Again, he pretended to be besotted when he was not.What game did this knight play?
She should have held her tongue, for rogue or not, Jordan was a guest, but on this night, Alienor could not.
“What manner of man would feign drunkenness where he is a guest?”she demanded.“What man of merit would so imbibe, and truly, what is the measure of a guest who addresses his noble hostess as if she were a tavern whore?”A quick glance to the knight confirmed that she had completely taken him by surprise.A curious silence fell over the hall, the other knights watching with avid interest.
Jordan straightened before he responded.“Whatever do you mean, my lady?”he asked, his eyes narrowing in assessment.
Alienor was reminded of a cat about to spring on an unsuspecting mouse.Undaunted, she lifted her chin and stared him down.
“I call you a fraud, Chevalier Jordan,” she confirmed, and the hall grew even more quiet.
“Surely you jest,” Jordan countered.His insinuation that she should retract her words in her husband’s hall about this guest’s poor manners took Alienor to her feet.
“If any jest, ’tis surely you,” she retorted.“For any fool can see that you are not in the least drunk.And this is not your only deception, for truly no census could take so long as you have tarried here.”
Jordan leapt to his own feet, striding across the floor to Alienor with alarming speed.“Do you call me a liar?”he demanded, halting but a step before her.
The company gasped but Alienor held his gaze unflinchingly.
“Aye, I do.”She spoke clearly and saw fury flare in his gaze.“And further, I would know your purpose.”
Jordan leaned across the board, dropping his voice to a whisper.“As I would know yours, my lady,” he replied, the drop in his tone ensuring that none could overhear.
Alienor leaned away from him, wondering whether she had made a wise choice in confronting this man when she was alone.“My purpose?I am but my lord’s wife and his interests are my own.”
Jordan, to her astonishment, spat in the rushes.“Do you take me for a fool, my lady?”There was a shadow upon his handsome features, which made him look both dangerous and unpredictable.“What man with his wits about him would believe you are wed to a goat?And happily so, by all accounts.”
Alienor found that she had no ready reply.
Jordan continued, his tone scathing.“What evidence is there of this fantastic change in your husband’s form save your own word, my lady?Or is it all a ruse?Who truly warms your bed each night?Which of the men in the keep come to you?”His eyes glittered and he leaned over the board again, his proximity filling Alienor with fear.He lifted a dark brow and whispered.“Or do they each take a turn, my lady?”
Alienor slapped his face with an abruptness that sent his head jerking hard to one side.He was undeterred though, even as the company gasped.Indeed, he grinned and continued as if she had not interrupted him, even as the reddened imprint of her hand appeared on his face.
“If so, my lady, I would take my own turn,” he whispered wickedly.“Perhaps this night?”
Alienor gasped in outrage.“Fiend!”she had time to whisper before she felt the arrival of another and Jordan stepped back from the board.
“My lady?”
’Twas Giselle.
Alienor turned to the maid with relief.“I apologize but I have decided that I would prefer to dine in the solar,” she said.
Giselle nodded, her gaze flying to the knight who still lingered before the high table.
“It seems that I am more tired this night than I had realized.”
“Aye, my lady.I shall meet you there, my lady.”
And Alienor left the hall, well aware of the tide of speculation passing through the company, as well as the assessing stare of one knight who surely lingered only to cause trouble for her lord husband.
If Dagobert would neither confide in her nor take her council, though, what could she do?
Dagobert stood staringdown at his sleeping wife in the middle of the night.He wished he knew why she had been speaking with the king’s knight, no less what had passed between the two of them.The reports had been too vague, yet they were unsettling all the same.Why would she strike the king’s man?The last eventuality he needed was the scrutiny of the crown, much less trouble with the king.If only he could trust this woman; if only he could simply ask her the way of things and trust in her word.
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, wondering if they were ever destined to have the rapport he desired above all to have with his wife.Would there always be secrets and distrust?Or would his days be cut so short that naught else could evolve?How would his quest end?And how soon?
Dismissing his thoughts, Dagobert climbed into bed and pulled Alienor into his embrace.He smiled for the first time that day as she nestled against him with an incoherent murmur of welcome.Her warmth spread through him and he closed his eyes, savoring the delicate scent that rose from her skin and the sense of tranquility he felt in her company.Surely, he could trust in that?Surely he did not dare.She stirred no further and he did not have the heart to wake her.Holding her close was all he needed in what precious little remained of this night.
