One True Knight (The Knights of Honor Trilogy) (12 page)

Jonathan raked his hand over his hair, and cursed under his breath. He was dangerously close to ravishing an innocent maiden. And in the stable no less. He had no idea what had come over him, and had the boy not interrupted them, things might have progressed a little more than was proper. Turning to Rowena, he offered her an apologetic smile. “‘Tis I who should be sorry. I got a bit carried away with recreating my dream,” he said. “I hope you’ll forgive me, my lady.”

Rowena looked at him, dazed as if she had no idea what he was talking about. But when her sanity returned, it came at her with full force. “He saw us together!” she whispered in horror. “He’ll tell my father!”

“I wouldn’t worry about the stable boy. I doubt that he saw anything.”

Rowena placed her hands on her flaming face and all she could do was shake her head. Shame raged through her as she looked down at her disarranged clothing, and she tugged everything back into place. The shock of what almost transpired made her body tremble. But even she knew that Jonathan couldn’t take full blame for what happened. Without a doubt, she had wantonly and willingly participated in her own seduction.

“This should not have happened,” she said, closing her eyes.

All of a sudden the stable felt small. She wanted and needed to get away from here, hoping that perhaps that the distance would make her forget her appalling, shameful behavior. Every time she was in Jonathan’s vicinity, she invariably lost all her sense, all her control.

Without looking at Jonathan or saying another word, she turned and gave into her urge to flee.

CHAPTER 12

Rowena came out of the stables so swiftly that she didn’t see Derrik rounding the corner.

Derrik, on the other hand, saw her immediately. Her eyes were trained to the ground as if she was agitated and deep in thought. Ava had sent him to fetch her since she hadn’t returned to the hall as she promised. Rowena had a talent for slipping out from under Ava’s watchful eye and it was always up to Derrik to find her.

It was a good thing he knew Rowena well because finding her made his job easier. She always liked to hang around the two stables in the outer courtyard or in the garden. However the stables were the first place to look. And so far his hunch was correct. He called out to her. “Lady Rowena,” he said, taking in the wisps of hair that escaped from her braids. He looked at her with concern. “What has happened to you? Are you all right?”

Rowena looked up crossly, and when she spied Derrik, her face clouded over even more. “Of course I am all right,” she said. “Why would I not be?” She smoothed a stray lock of hair behind her ear with a little too much force.

He narrowed his eyes, seeing through her lie. Rowena was a terrible liar especially when it came to him. She turned her head, refusing to meet his gaze. “It looks like you’ve fallen in with the pigs,” he said. When his jest didn’t get the reaction that he expected, he frowned. Something was definitely amiss. “Ava asked me to look for you,” he explained. “I’ll take you back to the hall.”

She cast him a warning glance. “I can find my way back on my own,” she said in a tight voice.

He raised both hands up in mock surrender. “All right,” he said, “all right, I know when my company is not desired.”

With the irritated expression still on her face, she brushed past him, muttering something under her breath, something that he couldn’t quite hear.

He shook his head in puzzlement, and started to follow her back to the hall. But a movement from the stable entrance caught the corner of his eye and he saw Jonathan emerging out from there. The knight sat atop his spotted gray warhorse, a deep scowl on his face. Then all of a sudden, the puzzle pieces fit together and everything began to make sense. A ball of resentment began to grow inside his chest.

“You, sire,” Derrik called out, his voice starting to rise in anger. He put his hand at the hilt of his sword, feeling the solid comfort at his hip. “You have upset Lady Rowena.”

Jonathan stopped his horse and looked to see who was calling him, his expression thunderous as well as dangerous. His horse, feeling the tension in his master, perked its ears as if waiting for a signal to charge. When he saw that it was only Derrik, he cocked one eyebrow, daring him to speak.

But the young knight was fearless in his anger. He walked boldly up to Jonathan, his hand tightening on the sword’s hilt as if it possessed powers that could protect him from harm. “What have you done to her? Answer me!”

“‘Tis none of your concern, boy,” Jonathan snapped. His grip on the reins tightened. “You best be on your way. I have no time for idle talk.” He made a move to maneuver his horse around him.

Derrik pulled out his sword, barring his way. “I am not a
boy
,” he said furiously, although the intense anger began to dissipate when he realized how close he was standing near the man and his beast. He fought the urge to take a step back. There was still the matter of Rowena’s honor after all. “You will answer my question before I let you pass.”

Jonathan’s face became as hard as stone. “I answer to no man or
boy
,” he said. “Move aside.”

Derrik’s mouth went dry as all the childhood stories he heard of the Iron Hawk came rushing forward. Despite his doubts about the validity of all the legendary claims of the Iron Hawk, there was real reason to fear this large knight. The blade in his hand no longer felt as steady. But he had no choice but to stand his ground. “When you upset a lady of the castle, you upset me. I demand to know what has happened,” he said in a loud voice, but even as he called out his threat, he didn’t sound as convincing or as threatening as he had hoped.

“Demand?” Jonathan repeated in a soft voice, although the word itself sounded menacing. He narrowed his eyes, watching the young knight closely.

Then in slow, deliberate movements, Jonathan urged his warhorse closer, trying to intimidate Derrik with the sheer size of his beast. The large knight looked him in the eye. “This is the last time I will say this. Put that sword away and move aside,” he said.

Derrik swallowed visibly but he lifted the sword higher until it was at shoulder height. His face was a jumble of emotions — fear mixed with anger and alarm. “I’m afraid that is not a satisfactory answer, sire,” he said loud enough that he could be heard throughout the courtyard.

The few servants who were still working in the bailey stopped and gaped at them, unwilling to come closer, yet transfixed by the scene unfolding in front of them. Even the guards on the rampart looked down from their posts, curious to see the outcome of this unbalanced confrontation.

All of a sudden, Jonathan threw his head back and let out a bark of laughter. “This is ridiculous,” he said. He didn’t bother touching the sword that hung low on his belt. “Your precious lady was in no way harmed. Ask her yourself. Now put away your sword, boy, before you hurt yourself.”

Derrik’s face turned red. “I told you I’m not a boy,” he said furiously.

If the Hawk heard him, he couldn’t say. The large knight made a wide turn around him and rumbled across the courtyard, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

CHAPTER 13

“Why have you not chosen a husband yet?” her father said, his tone imperious. He stared down at Rowena now, his arms folded across his chest. “I have given you ample time.”

Because I haven’t found him yet!
Rowena wanted to scream. She ducked her head, and looked down at the hem of her gown. Ever since her escapade into town, she tried to avoid her father, but it was just her luck to have him crossing her path whenever her defenses were low, much like today. Two months had gone by and she was not satisfied with any of the men that her father had sent her way. She of all people knew how much time she had left. “My choice of husband will affect my entire life,” she said, her voice shaking slightly — not in fear but in anger. “I must carefully weigh the choices that you have given me before I make my decision.”

Her father grunted as if he was satisfied that she had transformed into the demure creature that he wanted her to be. “See that you make your decision quickly,” he said. “My patience is starting to wear thin.”

With that, he strode away from her as if he dismissed her from his mind and had more important matters to attend.

Rowena stared at his back, wanting desperately to hurl something at him, to make him understand that this was not a small decision that could be made on impulse. This was her life!

Disgusted with the encounter, she took a step toward the garden and then changed her mind and marched toward the solar. The solar was once her mother’s favorite place and it was the one place that few people ventured.

She didn’t make it very far when she saw the familiar wheat colored hair and swaggering young knight that also seemed to appear at the most inopportune times, just like her father. She groaned out loud before ducking behind a stone column.

She stood behind the column for what seemed like ages, hoping that Derrik had not seen her. She peeked out from her hiding place, and then let out an irritated hiss when she saw him coming straight to where she was concealed.

Rowena stepped out from her behind the column, and stood glaring at him, one hand on her hip. “Do you not have anything better to do than to spy on me?” she demanded crossly.

“Not when you’re hiding and acting with suspicion,” he said. He frowned at her as if he had caught her trying to escape from the castle again. Since that day in the woods, he seemed to be watching her every move, probably collecting information to report back to her father.

“I was not hiding,” she said defensively. She took another step forward. “I was just collecting my thoughts before you came along.”

Derrik cocked one eyebrow at her, showing his doubt. He craned his neck to see if there was someone else hiding behind the column before following her.

“You never did say what happened between you and Sir Jonathan.”

She shook her head with irritation. “Nothing happened,” she denied.

He continued to look at her skeptically but knew her well enough not to question her further. He glanced around as if noticing for the first time that her nursemaid was no where to be seen. “What are you doing lurking about in the courtyard? Where is Ava?” he asked.

She quickened her pace. “I do not know why I should answer to you,” she said, her voice filled with anger. “‘Tis my right to wander wherever or however I please.” She stopped abruptly, and folded her arms in front of her chest. And then she added in a voice that was full of defiance. “However if you must know, Ava is attending a birth in town. I did not wish to accompany her.”

“By the way you’re acting, one would think you’re protecting someone, maybe hiding him behind that structure,” he said, jerking his thumb at the column in which Rowena had emerged.

She threw a derisive glance at him. “And what if I was?” she snapped, her voice sounding more sharp and sarcastic than she intended. “I
am
supposed to get married. God knows that any of the men that my father has chosen for me will love me for who I am and not for what he will gain once he is married to me.”

Derrik took an involuntary step back as if the force of her words pushed him away. The list of men that her father assembled was a well known fact. For the past two months the suitors came and went. The people, she knew, were whispering behind her back, trying to wager on which man she would choose or which ones she would drive away.

In all actuality, she didn’t want to marry — not unless it was for love. She made it quite clear although no one seemed to be listening to her. And her father had clearly forgotten his promise to her and her mother.

Rowena swallowed back a lump in her throat, trying in desperation to gain her sense of control. She took a deep breath, and forced herself to concentrate on Derrik.

“I was making sure that no harm would befall you,” he said, clearing his throat and looking ill at ease “Your father would never forgive me if I let something happen to you, especially with the number of suitors that have come courting.”

She pursed her lips. “I have no suitors visiting today. But I will have you know that I can take care of myself,” she said. “Have you forgotten all those times that I bested you?”

“That was a long time ago,” he said, flushing. “We are no longer children.” Then without another word, he turned and left her.

Feeling guilty for lashing out at him, she thought about calling him back to apologize for her rude behavior but then she stopped herself. Instead, she turned to the other direction, not wanting Derrik to change his mind and find some other reason to harass her. It wasn’t entirely his fault that she was in such a foul mood. But she had enough of harassment for one day. She just wanted to be left alone.

She walked briskly toward the solar, passing a couple of servants along the way. Not many people were allowed to enter the private solar and it was almost a relief to hear the sound of only her feet echoing in the empty stairwell.

This whole business of finding a husband was making her feel a mixture of emotions: fear, anger, helplessness — all of which she didn’t particularly like.

When she was younger, Ava had always told her, “Courting will be delightful, you’ll see. When your time comes, you will have as many choices as your mother once had.”

“Delightful,” she muttered with derision. Of all the emotions that she was feeling, delight was not one of them.

She didn’t like the suitors that her father sent her way and it was fast becoming known that she was picky. At the rate she was going, the prospect of finding an ideal husband would dry up soon and that didn’t bode well for her future.

She ran her hand along the cool stone as she made her way up the stairs, touching each stone as if allowing the slabs to absorb her dark thoughts.

Except the dark thoughts refused to be absorbed and her feelings of despair only worsened. How was she ever to find her heart’s desire?

Maybe there was no such thing as a perfect husband, as Ava had told her numerous times. There was no room for passionate love in a marriage, and the perfect knight didn’t exist. “You would do well to keep your head out of the clouds, child,” Ava told her. But then again, what did Ava know? She was well past her prime and still unmarried.