The Raven and the Rose (5 page)

She didn't even have a lantern. As soon as she reached the dark surrounding trees, she'd lose the road and be lost.

But no one had prevented her from leaving.

By that test, she was on a holy journey.

As if to confirm it, the bird rose into the sky and flapped off ahead of her, drawing her onward. Onward toward the trees, and beyond them, dark against the evening sky, the monastery that crowned the tor.

Sick with fear, pulsing with excitement, Gledys followed the raven into the deepening dark of night.

Chapter 5

“Ho, de Loury! Hero of the day!” The powerful voice conquered even the din of the ale tent.

Michael turned on his stool from the table, where he was drinking with a group of other young knights, discussing the tourney fighting and Henry of Anjou, the chances of action and Henry of Anjou, and the fighting tomorrow in which Michael and some of the others here would fight in Henry of Anjou's party.

The voice belonged to Willie Sea, drunk and troublesome, in a stained, sleeveless jerkin that exposed massive arms furred with the same wiry thatch that covered the rest of him. He had a buxom redhead on his left arm and a huge tankard in his right hand, and a way was opening for him through the crowded space as he headed straight for Michael. He was grinning his gap-toothed smile, but was very drunk.

Trouble. None of Michael's companions was a close friend, so he was on his own. Another of his mother's promises was that he couldn't be killed before he found his bride, but she hadn't promised no broken bones. He remembered remarking that immortality was the best argument he'd ever heard against marriage, but she'd just smiled and reminded him of the vow of chastity.

True enough. What man would choose immortality if he had to die a virgin?

“Brought you a gift!” Willie Sea bellowed. He had an astonishing voice—useful on a battlefield, painful in an enclosed space—and the whole tavern had little choice but to attend to the show.

Michael mirrored the other man's jovial tone. “How generous, when you've already given me your ransom.”

“Vagaries of battle,” said Willie Sea, without apparent offense. He waved his ale pot. “If you feel guilty, fill this.”

Perhaps this wouldn't be too bad. Michael called for the pot boy. When the other man's tankard was full to the brim he raised his own. “In honor of a worthy opponent.”

“Amen!” Willie Sea gulped down his ale in one long series of glugs, belched, and bellowed, “Fill her up! And his, too.”

Once his pot was brimming over again, he sauntered closer, wench still attached, clearly searching his sodden mind for his original purpose. “Gift!” he declared. “Here you are.” He pushed the buxom wench against Michael. “Name's Liza.”

Lisa was clearly a whore and very willing. She pressed close between Michael's legs and wound her arms around his neck, but he knew she was a test of his manliness.

“Aren't I the lucky one?” she cooed. “First the strongest knight, then the handsomest.”

“Strongest, too,” Willie Sea growled. “He bested me.”

A flicker of worry marred the girl's face, and even in the uncertain candlelight, Michael saw an old bruise on her cheek.

“The vagaries of battle.” Michael repeated Willie Sea's words to him over the girl's head as he sought a way out of this. “But we could test it again.” He flexed his right arm to indicate what he meant.

After a moment of surprise, Willie Sea cried, “A man after my own heart! Clear a table.”

The men at three nearby tables scrambled to offer one. Willie Sea cleared some lingering pots from the nearest with a sweep of his mighty arm. Michael put down his own pot, but the girl stayed stuck to him as he walked over to the table.

She was not to his taste, but by the angel Gabriel's nonexistent balls, she was a sweet armful. His cock was hard and he wanted nothing more in the world at that moment than to throw her down and use her.

Sitting opposite his opponent and putting his elbow on the table to take the grip gave him an excuse to separate from twining Liza. She instantly draped herself over his shoulder, her long, loose hair tormenting his cheek as she nibbled at his ear.

God's teeth.
He needed to concentrate. He needed to lose this contest, but not too quickly. In comparison to Willie Sea's dark-haired arm, even Michael's strong one looked weak, but he knew he was strong enough. He always was. Again, because of his mysterious purpose.

As they wriggled their hands together, adjusting their grips for best purchase, Michael said, “Is this a simple contest of skill, or is something at stake?”

Willie Sea showed his missing teeth again. “You lose, you return my ransom.”

“But if you lose?”

“By the tomb, you've drained me dry today!”

“Then why don't we fight for the wench? If I win, she's mine for sure. If you win, I return your gift.” He turned his head toward the girl. “You'll be a sore loss, sweeting.”

The girl pouted at him, but was clever enough to know that showing any displeasure at ending up with Willie Sea would be bad for business and her skin.

“I'll have a kiss from you first,” she said saucily. “He's already had more than one, so it's only fair.”

There was no way to escape, so when she slid onto his lap, cradled his head in her hands and put skillful lips to his, Michael could only fight to hold on to sanity—difficult when she opened her mouth and tormented him with her tongue. Especially when he imagined it was his bride kissing him so boldly, her moisture blending with his, her tongue . . .

He opened his eyes to break the spell, but saw dark hair, not red. He clutched that hair close to the skull and found it strangely short. She even smelled different. Cleaner, and without any perfume. Except for something that threatened his wits entirely . . .

She drew back slowly, those full lips parted, eyes wide with surprise and a kind of innocence the red-haired whore had lost long ago.

Was he dreaming?

No. Beyond her was the tavern, the circle of grinning men, and Willie Sea opposite. Their right hands were still gripped together.

Mind jangling at this insanity, Michael took the risk of speaking, afraid she'd turn into mist. “Step away now, sweetheart. I wouldn't want to see you hurt.”

She slid off his lap and did step back, eyes still fixed on him, huge with questions. He had plenty of his own.

“Be careful,” she said in a soft, sweet voice.

He grinned with sheer delight. He didn't understand where the whore had gone and why his bride was here, but she was, speaking to him, concerned for him. He'd held her; he'd kissed her, his true lady in all her perfection.

Willie Sea chuckled. “If there was any question, I'd say I'd won already. The lad's strength's all in his pecker!”

The room rocked with laughter.

Michael dragged his eyes away to lock his gaze with his opponent's, tightening his grip. “We'll see about that.”

No more thought of losing. He was fighting for his bride.

A man stepped forward to count the start, and then they were at it, bracing and straining, moving an inch or two one way, then an inch or two the other.

Willie Sea shot Michael a narrow-eyed look, clearly surprised to find this a true contest. Michael grinned and forced the other man's hand a bit lower. But he had to steal a glance, to be sure she was still there.

Willie Sea surged in the other direction and Michael only just stopped the loss. Sweating, grimacing, he forced the other man's hand back, inch by inch by inch.

He heard a soft cry.

He had to look.

She was still there, eyes wide. Who had ever looked at him with such deep, tender concern?

The back of his hand slammed into the table and Willie Sea leapt to his feet, bellowing victory, fists raised. He grabbed his prize for a long, deep kiss.

Michael hurled the table aside and roared in to rescue her. . . .

But she was red-haired and plump, and giving back all that she got.

His bride, his elusive, impossible bride, had gone.

He staggered back to collapse onto a bench. He was going mad.

***

Gledys flinched away from the horrible man.

And was somewhere else entirely.

She wasn't in that hot, stinking tavern, but alone in the chilly dark. Alone in the woods.

She'd had another dream—a dream while walking!—but what a dream! She'd seen him, touched him, kissed him!

And what a kiss!

She revisited it in her mind—the heat and taste of him, the feel of his big, strong body that seemed to have an energy all its own, almost tingling under her hands. His wonderful smell, distinct even amid stinks of ale, new and old, roasting food, sweat. . . .

She caught her breath.

She was remembering!

The details weren't melting away.

She returned to them again, afraid they'd fade away, but no. They were there, as clear as her memory of meeting Sister Wenna.

He'd stopped kissing her and told her to step back. She hadn't wanted to, but she'd obeyed and she'd seen he was engaged in a strange contest of strength. His opponent had been older and bigger and wearing a tunic that left his huge, hairy arms bare. He looked half animal, and when he'd smiled, showing missing teeth, she'd recognized him as the man her knight had fought in the tournament.

Her knight's forearm looked strong, but it was smaller than the other man's. She'd worried, but she'd reveled in her first clear view of him.

The drinking place had been poorly lit, but even scant tallow light had caught gold from his wavy hair and thrown up the detail of strong cheekbones and a square jaw. She remembered kissing him, his beautiful face between her hands, his lips hot on hers.

Surely he was her protector to come to her like that in a vision while on her quest.

And yet, when she'd first seen him he'd been dallying with a wanton, whose plump breasts almost spilled out of a tight bodice. The woman had leaned on his shoulder and nibbled his ear! Then she'd slithered around and onto his lap to kiss and be kissed. He hadn't been at all reluctant.

But then it had been she, Sister Gledys of Rosewell, whose hands had cradled his head, whose lips had pressed to his, parted, so they shared breath. How?

Well, it was a dream. It seemed anything could happen in a dream, even an unimaginable kiss.

How had she known how to kiss like that? How could she have enjoyed it so much? Enjoyed the heat and taste, and the feel of his silky hair around her fingers, his strong skull beneath her hands. The closeness of their entire bodies.

Gledys forced her eyes open to try to break the spell. Bad enough to dream such things, but to eagerly return to them, wallow in them! Yet Sister Wenna had implied that this was her destiny, her duty, and now it seemed her knight would be the one.

Gledys crossed herself, muttering, “Lead me not into temptation, Lord.” But when she added, “Thy will be done,” she knew she meant, “Yes, please!”

She'd achieve neither destiny nor desire if she died here, however, and she was lost in a dark, dank wood. She hugged herself and shivered, wondering how far she might have walked, and where she might be. The last thing she remembered was following the road into the woods, wishing she had a lantern.

Through black branches above she could see dark gray sky, but any dim light didn't reach there below. She explored with her hands, finding a tree trunk. It was the trunk of a very large tree, far greater in girth than her arms could begin to encircle. Probably an oak, and very old. It was possible that such ancient oaks lived in the woods around Rosewell, but she'd never encountered one.

“Raven?
Raven!
” she repeated more loudly, for clearly she had no need to fear anyone would overhear her. There was no one around. Not even, it seemed, the raven itself.

She began to pray in a direct and rather desperate way, but then other words trickled into her mind. She found herself saying, “Garalarl, guide me.”

Suddenly, a path of light glimmered before her feet.

Gledys blinked, then looked up through dark leaves again, seeking the moon. She knew, however, that there was only a sickle moon at the moment, and indeed, it wasn't even visible. Nor was this cool moonlight. The path shone warmly, as if thousands of tiny candles burned. Sister Wenna had spoken of a golden path. She stepped forward, knowing this was God's work, guiding her to safety. And, please God, to her knight.

But where was she being taken? The ground was so rough, she wasn't sure she was on any kind of road or footpath. She halted, uncertain again, but then at last heard the commanding croak of a raven. It seemed to say,
Come on, come on, you lazy thing!

“Very well, very well,” she muttered, adding an ungracious, “Thy will be done.”

After walking only a few more minutes, Gledys found herself suddenly in a glade, in front of a small building, where light escaped around shuttered windows. She knew she should be giving unconditional thanks to God, but she couldn't help wondering who lived in the small house and whether they would help her or harm her. She'd never entered any building other than those in Rosewell, and certainly not a stranger's home.

This seemed to be an isolated shelter, too. She knew charcoal burners lived in the woods, and perhaps foresters. There were others, though. Outlaws hid in the woods, and thieves lurked to attack passing travelers.

What if there were men inside?

She was a nun, but would that keep her safe?

Her body ached for warmth and rest, however, and the miraculous path led right to the door. She stumbled forward and knocked. There was no response.

She called, “God bless you all. May I come in?”

Still no response, but then, it was long after dark and whoever lived here would be asleep. She crossed herself, sent up a prayer and opened the door.

The house seemed to be one room lit by a small fire that burned in the center, ringed around with stones. The smoke rose peacefully to escape through a hole in the roof above. The fire didn't give a lot of light, but enough for her to see that the place was someone's home, but no one was here.

A low platform ran the length of the wall to her right, taking up a third of the width of the room. There was a bed on it—a mattress and some blankets—but no one was sleeping there. It called to her, but she couldn't simply lie down on someone else's bed, especially if it belonged to a man. What would he think when he returned?