Great Protector (17 page)

It
was a brutal game with few rules of conduct, making for an exciting and bloody
match. It was extremely popular with the men-at-arms and the peasants, but on
few occasions the knights and nobles would compete simply to appease their own
lust for sport. As Arissa and The Horde gazed upon the field, Bartholomew and
Daniel took the field for the earl's team.

"Richmond
was supposed to escort him from Lambourn," Arissa replied to Emma's
question, belatedly. "Truthfully, I have no idea why he’s still
here."

Emma
sighed. "How awful that he insulted your father to his face. I wonder what
possessed him?"

Arissa
kept her gaze averted, lest Emma see her guilt. Another small lie to appease
her friend's fragile feelings, the omission of certain facts that had
constituted her explanation regarding Tad's departure. Certainly she couldn't
know of the coarse statements Tad had made, the guttural remarks that had sent
her father and Richmond into a rage. It would have broken Emma's heart.

"I
do not know, truly," Arissa said, hoping to change the subject. "Goodness,
I did not think Bart enjoyed Stick and Ball anymore. I have not seen him play
since we were children."

"Look,
Riss," Penelope tugged her arm, diverting Emma's attention as well.
"Isn't that Richmond taking the field?"

Arissa
stiffened, catching sight of a very tall, armorless man as broad as a tree. Her
mouth opened in surprise. "He cannot play this game!" she suddenly
leapt to her feet. "What in the world is he doing?"

Emma
and Penelope rose beside her. "Why can't he play? He’s played many a time
before," Penelope said.

Arissa
thought a moment before replying. In her opinion , he couldn't play because he
might become injured and she would surely die if anything happened to him.
Especially now that their relationship has passed to heights she had never
believed possible. But she refrained from mentioning the truth, a secret far
too precious to divulge.

"Because....
well, he simply cannot." She gathered her skirts. "I must talk to
him."

Penelope
and Emma watched her trudge toward the field. Emma leaned toward her friend.
"She’s afraid he will injure himself."

Penelope
nodded. "Poor Riss. In love with a man she can never have."

Emma
nodded slowly. "I wonder if she will forget about him after she joins the
convent."

Penelope
cast her a long glance. "Would you?"

Emma
met her gaze before returning her attention to the field. "Poor
Riss." She repeated.

Arissa
marched to the edge of the turf, sending a soldier running for Richmond. He was
in the center of the field, whacking the life out of the small leather ball.
When the soldier approached him and uttered a few words, his head snapped to
Arissa with dizzying speed. Immediately, he relinquished the ball to another
player.

He
jogged towards her, clad in a simple tunic, hose and knee-high leather boots.
It was extremely rare to see him out of armor at any given moment, but to be
without protection in a public forum was nearly unheard of.

Arissa
watched him approach, thinking him to be far more glorious without his armor;
his shoulders were exceedingly broad and his waist narrow. When she remembered
the feel of his lips against hers, the tenderness in his magnificent touch, her
cheeks flushed anew. She could still scarcely believe.

And
neither could he. Although Richmond was trying to maintain a neutral expression
as he approached her, it was extremely difficult. He hadn't seen her for over
an hour and was desperate to taste her again. Her soft expression told him of
her very similar thoughts, weakening his control further.

"Is
something amiss, my lady?"

She
gestured at the stick in his hand. "What do you think you are doing?"

He
cocked an eyebrow. "That should be fairly obvious."

She
frowned. "I do not want you to play. 'Tis a rough sport and you might....
well, you should leave the playing to the soldiers."

A
shadow of a smile played on his lips. "What you mean to say is that I am
too old and might injure myself."

"I
did not say that. But I certainly do not want you to hurt yourself."

The
smile escaped and his mouth curved. "Riss, I have been playing this game
for years. Moreover, you have watched me play this game for years," he
took a step closer, leaning casually on his stick.  ”Kitten, if you start
showing an over amount of concern for my welfare, people might become
suspicious."

She
gazed up at him, suddenly uncertain. She refrained from glancing about to see
who might be watching them. "I did not mean to....oh, Richmond, I do not
want you to play this silly game. It is too rough!"

He
scratched his chin nonchalantly. "You are concern is touching, Riss,
truly. But you worry overmuch. Now, return to Penelope and Emma and if I
discover you have told them of our.... uh, conversation this afternoon, I shall
blister your lovely bottom. Is that clear?"

She
pursed her lips wryly. "If you can catch me, my lord."

He
cocked a serious eyebrow. "What happened between us is not fodder for
gossips, Riss. You shall never know how serious it is."

She
relented somewhat, her features softening. "I do indeed realize how
serious it is. They shall not hear a word from my lips."

His
eyes glittered. "And delicious lips they are. I should know."

Tad
suddenly ran past, cracking the leather ball so hard that the sound made Arissa
wince. Her gaze as well as Richmond's followed the young knight.

"Why
is he still here?" she asked quietly.

Richmond
sighed, toying with his stick. "Your father spoke with Lord de Rydal and
it was decided that Tad would take his leave discreetly after the Stick and
Ball game rather than to be abruptly hustled from Lambourn. Lord de Rydal was
concerned that Tad not appear as an unwelcome element whom your father is eager
to be rid of, instead, allowing the knight to leave with the majority of his
pride intact."

She
watched Tad handle himself aggressively on the field; he was a large man and
quite strong. Bartholomew tried to intercept the ball and was sent to the
ground.

"Watch
yourself, my love," she murmured, turning her attention to Richmond once
more. "I am afraid of what he might attempt."

Richmond
clutched his stick, slinging it over his shoulder. "Have no fear. I have
had experience with the Tads of this world."

Slanting
him a frustrated glance at his careless attitude, Arissa turned away and
prepared to rejoin her friends. He called to her softly.

"Are
you to reward the winner of this match?"

She
shook her head. "We haven't enough ribbons for the entire team."

His
expression did not change, but his eyes roared with intensity. "I was not
speaking of ribbons. And I most certainly was not speaking of the entire
team."

She
blushed madly, as giddy excitement filled her. "In that case, I shall
reward the winner. Whatever he desires."

The
corners of his mouth tugged. With a bold wink, he turned and strolled across
the field to where his team was in the final throes of practice.

Arissa
returned to Penelope and Emma. Regine, her hands full of food, had joined the
group. Her mouth loaded with custard, she kept up a running conversation
regarding Tad and his talents. Emma, her face red, listened silently as Arissa
took position next to Penelope.

"Daniel's
already fallen twice," Penelope lamented. "I wish he would not
play."

Arissa
sighed, watching as the marshals separated the teams and sent them to opposite
sides of the field. Her father's team was represented by Richmond, her brother,
Daniel, and nine other soldiers from Lambourn and Richmond's personal corp. The
opposing team was comprised of soldiers and knights from visiting households.

Lady
Maxine and Carlton joined The Horde as the match was readied. William stood
near the edges of the turf with several other nobles, including Ovid de Rydal,
no doubt issuing gentlemanly wagers before the game began. Just as the marshals
were leaving the field, Lady Maude and Lady Livia strolled up on Arissa's
group.

"Arissa,
dear, do you think it wise to observe this sport?" her mother said gently.

Arissa
turned to her mother, a plump woman who had once been exceedingly lovely. Once,
when she had been Regine's age, she had overheard her father telling Richmond
that the only reason he had married Maude was because she had been so lovely to
behold. The woman had the intellect equal to that of a door.

"Why
not, Mother? I have watched before, numerous times."

Lady
Maude glanced to the field. "'Tis simply that you are to join the cloister
next month, and watching a sport based upon such brutality might.... well, it
might...."

Lady
Livia finished her sentence, as was usual. Oft times, Maude had difficulty
finishing a line of thought. "It might adversely affect you, my lady. Now
that you have come of age, your emotions have matured and it might upset your
delicate balance."

Regine
leaned against her sister's ear. "It might make you lusty."

Arissa
choked on her next breath, coughing indelicately into her hand in a desperate
attempt to keep from laughing. Unfortunately, she knew Regine was right; her
mother thought that viewing a host of thinly-clad men might stir her innocent
juices, feelings a virgin bound for the cloister should not experience. But
Arissa had spectated numerous Stick and Ball games and was surprised that her
mother would wait until now to voice her concerns.

Arissa
took a deep breath, swallowing the last of her cough. "I understand your
concern, Mother, but I would have you understand mine. This will most likely be
the last Stick and Ball game I ever witness, and I should like to enjoy it if I
may. Does this displease you?"

Maude
and Livia looked to one another. When Livia shrugged faintly, Maude returned
her attention to her daughter.

"Nay,
dear, it does not. But control yourself as a well-bred young lady should."

Arissa
smiled, kissing her mother on the cheek. Even if the woman was dull, she was
loving and sweet. "Does this mean you will not allow me to play?"

Maude
looked shocked for a brief moment; when the younger girls began to giggle, she
realized Arissa was jesting and her stunned expression relaxed into a smile.
"You naughty child, take your seat and I shall not hear another word from
you."

Snickering,
Arissa perched herself on a collapsible stool. Her mother, convinced that Stick
and Ball was a ruthless sport offensive to a refined woman's taste, offered her
farewell to the group and retreated to the castle with Lady Livia on her heels.

But
the fact that Maude publicly condemned the unruly game did not prevent her from
finding a convenient window by which to watch the bloody spectacle. She would
rather die than admit her fondness for a game where loosely-clad men engaged in
bone-jarring combat. Half-naked, sweaty males warmed her aging blood.

The
game got off to a rapid start. A no-holds-barred melee, the sounds of sticks
against leather and sticks against flesh filled the air. The two teams were
blended together so tightly that it was difficult to make out any particular
individual until the crowd broke in chase of the loose ball.

As
usual, Richmond was at the head of it, using his skill and strength to work the
ball down the field towards the enemy's goal-line. He and Daniel made an
effective team, passing the ball between them and keeping their opponents
confused. Arissa and Penelope watched, pride shining on their young faces, as
their respective men displayed their power.

"Daniel
loves this game," Penelope sighed dreamily. "He’s entirely skilled, don’t
you think?"

"Just
a moment ago you did not want him to play," Arissa reminded her, her gaze
riveted to the field.

Penelope
shrugged. "I do not. But he’s rather good at it."

Regine,
finished with her food and wiping her hands on her satin surcoat, moved to sit
on her sister's lap. Arissa grunted when her baby sister, outweighing her by
twenty pounds, deposited herself on a tender thigh. Beneath them, the leather
and wood chair creaked dangerously.

In
spite of the groan, Arissa did not utter a word of protest; Regine had sought
comfort on her lap for as long as either could remember, a display of the true
fondness between them. Soon enough, she and Regine would be without each other
and Arissa swallowed the emotion she felt as she wrapped her arms about
Regine's thick waist. Soon enough, these affectionate moments would be no more.

Unfortunately,
Regine's body blocked a good portion of her view and she strained to peer
around her sister as the game progressed.

Richmond
was the first man to gain a score, much to the delight of the crowd. Even the
Lambourn soldiers on the battlements roared their approval and Arissa smiled,
watching Richmond's modest grin as his team mates congratulated him. She was so
focused on him that she failed to see Tad's malevolent expression, waiting
impatiently in the middle of the field for the game to resume.