Kevin waved him off. “Child’s play,” he scoffed. “I will discuss it with you in a moment.”
Leaving his friends grinning at his arrogance, Kevin pulled Annavieve along as he went in pursuit of Victor, who was heading for a grouping of red and yellow tents. There were soldiers about, everywhere, and as Kevin and Annavieve followed Victor’s path through the tents, Kevin saw several well-dressed knights bearing colors from different houses. At one point, Victor slowed down so that he could speak with Kevin.
“As we were told, there is a fine tournament happening,” he told him. “Today is the first day of competition and now that you are here, I shall make sure you are entered. Since there are several smithies here, I will commission joust equipment made for you. The joust is not until later this week, so there is time.”
Kevin was skeptical. “My horse has never jousted before, my lord,” he said. “I am not entirely sure he would be controllable.”
Victor wasn’t convinced. “You have taken that beast into battle, have you not?”
“Aye, but that is different from the joust. Jousting horses take special training.”
Victor thought on that; he didn’t want Kevin to be left out of the joust because the horse was green. “Then I shall see about purchasing a joust horse for you,” he said. “There are so many fine houses here and men with two or three seasoned animals. I am sure I can procure one.”
Kevin was dubious about that but he didn’t say anything; Victor would not be dissuaded, anyway, he suspected. The duke always got what he wanted and in this case, he wanted Kevin to joust. Kevin began to look around at the many different tents.
“This is a rather large gathering,” he commented. “Who is here?”
Victor looked around, too. “Most of the great houses in Southern England,” he said. “Sherborne, du Bonne, de Moray, Forbes, even the Stewards of Rochester, the House of Penden. I’ve not seen them in years. They usually keep to themselves.”
Kevin vaguely recognized the names. “They are related to the Earls of East Anglia, are they not?”
Victor nodded. “By marriage,” he replied. “Thank the Gods that East Anglia is not here. They breed big barbarians who will take a man’s head off in competition.”
Kevin chuckled at the comment; that particular trait wasn’t limited to East Anglia. He’d seen it before, many times, with other houses. As they approached a particularly large red tent, Victor turned to glance at him.
“I meant to ask you what happened to your leg,” he said, gesturing to Kevin’s wrapped thigh. “Why the bandage?”
Kevin looked to Annavieve as he spoke. “We ran into trouble on our way here,” he replied. “We were attacked by six bandits. Your wife managed to do away with three of them. She helped save us both. ’Tis a great and brave lady you have married, my lord.”
Surprised, Victor looked at Annavieve. “What does he mean?” he asked her directly. “What did you do?”
There was something of disapproval there but Annavieve answered honestly. “It was quite serious, my lord,” she said. “Sir Kevin was fighting off several men and one of them rammed a dagger through his leg, impaling him to the saddle. I did what I had to do in order to protect our very lives.”
Victor came to a halt just short of the red tent, frowning. “What doesthatmean?” he asked. “Did you actually kill men?”
Annavieve cleared her throat softly, uncomfortable in answering, so Kevin answered for her. “At least one man,” he said quietly. “The same man who had tried to kill me. She was very brave and should be commended.”
That seemed to pause Victor’s building frustration at a wife who evidently was able to defend herself but it wasn’t enough to quell it completely. “Where were you, Hage?” he nearly demanded. “Why did she have to wield a weapon?”
Kevin was factual. “Because I was impaled through the thigh, as she said,” he pointed at the bandage. “Somehow, the dagger became caught and I was unable to free myself much less dismount my horse to fight. I was, literally, stuck to the saddle. The duchess showed great courage in helping defend us both.”
It explained things but it was clear that Victor was still uncertain about the situation. Still, he kept his mouth shut about it, changing the subject as he gestured at the red tent.
“We are going to meet the Earl of Salisbury,” he told Kevin. “I have told him about you and he is anxious to meet you.”
Kevin and Annavieve glanced at each other with the swift change of subject. Kevin gave Annavieve a wink and she suppressed a smile, only for him, as they followed Victor into the big tent. Immediately upon entering, they were hit with the smell of heavy smoke and the smell of rosemary; heavy, heavy wafts of rosemary, which was a powerful scent and flavoring in and of itself. The tent was dimly lit by oil lamps and immediately, a tall and gray haired man was standing in their path. It was the same man Victor had been standing with when they had first approached camp. Victor introduced them.
“This is my good and true friend, the Earl of Salisbury, William Longespee,” he said rather grandly. “William, meet the Duchess of Dorset, the Lady Annavieve Fitz Roderick de Ferrers,and the knight standing next to her is Sir Kevin Hage, otherwise known as the Scorpion.”
William smiled kindly at Annavieve first even though Victor was clearly pointing him in Kevin’s direction. Ignoring the fact that Victor wanted him to greet Kevin first, William reached out a hand to Annavieve, taking her long fingers politely.
“My lady,” he greeted. “It is an honor and a privilege to meet you.”
Annavieve curtsied. “Thank you, my lord.”
“I am to understand you are Welsh?”
“Partly, my lord.”
