A Knight for Love (11 page)

“You would leave us?” Bennet’s eyebrows shot up; his mouth dropped open. Or at least Warin supposed it was his mouth, hidden behind the shaggy beard as it was.

“Aye,” Warin nodded.

“These are dangerous times
. Three travelers are much stronger than only two.” As if to underscore Bennet’s words, four Crusaders, swords clanking and pennants fluttering, galloped past them.

“It should be easy enou
gh to find traveling companions,” Warin assured. “Many Englishmen travel through Paris on their way to and from the Holy Land.”

“What’s so important you can’t come with us?”

“I mean to serve the Lord from the sanctuary of Mont St. Michel.”

“
You?” Bennet snorted. “What a waste of your fighting skills.”

Warin clenched his fist around the reins. Bennet stirred the doubt nestling in Warin’s gut. He couldn’t deny how he had enjoyed the tourney several
days past, the clank of swordplay, the coppery scent of spilled blood, the surge of power as he stood over his defeated opponent.

And he hated himself for it. He’d made up his mind to forswear fighting yet it
still brought him great pleasure.

“I will follow the path of peace.” He tilted back his head to watch a lone hawk circle overhead. A hawk. Was that a sign? If so, would not a dove be better?

“Can’t you deliver her first?
” Bennet grumbled. “She is highly born, surely we would receive recompense.”

Warin shook his head. “I have no desire to return to England
, recompense or no.”

Bennet’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

Warin groaned. “Enough of your questions, Bennet.”

“I would ask you to reconsider. Surely the monastery can wait.”

“No,” Warin growled.

“It’s England, isn’t it?” Bennet’s eyes narrowed. “Something there pushes you away.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Well, it seems as if you’ve decided my business is the care of Alyna which means, yes, it is my business. I’ve no objection to taking her to England, it’s my home too. But I’ll remind you there is strength in numbers. Come with us,” Bennet coaxed.

Warin s
cowled. “The weather there is repulsive.”

“No more so than a monastery perched on an island in the sea. See her safely home and I’ll accompany you back to France.”

Warin ignored Bennet and urged his horse forward. He couldn’t deny Bennet’s argument that the three of them traveling would be safer than only two. Too, many men had shown open admiration for her. How long before one, or more, accosted her?

He gazed at Alyna’s back, at the swell of her hips and her shapely legs clinging to her mount.
He loved her laughter, the way her nose wrinkled when she thought Bennet teased her, the constant scent of lily of the valley. Clean, fresh, pure.

But he dreaded the wounds sure to open once he set foot on English soil. Even now, just at the thought, he could scarcely draw breath a
gainst the tingling in his chest and the sudden nausea.

Yet the idea of a few more weeks
with her, to drink more of her innocence, enticed him. Mayhap he needn’t risk dredging up the past by visiting the ruins of his home. He could take her straightway to Caperun Keep. He and Bennet. Once there, he would leave her and depart with a clear conscience. He would have fulfilled his responsibility to a young gentlewoman and seen her home safely. Surely that counted for something with the Almighty. Or would the Almighty view him as being selfish for wanting more time with Alyna?

He
squeezed his shoulders against the ache in his back then slowed his horse until Bennet caught up to him. “Very well, I’ll go with you. Once she’s safely home, I’ll return to France with or without you.”

Bennet’s touched his cap. “It shouldn’t take long. A month, maybe two at the most.”

A month or two, thought Warin. If Bennet spoke the truth, he would be back in France before the leaves turned color.

He spurred his horse to catch up to Alyna, leaving Bennet to follow. Did he imagine it, or did Bennet’s chuckle float on the breeze?

*****

Hoof beats sounded behind
Alyna. She turned her head as Warin pulled up beside her.

“Bennet and I have decided to
escort you to Caperun Keep.”

“You’ve decided? Without including me in the conversation?”
A brief surge of anger spurted through her then she shrugged it off. His offer deserved her gratitude.

“It’s what you want, isn’t it? To return home?”

Speechless, Alyna gazed at Warin. He believed Alyna would be welcomed. Mayhap she would be but she doubted Philippa would easily relinquish her hold until Hugh returned. Aye, Warin had said he would take her home but what then?

If Philippa refused Alyna
entry, he would likely insist on staying with her. She couldn’t ask that of him and his aching soul, when he’d already delayed joining the monastery just to return her to Caperun Keep.

“But what of your desire to enter Mont St. Michel?”

“To wait another month or two is not terrible.”

If it’s only a month or two, she thought. It could be longer.
The breeze picked up a lock of his hair and she watched the black strands flare in the breeze. To burden him further with her presence did not seem just yet he had offered, so how could she refuse him? She lifted her gaze to his. “Then I accept and gladly,” she replied woodenly.

He
shook his head, exasperation at her lack of enthusiasm showing in his eyes. “They’ll be pleased to see you. I’m sure they’ve thought you dead and gone all this time.”

“
I don’t know if they’ll be happy to see me.” Her shoulders sagged.

“
Nonsense, Alyna, you’re the daughter of the castle.”

A castle without its lord
, she thought. A castle in the grip of a ruthless woman who would stop at nothing to keep it.

But she kept her apprehension to herself.
Mayhap she worried for naught.

Chapter Seven

Caperun Keep stood solid as ever
, its mismatched square towers huddled behind the stone curtain wall like a giant child’s toy. Smoke drifted from the cooking fires, topping the buildings with a hazy crown, and the stained glass window in the chapel glowed – Father Gilbert would be within, getting ready for evening devotions.

Tears streamed down Alyna’s cheeks at t
he sight of the stone walls, protective yet warm and welcoming in the blaze of the setting sun. She pulled back on the reins of her mount to gaze at the familiar sight. A smile curved her lips when she glimpsed the lanky form of Odo, the guardsman patrolling the wall walk and with him, her dear friend and servant, Emma.

She slumped into the saddle
and closed her eyes. Nothing had changed. Truly, she was travel weary and thankful to be home.

It wasn
’t that the remainder of the journey had been wholly unpleasant. On the contrary, Bennet had proved to be a likable and jolly companion and had kept her and Warin much amused with his droll anecdotes and observations. Too, he had provided a bulwark betwixt her and Warin for, ever since his announcement he would indeed take her to Caperun Keep, the two had again become strangers, as distant as if they had never met. Sometimes, though, she had caught him staring at her as if he would devour her, with a gaze reaching into her very soul.

And she did the same, stealing glances at him from beneath lowered lashes, dreading the day he would leave
, yet welcoming it also for then she could forget about him. Mayhap.

“It is a fine keep.” Warin’s voice was admiring.

“A fine keep indeed,” Bennet echoed. The two men stayed behind her to allow her a few moments of reflection.

“Aye,” she nodded
, swiping her arm across her cheeks to dry them. “My father was fierce proud. Is fierce proud,” she corrected herself. Hastily she made the sign of the cross, hoping her slip of the tongue didn’t bode ill for her father. As far as she knew, he was alive and well in the Holy Land. With any luck, her Aunt Philippa would have news of him.

“Come, home beckons!” Alyna spurred her horse and galloped up the road towards the
keep, not seeing until she rounded the last curve that the gates were already closed against the encroaching night.

She pulled up
and waved to Odo and Emma. “Odo! Emma! It’s me, your mistress Alyna!” Even at this distance, she could see the horror that crossed Odo’s face as he backed away holding his pike before him until he disappeared from sight. Then, Emma’s round face appeared between two crenels.

“Emma, it
’s Alyna! Open the gates, let us in!”

“Nay,” Emma shouted down. “Nay, you are a phantom sent to trick us. Alyna died these many months ago.”

Odo appeared once again at Emma’s side. He peered down at the threesome then spat over the wall.

“Get you gone,” he sneered. “I know full well the face of Alyna and it is not you.” He spat again, a foul glob that landed on the ground beside Alyna.

“Odo, Emma, don’t you know me?” she cried. “Am I that changed that you deny me entrance to my own home?”

“Alyna?” Warin’s voice was full of concern. “Is there a trick here?” He urged his horse forward a bit.

“I don’t know.” She bit down hard on her bottom lip to stop from wailing her despair.

“Alyna, something here isn
’t right,” Bennet muttered. He nudged his mount closer.

“I know, I know,” she replied, tears streaming again down her cheeks. “I don
’t understand, Emma’s my dearest friend. And Odo has been guardsman for these many years. I don’t understand why they don’t recognize me.”

“Emma!” She tried again, but both Odo and Emma had disappeared
but not before closing the wooden shutters between the crenels, leaving her to shout to the empty heavens.

“Come, Alyna,” Warin said gently. “We
’ll make camp in the forest for the night. Tomorrow when we’re rested we’ll try again. The gates must be opened in the morning,” he assured her, “and in the full light of day they’ll recognize you.”

“Aye,” she whispered, head drooping with dejection.
How disappointing to be so close yet denied access. How could Emma not recognize her? Had her travels altered her appearance that much? Or did they follow Philippa’s orders?

“
It’s a misunderstanding,” Bennet interjected. “Come the morning, you’ll be welcomed with open arms.” He nodded, beard flapping.

“Come
,” Warin repeated. He leaned over and tugged on the bridle of her horse, turning her about and retreating a little ways down the road.

Once in the shelter of the woods, he stopped at the first clearing. He slid off Citadel then held up his arms to Alyna, seemingly aware of her distress. She
slipped down easily, though his kindness proved to be her undoing.

In the comforting realm of his arms, Alyna opened up and voiced her sorrow and disappointment, keening and wailing until no sound could come, just a series of small hiccoughs that gradually trailed away into sniffles. Finally spent, she burrowed her face into the solace of his chest, drying the tears that glazed her cheeks.

“Pray forgive me,” she managed to choke out, pulling her arms away to fold them across her middle.

H
is hands fell to his side then with a stony face he stepped back and became once again the aloof stranger. If it were not for the patch of wetness staining his chest, she would have thought the entire episode had never passed.

“We
’ll eat well tonight,” Bennet interrupted cheerfully. He seemed unaware of the awkwardness that again enveloped his companions. Wisely, he had made himself scarce during Alyna’s outburst and had taken that opportunity to hunt. He hoisted aloft a fat hare and shook it in the air. “The lands about your keep are bountiful, Alyna. You are indeed fortunate.”

“Aye, at one time,” she responded morosely, “but it would seem as if these are not mine to enjoy any longer.”

“Don’t despair, a meal of fresh meat will make all your troubles seem smaller.” Already skinning the hare, Bennet’s kindly voice drifted over his shoulder while he concentrated on his task.

Warin busied himself building the campfire then, excusing himself, disappeared into the gradually gathering darkness.

Alyna watched Warin’s muscular back retreat until he could be seen no longer. She couldn’t tear her eyes away, couldn’t deny her attraction to him. Her skin tingled where he had held her and memories of the kiss they had shared the day of the joust, memories that she had managed to subdue, surfaced.

She could still feel
the throb of his lips on hers, remembered the flush of well being that had enveloped her. Could it be she was falling in love? And if so, was there a chance Warin might feel the same about her? Today, after holding her, it had seemed as if he loathed releasing her.