Tournament Trouble: Sword Girl Book 3 (3 page)

If Flamant Castle's bravest knight minded the smith telling him how to fight, he didn't show it. He smiled and said, ‘You're probably right, Smith. But can you fix it?'

The smith squinted at the strap then said, ‘I s'pose I could do a quick fix with tacks, but you'll have to leave it with me – I've got all these other shields to see to first.'

‘Of course,' said Sir Benedict. ‘And how about you, Tommy? Are we keeping you busy too?'

‘Yes, sir,' said Tommy. She led him into the sword chamber and showed him the pile of swords waiting for her attention. The pile seemed to have doubled in size overnight. ‘But I don't mind.'

‘Good girl. But I've got another job for you, Tommy. As you just heard, Edward's accident has left us one squire short for the tournament. What do you say?'

Tommy wasn't sure she'd understood. ‘Do you mean … me?' she asked.

Sir Benedict nodded. ‘That's right. I want
you
to fight in the tournament.'

CHAPTER 3

T
OMMY STARED AT
the knight in amazement. ‘Me?' she repeated. ‘In the tournament?'

Sir Benedict nodded again. ‘Would you like that?'

‘Yes!' exclaimed Tommy. ‘I mean, yes please, sir.' For a moment she just beamed at him, so full of excitement she was unable to speak. Then something occurred to her. ‘But Sir Benedict, I've never ridden a horse before,' she confessed.

Sir Benedict frowned. ‘Ah,' he said. ‘I hadn't thought of that. I'm sorry, Tommy. It looks like I'll have to find someone else.'

Tommy's heart sank like a stone as he turned away.

‘She can learn,' said a voice behind them.

Sir Benedict turned around. ‘What was that, Jasper?' he asked.

‘I said Sword Girl can learn, sir,' Jasper Swann repeated. ‘She's as quick as anything.'

‘It's true,' Nursie broke in. ‘I've never seen anyone pick up new skills like our sword girl. She'll learn to ride a horse in no time.'

‘Is that right?' said Sir Benedict.

‘They are not wrong,' said Bevan Brumm in his dignified manner.

‘Of course we're not wrong,' snapped Nursie. ‘Now, what do you say, Sir Benedict: will you give our sword girl a chance?'

Tommy's heart pounded as Sir Benedict gazed at her thoughtfully.

‘Yes,' he said at last. ‘I will. Tommy, I'll ask the stable master to lend you one of my own mounts. Go to the stables tomorrow morning straight after breakfast. You can practise riding in the mornings and then join the other squires for jousting practice with Sir Hugh in the afternoons. You've got a lot to learn, and only three days to learn it in.'

‘But what about all these swords?' Tommy asked, pointing to the pile.

‘Don't worry about that.' Sir Benedict stepped out into the armoury. ‘Smith, I've asked Tommy to take Edward's place in the tournament. She'll be doing a lot of practising in the next few days. Can you see to it that she has help with the work in the sword chamber?'

‘That'll be no problem, Sir Benedict,' the smith assured him. Then his face split in a huge grin. ‘Our sword girl fighting in the tournament, eh?'

As Sir Benedict left the armoury the smith shouted, ‘Oi, Reynard!'

‘What?' Reynard asked rudely from the bow chamber.

‘Sword Girl needs to practise for the tournament. You'll have to help out looking after the blades.'

‘What do you mean she's practising for the tournament?' the Keeper of the Bows demanded. He appeared in the doorway of the bow chamber, face set in a scowl.

Smith shrugged. ‘Just what I said, lad. Sir Benedict has asked her to be in the tournament.'

Reynard's face turned as red as his hair. ‘
Her?
' he spluttered. ‘In the tournament? And you want
me
to do her work?'

‘No time like the present,' said Smith. ‘There's a stack of swords that need cleaning. You can get started straight away. Sword Girl, I need some more of these small tacks to fix Sir Benedict's shield. Would you go to the blacksmith in town for me?'

‘In town?' said Tommy, remembering Reynard's tales of the preparations going on for the fair. ‘Yes please!'

She raced out of the armoury so fast she almost collided with Sir Benedict, who was standing outside talking to Sir Hugh.

‘Where are you off to in such a rush, Tommy?' he asked.

‘I'm going to town, sir,' she said. ‘On an errand for Smith.'

‘Hmm, that reminds me … While you're there, Tommy, perhaps you'd call by the cloth merchant and ask him to have two lengths of pink cloth and one of sky blue sent to the castle.'

‘Yes, Sir Benedict.'

As she ran across the flagstones towards the castle gate, Tommy had never been so happy. She was going to be in the tournament! She was going to learn to ride a horse! And best of all, she was closer than ever to her dream of being the first-ever girl squire!

CHAPTER 4

T
OMMY HURRIED ALONG
the road that led to the town gate. On one side of the road was the field where the tournament was to be held. Colourful tents were being erected and carpenters were building wooden platforms where the spectators would sit. Tommy could hardly believe that in only a few days' time she would be part of the procession of knights and squires making their way from the castle to the field. Her heart gave a nervous lurch at the thought that everyone from the castle and the town would be watching.

She turned to look at Jonglers Field on the other side of the road. Apart from a few travellers camped around the edge, the field was still deserted. It was hard to imagine it filled with all the colour and life of a fair.

But as she passed through the town gate Tommy decided it wasn't that hard to imagine after all, for the town was alive with activity. Outside the bakery she saw a small crowd had stopped to watch a man juggling loaves of bread. He was crying, ‘Ouch, ouch, ouch,' as if they were too hot to hold. Tommy laughed along with the others then continued on her way.

There seemed to be about five times more people than usual crammed into the narrow street that led to the market square. Many of them were wheeling carts or carrying sacks, and quite a few of them were wearing strange clothes. The strangest of all were the four men standing still in the midst of the bustling crowd. Their clothes were patterned with bright stripes, and ribbons hung from their wrists. They were looking around in a puzzled way.

Thinking they might be lost, Tommy asked, ‘Excuse me, can I help you?'

‘We're here for the fair,' said the first.

‘I'm Morris, and this is Norris, Horace and Boris.'

The other three men nodded at Tommy in turn.

‘We're the morris dancers,' Morris explained. ‘We're going to set up a maypole in the field.'

‘Morris dancers?' Norris sounded surprised. ‘I thought we were called norris dancers.'

‘Norris dancers?' Morris scoffed. ‘Don't be silly. Everyone knows morris dancers are called morris dancers.'

‘I won't be doing
any
dancing if I can't get my bells fixed,' said Boris.

‘What's wrong with your bells?' Tommy asked.

‘He sat on them,' said Horace. ‘And now they're all bent out of shape and he can't buckle them around his legs anymore. We're looking for a bell fixer.'

‘I don't know any bell fixers,' said Tommy, ‘but I'm the Keeper of the Blades from the castle, and I'm on my way to the blacksmith's. I'm sure he'll be able to beat them back into shape. I'll take you there if you like.'