Rise of the Defender (44 page)

     Christopher was having a difficult time
controlling himself. He walked over to his wife, his gaze never leaving the
prince. Dustin, confused and a little frightened, watched his movements
anxiously. When he stood next to her, he finally tore his eyes away from John
long enough to look her over.

     “Are you all right?” he asked.

     “I am fine,” she said, a timid smile on her
lips. “The prince and I were talking of my father, and….”

     “Get up, Dustin. We're leaving,”
Christopher said abruptly, grasping her by the arm and pulling her to her feet.

     Stunned, Dustin obeyed silently, allowing
her husband to pull her toward the door.

     John stood up. “But I am not finished with
her yet. Could you come back in an hour?”

     From out of the walls suddenly appeared
several soldiers of the prince's special guard. They were elite troops, mostly
mercenaries, and Christopher had no command over them. They followed the prince
and the prince's money.

     “Tell your cockroaches to fade back into
their hovels, John,” Christopher said lowly. “I have six knights and nearly one
hundred soldiers out in the hall that say your conversation with my wife is
concluded.”

     Dustin heard what was going on, yet not
fully understanding the gravity of the situation. As Christopher took her to
the door, she felt hands reach out and take her from him protectively. She
glanced up to see Marcus' grim face, and then her husband was partially blocked
from view by David's muscular body.

     John was up and walking as if to show them
to the door. Christopher never made a move to put his hand on the hilt of his
sword, but the rest of his knights did. Honestly, Dustin was as confused as
hell because the prince had been cordial and polite toward her. Why was
everyone so deadly serious that she leave the room with a massive escort?

     “I enjoyed our talk, my lady, even if it
was cut short,” John said, craning his neck to get a look at her. “And I would
ask a favor of you, if you would be so gracious to grant me. We are holding a
tournament in two days, as I am sure you have been made aware, and I would be
honored if you would dispense with the trophies for the winners.”

     Dustin was flattered but before she could
reply, Christopher spoke.

     “She will not,” Christopher said flatly.
“She is my wife, not some whore issuing favors to the fortunate. Find another
slut to do your work.”

     “Chris,” she said, tugging at him. “I would
like to do it.”

     He didn't react, but John's face lit up.
“There? You see? She will do it. Oh, de Lohr, do not be so selfish. Allow the
less fortunate to gaze upon this rare and precious beauty. 'Twill make the men
fight harder if they know they are to receive a kiss from such an angel for
their efforts.”

      “Nay,” Christopher repeated firmly.

     “Yes,” Dustin countered, pulling away from
Marcus' iron grip. She shoved David aside and moved away from the knights
before anyone could grab her. Angrily, she faced off against her husband. “I do
not understand your rudeness. What he has asked of me is a great honor, and I
should like to do it.”

     John grinned broadly. “Ah, a woman who
stands up for herself. I like it.”

     Christopher's jaw ticked angrily. In fact,
he was angrier than he had ever been in his entire life.

     “Dustin,” he said as evenly as he could.
“You will not do this, and you will come with me now without another word.”

     Something in his tone scared her. Puzzled
and angered, she did as she was told and once again found herself in Marcus'
grasp. He led her from the room, David and Christopher backing out of the room
still facing the prince until the door slammed shut.

     Christopher took his wife from Marcus while
David and Edward dispersed the soldiers. With her firmly by the arm, he dragged
her the entire way back to their rooms. Dustin, sensing she had done something
very, very wrong, didn't utter a word of protest.

     When they finally reached their luxurious
apartments, Christopher flung her into the antechamber and slammed the door
furiously behind him. Dustin, having had time to build substantial fear of his
wrath, scooted to the other end of the room. A safe distance, she assumed.

     Christopher was shaking with fury and, aye,
fright. He took a few moments to breathe and calm himself before dealing with
his fully disobedient, highly willful wife.

     “Dustin,” he began in a controlled tone.

     “What?” she jumped at the sound of his
voice. Then she began to speak rapidly. “Christopher, I am sorry. I didn't mean
to contradict you but the prince had been very kind to me and he seemed to know
a bit about my father, and I have never been to London before and awarding
prizes in the tournament is such a wonderful honor, and I have never....”

     His brow furrowed and he cut her off. “Why
are you jabbering like a fool?”

     She looked frightened and he saw her
swallow hard. “Because I am trying to explain myself before you spank me.
Mayhap you won't spank me quite so hard if you understand my excitement.”

     He calmed considerably to see that she was
truly remorseful. It furthermore occurred to him that she knew nothing of what
was going on here in London, except for a few tidbits he had fed her.

     Of course she saw a charming prince; John
could be that if he wanted to. As inculpable as she was, she fell under his
spell and when he asked her to present prizes at the tourney, she was
understandably flattered. John was very right in his description of his wife,
and for that he could not fault the man, but Dustin did not understand the
greater implications of doing John a 'favor'.

     He visibly relaxed. “I am not going to
spank you,” he said. “But you have made me angry.”

     “I am sorry,” she repeated, not knowing
what else to say.

     He took a good look at her in her burnished
gold surcoat; she looked absolutely ravishing. To think of John and Ralph
drooling all over her drove him white with anger all over again, but he banked
it. He hadn't seen his wife in three days and he didn't want to spoil their
first meeting even more than circumstances already had.

     He unlatched his armor and removed his mail
gloves and hauberk, leaving them in a pile by the door. Then he removed his
heavy leather vest and tossed it across a cherry wood table, leaving him clad
in only a damp linen shirt, breeches and boots. He proceeded to wander over to
a silk and oak chair, sitting heavily in it.

     Dustin watched him closely. He seemed
preoccupied and she wondered if it was because he could not decide how to
properly punish her.

     “Come here,” his voice was soft again.

     She obeyed and he drew her down onto his
lap, his eyes drinking in her beauty for a long moment before speaking.

     “Dustin, I know you do not understand
politics or intrigue, but unfortunately, sweetheart, you are right in the
middle of it,” he said. “I told you that I had enemies, one of them being John
because of the title Richard bestowed upon me. Understand me when I tell you
that he will do anything, anything at all, to destroy me. And he will use you
if he can.”

     She looked shocked and angered. “I would
not help him destroy you.”

     “Knowingly, no. But John is a clever man, and
he would use someone of your innocence to his advantage,” he caressed her arm
gently as he spoke. “He knows I will do anything to keep you safe and
protected, and he's right. I'd give my own life to keep you from harm, Dustin.”

     She gazed back at him, his sky blue eyes,
and her hand came up to caress his bearded cheek.

     “He was very kind to me,” she said simply.

     “He would be, for he has everything to gain
by obtaining your trust,” he replied. “Listen to me well, you must never again
go near the prince. Do not speak or even look at him, or Ralph either. They are
on this earth for one reason and one reason only - to destroy all that is
Richard's and to obtain England for themselves. As Richard's champion, they
must kill me if they are to accomplish this.”

     The thought of Christopher dead scared the
hell out of her. He saw her eyes go wide and she threw her arms around his neck
and squeezed him tightly.

     “You cannot die,” she whispered tightly.
“They cannot kill you, Christopher, they simply cannot.”

     He held her close. “They won't, sweet. They
are not smart enough.”

     She pulled back and looked at him, and he
was surprised to see tears in her gray eyes. “If you die, I shall be all alone.
My father and mother are dead, and Rebecca is gone. But you…I would not want to
live if you were dead.”

     He was touched by the passion in her
statement, her apparent devotion to him. He remembered what she had said to him
the morning he left her at the inn, and he believed her now. It scared him to
death.

     “I will not leave you.” Was all he could
say, and pulled her to him once again as he tried to compose himself. He could
not think straight with her looking at him as she was. “I shall never leave
you, Dustin. I vow it.”

     She held on to him for a few long moments
before wiping at her eyes. He brushed her hair back with his trencher-sized
hands, smiling at her until she smiled back.

     “No more cough?” he asked lightly.

     She shook her head. “Nay, I am healed,” she
replied. “Marcus was worse than any nursemaid. Twice he sat on my legs to keep
me from getting out of bed.”

     Christopher laughed softly. “Good man. I
knew you could not get around him.”

     Her smile faded as she remembered her
encounter with Marcus. But she pushed the thought away, ignoring it, focusing
on her husband.

     “You did not say good-bye to me,” she
commented, moving the subject away from Marcus. “Why not?”

     Confusion crossed his features. “I did,
Dustin. Do not you remember?”

     She shook her head. “You did not. I would
have remembered, but you left me without a thought. I am angry with you for
that.”

     It occurred to him that if she didn’t
remember him bidding her farewell then she didn’t remember what she had said to
him before he left.  He realized he was deeply disappointed.

     “I did, I assure you, so your anger has no
basis,” he said.

     She eyed him dubiously but relented,
obviously not too terribly angry with him. Arms still around his neck, she
cuddled up against him happily. “What will we see first in London? I want to go
see the Tower, and Westminster Abbey, and the Thames, and....”

     “One thing at a time,” he cut in, though he
was smiling. “There will be very little time for seeing the sights, but I have
decided that there is one trip we will most definitely make.

     “And what is that?” she asked.

     “To the Street of the Jewelers,” he said,
noticing her puzzled look. “When I married you, I neglected to give you a
bridal gift. I would make amends now.”

     “But…but you gave me a ring,” she glanced
down at her pretty little band. “I remember you told me it was a bargain.”

     He let out an embarrassed sigh. “Well, yes,
I did,” he said. He had told her it was a bargain so she wouldn't think he had
gone to any trouble for her. He was sorry for his statement now. “Nevertheless,
I want to select something pretty for you.”

     She shrugged carelessly. “My mother had
coffers of jewels. I do not care much for flashy jewelry.”

     “I know that,” he replied, “although you
are the one woman in this world who would justify such an extravagance. I want
to select a gift that you will wear, always. Something you will be proud to
wear. Something that will remind you of me.”

     She cocked her head. “We could have a
jeweler smelt a gold mask of your face and I could wear it on a chain so
everyone would know who I was married to.”

     He laughed. “Everyone already knows who you
are married to. That was established following the first few moments of your
arrival.”

     She watched him for a moment, his handsome
face creased with mirth. “Chris?”

     “What, sweet?”

     She looked at him hesitantly for a moment.
“If I…if I were to purchase a wedding ring for you, would you wear it?”

     His smile faded and his expression turned
amazingly tender. “Aye, Dustin, if you were to buy me a ring, I should be proud
to wear it.”

     “You would?” she was astonished.

     “I said I would,” he answered.

     She grinned. “Then when we go to the Street
of the Jewelers, I shall buy you a ring just like mine, only much bigger.”

     “Not too big. I want to be able to lift my
hand without assistance,” he quipped.

     She giggled, very pleased that he would wear
a token of their union. They continued to sit together a few moments in
silence, happy to be together again. Christopher had a great many things to
attend to but was reluctant to leave Dustin, considering the boldness of the
prince. He quickly decided the best way to protect her was to keep her with
him, even in improper situations like drilling the troops or practicing on the
field. He knew she wouldn't mind, and he would feel much better knowing she was
only an arm’s length away. 'Twould be much harder for Ralph or John to contact
her if he were only a stone's throw distance.