CHAPTER 15 AN ENCOURAGING ENTREATY
Cracking her neck, Kat strode toward the courtyard.
Her mood was grim, and her magitch was skittering under her skin like a thousand spiders.
She was craving violence after her earlier confrontation with Lord Ball, but she had acquiesced to Joshua’s request that he be the one to spar with his brother. While this was perfectly understandable, it was still annoying to Kat, as it left her with next to nothing she could do to find an outlet aside from cheering on her peer.
Eric had also been absent from dinner, saying he had to tend to something, but he had left in such a hurry that Kat hadn’t been able to question him further.
“Oyy! Reyes! Hold up!”
Kat continued stalking forward.
A laugh sounded behind her followed by a shout of “Ashowan!”
Kat halted and looked over her shoulder to see Piers jogging to catch up to her with Conrad and Sir Cas not far behind.
When the youngest Faucher son reached her, he proceeded to throw an arm around her neck and muss her hair with his knuckles as he had taken to doing on a regular basis.
“ARGH! Gods, do you do that to your wife?” Kat asked once Piers stopped and smirked at the bird’s nest he had created in her hair.
“Not at all. She would have me neutered on the spot.”
“Now there’s an idea,” Kat growled with a smile while reaching over to grasp and shake Piers’s chin while his arm remained around her neck.
Piers gently shoved her away. “Not a chance. The only person permitted to be anywhere near the Faucher jewels are the wives.”
Kat laughed. “Guess I’ll just offer Nicole a hand when she decides to follow through on her threat.”
“You didn’t respond to your new name by the way.” Piers changed the subject with a coy smile.
“My new— Ah …” Kat balked when she realized her last name technically no longer was Ashowan … Her father had mentioned that fact earlier that day, but she’d been so distracted by his drunken scene she had completely missed it …
“Just keep calling me Ashowan for now. I’m not ready for my name to change yet.”
Piers sighed at the young woman’s request but didn’t say anything to argue with her as they once again started making their way to the courtyard. He’d heard she’d been having a hard enough start to her marriage.
As they walked, they noticed more and more clumps of serving staff and nobility standing around and talking amongst themselves …
Lord Ball hadn’t wanted a large audience for his spar with his half brother, but word had already spread about the exchange, and so in the idle moments following dinner, the castle occupants took to gossiping amongst themselves.
“Do you think Joshua can beat his brother?” Kat asked softly.
Piers’s normally flippant expression faded. “Hard to say. Harriod Ball used to be a decent swordsman, but I don’t know how much he’s practiced since taking over as marquess.”
Kat made a grumbling noise in the back of her throat.
“If I were to guess? Skill-wise, assuming Harriod Ball hasn’t been practicing, they may be closely matched. Except Harriod Ball has fifteen pounds on Joshua,” Sir Cas interjected from behind as he and Conrad caught up to Piers and Kat.
After giving them a greeting nod, Kat continued speculating. “If Joshua loses, can I jump in and take over?”
Conrad was the one to shake his head in response. “If you do that, it’d cause all sorts of issues, but the one in particular that would most likely bother you is that Joshua would be mocked for the rest of his life for having had a woman save him.”
Kat’s right hand gripped into a fist at her side. “Before coming to Troivack, I really didn’t give much thought to my sex. It’s annoying as hell how much it matters here.”
The three men shared a variety of sympathetic looks and shrugs.
“You’re helping things along,” Sir Cas reminded kindly with a smile.
“Not as much as I’d like. I just wish I could bash the heads of all the noblemen who insist on being arsehats.”
While Piers grinned, Conrad leaned forward worriedly. “Lower your voice, Lady Katarina.”
Unable to be irritated by the soft-spoken man, Kat bobbed her head apologetically. “I’m not naming names or anything …”
No one prodded her further on the matter.
Instead, the group fell into pensive silence as they reached their destination.
At the exit, Captain Orion stood with his arms crossed, blocking a small crowd of knights from going out.
“No one aside from His Majesty’s and Lord Ball’s associates are to be allowed to observe.”
“Pardon us, but I believe we need to enter before the spar begins.” Kat stepped forward, drawing everyone’s attention. Her eyes were already flashing, daring the captain to fight her.
However, Captain Orion must’ve either been informed that it was in fact she who had challenged Lord Ball, therefore she was entitled to be there, or he knew that he was already on thin ice due to the investigation involving Sir Herra. And he understood that antagonizing the students of the man who was technically his superior as of that moment in time wasn’t a great idea. Whatever the reason, he stiffened at her approach—with a clenched fist—nodded and sidled over to allow Sir Cas, Conrad, Piers, and the redhead past.
Kat was a touch disappointed, so she settled for sliding her sharp gaze to the nearby knights and glared. She didn’t know if they were trying to attend the match to cheer for Joshua or his brother, but she didn’t want to take any chances.
Once they cleared the doorway and were descending the long stone steps toward the roped off section, they noticed Joshua Ball sitting alone. He waited, his eyes blindly fixed ahead, his thoughts far from his surroundings, as he didn’t move despite their arrival. Piers leaned over to Kat and slowed his pace.
“You seem like you’re waiting for someone to pick a fight with you. What’s going on?”
“Lord Ball pissed me off royally earlier today. I’m surprised Dana didn’t tell you about it,” she murmured back.
“I haven’t seen her, my mother, or … actually, where is my father?” Piers straightened when he realized Joshua’s teacher was nowhere in sight.
“Ah …” Kat’s foul mood lessened as she vividly recalled the situation in which she had found the normally stoic military man earlier. “Would you believe me if I said he was drunk with my father this afternoon, and the two were wrapped around each other?”
Piers shot her a dubious look as they moved. “Careful with your jokes about my father.”
“No, see … that’s the best part. I’m telling the truth. Your mother was there, though Faucher may have sworn her to secrecy.”
Piers was opening his mouth to question her outrageous claim, but they had reached the side section of the ring that Kat had entered for her own duel only a few days ago. Though the nearly empty courtyard had a far grimmer atmosphere compared to the day of her own match.
For one, only Joshua was present. For another, the young man looked as though he were about to face his death.
“Well, well, well, Joshua! Look at you saving our seats! You know, typically it’s your friends and family that are supposed to do that,” Kat crowed with forced jubilance as she plunked herself down beside the young man.
Joshua couldn’t meet her gaze, but he gave a halfhearted effort at upturning the corners of his mouth.
Kat looked back at Sir Cas and Conrad, who collectively winced in light of Josh’s reaction before shuffling around to seat themselves. Though Piers remained standing as he eyed Lord Ball’s side of the courtyard.
“You can beat him,” the redhead informed Joshua with an encouraging and resilient half smile.
The young man finally looked at her, the despair in his eyes concerning to say the least. “It’s kind of you to say that, Lady Katarina.”
“What is with this ‘Lady’ business? I’m Kat or Ashowan to you— Piers, I already told you I’m not ready to be called Reyes!” she barked over her shoulder, sensing that the youngest Faucher son was going to make an unwelcome quip. “And Joshy? I’m not just saying that you can beat him to be nice. Want to know why?”
Despite her continuing efforts to cheer up her peer, Joshua’s shoulders slumped forward even more.
“You’re going to win, because if you don’t give your brother a sound beating, I might actually kill him. You heard from Broghan about what happened today with his wife, right? I need you to beat that turd with legs so I’ll feel less inclined to murder him. I feel like it would put a whole damper on my newlywed life if I was imprisoned for manslaughter.”
Joshua didn’t respond, but he did nod vaguely as though he were only half listening despite maintaining eye contact with her.
“You’re a student of my father.” Piers stepped over the bench and sat himself down on Joshua’s other side. “You should know you need to have more pride and confidence, or it’s an insult to him.”
Joshua still didn’t give any verbal response.
In an act of desperation, Kat decided to slightly change her tactic … and it was one she had seldom used in the past …
She was going to be a mite vulnerable to someone.
Seizing the front of Joshua’s tunic, Kat jerked him over to her so that he was forced to look at her.
“You’re going to win because I’m the one who challenged him to a spar, and if something bad happens to you, I don’t think I’ll be able to live with myself.”
All levity had left her face, and the men around her collectively stilled.
Joshua blinked numerous times as though snapping out of a spell.
He swallowed. “You’re right. I made you give this to me. I need to … to try.”
“No, you need to Godsdamn win. I will not accept anything less,” Kat demanded without trying to hide the desperation in her voice. “Now, I want you to tell me three great things about the way you fight.”
“I can’t even fight with a real sword yet, I—”
Kat’s free hand came up and flicked Josh between the eyebrows. “I said three great things, not three pointless things.”
“Hey, the wooden swords have points!” Piers called out with a good-natured smile behind Joshua.
Kat didn’t bother looking at him. She knew Piers was looking all too pleased with himself over his terrible joke.
“Let’s hear it, Ball.”
“I-I’m fast.”
“Damn right you are. What else?”
“I’m good at bruising my opponent’s fingers.”
“Absolutely.”
“I … I …” Joshua faltered.
“When your back is against a wall, you find a way, and you fight.”
Everyone turned at the sound of Faucher’s voice.
Kat beamed at her teacher, who, while vertical and donning his official military uniform, chest plate, cape, and all, was notably pale and perhaps even a little green.
However, his words distracted anyone else from making such an observation.
Faucher stepped over to the young man, who stared dumbly up at his teacher as though he were shocked that he’d even shown up.
“I do not accept just any student Captain Orion sends me. I pick the ones I think show the greatest potential, and I knew you had it when I found out how you had started learning the sword three years ago under self-study. And in the first year when your brother discovered what you’d been doing? I heard how he beat you to the point of being bedridden for a week. Yet you still picked up the sword and continued to learn.”
Joshua’s eyes started to mist.
“Joshua Ball, your mother told me all this, and that is why I agreed to teach you in secret. Your brother trapped you, and you fought and clawed your way out to make your own life. You want to be a knight, and you want to be free from your brother. Win or lose today, I can promise you will still have your first wish granted. You will still be free from the Ball household. As my student, regardless of the outcome, you have that. However, if you win? You will have begun to build a life that is entirely of your own doing that I have nothing to do with. Today will be the day you start grasping what you’ve always wanted.”
Faucher clenched a fist in his student’s face, his leather gloves creaking in the cold, but Joshua’s attention was enraptured.
“Now, Ball, do you think you can win?”
His throat bobbed. “I do.”
“I can’t hear you,” Faucher rumbled.
“I can win.”
“Louder.”
“I’m going to Godsdamn win!” Joshua was breathing heavily, and snot dribbled from his nostril from the cold, but the fire in his eyes, the hoarseness of his voice, and his tightened fists showed that he finally believed the words he was nearly shouting.
Faucher gave a brief half smile of approval. “Good. Now, we will discuss what I remember about your brother as a swordsman. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any injuries I’m aware of that we can exploit, but you might be able to make him sloppy by taunting him.”
Joshua flinched.
“Faucher, what if I annoyed him from the sidelines?”
“You aren’t supposed to make any sounds from the sidelines,” Faucher reminded the redhead with narrowed eyes.
“We’re still doing that? But Eric shouted at me from the sidelines during my spar!”
Her teacher blinked. “No one noticed.”
He genuinely appeared to have no idea that it had happened.
Kat threw her hands in the air in exasperation. “I swear, I can never get away with anything.”
Faucher ignored her and returned his attention to his student. “If you don’t think you can insult him while fighting … aim for his joints. Small hits should help loosen the grip on his sword, and as you recounted earlier, you’re fast. You should be able to avoid getting hit long enough to bruise his hand.”
Joshua lowered his gaze thoughtfully as he listened and turned over the information in his mind. It seemed like a fitting plan …
Movement by the entrance to the courtyard to the group’s left drew everyone’s attention upward.
There, Harriod Ball strode in, a haughty eyebrow raised as he refused to look toward his half brother, and behind him, an array of knights and noblemen that they could assume were his friends.
Joshua’s hands started fidgeting in his lap, prompting Kat to reach out and wrap an arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer to her so that her next words couldn’t be overheard by anyone.
“Remember … I wasn’t jesting. Win, or I’ll have to kill him, and if I have to kill him … well … promise me you’ll visit me in jail sometime. Oh, and if you need an insult? Point out that his name is technically Harry Ball.”