Queen Of Knights (7 page)

“He is your knight
,
is he not?” she responded as she stood and raised herself to her full height and looked King Richard level in the eyes.

“Not since the moment he met you,” Richard conceded with a barking laugh.

Chapter Three

THE
banquet hall was silent as Miles glanced around.  It was after midnight and all but three of the knights had gone to their chambers; the three who remained were sleeping face down on the table, their squires asleep in a far corner.  Richard had left the table an hour earlier, which allowed anyone who wanted sleep to depart.

Sir Hughes had stayed for another half hour, talking earnestly with Miles.  Miles, in the short time he’d spent in conversation with Hughes, had found him a likable man.  Although his mannerisms were refined, and he bore himself proudly, Miles also saw the old Duke’s need to know his lands would go to the right heirs.

He had as much as admitted that he’d not wanted the match between Gwendolyn and Morgan, and had even let slip that he had, once Gwendolyn had grown to her full height, despaired of ever finding someone who would marry her.

Miles reasoned that that was the very reason for Gwendolyn’s early betrothal to Morgan.  This knowledge eased his mind even more.  He knew of Morgan by reputation as a fierce, but uncouth fighter, and he did not foresee any problem with the joust.

“Sir Miles?” called Arthur.  Miles turned to see the anxious face of his squire standing above him.

“You have found out?” he asked.  “I know her room.”

“Take me there,” Miles whispered.  He watched his young squire glance at the sleeping knights.  “They are in another world
.
”

Arthur led Miles toward the stairs.  Ascending the steps, Miles heard the varied sounds of the sleeping castle
:
breezes filtering through openings in the stonework, tapers sputtering, and, although it was still night, the faint sounds of the scullery servants preparing for the large morning meal
.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Arthur turned down a torch-lit hallway and motioned for Miles to follow.  Miles glanced at the walls and took in the tapestries covering the windows and door openings
. 
They were all of fine workmanship, depicting many scenes of tourneys.  He wondered if Gwendolyn’s fingers had wrought any of these patterns
.

The castle was not old by Saxon standards, perhaps a hundred years, if that
. 
But the construction was solid, and the design of the castle denied its Norman heritage.

Until the Norman invasion, the homes of English nobility had been built of wood.  Castles were no more than a large grouping of homes, defended by a high wooden fence.  But, with the conquering of the Saxons came the Norman builders to show the English the benefits of stone
.

No more did entire families die needlessly in the fires that had been as common as the deer in the forest.  No more did each member of a family have to live in a separate dwelling within the compound
. 
With stone buildings came security, security against fire, and security of sorts against attacks
. 
But, Mile
s
thought as he traversed the hallway in his squire’s wake, although the Normans had given them stone engineering, the true Saxon within each of them refused to follow the de
s
igns of the Norman castles.  Here, as in Radstock, they clung to the old Saxon ways.  The lord and lady of the castle lived in one wing, and the other family members in another.  Not everyone in England adhered to this, but Miles was glad that Kildrake followed the older traditions
.

In Kildrake, the heart of the castle was its great hall, and from there, it spread outward.  Some castles had as many as five separate wings for family and guests.  Kildrake had two such wings and a third wing for the Duke’s men
-
at-arms and servants.

The castle was ringed by a stone wall, and Kildrake's triangular design, with its three towers and three wings, was easily defended.  From its high parapet battlements, any enemy or visitor could be s
e
en from a mile away.

“Here,” whispered Arthur, stopping before an arched doorway
. 
At this doorway no tapestry hung.  Instead, a leather
-
hinged, hewn door was fitted.  This alone told Miles it was a room belonging to a member of the family, rather than a guest chamber or servants’ quarters.

“Wait here for me,” Miles commanded the boy as he pushed the door inward.  After a slight hesitation, the door opened, its hinges barely making a sound
.

Entering slowly, Miles closed the door behind him and let his eyes adjust to the dark.  On the far wall, above the fireplace, a single taper burned, sending low shimmering lances of light throughout the room.

The floor was covered with fresh rushes, and their sweet fragrance rose to assault his senses.  There were no window openings, but several tapestries hung on the walls
. 
As his eyes swept the room, he saw a small alcove covered by another tapestry and knew Gwendolyn’s personal maid was sleeping within
. 
Finally, Miles glanced at the bed
. 
It was large, much larger than he would have expected, and framed with dark wood.  Four posts rose, and thin curtains framed it, almost but not quite hiding its occupant from view.

Miles stepped toward the bed
. 
When he did, he heard a flutter of wings behind him and a bird’s low cry
. 
He spun to face the large golden eagle called Valkyrie.

The eagle stared at him from its wooden perch, and Miles willed his breathing to return to normal
.

“He will not harm you
,
” Gwendolyn whispered
.

Miles whirled again and saw she was sitting up, her bedcovers around her waist
. 
In the instant before he spoke, he took in her entire countenance and reveled in the flowing blonde hair that framed her face, the proud carriage of her shoulders, and the full thrusting of her breasts beneath the bedclothes.

“Because he knows I will not harm you,” Miles stated.

“Because he knows you from the forest,” Gwendolyn corrected
. 
“Why are you here?”

“To speak with you
,
” he replied as he moved closer to her.  Gwendolyn reached out and pushed aside the bed-curtain, allowing Miles an unrestricted view of her.

“It is improper,” she whispered, but her voice held no reprimand.

“What I have to say cannot be said with others about.”

“
What if someone comes?” she asked with a smile.

“It is a chance I must take
,
” he replied honestly.

“I have heard you are different than most.  I am glad.”

“What have you heard?” Miles asked as his eyes searched her face.  Again, he rea
l
ized her beauty was devastating
. 
Her pale blue eyes sparkled in the subdued light, and her allure was something he had never before known.

“That you are kind, considerate, and, above all, a knight of honor.”

Miles was no stranger to a woman’s bedchambers, and the words he had heard before had been similar
,
but when he gazed into her eyes he knew she spoke openly and without guile
. 
“Yet I stand in your bedchamber uninvited ...."

“Am I to be in fear of you?” she asked in reply.

“Why did you speak out to Richard? Why did you not let him issue his edict?” Miles asked, pointedly ignoring her que
s
tion.

“Did I embarrass you? For if I did, I apologize.”

“You could not embarrass me
—
frighten me, perhaps, because you do not understand Richard and his views on women.  But you almost shamed your grandfather,” Miles chided
.

“My grandfather gets angry, not ashamed.  He knows I would never do that to him! I speak my mind when it is necessary.  It is something you should know if you are to take me as your wife.”

“Do you have doubts about marrying me? Is that why you want a tourney?” Miles asked
.

“Nay.  I would not have you make Morgan a lifelong enemy because of the king’s decree.” Suddenly she reached out and took his hand
. 
To Miles, it was as if his hand were encased by heated coals, so hot was her touch.  “An order from Richard would make Morgan your enemy for life
. 
I know this man,
”
she said bitterly.  “He is vain, vindictive, and filled with self-importance.  He is a bitter man and would make an evil enemy.  I do not want our life together to start in such a way.”

As Miles listened to this beautiful woman, he realized she spoke to him as if she were his equal, a fellow knight rather
than a woman.  And while she spoke, he felt Gwendolyn’s emotions as if they were his own.

“If you win my hand by tournament, it wil
l
make his loss more palatable.  You are said to be the finest fighter in the land next to Richard, and Morgan can feel no shame at losing to you
.
”

“You are so confident then?”

“You have already granted my boon.  Would I chance its loss so easi
l
y?”

“It must be very important to you
,
” Miles whispered and lifted her hand to his lips.

“Its importance is for both of us,” she said as her eyes held his for a moment
.

Slowly, Miles lowered her hand and then released it
. 
At the same time, he stepped back from the bed.  “We may still make an enemy of Morgan.”

“I can only pray we will not
,
” Gwendolyn said, throwing the bedcovers from her and arising.  They faced each other at a distance of inches, she in the loose nightclothing that hung to the floor, he still dressed in maille.

“I still think it to be senseless when Richard can save us from needless fighting
,
” Miles protested again.

“But it is the only way to allow my grandfather to be free from breaking his word.  With Richard’s decree
,
my grandfather would eventually have to face Morgan to defend his honor.  My grandfather is over fifty.  He cannot fight Morgan.”

“You are right, my love
,
” Miles admitted.

Suddenly Miles could not control himself
. 
He pulled Gwendolyn against h
i
m
. 
She did not resist his hands when he drew her to h
i
m, nor did she fight him as his mouth covered hers.

The kiss became an a
l
l-consuming fire that roared between the two, lasting for long minutes that felt like an eternity.  Then, as suddenly as Miles had drawn her to him, he pushed her away.  Both were breathing harshly.

“I must leave now,” Miles declared, “or I will not leave at al
l
.”

Gwendolyn’s breasts pushed against her night rail, and for the first time in her life she wanted to be held within a man’s arms and never be released
. 
Instead of admitting this desire that could not yet be satiated, she merely nodded.

Drawing a deep breath, Miles smiled gently
. 
“I had always thought that I would marry to continue my line.  I had never once thought to marry for love.  I was wrong,” Miles stated as he took her hand in his
.

“From the moment I saw you, I loved you,
”
Gwendolyn whispered.

“I…"  Miles began but could not finish
. 
How could he tell her of his emotions upon seeing her naked, a sword swirling in her hands.  “I wil
l
see you in the morning
.
”

“I ride before the morning mea
l
. 
It is a beautiful time,” she said as she searched his face, waiting for his reaction to her unspoken invitation.

“Alone?”

“I am never alone.” She smiled as she pointed to Valkyrie
.

“I will see you in the morning, my lady
.
” Miles lifted her hand once again and kissed it gently before leaving the bedchamber.

In the ha
l
lway, Miles and Arthur returned to the walkway above the main hall and then continued on to the north wing.  Inside the small chamber, James, Arthur’s brother, woke instantly and rose from his pallet
. 
Together, he and Arthur undressed Miles
.

“I did not know if you wanted to bathe, but I have kept the water heated
,
” James said.

Miles went to the wooden tub and stood at its side while James and Arthur poured steaming water into it
. 
After he sank into the water, Arthur began to wash him, but Miles waved him away
. 
“To sleep, both of you.  We rise early.  Have my horse ready an hour before the morning meal,” he ordered.  Then, with the hot water working its magic
,
he closed his eyes and thought about the golden
-
haired woman he would soon be fighting for
.