Fallen Knight

by Dana D'Angelo

  “A fox hunt?” she repeated, unable to believe her good fortune. She got up from her stool. Going back to her bedchamber would make her feel like a prisoner. But if everyone including Hervey left for the hunt, then she would be free to find solitude in Lady Edeline’s formal garden.

  “Aye, some of the guests are in need of a diversion, so Sir Gordon organized an impromptu hunt.” She sent Clarisse a sideways glance that was filled with envy. “I am certain that they would welcome you into their fold.”

  “Perhaps,” she said as she made her way to the door. Although hunting foxes was the last thing she wanted to do.

  ***

  As Clarisse stepped out into the inner ward, she discovered that the courtyard was relatively quiet. That would all change once the hunting expedition ended, and the people returned to the castle. Then there were also the people who stayed in town. Soon they too would be arriving for the evening festivities. She crossed through the cobbled stones, threading past the hens and ducks that wandered among the courtyard, pecking at whatever resembled food.

  The outside air was filled with the smells of fresh bread. Without fail, the bread was baked in the outdoor oven. This arrangement suited the baker, since it was a known fact that he didn’t get along with the cook. At the moment, he was bent at the waist, poking at the embers in the brick oven, his rotund face as ruddy as the fire that he was tending.

  A couple of servants who were drawing cooking water from the well acknowledge her as she passed, but she was relieved that she didn’t run into any of her peers. Just being out of the castle put her in a better frame of mind, for she knew that the solitude of the garden was what she needed most. Perhaps if she sat down to think about her dilemma, she could come to terms with everything, and be satisfied with marrying Hervey. She was neither the first nor the last to marry someone to better her family’s situation. This was only one small sacrifice that would benefit the good of all. The good of all except for myself, a small, unhappy voice whispered inside her.

  She was almost at the garden when she heard the voice of the one person who she wanted to avoid most of all.

  “Clarisse!” he called again, effectively shattering the hope that the voice was only a part of her imagination.

  Reluctantly, she stopped and turned to wait for Hervey to catch up with her. This was the inevitable meeting, she realized. He would chastise her for hiding in the kitchen, and for making him go and search for her. For once she wished that Edith was at her side. At least then, she wouldn’t have to face him on her own. But if she didn’t know better, it almost seemed as if he waited for her. And as he made his way toward her, his steps became more purposeful.

  Her suitor wore a black tunic that accentuated his muscular chest. No doubt about it. He was an attractive man. Some might even argue that he was almost beautiful with his angelic features, dark hair and piercing grey eyes. Any number of women would gladly be in her place. But then why oh why wasn’t she contented?

  She took in a deep breath as she fought with herself. All instincts demanded that she spin around and flee from him. And she would have fled except she wasn’t foolish enough to think that she could outrun him. As he got closer, she changed her opinion of him. He was decidedly unattractive, especially now that he scowled at her. The charming smile that he usually wore for other people was gone. In its place was an irritated twist to his lips.

  “Sir Hervey,” she said when he was within earshot. Her tone was stiff, but she couldn’t help it. After the talk with her parents, she wasn’t in any mood to speak with him or anyone else.

  “What are you up to now?” he said when he reached her. “Are you planning to run away again?”

  The sarcasm in his voice wasn’t lost on her, and she glanced over her shoulder, relieved that the servants were still milling about.

  The baker was pushing a wooden paddle into the stone oven to bake his bread. Meanwhile the two servants were finished drawing water from the well and were carrying the buckets back toward the castle. Off to the side, a group of children played ball, their shouts and laughter ringing throughout the busy courtyard. With this many people around, she knew that Hervey wouldn’t dare touch her, and he would, at the very least, be civil. After all, she was a guest in Sir Gordon’s home, and all the servants knew and loved her. She was certain that they wouldn’t allow anyone to harm her. At the moment, they had stopped what they were doing. The baker finished putting the bread in the oven, and the women carrying the buckets of water stopped to glance over at them.

  She gave them a friendly wave, before turning back to Hervey. “I thought you would have gone on the fox hunt with the others,” she said, keeping her voice low and pleasant. “I am surprised that you have passed up on the opportunity to showcase your hunting prowess.”

  “I didn’t seek you out for idle conversation,” he said irritably. A darkness clouded his face. “I should have spoken to you in the great hall earlier, but Sir Gareth took you away before I had a chance.”

  “What would you like to speak to me about, sire?” she asked innocently. He couldn’t possibly say anything that she hadn’t heard already.

  “You will not run away again.” He pierced her with a hard glare. “There will be hell to pay if you do. Do you understand?”

  “Aye,” she said, her eyes dropping to the collar of his tunic, although she was fuming inside. You cannot tell me what to do, she wanted to scream. They weren’t even married, and he was already dictating her actions. But the years of restraint and caution kept her silent. For now.

  “Look at me while I’m speaking to you,” he commanded. Reluctantly, she did as he ordered, and met his frigid grey eyes.

  “Another thing I want is for you to stay away from Sir Gareth,” he added.

  She stared at him. “I do not understand why you are telling me to stay away from him,” she said slowly. The seed of rebellion in her chest became bigger, and suddenly all the anger that she suppressed since she left Laventon became unleashed. “Sir Gareth is a friend and has been nothing but kind to me. And as a friend, I will not stay away from him just because you command it. Until we exchange vows, you cannot tell me who I may or may not speak with.”

  “What?” he hissed. Grabbing her arm, his fingers dug painfully into her arm. “Do you dare cross me?”

  “You are hurting me,” she said, her heart slamming into her ribcage. But she held firm and pried at his fingers on her arm.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw that the baker had leaned the wooden paddle against the oven and was heading her way.

  “Is everything all right, my lady?” the baker asked when he was a foot away from them. His normal jovial expression was gone, and he seemed far from being impressed.

  “Get away from here, and mind your own business,” Hervey barked.

  “My question wasn’t meant for you,” the baker said, crossing his arms over his large chest. He lifted a hand and flagged over two guards that were crossing the courtyard.

  “Sir Hervey is just leaving, Thomas,” she said, trying to yank out of Hervey’s hold.

  As her suitor glanced over at the approaching guards, the baker also stepped forward. “Aye, I’m certain that he’s leaving right now.”

  The knight loosened his grip on her arm. When he turned to her, there was white-hot fury shooting from his eyes. “We are not done with this discussion,” he said, his teeth clenched.

  “My lady?” the baker said.

  Clarisse took in a shaky breath and stepped closer to the rotund ally, glad for the protection that he offered.

  Hervey made a hissing noise. Then turning on his heels, he left them standing there.

  The guards were upon them now. “Do you require our assistance, my lady?”

  She shook her head as she rubbed at her arm. “Nay,” she said, smiling gratefully at her savior. “Thomas has already given me his assistance.”

  Chapter 14

  Clarisse hurried down the stone pathway toward the garden entrance. The meetin
g with Hervey had shaken her, and she felt an even greater urge to seek sanctuary from within the garden. The knight had stormed back into the castle, and she felt secure in knowing that she wouldn’t encounter him again — at least for the next little while.

  The formal garden was surrounded by stone walls that stood six feet high. Lady Edeline wanted easy access to the garden and directed the stone masons to build an entrance as well as an exit. It was her pride and joy, and she made certain that it was a haven not only for people, but for birds and small animals as well.

  As soon as Clarisse was within the enclosed garden, she could feel her troubles beginning to fade. The garden always had this effect on her, and she breathed in the familiar smell of damp earth mingled with the heady scent of roses. She followed the gravel pathway. To her right, a row of boxwood meandered and twisted as it followed the trail.

  She made her way to the marble bench near the wall on her left. The bench itself was covered in a wooden arbor, where vibrant red and yellow damask roses were allowed to climb.

  The sound of chattering and chirping birds were loud as they fought and feasted on the ripe cherries that grew at the center of the garden, drowning out all sounds from the courtyard. After a while she began to feel better. She could have stayed in the sanctuary longer, but the rumbling in her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t eaten much all day. Humming a small tune under her breath, she walked toward the garden gates, her arms swinging at her side. If she went to the kitchen, she knew that the cook would make her some sweetmeats to help tide her over until supper. The thought of the honeyed treats made her stomach growl even more, and she hurried her steps. But when she got to the gates, all thoughts of food fled her mind when she spied her nursemaid. She spun around, intending to disappear back into the quiet garden. But it was too late.

  “My lady!”

  Caught. Clarisse turned around almost half-heartedly.

  “Do you know how large this castle is?” Edith said, hurrying over to her, her tone a mixture of relief and exasperation. “I expected you to return to your bedchamber after the interview with your parents. And when you didn’t come back, I walked throughout the entire castle searching for you. Luckily some servants pointed me over in this direction.”

  “I am sorry that you went through all that trouble to find me, Edith,” she said. “I could not stand to stay in the castle much longer.”

  A tiny strain of sympathy reflected in Edith’s eyes before she hid it behind a stern look.

  “Well, ‘tis not a good idea to run off on your own,” she looked beyond the courtyard, and watched the people there. “There are too many strange people about.”

  “I know a lot of these people. If you recall, I used to live here.”

  Her nursemaid grunted. “This place has changed you. You are no longer the dutiful girl that I raised.”

  She moved past her nursemaid, not wanting to hear the repeated complaints. But her steps faltered when she heard a shout followed by laughter coming from near the well. She looked past her nursemaid, and saw the group of children playing in the distance.

  The girl was in the middle of the circle, a hooded cape over her face, waiting for someone to tap her on the shoulder. She now had to take off the hood, and guess at the person who touched her. They were playing a game of Hoodman’s Blind, she realized. It was a game that she played often as a child. She watched them almost wistfully, remembering a time when life wasn’t as complicated, and definitely not as fearful.

  “I will need to remind you, my lady, your mother placed you under my charge,” Edith jutted out her bottom lip. “’Tis not safe for you to go anywhere without me.”

  “There is no need to worry for my safety. We are at my cousin’s home after all, and many of these people are my friends. And,” she gestured to the group of youngsters, “those children are their offspring.”

  The girl with the hood walked around the circle, studying each person before pointing triumphantly at the suspected person who had tagged her.

  “Ho, Clarisse,” a voice called.

  “I believe your brother is heading this way, my lady.”

  Clarisse turned her head, and sure enough, Geoffrey was making his way over, his approach difficult and labored. She let out a small groan. “What does he want?”

  Out of her two brothers, Geoffrey was closer to her age, and although he tried to emulate their eldest sibling, he never had the power to intimidate her. With him, she freely voiced her opinions. When he was training as a knight, he would come visit her at Stanbury Castle from time to time. But after he became crippled from falling off a horse, he disappeared without a trace. Then almost five years later, she heard from him again, and was overjoyed to learn that he was alive and well. Of course that was months ago. At the moment she wasn’t feeling very eager to see him again. In fact, since his arrival at Stanbury Castle, she was mostly successful in avoiding him. Even so, she knew that he likely heard about her rash behavior, and was here to lecture her. She also knew that this was something that she couldn’t avoid either.

  “I’ve finally found you,” he said as soon as he was within earshot.

  “It seems that everyone is searching for me,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Amelie seemed to think that you were hiding in the garden, but here you are out in the open.” Sweat beaded on Geoffrey’s forehead, as if the exertion of walking caused him much effort. But there was a stubbornness in him, a stubbornness that all the Servian children shared, and he refused to use any aid to help him walk.

  “Why are you looking for me?” she asked, unable to keep the sullen tone from her voice.

  “We need to speak.” He glanced over at the nursemaid. “Alone, if you don’t mind, Edith.”

  “Of course, sire,” she said, melting discreetly into the background just as Clarisse and Geoffrey began to walk.

  “I am not in the mood to speak right now. I just wish that everyone would leave me alone.”

  “You do realize that you have set this upon yourself, don’t you?” he asked. “After your escapade earlier, I’m surprised that you aren’t in more trouble.”

  “’Twas a misunderstanding,” she compressed her lips, and focused her gaze straight ahead.

  “I doubt it. I also heard about what happened at Wykeham.” He searched her face as if to see whether she would deny being in the town. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

  “Nothing,” she snapped. Normally she didn’t lose her temper, and didn’t believe in taking out her anger on anyone. But the strain over the last few days was starting to get to her. Still, she knew that Geoffrey didn’t deserve her displaced wrath. He had great plans to become a celebrated knight, but that plan ceased abruptly when he was thrown from his horse. At the moment he seemed content with his lot in life, and despite his disability, he somehow gained his knighthood. But she was no longer a child, and she refused to be cowed by him or by anyone else. And even as she thought this, Gareth’s words echoed in her head, and her resolve strengthened.

  “All right, Geoffrey,” she let out a sigh, “what did you want to speak to me about?”

  He shifted on his good leg. “I heard rumors that you’re spending too much time with Sir Gareth. I want to know if this is true.”

  “Since I met him at Wykeham, he has been of great assistance to me,” she said quietly. “Naturally, I am grateful to him, and consider him a friend.”

  The frown on Geoffrey’s face deepened, and he reached down and rubbed hard at his hip. “’Tis not wise to befriend a man like him, Clarisse. I thought you had better sense than that.”

  “I do not understand why everyone is warning me against him” she said, a latent anger flaring. “Sir Gareth is my friend I can assure you, and I will not turn my back on him, no matter what you or anyone else says.”

  He let out a low curse. “Look, Clarisse, I’m only here because of Amelie’s marriage. And right now I just want to return to my life in Treville. Your association with this dishonorab
le knight will cause difficulties, and will bring trouble on our heads. And,” he gave her a pointed stare, “my return home will be delayed.”

  “You can leave the celebrations at any time,” she said stubbornly. “Make your excuses to Amelie, and be on your way. No one would stop you.”

  “Nay, no one would stop me,” he agreed, “but you might if you carry on like this. Your association with Sir Gareth has not yet reached father’s ears, and you don’t need me to tell you that he will be displeased.”

  “I do not know what the fuss is all about,” she smoothed her palms down her gown, not wanting to meet his gaze.

  “He has killed a royal prisoner and lied about it. Killing a criminal is one thing, but lying about the murder is something entirely different. His actions speak loudly of his character, and associating with him will put your name, nay our family name to shame.”

  “I do not believe that he is as dishonorable as you say. Perhaps you have heard lies about him. He is forthright with me —”

  “He crossed the line, Clarisse,” he glowered at her. “And regardless, you know that you cannot spend time with a man who is not related to you. You draw attention to yourself in this way. Sir Hervey is bound to be angry if he ever found out. Also, there is a risk that your suitor might change his mind, and no longer pursue marriage with you.”

  “That would not be much of a loss,” she muttered under her breath.

  “I heard that,” he looked at her, surprised.

  “Well, ‘tis true,” she said, brushing off an invisible speck of dirt on her sleeve.

  “How can you say this? Your union to Sir Hervey will bring much boon to our family. Everyone knows that this is the truth. Father is no longer in his prime, and he cannot defend the land as well as he used to.” He looked down at his leg, his lips curving downward. “And Edgar can only do so much. The peace and safety of the Servian demesne rests upon your strategic union with Sir Hervey.”