“Then I am pleased he is not overly injured,” Mathias replied. “I suppose I should visit him. I will tell him I heard of his injury and wanted to see how he fared.”
Sebastian shook his head. “He knows, Mat,” he said, lowering his voice. “Ken said that Tate knew you were posing as de Lovern. If you go and see the man, do not insult his intelligence.”
Mathias merely lifted an eyebrow in response, not particularly surprised that de Lara spotted him in disguise. As he was debating how to handle the situation, he heard a growl behind him.
“You dark bastard… de Reyne, I knew it was you.”
Mathias and Sebastian turned to see the big bald knight that St. Héver had defeated in his first round of the joust standing several feet away. Quinton de Gare had two other men with him, swarthy warriors that were as dark as they were dirty, and they were all quite focused on Mathias and his brother.
Mathias recognized Quinton. The man had served Mortimer in the ranks of lesser knights, a fairly dumb and unskilled but extremely strong warrior. There had been times when Mathiashad been forced to render discipline on the man for various infractions, which wasn’t unusual with the lesser fighters in a large army, but Mathias never thought there had been any bad blood between them. Honorable men took their punishment or chastising honorably. At least, that was the expectation.
But Quinton’s tone and words didn’t suggest honor or respect. Instinctively, Mathias moved away from Cathlina, who was still sitting on the steps with her half-eaten meal in her hands. He didn’t want any hostilities aimed at her.
“De Gare,” he said evenly. “I saw that you were competing in the tournament.”
Quinton snorted rudely. “Competed and lost,” he said, agitated. “What are you doing here? I heard the king locked you up in the Tower.”
“He did not,” Mathias said. He didn’t want to engage the man in any level of conversation so he moved to the point. “Is there something I can do for you?”
De Gare grunted, looking between him and Sebastian. His focus lingered on Mathias’ brother. “Sebastian the Red,” he muttered. “I had heard you were dead.”
Sebastian was tensed, ready for a fight. That was simply the way his mind worked. “Not yet,” he replied.
De Gare’s attention lingered on the brothers. There was something raw and condescending in his expression, like a man who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. Everything he was thinking was written on his face or preparing to lash out on his tongue.
“You were so high and mighty,” he rumbled. “The both of you thought you ruled England along with Mortimer. Now you’re in the gutters like the rest of us.”
Mathias didn’t respond. He simply turned away, heading for Cathlina so he could escort her away. Sebastian stood there and postured angrily, his fists working, but he too was smart enoughto turn away from whatever de Gare was attempting to stir up. Unfortunately, de Gare chose to follow them as they walked away.
“You are scum, de Reyne,” he said, listening to his friends titter. “You thought you were so much better than I was. But you are scum, do you hear?”
Mathias had Cathlina by the elbow, quietly leading her away while she looked up at him with frightened eyes. She didn’t like the big, scary beast of a knight following them but it occurred to her who he was. She had seen St. Héver soundly beat him in the joust. She also saw that he had a pitcher in one hand, presumably alcohol of some kind. He was well on his way to being quite drunk.
“Have you nothing to say to me, de Reyne?” de Gare continued to follow. “You know that everything I have said is true. You are scum and you live in the gutters like the lowliest rubbish. Does your woman know what trash you are?”
Sebastian grunted, fairly aching to throw a punch, but Mathias called him off with a shake of the head. He didn’t want any fighting near Cathlina.
“Dirty, filthy, rotten whoreskin,” de Gare snarled. “You are a pig, de Reyne. Where is your mighty army now? Where are your weapons? You live like an animal!”
Cathlina, in between Mathias and Sebastian, turned to the red-headed brother. “I will take that stick, now,” she said softly.
Sebastian cocked an eyebrow at her. He wasn’t sure if she was serious or not. As he shook his head faintly, Cathlina’s dark eyes bore into him.
“A stick, Sebastian,” she said again. “You will give me a stick.”
Sebastian looked rather fearful, glancing at his brother as he spoke. “I will not.”
“De Reyne!” de Gare boomed. “Turn around and face me, you filth. For the punishment and humiliation you dealt me when weserved Mortimer, I intend to extract justice from your hide. Turn around, I say!”
Cathlina had enough. She was furious and hurt on Mathias’ behalf to the point of irrational behavior. She was very protective over those she loved… those she loved.Of course! She thought.I must love Mathias ’else I would not want to kill for him. He had saved her life, once. Now it was time to return the favor.
As they moved down the avenue, they passed a metalworker’s shop. The man had all manner of iron crosses, small shovels, fire implements, and the like on display. Yanking her arm from Mathias’ steady grasp, she rushed to the display of iron instruments and grabbed the first thing she came to, which happened to be a very sharp fire poker. Before Mathias or Sebastian could stop her, for they didn’t realize what her intentions were until it was too late, Cathlina rushed at de Gare and his contemptible companions. She swung the poker at de Gare’s head, catching him in the face. As he fell back, she swung it again and caught him in the chest. Blood seeped out from two wounds.
“You are a vile and horrible man,” she hissed. “How dare you speak to him in such a manner? You are a worthless excuse for a knight and only feeling sorry for yourself because St. Héver soundly beat you in the joust. Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and I shall not see your face again for if I do, I shall tell the Earl of Carlisle and have him deal with you. Is that what you want? A fight with a man who can destroy you with a flick of his hand? Go away from me, you beast. Go away before I kill you!”
It was a shocking and extraordinarily brave action. Mathias and Sebastian rushed up, standing on either side of her and fully prepared to deal de Gare and his companions a heavy beating if they so much as moved in Cathlina’s direction. But de Gare, witha bloody gash on his cheek and the pitcher of spilled ale across his legs, looked up at Cathlina with shock first and then rage.
When he tried to get up, Sebastian planted a ham-sized fist in his face and knocked him back to the mud, unconscious. After that, his companions fled. Mathias snatched the poker from Cathlina’s grasp and tossed it, turning her around in the direction they had come. But the moment he spun her around, they both came to an abrupt halt.
