Now came a bout they’d all been waiting for, at least the knights. It was Renard against Ivor l’Ebreux from Lavister Castle, who looked to be hardly more than a child himself. He was tall, wiry, with a mass of dark brown curls on his head, curls that were soon covered when he put his great helm on.
On the opposite side of the field, Renard appeared on his big roan stallion with the cropped tail, an expensive horse he’d won from a wealthy earl last year. His men were checking his saddle and making sure he was secure for his first, while Ivor’s men seemed to be all from his family – brothers, uncles, grandfather, father – all of them huddled around Ivor, making sure he was ready to compete. They were hugging him, touching him, kissing him.
It was quite a send-off.
At this point, Charles, George, de Wolfe, Hage, de Norville, and Payne were standing on the fence along with Ridge and Catherine, preparing to watch the last two bouts of the morning. As Ridge watched the people gathered around young Ivor, showering him with obvious affection, his heart sank.
“God,” he grunted. “Look at that. The whole damned family has turned out. It is probably his first tournament.”
Catherine looked over at the young man. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” she asked. “Surely he will benefit from the support of his family.”
Ridge caught de Wolfe’s concerned eye over her head before returning his focus to the field. He didn’t want to say what he was thinking, what they were all thinking, that Renard was going to deliberately try to disable the young knight. It was simply a habit with him, but he interspersed that habit with legitimate and good runs from time to time, enough so that the marshals didn’t disqualify him. But the lad from Lavister had “amateur” written all over him and Catherine was enjoying the joust so much that Ridge didn’t want her to see something that might send her into fits of distress.
“It is a good thing,” he said, turning away from the fence and holding out his elbow. “In fact, this is a good time to find something to eat before the crowds break after the last bout. Will you accompany me?”
Catherine immediately latched on to his arm, but her expression was full of surprise. “Now?” she said. “Don’t you want to watch this?”
He was looking ahead, down a roadway that flanked the end of the field and ended up on an avenue where there were dozens of vendors set up to ply their wares to the happy spectators.
“I’ve seen him compete before,” he muttered.
He couldn’t even bring himself to say Renard’s name. Catherine wasn’t so certain she wanted to miss another round because it was all quite exciting, but she dutifully went with him. It was, after all, Renard’s bout and she didn’t really care to watch him. They hadn’t taken ten steps when George joined them.
“I want something to eat, too,” he said. “My sister is a glutton and I must get some before it is all gone.”
As Catherine gasped in outrage, Ridge grinned. “Good,” he said. “I like gluttons because I happen to be one myself. If you can behave yourself, you may come with us.”
George ignored the behavior comment, mostly because he would behave how he wanted to behave no matter what Ridge said.
Well, for the most part, anyway.
“We should hurry and return because de Wolfe competes right after de Luzie,” he said. “De Wolfe was most impressive in the exhibition.”
Ridge nodded. He was eager to see de Wolfe but not eager to return before Renard was finished. Meanwhile, George stuck his tongue out at Catherine when she made a face at him, but there was no ill-intent behind it. They had always antagonized each other, never more evident than that morning when he’d thrown her up over his shoulder. Truth be told, he’d simply been glad to see her and that was the way George showed his affection.
Deep down, Catherine knew it.
Even the sassy tongue.
Just as they were passing behind the great stands that held all of the boxes with the nobles, the first pass commenced and they heard the roar of the crowd. Catherine tried to catch a glimpse of it, but they were out of range. They headed up to the avenue where the distant smells of food were becoming stronger and Ridge took her to the first stall they came upon that had food.
A man, who was a baker by trade, and his wife had a delightful offering of small, hollowed out loaves of bread filled with a pottage made from carrots, turnips, beans, and barley. They also had cakes made from oats and barley and wild currants, and Ridge bought three of the pottage bowls and about ten of the cakes, which they then proceeded to devour. Catherine only managed to get one cake because George had five and Ridge had four. Realizing this, Ridge made George go back to the stall and get more pottage, and more cakes, at his own expense and then made him sit and watch while he and Catherine devoured all of them.
It was all great fun to watch George suffer.
Ridge, in fact, ate the cakes with great gusto, putting on a show of it as George frowned. Catherine had more cake than she could hold, feeling stuffed and miserable by the time they were finished, but she was willing to make the sacrifice to see George miserable with envy. Once they were finished, Ridge decided that it was safe enough to head back but, unfortunately, they weren’t late enough to miss the officials moving young Ivor off the field on a stretcher.
The family following him was in tears.
“Oh, God,” Catherine breathed, coming to a stop as they watched the stretcher head off into the encampment. “The young knight was injured. How tragic.”
Ridge’s face was like stone, knowing that exactly what he had feared had come to pass. He wasn’t surprised, but the animosity he felt for de Luzie was building, stronger than before. If he thought he hated the man once, that had only been the beginning. There was so much more of him to hate. But he didn’t want to upset Catherine by voicing his thoughts.
In truth, he didn’t think it was necessary.
He was sure that she already knew.
“Sometimes that is the outcome,” he said as neutrally as he could. “George, run ahead and find out if we can do anything for the family. If they do not have a physic, send Tavis. He is one of the best healers I know.”
George nodded and ran off, following the procession as it headed into the encampment. Ridge turned to Catherine, forcing a smile.
“We will help him if we can,” he said. “The tournament circuit is full of men who will help their competitors should the need arise. Most of us, anyway.”
She looked at him with her big, dark eyes. “You mean to exclude Renard.”
He simply nodded, once, and that was enough. He was just about to continue towards the staging area when he heard a voice behind him.
“My lord? Lord de Reyne?”
Ridge paused, turning to see Martin de Lamoreux standing behind him. It was a sight Ridge hadn’t expected and, immediately, he went on his guard, grasping Catherine by the arm and pulling her behind him.
He was ready for a fight.
“What do you want?” he asked in a decidedly unfriendly voice.
Martin kept his distance because Ridge was clearly in strike mode. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.
“I am not armed, my lord,” he said quickly. “In fact, I mean you no harm, I swear it. You or the lady. But… but I must speak to you and I must do it while Renard is with the marshals discussing his latest… accident with young l’Ebreux.”
Ridge didn’t lower his guard. “I have nothing to say to you,” he said. “Get out of my sight and I will forget you approached me.”
Martin sighed sharply. “I understand your stance, my lord, truly,” he said. “But I’ve come to tell you that Renard is colluding with your lady’s mother. There is a scheme going on that you must be made aware of.”
Ridge eyed the man suspiciously. “What scheme?”
Martin looked around nervously. He didn’t want to be seen or heard with Ridge so he spoke very quickly. “The lady’s mother has given permission for Renard to marry her,” he said. “Renard wants me to
abduct the lady and take her to The Silly Gilly Tavern in town where her mother is waiting for her. From there, they will go to Durham Cathedral and be married.”
Ridge’s suspicion turned into disbelief. “But Lady Thornewaite left for home this morning.”
Martin shook his head. “She did not,” he said. “She is in town, at that tavern, waiting for the delivery of her daughter. I am supposed to take her, but I find that I simply cannot do it. I cannot do one more thing that the foul bastard asks of me, but if I do not take her, someone else will be sent. He will not stop until he has her and you must be warned.”
Ridge stared at him in shock, digesting what he’d been told. He looked at Catherine, who had come out from behind him, looking at Martin as if she believed every word he’d said.
In truth, she did.
“Then she did not go home at all,” she said simply.
Martin looked at the woman, seeing how truly lovely she was. He wasn’t surprised that Ridge and Renard were fighting over her.
“Nay, my lady,” he said. “I’ve not seen her, but Renard told me where she was. She told Renard that she wants you to marry the son of a count and has given her permission for him to do so. But… my lady, you do not want to be married to Renard. He would lock you away and you would never see the light of day again. He wants a wife’s money and nothing more.”
Somehow, Catherine wasn’t horrified by that. She’d known it all along. She’d known her mother was working against her, but to hear that not only had she not gone home, but had evidently summoned de Luzie to scheme with her, was like a punch to the gut. That contemptible, wicked woman who had treated her daughter like a burden all her life was now trying to offload that burden in the most horrible way possible.
Nay, she wasn’t surprised at all.
She looked at Ridge and, for a moment, they simply stared at one another.
The stakes, abruptly, had grown higher.
“I do not know you, de Lamoreux,” Ridge finally said. “You have no loyalty to me. Why would you tell me this?”
Martin shrugged. “Because I am tired of watching Renard ruin people’s lives,” he said. “That young knight who was just carted away – he’ll be fortunate if he can ever use his right arm again. Renard deflected his lance at the last moment and nearly tore his arm from the socket. But that is usual with him. He hurts people and does not care why or how. It brings him the same pleasure that most men derive from a beautiful day or the birth of a child. His mind is twisted in such ways. My lord, he is planning to kill you should you two face one another in the joust. Surely you know that.”
Catherine gasped, her eyes wide, but Ridge didn’t react. “He has been trying to do that for two years,” he said evenly. “Being the bad marksman that he is, he keeps missing the target. But I shall not.”
Martin simply nodded, but he was still looking around, his eyes darting about. He didn’t want to be seen by Renard but he also didn’t want to be seen by Fulke, who would more than likely tell Renard what he saw. He’d already risked far too much already.
He began to back away.
“I will tell Renard that I did not have a chance to get close to the lady, but he will expect me to try again,” he said. “If you see me nearby, do not kill me, please. I would not touch the lady, I swear it, but you must take her away if you value her life.”
Ridge wasn’t sure he believed anything Martin was saying. But on the other hand, if it was all true, the man was taking a great risk by telling him. If Renard had sent him to tell him that wild story, why would he do it? What advantage would it be? The answer to that was obvious – there was no advantage.
And that was when Ridge started to think that, perhaps, Martin was telling the truth.
“You are hazarding a great deal by breaking your liege’s trust,” he finally said.
Martin nodded. “I am,” he said. “But it is difficult to hold faith with a man of Renard’s character.”
“True enough, but you have served him for years.”
“Because I am sworn to his father, my lord. His father has forced me to serve his son.”
That made a good deal of sense. Ridge had only recently been musing about Martin and his reasons for serving someone like Renard de Luzie, and now he knew. The man was sworn to the count who, in turn, assigned him to serve his immoral son.
Hardly a prestigious appointment for a noble knight.
“Then find me again after your bout,” Ridge finally said. “We will speak more then.”
Martin nodded and dashed off, clearly edgy about being seen speaking to the very people he was meant to harass. Ridge and Catherine watched him go.
“We should tell Charles,” Ridge said quietly. “Come along, sweetheart.”
“I believe him,” Catherine said, looking up at Ridge as they started to walk. “Without question, I believe him.”
He glanced at her. “Do you?”
She nodded. “I believe that if we walked into the tavern he mentioned, my mother would be sitting there.”
“It would be a way to determine whether or not he is telling the truth.”
She came to a halt and faced him. “Ridge, this madness with my mother…” She trailed off, trying to collect her thoughts before continuing. “She has never been like this. Single-minded when it comes to me, I mean. Usually, she just ignores me and I prefer that, so her attempts to undermine you and my brothers to have her way… I feel so guilty that she has done this to you. If you want to walk away, I would not blame you.”
He smiled faintly. “I am not going anywhere.”
“But surely there is an easier way to find yourself a wife.”
“Mayhap. But you are the wife I want, and if this is the path we must take, I will gladly do so.”
“But it’s just not right.”
“Nay, it is not, but it is the way of things.” He took her hand, tucking it into the crook of his elbow. “Let us fine Charles and tell him what de Lamoreux said. It seems as if taking de Luzie down has become more crucial than ever.”
“Then… then you do not want to take me away from here?”
He shook his head. “I have never run from a conflict in my life and I do not intend to start now,” he said. “If your mother and de Luzie want you… then let them come. Bring everything they have. I am ready.”
His tone told Catherine all she needed to know.
He was more than ready.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Somehow, this does not surprise me,” Charles said, his jaw ticking angrily. “But I am disappointed. Disappointed in myself. I should have seen this coming. Mother does not like to be told what to do, least of all by her own children, so this is her way of asserting herself in the situation.”
Ridge stood in the staging area with the de Tuberville siblings, all four of them, plus Payne, who had seen him walk into the staging area with Catherine and came over to join them.
But what he heard come forth from Ridge was shocking to say the least.
“He said she’s at a tavern called The Silly Gilly,” Catherine said. “Honesty, Charles… I feel as if I should just go to the tavern and confront her once and for all. All my life, I have been obedient to her and you know this. Truthfully, I was fully prepared to be obedient in her wishes on who she wanted me to marry, but when her choice for a husband is a man that not even the most desperate woman would marry, I had to refuse. She has ruined my life enough.”
Charles put a hand on her shoulder. “I know, Moppet,” he said. “We were all prepared to be obedient when it came to marriage until this travesty. And it just keeps getting worse. She cannot control the situation from the encampment, so she has gone into town and summoned de Luzie. Christ, every time I think about it, I become so furious that I want to rip that man’s head off.”
“Speaking of heads,” Ridge said. “I heard what he did to the young l’Ebreux knight.”
Charles looked at him. “He tore that lad’s arm nearly from his body,” he said. “He’
ll be fortunate if he can ever use it again.”
“Didn’t the marshal’s disqualify him?” Catherine asked.
Charles shook his head. “Accidents happen,” he said. “He must have managed to convince them it was purely an accident because I’ve not seen his name removed from the boards. But surely, he must behave himself. One more ‘accident’ and they will throw him out on his ear.”
Ridge shook his head. “Somehow, that will be worse,” he said. “At least now, we know where he is and what he is doing. He is occupied. But if they disqualify him, he’ll be free to roam and it will be more difficult keeping track of him.”
“I am sorry,” Catherine said, looking around the group of men. “I am so very sorry I have caused such trouble. Had I not come, none of you would have to deal with this added responsibility. You have all assumed this terrible burden because of me.”
Charles pinched her cheek gently. “It is not your fault,” he said. “We know that. Mother has turned into something I do not recognize and do not like. I always knew she was ruthless, but this is beyond what I thought she was capable of. She is causing the problems, not you.”
“What will you do?”
Charles looked at George. “Can you find this tavern and see if mother is there without her seeing you?”
George nodded eagerly. “I can.”
“I will go, too,” Payne said. “It would be better if there are two of us so we can confirm the sighting.”
Charles looked at Ridge’s right-hand man. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. “Try to keep George out of trouble if you can.”
The Black Storm (De Reyne Domination Book 4) Page 19
