Earth flew up around him as the horses charged toward each other. Lowering the tip of his lance as they came close, Conrad smashed it into Sir Chester’s shield. The tip of Conrad’s lance broke, but Sir Chester remained seated. All it would take is one good blow to unseat him, and Conrad would be the winner.
“The point goes to Sir Conrad Lochwood,” called out the marshal.
“Good work,” cried Toby, running to meet him as he rode back to his post. “The win is as good as yours.”
Conrad lifted his visor and looked over at Willow. She held on to Hazel’s hand. They both looked so excited, cheering him on that he didn’t want to disappoint them. Then again, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to win. If so, it would put him in a very awkward position. He felt as if he were falling in love with Willow, but her actions and the way she acted around men made him leery of wanting her for his bride.
With a heavy heart, he prepared for another pass. It didn’t matter, he decided. He had to win just to keep any of the other contestants from marrying her. He promised her father he would keep her away from the men. It was going to be hell enough to have to tell Lord Rook when he returned that Willow convinced Lord Beaufort to put her up as a prize bride. He wasn’t looking forward to that confrontation.
“Are you ready, my lord?” asked Toby, dragging him from his thoughts.
“Aye,” he said, lowering his visor and letting out a deep sigh. He had to win. He had no choice. It was his duty. He would win and then think about all of this later. But right now, he wanted this to be over.
He charged his steed toward Sir Chester, determined to make this his last pass. He was a knight. An honorable knight. He would win to keep right on a promise. He let out a bottled-up scream of frustration and lowered the tip of his lance. Then, with one mighty blow, he thrust his lance forward and unseated Sir Chester. The man flipped over backward and fell to the ground. The crowd cheered, and the marshal called out that Conrad was the winner.
It was over. He managed to secure a position as one of the winners, and now the real competition would begin to find out if one of the other two men would choose Willow as his bride.
“He won! Conrad won!” Willow shouted and jumped up and down. Then she turned and hugged Hazel.
“My brother can marry you now,” said Hazel. “And then I can come live with you. I am so happy.”
“Aye,” said Willow, smiling and releasing a deep breath. Now, she would be Conrad’s wife, and that thought made her happy. But as she watched Conrad remove his helm and dismount his horse, she realized he wasn’t smiling. Something was wrong, and she didn’t know what.
“Will the three winners of the competitions come forward?” called out Lord Beaufort, getting everyone’s attention. “And will the three prize brides come up to join me as well?”
“Go on,” Hazel urged her, looking happier than Willow had ever seen her.
“I’ll escort you, my lady.”
She turned to see Sir Bedivere standing there with his outstretched arm.
“Oh, there’s really no need to do that.” She ducked under the list and started to walk to the raised dais where Lord Beaufort and his wife, as well as Earl Alnwick, were waiting.
“It’s my honor to escort you, my lady.” Bedivere took her hand and slapped it onto his arm, trapping it there as he walked up to the dais at the edge of the field, nodding and smiling at the crowd.
Willow noticed Conrad scowling at her as he approached the dais.
“Ladies, please join me on the dais. Men, line up in front,” instructed Lord Beaufort.
Willow hurried up the wooden stairs, standing next to Lady Anabel and Lady Grace. They both looked extremely nervous. She felt nervous as well.
“Sir Bedivere,” said Beaufort. “Since you were the first winner of the games, you will choose your bride before the others.”
“Thank you,” said Bedivere, hurrying up the stairs and walking down the line of women, inspecting them as if he were choosing a side of beef.
“Who will be your bride?” asked Lord Beaufort.
Willow’s heart thumped like wild. She kept her eyes away from him, hoping he wouldn’t choose her.
“I’ll take her.” His hand came out, and he lifted Willow’s chin. “I choose Lady Willow for my wife.”
“Thank you, Sir Bedivere,” said Beaufort. “But before I grant your wish, I want you to know that the late king and queen of England gave Lady Willow the choice of accepting any proposal of marriage. Do you agree to be Sir Bedivere’s wife, my dear?”
Willow looked down to see Conrad standing on the ground. He stared at her intensely. His jaw was clenched, and a frown covered his face.
“Nay,” she said, getting a reaction of astonishment from the crowd. “I am sorry, but I don’t want to marry Sir Bedivere.”
“Choose another bride, Bedivere,” commanded Beaufort.
The man’s dark eyes bore into her before he moved over and put his hand on Lady Anabel’s shoulder. “I’ll take her.”
“Lady Anabel will be your wife.” The crowd clapped. Lord Beaufort dismissed them. “Sir George, approach the dais. You will choose next.”
Once again, the knight walked up the stairs and he, too, chose Willow.
“I’m sorry, Sir George, but I can’t marry you either,” she told him. Sir George then chose Lady Grace, and they exited the platform.
Last, it was Conrad’s turn. That made Willow’s heart flutter. She was the only one left to choose, so it was inevitable that she and Conrad would marry. Willow spied Hazel out in the crowd, looking very happy.
However, Sir Conrad didn’t climb the platform. He stayed on the ground and spoke to Lord Beaufort. “I beg your forgiveness, Lord Beaufort, but I cannot marry Lady Willow.”
With her smile turning into a frown, Willow’s heart sank when Conrad announced that he wouldn’t marry her. She looked up to realize that Hazel had disappeared.
“Lochwood, what do you mean you can’t marry her?” grumbled Lord Beaufort.
“I am her guardian and promised her father I would keep her away . . . from the men.”
The crowd laughed, making Willow want to hide her head and cry. She couldn’t stay here any longer. Running down the stairs, she passed Conrad.
“Wait, Willow. I want to talk to you.” Conrad reached out and touched her arm.
“Get your hands off of me, Conrad the Cur! I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth.” The crowd laughed again, and Willow felt like hiding away forever. She had to leave here and think about this situation. She didn’t want to be around people right now.
Running to the stable, she bridled her horse and mounted it without using a saddle. Fleeing over the drawbridge and into the woods, she tried to get as far away from Conrad and the laughing crowd as possible.
Chapter 16
Willow approached the secret garden, riding inside and dismounting in a hurry. She needed to cry and release her pent-up emotions. She had turned down two other proposals for marriage because she was saving herself for Conrad.
But he didn’t want her.
What had she done wrong? She ran to the house, throwing open the door to the cottage and stopping in her tracks. There, in the house stood, of all things, a nun!
“Oh!” she said, holding her hand to her mouth. “Who are you?”
“I’m Sister Adeline. I am here to see Imanie. Would you happen to know when she’ll return?”
“You haven’t seen her in a while have you?” Willow entered the cabin and cautiously approached the woman.
“Nay, I haven’t,” answered the nun with a smile. “I have been away on a pilgrimage to the holy lands for over a year now.”
“She’s dead,” Willow blurted out.
“Imanie’s gone?” The woman’s eyes opened wide. She reached out to touch the table, lowering herself to the chair. When she did, her traveling cape opened a little and Willow spied a heart brooch just like hers pinned to the woman’s gown.
“Where d
id you find my pin?” Willow reached out for it, but Adeline’s hand rose up to stop her.
“Your pin?” she asked, tilting her head and looking at Willow from the corner of her eyes. “I suppose I should have known you were chosen as well since you are here in the queen’s secret garden.”
“You – you’re a member of the Followers of the Secret Heart, too?”
“I am. Who are you?”
“I am Willow. Willow Douglas. My father is Rook, one of King Edward’s bastard triplets.”
“Nice to meet you. I didn’t think there was anyone new in the group anymore.”
“Imanie trained my cousins and me, but they’re not here right now.”
“Why did you run in here looking so upset, Willow? Were you trying to hide from someone?”
“I suppose I was.” She sat down on a chair opposite Adeline. “I was a prize bride for a competition, but I wasn’t chosen.”
“A prize bride? And you weren’t chosen? That is surprising. You are a beautiful girl.”
“Mayhap I should explain. I was chosen. Twice, actually, but I turned them down. The man I want to marry and who I thought would choose me, didn’t.”
“I’m sorry. Why didn’t he choose you?”
“He doesn’t want to marry me because he thinks I care too much about my looks and other men.”
“Do you? I notice you are dressed elegantly and even have a crown on your head.”
“It was the queen’s crown,” Willow explained. “She left it to me.”
“And what about that bracelet and ring? If I’m not mistaken, those used to be Imanie’s.”
“You’re right. I took them because I thought she’d want me to have them.”
“I see. And did you offer them to anyone else? Your cousins for instance?”
“My cousins don’t care about jewelry and things like that. I’m the only one who would appreciate them.”
“Sometimes having less is more. The physical things in life often prove to be burdensome and get in our way.”
“That’s not true. I don’t have that problem.”
Adeline studied her face as if she didn’t agree. “Don’t you?”
Suddenly, Willow realized that Adeline had nothing but the clothes on her back and the brooch. She wondered about the woman. How could she be happy living this way? “What is your skill, Adeline? How are you important? Is there something you’ve accomplished that helped a nation or a titled noble?”
“I think everyone is just as important as another. Don’t you?”
“Well, I don’t know. I would think nobles are more important than servants.”
“Mayhap, we are all the same in the inside.”
Willow thought of Conrad’s words challenging her to go without her things that made her feel beautiful. Hadn’t he said he wanted her to show him she could be beautiful inside as well as out?
“My looks and my words are all I have. I am afraid because someday I know they will be gone,” she admitted. “I don’t feel nearly as qualified to be a follower as my cousins. Don’t you see? I have very little to offer. That is why I cling to what I do have.”
“Mayhap, that is what is holding you back. Perhaps it’s time to change, Willow.”
“Nay,” she said stubbornly. “There is no reason to change now. Conrad already decided he doesn’t want me.”
“If you won’t do it for yourself, then perhaps it’s time to do it for someone else.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know that girl who is kneeling on the ground?” Adeline nodded to the door.
Willow turned around and looked out the open door, surprised to see Hazel down on her knees at Imanie’s gravesite. “What is she doing here? That is Sir Conrad’s sister, Hazel.”
“Is Sir Conrad the man you want to marry?”
“Aye,” she admitted.
“I see.” Adeline got up and walked out the door with Willow following. She went over to Hazel and put her hand on the girl’s shoulder. Hazel jumped up and backed away with fear in her eyes.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Adeline told her.
“She’s afraid her brother is going to send her to an abbey,” said Willow. “I am sure your presence is making her feel unsettled.”
“There’s nothing wrong with living in an abbey,” said Adeline. “I live there, and I love it. My name is Sister Adeline.”
“I – I’m Hazel,” said the girl, looking once again like she was going to swoon.
“Hazel, if you are afraid of something, you can talk to me.” Adeline was genuine and sincere, but Hazel was leery.
“Nay. I talk only to Willow,” the girl spat and ran into the house.
“Now I see clearly what your mission is, Willow.” Adeline smiled. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to pray at Imanie’s grave.”
“Of course.” Willow didn’t know what the nun meant. Wasn’t her mission something of much more importance than just helping an addled girl? Surely, she was supposed to stop a war like her cousin Fia did or, mayhap, change a nobleman’s decision that would help many others of her country. If only she had been able to find the earl’s ruby, then she would have accomplished something worthwhile. With the competitions being over, the earl and all the noblemen would be leaving soon.
“Willow? Hazel? Are you here?”
Willow groaned when she saw Conrad entering the secret garden atop his horse. Adeline was at her side immediately. “Is that the man you love?”
“I – I – yes. I suppose I do love Conrad.”
“I will go into the house and talk to Hazel so you two can be alone.”
“Nay! Don’t leave me,” she begged the woman. “I don’t want to be alone with him. Not when I know he doesn’t want me.”
“Then change his mind,” said Adeline wisely. “Did Imanie teach you nothing?”
“But that’s not right. I shouldn’t try to sway a person’s mind where matters of the heart are concerned.”
“Ah, so I see you did learn something after all. However, don’t forget that you can change your actions and your habits and Sir Conrad will change his mind on his own.”
“Thank you,” said Willow.
The woman nodded and disappeared into the cottage.
“Willow, I can’t find Hazel.” Conrad rushed up to her, out of breath.
“Hazel is here. She is in the house with a friend of mine, Sister Adeline.”
“She’s with a nun?” Conrad’s head snapped up and he perused the house. “I’d better go to her. She will be frantic.”
“Nay, she’ll be fine. Sister Adeline has a way with . . . words. And people.”
“Willow, I know you are upset since I didn’t choose you as my bride.”
“Conrad, I’m not the same person I was when you first arrived at Castle Rothbury. I need you to know that.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“So then, you really don’t want me?”
“It’s not that,” he apologized. “It’s a complicated situation. Perhaps we can discuss this further, but later on.”
Willow was so upset that she could no longer be with him. “Leave me alone.”
“Nay. I don’t want it to end this way. I need you to understand why I said I couldn’t marry you.”
“Well, I don’t understand. And I’m sure nothing you say will make me accept your decision.”
“I couldn’t choose you as my bride because I vowed to protect you from men like me. I would have to make the betrothal through your father if I were going to marry you anyway.”
“Men like you?” That made her wonder what he meant.
“Aye.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “I have to admit, I have been hard on you, but perhaps it is because I am so disappointed in myself. You see, I am no different than the barons or even Bedivere. I lust after you just as they do. That makes me question if my attraction to you is only physical or if it is deeper than that. I need to know this answer before
I can make you my bride.”
“Y-you do?” He almost sounded as if he might still consider marrying her after all. Perhaps, this was all a big misunderstanding. “So, you need more time,” she said, trying to get him to open up and tell her more of what he was feeling.
“I guess so. It doesn’t make any sense since most men marry for alliances and don’t even know their betrothed until the wedding day. But I feel as if I need to find some answers first, even if those answers are only within me.”
“That’s what makes you different, Conrad.”
“What do you mean?”
“You care.” She rested her hand on his arm. “You care more than any man I’ve ever met.”
“I thought you said I only thought of myself and that I didn’t care enough about Hazel.”
“I am starting to believe you do care about her after all. At first, I didn’t understand, but now I think I do. You are worried about your sister.”
“There is something about Hazel that I didn’t tell you, Willow.”
“I don’t need to know.”
“I think you do. One of the reasons I wanted to find someone to watch over her and mentor her was because she has more problems than just acting odd at times.”
“What are you trying to say, Conrad?”
“In the past, Hazel has been known to . . . steal things.”
“Steal?”
“Shhh,” he said, looking toward the house. “I don’t want her to hear this. I’m sure she doesn’t do it for devious purposes. Actually, I don’t know why she does it, but it’s happened before.”
“Oh, no, that’s awful! Are you thinking that she might have taken the earl’s ruby and the other items that have gone missing lately?”
“I searched through her things but couldn’t find evidence that would make her guilty. Has she been doing anything out of the ordinary – ordinary for her – lately?”
Seductive Secrets (Secrets of the Heart Series Book 2) Page 16
