He smirked, wrapping his armored arms around her as best he could without hurting her. He kissed the top of her head. “Wife,” he sighed. “You worry overly. Gaston cannot harm me.”
She looked up at him, his strong face against the blue sky. “Why not?”
“Because I do not compete against him next.”
She looked surprised; she did not know much about matches and the thought hadn’t occurred to her. She had been singularly focused on Gaston. “Then who do you go against?”
“La Londe.”
Her face lost all color and her mouth flew open. “No,” she rasped. “Matthew, you cannot, not after what he just said. He will try and kill you!”
He held her tightly, attempting to quiet her. “He cannot kill me.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he covered it with his own. Every time she tried to speak, he would only kiss hermore deeply. He soon discovered that there were tears on her cheeks and he wiped them away with a gloved hand.
“No, love, no tears,” he murmured. “Everything will be fine, I promise.”
Her weeping was growing worse. “Please, Matt. Please do not compete against him. I am begging you.”
He smiled at her, his hands on her face, knowing how terrified she was. He could see it in her eyes.
“Do you love me?” he asked softly.
“More than my life.”
“Do you trust me?”
“Without question.”
“Then you must trust me now.” He knew that she did not understand so he explained. “If I were to forfeit the match, la Londe would think that I was afraid of him. Is that true?”
She sniffled. “Of course not.”
“So I must compete if only to prove the point that not only am I unafraid of him, I can and will dominate him and he shall never have you, or anything about you. Is that clear?”
Her tears faded and she sniffled again, nodding her head. “It is. But I am still afraid.”
“I know. And so does Dennis.”
“I am sorry,” she swallowed what was left of her tears. “He will not see it from me in the lists, I swear it.”
“Just don’t cover your eyes. Or close them.”
She gave him a sheepish look. “I will not.”
“Good.” He kissed her again and whistled to John, who ran over to them. “Johnny, take her back to the lists and stay with her. Please.”
There was something in his tone. John understood; he knew that Matthew was asking him a particular favor. If something did indeed happen to him, he wanted John at her side to tend to her. John took Alixandrea by the elbow and escorted her back tothe entrance to the lists. Matthew stood there and watched them until she took her seat.
“Matt,” Mark was standing beside him. “You are up next. Time to get mounted.”
With a lingering glance at his wife, Matthew turned back to the cluster of Wellesbourne men waiting to assist him. He did not say anything to his brother about la Londe’s pledges and promises. He did not have to.
They all knew the stakes.
*
Even Gaston waswatching from the north side of the tournament field as Matthew and Dennis took their places against each other. The crowd, having heard the final match ups, had swelled enormously as more people joined the spectators.
Alixandrea’s eyes never left Matthew as he secured the lance and waited for the field marshal to drop the flag. Dennis seemed to be taking some time in finishing his preparations, causing a delay. But it was a calculated delay; the longer his opponent was kept waiting, the more likely he was to become nervous. Dennis was as devious as he was skilled.
