On the ground, Ellowyn put her good hand over her face and groaned. “Please,” she muttered softly. “Save me.”
Brandt looked at her, brow furrowed. “Save you from what?”
The hand flew away from her face. “Boredom!” she hissed. “They have been reciting the Book of Job since they arrived. I am so despondent with his trials that I am ready to throw myself in the fire!”
Brandt struggled not to laugh. “It is not a very big fire,” he told her. “I doubt it would kill you.”
She grunted, unhappy. “Probably not,” she said, looking him in the eye. “But they feel it necessary to not only heal my wound but save my soul.”
“Why?”
She made a face. “They think I am a camp whore.”
He did burst out laughing, then. It was a short guffaw that he quickly stilled. “That is madness,” he said, looking at the little nun in front of him. “She isnota whore.”
The little nun lifted her eyebrows at him as if she didn’t believe him. “Thou wilt leave, my lord.”
He frowned, putting his big hands on his hips. “I willnotleave,” he said. “She is… well, she is not a whore and I will not leave.”
On her back, Ellowyn sighed rather dramatically. “I told them I was your wife.”
His head snapped to her. “Wife?”
“Wife.”
He caught on quickly to the lie. “Aye, wife,” he confirmed, although he didn’t sound sincere. He sounded off-guard. “This woman is my wife. It is you who will leave now. We no longer require your services.”
The little nun took a rather surprising stance. Rather than outright believe him, she questioned him. “If that is true, my lord, why does she not wear a band signifying her marriage?” she asked. “Married women wear it as a symbol of their union.”
Brandt was finished being polite. His dark eyes narrowed. “Get out,” he growled. “I will not tell you again.”
Ellowyn, who had been fighting off a grin to this point, heard the death in his tone. She didn’t want him snapping the woman’s neck out of sheer exhaustion and frustration. She lifted her voice to capture their attention before things deteriorated into unholy mortal combat. One enormous knight against a determined little nun would not have a good outcome.
“I do not wear a band because… because it was stolen when I received this wound,” she told the woman quickly, fearful of what Brandt might do. “We were married in Kendal five years ago come May and… and we have two sons. Big, healthy sons. They live… with my parents in Cumbria because I went with my husband to France. We are going home now. Although I sincerely thank you for your assistance, I believe it is no longer required. My husband has surgeons with his army who can tend to me further if needed. Is there anything more you wish to know?”
By this time, the little nun and Brandt were both looking at her with some interest. The nun, in fact, was starting to back down. She glanced at Brandt with some uncertainty before replying to Ellowyn.
“It is my duty to protect you, my lady,” she said rather firmly. “Although I mean no disrespect, lies do not please our Lord.”
“Are you accusing me of lying?”
“I am simply saying that our Lord is displeased with sin.”
Ellowyn fixed the woman in the eye. “As He is displeased with stubbornness and the lack of humility,” she said, growing irritated. “Who are you to question us? My husband is the Duke of Exeter. He is an extremely powerful and influential man. You are unworthy of questioning his integrity. Now, you and your companion will leave. I no longer require you.”
It was clear the nun did not believe them but she bowed out without another word, taking her silent colleague with her. Brandt simply stood aside as they quickly gathered their thingsand fled the tent. He stuck his head from the open flap to make sure the nuns were escorted back to St. Mary’s, but that was the extent of his attention toward them. His focus quickly returned to Ellowyn. He smiled at her.
“You will have to say many Hail Mary’s for lying to a nun,” he told her. “In fact, we both will.”
Ellowyn giggled. “I thought you were going to come to blows with her.”
He wriggled his dark brows. “I thought so, too. Fortunately, you took charge of the situation and saved me. I could not possibly pray enough rosary novenas to save my soul from Hell if I were to go to battle against a nun.”
She laughed softly as he made his way over to her. “I will give her credit for being a brave woman. Not many would stand up to you as she did.”
“Youdid.”
“I was a fool.”
