Never If Not Now - Madeline Hunter Page 0,45
offer yet. Just not that one yet.”
She drew back in surprise. “Who? Oh, I think I know. That widow? Lady Judith?”
He nodded. Also a handsome dowry, and no father to contend with. Nor was Lady Judith a girl with adoration in her eyes. She was a woman who knew the world. “I need a man with a strong sword arm and a strong back. I care not who you love. As long as you do not scorn my bed, I don’t care what other bed you lie in.”
She had as good as said she would not complain if he kept a leman in the castle.
He looked at Elinor. Would she accept such a life? It was the normal way such things were handled. The songs about love were not about husbands and wives.
“I do not know the lord to whom her husband owed fealty.”
“Does it matter so much?”
“I would not want to find myself bound by honor to a man I do not respect. I am finding that it matters a lot to me. Lord Yves, for example. He has also made an offer of sorts. He invited me to fight with his team in the melee tomorrow, and I agreed. He also offered me service, and his dowry, if we can call it that, is also very handsome.”
“No wonder you appeared to be brooding. You have a big decision to make, and each choice means a different home and a different lord, perhaps forever.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek. “You will know what to do, I am sure.”
“What would you do?”
She thought about that, gazing for a moment down to the river. “If I were you, I would make the choice of lord and service more important than the woman or the dowry. You do not want to find yourself at another Ayyadieh, I think.”
He pulled her back into his embrace. They lay together peacefully for a long while. Then she sat up and pulled her chemise onto her shoulders and draped the mantle over her body. “I must return, and you must sleep well before the melee.”
He would have stayed until daybreak, but she was right. They had to return to their tents. He stood and took her into his arms again. He lifted her chin with his fingertips, so her face was washed with moonlight. “This was not a small thing to me, Elinor. I don’t want you to think that—”
“That I was the woman who was available?” She smiled as she said it.
“Yes. If I had my way, I would—”
Her fingers went to his lips, silencing him. “Please do not say it, or my heart will break. We both know what you must do, Zander. You came here to make your fortune, and you have surpassed your best hopes. All that is left is for you to decide which fortune you will accept.”
They held hands while walking back. Neither of them rushed the pace but made the most of those final minutes. They talked about meaningless things and laughed about a few of them.
Finally, they approached Sir Hugo’s camp. He found himself gripping her hand tighter, and his jaw hardening.
She looked down at their hands, then up at him. “I must go now. You must go too.”
He released her hand. She rose on her toes and kissed him, then caressed his face. “May you have more good fortune in the melee, Zander.” She slipped away, around the tent.
He strode back to the castle. He felt like an idiot, because he could not help resenting all this good fortune he was having.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Here’s how I see it going,” Angus said while he prepared Zander for the melee. “Not much will happen until the lances and horses are done. Then I see you being the target of every knight out there since they know you can pay a good ransom for any forfeit. Also, they will get fame for besting the jousting champion.”
Zander let Angus talk, even though nothing new was being said. He already knew it would be a long day of hard fighting. His mind kept wanting to dwell on Elinor and last night and the wistful mood that had claimed him after they parted. Instead, he forced his attention on the upcoming competition and trusted that once it began he would again fight like the berserker they had dubbed The Devil’s Blade.
“Did you learn the rest that I asked about?”
“You mean the knights on the other team sitting pretty with ransoms of forfeits?