Page 67 of An Earl for the Archeress

“My dear lady.” He chuckled, ignoring Mariel’s admonishing frown and reddening cheeks. “I hope to leave no doubt in your mind. Whilst your conversations have been pleasant, I have tried, both gently and in more clear terms, to put off the notion that I wish for more than a kind acquaintance with you. The lady seated here, in the seat reserved for the Lady of Huntington, is the lady I pursue, and you do both her and me disrespect by flaunting yourself. I bid you enjoy my hospitality for as long as you wish whilst visiting Will. But I hold no interest beyond friendship with any woman apart from this one.” He took Mariel’s hand and squeezed it, then continued. “I have no doubt there is a lucky man out there who would be your perfect champion, Lady Anna, if you have faith enough to wait for him.”

Red-faced and with tears threatening to burst over her eyes, Anna took a step back and leveled a hateful glare at Mariel, who withdrew her hand from Robert.

“I shall pack to leave this day, my lord,” she muttered, bowing her head.

“Lady Anna,” Mariel said, dropping her napkin to her trencher and pushing back her chair. “You do not need to leave.” She sent a scathing look at Robert, who rolled his eyes and shrugged, a classic Mariel move if there ever was one, though he gave her a discreet wink.

She shook her head.

“No, he, eh, he makes his point clear,” Anna said, yanking her hand free and looking over Mariel’s tunic and trousers, now cleaned and mended, yet still shabby. “Try as I might, I cannot figure out what he sees in you.”

“Remain civil, Lady,” rumbled Robert with a rare coldness to his voice. “You speak to my woman.”

Mariel smarted and turned away with embarrassment. “’Tis all right, Rob.” She would step toe-to-toe with a man any day to defend herself, but what Anna said hurt.

“Anna,” chastised Will, now also rising. “What has come over you, cousin, to offer such rudeness?”

“’Tis not all right, love,” Robert said, returning his attentions to Anna. “Packing and leaving today is a sound plan, Lady. I bid you follow through on that arrangement.”

Anna shrank back at the unexpected backlash. Mariel’s eyes widened. To withdraw hospitality from a guest was rarely done, especially by the benevolent Earl of Huntington who welcomed everyone.

“’Twill be Christmastide soon, so I’ll be needed back in York,” Anna whispered, scurrying back out of the great hall.

Robert looked now to Mariel, standing silently with her mouth agape. He didn’t smile, didn’t speak.

“What are you staring at?” Mariel’s said with more of a bite than usual, then quickly tempered her tongue.

“You. You frowned reprovingly at me as Anna chased after me. As if you still don’t believe what I’ve told you. If you thought Will’s cousin or any woman held my interest, you were wrong. I pledged my heart to you last night, and at some point I expect you to start believing me.”

“You hurt her feelings,” Mariel said.

Robert scoffed. “I’ve dropped so many obvious hints to her my maids would need to sweep all the day long to collect them from the floor. There was no other way to let her down, Mari.”

“But now she hates me.” Mariel sighed.

“I hardly think her opinion of you is worth the concern,” Robert said, waving off the remark as he pulled out his seat and plopped down, helping himself to the eggs and ham laid out before him. Mariel slid back into her seat, too, and began eating. “She hates you because I like you, not because she knows you. And in truth, she’s jealous of your beauty.” Mariel rolled her eyes, inviting vehemence. “You think you’re not beautiful? You are. Beautiful and capable, and not afraid of seemingly anything, attributes that make Anna, and others like her, jealous, for they’ll never measure up. They seek a man to dote on them, lavish them in riches, give them status and thus, control over other women. It’s a game that leaves distaste in my mouth.

“Do you think that I like their attention? You think it feeds my ego and makes me proud? You’re wrong. When I was a lad, it was flattering. But I’m not a lad anymore, and I learned long ago that those females fixing their attentions on me only want the Earl of Huntington’s wealth and prestige. I sense that you favor me for other reasons, and I know this because you’ve tried to leave me over and over again, and I’ve had to fall at your feet to beg you to stay.”

Will, beside them, coughed at the revelation, though his intense focus on his food showed he tried to ignore them. Mariel remained silent. Why couldn’t she give in and trust him? She shook her head and finished her meal while Robert remained equally contemplative beside her, until it was time to depart to Robert’s personal champ de tir, a yard detached from the castle and enclosed in a private wall with an expanse of green lawn.

The field was secluded, with no windows overlooking from the outer curtain wall except for arrow slits from the cornering towers. Few guards manned them, since the field was only used for archery training, and Huntington’s archers were currently attending other castle tasks. Jonathan climbed the stairs to the parapet and retrieved a bundle of quarterstaffs from a storage tower while Alan pushed a target into position down the field. When they were finished, Robert motioned for all to gather together.

“We know not when Nottingham will plan his next eviction,” Robert said, so we’re going to practice archery first, then the quarterstaff, then swordsmanship—”

“We’ve already perfected such time and again. And indeed I’m already a fine archer,” John grumbled, dropping the quarterstaffs in a pile.

“What’s the matter, Little John?” Robert teased. “You’ll get your chance to dazzle us with your staff soon enough. Most of us have practiced well with you, but Mariel needs to learn.”

“Little John?” Jonathan fumed. “Are you still persisting with that?”

“Well, the name does fit, man,” Will replied, ducking out of the way with a jovial laugh as the man threatened to land a jab of his staff upon his midsection.

“Why did I even agree to entertain this rabble?” Mariel sighed to herself, a hand perched on her hip.

Will shrugged. “You’re stuck with us. And you belong to Robert now. And I’m guessing you aren’t the kind of woman who’ll remain cloistered indoors, whilst your man goes out to have all the fun.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I need not practice at archery.”