Knight of Her Life

by Marisa Chenery

Terric warmly smiled at the woman. “My Lady Rose, I see you managed to escape your husband yet again.”

  The woman laughed gaily at his words. “Not at all hard to do, especially when he is so far gone in drink. You know I would take you over him any day.”

  “Your words bring joy to my heart, my lady.”

  Jacqueline turned to Beth, who sat on her other side, and rolled her eyes at Sir Terric’s words. Beth quietly chuckled. Since the couple seemed to be more involved in each other than those around them, she continued to make Beth laugh. She batted her eyelashes much in the same manner as Lady Rose had done to Terric. Getting into her role-playing, Jacqueline added some of her own faces, making Beth laugh all the more. She placed the back of her hand to her forehead and sighed deeply, pretending to feel faint.

  “I hope I have entertained you enough this evening.”

  Feeling her face turn a bright shade of red, Jacqueline turned to look at Terric. Lady Rose was nowhere to be seen. From the look upon his face, he had been watching her antics for some time.

  “I do apologize, Sir Terric. It was not my intent to make jest of you.”

  Terric seemed to be trying to keep a straight face, but in the end, the smile that tugged at his lips turned into a full-fledged laugh. At the sound of his laughter, Jacqueline and Beth added their own to his.

  Terric brought himself back under control and clapped Jacqueline on the shoulder. She stiffened. It felt like being touched by fire. All the laughter left her as she stared into his eyes. Her mouth went suddenly dry, and her breath caught in her throat. She had thought only silly-headed girls acted so foolishly around a man they found appealing, but she could not tear her gaze from his face. She peered at his firm lips and unconsciously licked her own.

  He shifted uncomfortably on the bench, the first to break the spell. He quickly snatched back his hand and cleared his throat. “Apology accepted, Sir William.”

  Terric lifted his goblet to his lips and drained it in one large gulp. He appeared slightly unnerved by what had just passed between them. Jacqueline had the feeling she had been staring at him like a lovesick girl. She could see it would disturb him. She was disgusted with herself as she attempted to get him to overlook what had just taken place and started a new conversation. Something on a less stressful subject.

  “So, Sir Terric, where is the next tournament you go to from here?”

  Terric jumped on the change as he quickly answered Jacqueline’s question. “The next tournament is to be held in Lymington. Are you going to be attending as well?”

  Jacqueline shook her head. “Nay, I had not planned to.”

  “Why not? You claim to love the sport. Why not attend? Lymington is not too far from here. It is to be held in a week. Plenty of time to travel at a leisurely pace.”

  “I had not thought that far ahead.”

  “You should attend. If anything, it will be a good place to practice for the tournament the king has planned in May. It is going to be a grand tournament with many knights competing. Not just English knights, either. They are to come from all over.”

  Terric had Jacqueline’s full attention now. The king’s grand tournament could be what she had been waiting for. “I had not heard of this tournament.”

  He gave her a surprised look as if to say that information was known by most of the knights on the circuit. “King Richard heard news that Queen Isabella is to make a public entry into Paris. You know how our monarchy does not like to be outdone by the French. So the grand tournament is to be held in London and will take place on the Sunday after Michaelmas day. On the following Monday, the knights will compete as well. I am sure it will last longer than two days. Anyone who is anyone will be there.”

  Jacqueline stiffened in anticipation. “My father, the earl, should be in attendance?”

  “I would be very much surprised if he was not.” Terric gave her an odd look.

  “Perfect. It will work out perfectly,” Jacqueline said distractedly. Plans already swirled inside her mind.

  “I guess you could say that.”

  Beth gave Jacqueline a warning jab in the ribs, and Jacqueline chose to ignore Beth’s reaction to the news of the tournament. It might be a bigger one than she had originally planned to face the earl, but it was an ideal situation. She could not have planned it better.

  Terric was still looking at her strangely. “So, do you plan to go to Lymington now, my friend?”

  Jacqueline shifted her foot under the table so Beth could no longer stomp on it in agitation and smiled. “I think I have changed my mind. We shall meet again at Lymington.”

  * * * *

  The following day they made the short trip to the isle. As the ferry took her party across the water, Jacqueline used the time to think of what to say to her mother. She would be greatly distressed with her decision to participate in another tournament. That was a given, because she had not been at all pleased with this one.

  Sir Guy and Beth were not at all happy with her decision either. They felt she would be taking too much of a risk. Each tournament Jacqueline participated in offered a greater chance a knight acquainted with her father could tell him what she was up to. Not that they would recognize her as a woman, but the number of tournaments “William” attended would still be suspicious. William never went to more than one or two at the most in any given year.

  Once they reached the landing, Jacqueline still had not planned exactly what she would say to her mother. The only merit she could push on her mother would be the money she had made in the list. Jacqueline had to keep reminding herself that she was only using it as an opportunity to perfect her performance. There was no other reason, really.

  Jacqueline was only fooling herself. It was one reason, a very good one at that, but not the main one. It was the chance to see Terric again that drew her to make that choice.

  She mounted her horse, then steered it onto the road leading to Carisbrooke. She hoped this homecoming would find her mother in good humor. If not, Jacqueline could find herself with an argument on her hands.

  Chapter Five

  Lymington did not have a castle, but it did have a fairground. It was not a large port, though it was well known for its salt making. It imported French wine and exported cloth, which was woven in Salisbury too.

  Jacqueline led her small party down High Street to the fairground. The tournament was to be one of the events of the fair. Lymington had two fairs a year. The lord of the manor would be presiding over the tournament and fair.

  Upon reaching the fairground, Jacqueline casually searched the multicolored pavilions already erected. She spotted a standard that sported Sir Terric’s coat of arms—a white falcon in flight on a dark blue background—and motioned to her men-at-arms to set up her pavilion right beside his.

  Her party was one person smaller than she had had at her first tournament. Sir Guy was absent. Lady Elizabeth had been greatly distressed with Jacqueline’s decision to attend another tournament. In a fit of pique at the last moment, she forbad Sir Guy to leave the isle. She had not been able to stop Beth from going, for which Jacqueline was grateful.

  Once she was all settled, Terric called on them. Even though only a week had passed since they had parted company, Jacqueline had not been able to stop thinking about the man who stood before her. He even haunted her dreams. Ones that left her restless once awake and aching for his touch in the most intimate of places on her body. She was being a fool, but she could not ignore the attraction she felt for him. Beth, giving Jacqueline a sly grin, nodded to Sir Terric and then left the two of them alone.

  “I hope I did not make your wife feel as though she had to leave. I know you have just arrived. I wanted to renew our acquaintance.”

  “Nay, you did nothing to bother my lady wife. She more than likely has gone to see what items are for sale at the fair.”

  “Ah, a pastime many woman enjoys.” Terric chuckled at his quip, but when he did not get the same response from her, he slowly let it die. He took t
he conversation in a different tract. “I see you lost Sir Guy. Who will act the part of your squire while you are here?”

  “He could not join me this time. He has his duties to attend to at Carisbrooke. I will have one of my men-at-arms attend me.”

  Terric shook his head. “That will not do.”

  Jacqueline was a little taken aback by his denial. Was there some rule she had not heard about? One that said who was allowed to act as squire? “Why will it not do?”

  Terric laughed. “Have no fear, William. You do no wrong by having a lowly man-at-arms attend you, but I will personally not hear of it. Edwin will be happy to squire for you, along with myself. We are not going to be tilting against each other, so he should be able to keep up.”

  She opened her mouth to refuse his offer, then shut it again. He would think it strange for her to say nay. He was doing her a great favor by offering her the use of his squire. There were some drawbacks, though. For her. There would be no problem with Edwin helping her at the tilting ground, but assisting her to don her armor was a completely different story.

  Terric waited for her answer. Feeling decidedly unsure about the whole thing, Jacqueline did what she had to do. She accepted his offer. “I would be happy to have your squire assist me.”

  “I will inform Edwin of his additional duties. I ride first, so he can come to you after.”

  With that decision made, they fell silent. Jacqueline noticed how close Terric had come to stand in front of her. As at Portchester Castle, her body responded to his nearness. There was no denying it. She was very attracted to this man. She could not seem to tear her gaze off his mouth. All she had to do was lean slightly forward, take his face in both her hands, and pull his lips down to meet hers. Her body stirred with desire just thinking about it.

  She did not realize she acted out what she thought until Terric took a step back before she could reach for him. He stared at her more than a bit strangely. Flustered by what she had just about done, Jacqueline stepped back even farther than he had.

  Terric acted as if he did not know how to respond to her strange behavior and loudly cleared his throat. “Ah…well, I will leave you now. I will make sure Edwin assists you.”

  “I thank you, Sir Terric.”

  * * * *

  Needing time to mull over what had taken place, Terric returned to his pavilion. Edwin was already there, busily polishing his armor. He looked up from his work at his arrival. “Did you speak to Sir William?”

  Absentmindedly, Terric said, “Aye, I did.”

  He did not go into any further details of the meeting. Edwin put down the armor and confronted Terric. “You have the most peculiar look upon your face. Just what took place at Sir William’s pavilion?”

  “That is what I am trying to figure out myself. I have offered your services to him for this day, by the way. When you attend him, I want you to watch very carefully what goes on there.”

  Edwin laughed, but stopped after Terric glanced toward him. “You are serious? You want me to spy on Sir William?”

  “Aye, I do. There is something not quite right with Sir William. It is a gut feeling I have, and usually they prove to be correct.”

  “All right,” Edwin said haltingly. “I will see what I can come up with.”

  “Good.”

  Terric plunked himself down into a camp chair as Edwin once more went back to the business of polishing his armor. What happened in William’s pavilion would not leave his mind. He had not missed the flush of desire on William’s face. Nor the way the younger man had stared at his mouth. At first, he had found it unnerving, but to his disgust, he had felt himself drawn to William. The more he had stared at him, the more he had responded. It had been very much like when he found a woman attractive. The manliest part of himself had stirred to life before he had gotten a hold on himself and tapped it down. That did not sit well with him at all.

  There was nothing for it, though, except to hope Edwin found the clues he needed. An answer to why he felt this attraction to another man, to William in particular, formed in his mind. All he needed was the proof.

  * * * *

  Surprisingly, Jacqueline found Edwin’s help not so trying as she had first expected. Donning her armor with his assistance went smoothly, mostly because he spent a great deal of time looking at every item in her pavilion. If she did not know the squire, she would have thought he searched for what he could easily steal.

  Now, facing her opponent, she prepared herself for her first run. She sent up a silent prayer, then set off. She was able to make the first hit. After accepting a new lance from Edwin, she started on her second run.

  Jacqueline knew as soon as her opponent hit her shield she was not going to leave the field completely unscathed. The hit she received had enough power behind it to throw her back onto the rump of her steed. She was able to keep her seat, but unable to get out of her prone position. Mostly the weight of her armor held her back, but it was the pain that left her weak. She had taken the full force of the strike on her left shoulder.

  Unable to see, nor control her horse, she was thankful Edwin was there to grab her steed’s reins and halt its movements. She groaned in agony and allowed the squire to help her slide off her mount.

  Edwin, being of the same height as herself, took her good arm and put it around his shoulders. “Let me get you to your pavilion, Sir William. Then I will see to your shoulder.”

  Jacqueline furiously blinked back the tears of pain that threatened to fall. She could not give way to them. No knight would put on such a womanly display. Luckily, she still wore her helm, hiding her features from all those she passed.

  Upon reaching her pavilion, Edwin helped her onto a stool and carefully disarmed her. Once free of her breast and back plate, he removed her armoring doublet that she wore beneath. With her upper body free of all armor, the squire examined her shoulder.

  “Looks as if it is dislocated, Sir William. I will have to pop it back into place for you. Then most of the pain will leave you. I will have to ask you to remove your tunic.”

  As Edwin reached out to lift the hem of her tunic, Jacqueline shot to her feet. “Can you not fix my shoulder with my tunic still on?”

  Edwin blinked at her behavior and shook his head. “It must come off. It will be easier to move the shoulder back into place with it removed.”

  As the squire advanced on her again, Jacqueline retreated, only to back into something that felt very much like a solid wall.

  “What goes on here?” Terric asked. “I can hear the commotion all the way in my pavilion.”

  Edwin let out an audible sigh of relief upon seeing his master. “Sir William refuses to remove his tunic. His shoulder is dislocated, and I need to fix it.”

  Before Jacqueline realized his intent, Terric knocked her feet out from under her and lowered her to the ground. Holding and then lifting her left arm, he put his foot into her underarm, which rendered her virtually helpless. She was already in enough pain. The hold he had on her made it worse.

  “All right, Edwin, I want you to put your hands on William’s chest and hold him down. This might take a couple of tries to get the shoulder into place.”

  Beginning to feel frantic, Jacqueline tried to avoid Edwin’s hands, but her movements caused a sharp shooting pain to race up her left arm all the way to her shoulder. She finally ceased moving, and he placed his hands where he had been instructed.

  Terric did not move. He looked at Edwin expectantly, who had frozen in place with a shocked look upon his face. “Well? Can we get on with this or not?”

  Jacqueline closed her eyes and waited for all hell to break loose. Though her chest was bound, she did not bind it as tightly when she wore armor. It was too constricting. Not being able to take proper deep breaths made her feel faint while wearing full gear. Besides, it really was not necessary with the plating.

  The sound of Edwin’s gasp filled the pavilion. “I cannot do this.”

  “Why ever not?” Terric aske
d gruffly.

  “Sir William is no man. The proof is there.” Edwin’s hands abruptly left her chest.

  Terric released Jacqueline’s arm, squatted beside her, and placed one of his hands in the same place Edwin’s had been. He chuckled. “I think you have some explaining to do.”

  Jacqueline opened her eyes and found Terric’s face a few scant inches from her own. “I…I know. Fix my shoulder, then I will tell you all.”

  “Anything to please a lady.”

  Terric signaled Edwin to once more hold her down, then again took his place at her shoulder. With a firm twist and a hard pull to her left arm, the shoulder audibly popped into proper position. Jacqueline yelped at the pain of it, but as Edwin had predicted, with it now back in place, the hurt slowly receded.

  Terric helped her to her feet and made Jacqueline sit on the stool. No sooner had she sat than Beth rushed into the pavilion. Upon seeing both Terric and Edwin, she searched Jacqueline’s face for any sign of trouble.

  “Is everything all right, William?”

  Before Jacqueline could respond, Terric took Beth by the arm, secured the pavilion opening, and led her to stand beside Jacqueline. “There is no need to continue your ruse with us, Lady Beth. We know William is of the fairer sex.”

  At Jacqueline’s nod, Beth confronted the knight. “What do you plan to do with this knowledge, Sir Terric?”

  He smiled politely. “It entirely depends on what I am told.”

  “If we feel we need not make any explanations? What then?”

  “Then I have no qualms about revealing who Sir William really is. Now, I want to hear what your husband has to say about the matter.”

  Jacqueline stood. She would not defend her actions to Terric while having to crane her neck to look at him. She made sure their gazes met. “Even though I feel I do not owe you any explanation, I will give you one. William was my brother, my twin, to be exact.”

  “Therefore, the great resemblance between your brother and yourself.”