-and-smoke knight left Clare as speechless as it had the villagers in the street below. A desperate sinking sensation seized her stomach as she realized that she was undoubtedly looking at one of her suitors.

Too big, she thought. Much too large. And too dangerous. Definitely the wrong man.

The gray knight rode at the head of a company of seven men. The group was made up of knights,

men-at' arms, and one or two servants. Clare gazed curiously at the warriors who rode behind the great gray war machine. She had seen very few fighting men in her time, but she knew enough to be aware that most of them favored strong, brilliant hues in their attire.

These men all followed the fashion of their leader.

They were dressed in somber shades of gray and brown and black, which somehow made them seem all the more lethal.

The new arrivals were very close now. They filled the narrow street. Banners snapped in the breeze. Clare could hear the squeak and glide of steel on leather. Harness and armor moved together in

well-oiled rhythms.

The heavily shod horses came forward like the huge engines of battle that they were. They moved at a slow, relentless pace that underscored their power and made certain that all those present had ample opportunity to view the spectacle.

Clare stared at the strange sight with the same degree of amazement as everyone else. She was vaguely aware of low-voiced whispers rising and falling across the crowd in a wave that had its starting point at the small stone cell that housed the village recluse.

Fascinated by the mounted men in the street, Clare ignored the low murmurs at first. But as the whispers grew in volume, they finally drew her attention.

"What are they saying, William?"

"I don't know. Something about a hound, I think."

Clare glanced over her shoulder toward the cell, which was built into the convent wall. Beatrice the recluse lived there, having chosen to become an anchorite nearly ten years earlier. According to the dictates of the religious path she followed, she never emerged from her cell.

As a professional recluse, Beatrice was supposed to dedicate herself entirely to prayer and meditation, but the truth was, she devoted herself to village gossip. She was never short of that commodity because during the day nearly everyone passed by her window. Many stopped to talk or seek advice. Whenever someone paused to visit, Beatrice dealt with that individual the way a milkmaid dealt with a cow. She drained her visitor for every tidbit of information.

Beatrice also performed the offices of her calling, which included offering advice to all who came to her window, with great zeal. Not infrequently she offered advice even though none had been requested. She favored predictions of dark foreboding and was quick to warn against impending doom and disaster.

Occasionally she was right.

"What are they saying?' Margaret called up to Clare.

"I'm not certain yet." Clare strained to hear the rising tide of whispers. "William says it's something about a hound. I think the recluse started the talk."

"Then we had best disregard it," Margaret said.

"Listen," William interrupted. "You can make out the words now."

The crest of the whispers raced forward, riding the sea of villagers.

". . . hellhound"

"They say he be a hellhound from someplace in the south. I did not catch the name ..."

"The Hellhound of Wyckmere?"

"Aye, that's it, Wyckmere. He is known as the Hellhound of Wyckmere. 'Tis said he carries a great sword named the Window of Hell."

"Why do they call it that?"

"Because it is likely the last view a man has before he dies beneath the blade."

William's eyes widened. He shivered with the thrill of the whispered words and promptly reached into his belt pouch for another handful of gingered fruit. "Did you hear that, Lady Clare?" he asked around a mouthful of currants. "The Hellhound of Wyckmere."

"Aye." Clare noticed that several people in the crowd crossed themselves as the news reached them, but the glitter of awestruck excitement did not fade from their expressions. If anything, she realized with dismay, the villagers appeared more enthralled than ever by the oncoming knights.

When all was said and done, Clare thought, her people were an ambitious lot. They were no doubt envisioning the prestige that would devolve upon them if they were to gain a lord who wore the trappings of a fearsome reputation.

A reputation was well and good, Clare reflected, unless one was obliged to marry it.

"The Hellhound of Wyckmere," William breathed with a reverence that by rights ought to have been reserved for a prayer or a holy vision. "He must be a very great knight, indeed."

"What I would like to know," Clare said, "is where are the others?"

"What others?"

Clare scowled at the approaching riders. "There are supposed to be at least three other knights from which I shall choose a husband. These men all appear to ride beneath one man's banner."

"Aye, well, this Hellhound of Wyckmere is nearly as large as three men put together," William said with great satisfaction. "We don't need any others."

Clare narrowed her eyes. The Hellhound was not that big, she thought, but he was certainly formidable-looking. He was not at all of the moderate proportions she had requested.

The gray knight and his entourage were almost in front of her now. Whatever else could be said, the new arrivals were providing a wondrous entertainment for all present. It would be interesting to see if the other suitors could improve upon this display of steel and power.

She was so caught up in the unusual sights and sounds of the event that she barely noticed another ripple of whispers as it washed through the crowd. She thought she heard her own name spoken, but she paid no attention. As the lady of Desire, she was accustomed to having her people discuss her. It was the way of things.

Margaret peered up at her. "Clare, you had best return immediately to your hall. If you stay up here on the wall, you will not be able to get back in time to receive this grand knight in a proper manner."

" Tis too late now, madam." Clare raised her voice to be heard over the din of voices and thudding hooves. "I shall have to wait until they have gone past before I can make my way through the street. I am trapped here until the crowd has dispersed. Joanna and the servants will see to the business of greeting our visitors."