Chapter Two
“He is the Captain of the Royal Guard! The captain, appointed by King Richard! He is the most powerful knight at Westminster!”
The young woman seated next to Lyssa was hissing excitedly in her ear as they sat at one of several feasting tables in the great hall of Westminster Palace.
Over the noise of the musicians and the rumble of discussion, it was almost impossible to keep a civil tone in conversation, and the words were loudly hissed into Lyssa’s ear.
Lifting her hand, she shushed her excited companion, hoping no one else had heard her.
“H-He was very kind,” she insisted. “H-He saved me from men who were trying to do me great harm. I am sure if he hadn’t come along, the end would have been terrible.”
Naturally, her companion was sympathetic to that, but the fact that Lyssa had been saved by the great Garret de Moray had her more impressed than anything.
Lady Juliana de Nerra knew all about Garret de Moray because her oldest brother, Gavin, served the man within the contingent of royal knights.
In fact, her entire family was entrenched in the royal house of England almost more than any other, going back decades.
Generations of the men in Juliana’s family served the crown of England and her father, Sir Valor de Nerra, currently held the post of Itinerant Justice of Hampshire and Winchester, appointed by Henry II.
That meant his children were privileged to receiving excellent appointments and positions.
Gavin served with the royal guard while Juliana had been permitted to foster in a royal household in Colchester, and the list went on.
It also meant that Juliana knew a great many things about a great many things, including the House of de Moray.
Her whole family was wrapped up in the nobility of England on an intimate basis.
In fact, Juliana eyed Garret, standing at the end of the table in conversation with his brother.
She had a rather interested gleam to her eye.
“I have heard my brother tell my father about de Moray,” she leaned in to Lyssa now, her gaze still on Garret as she spoke.
“He fought in The Levant for Richard and my brother says that the rumor was that he was an immortal soul whose wisdom and skills were ancient. Of all Richard’s knights, no one was more respected than Garret de Moray. ”
Lyssa was looking at Garret, too. She had to admit that she was both impressed and intimidated to hear that. “H-How would you possibly know this?” she demanded, trying not to speak too loudly lest she be overheard. “Y-Your brother was not in The Levant with Richard.”
Juliana shook her head. “He was not, but he has heard this from others, mostly the de Lohrs,” she said. “And you know that Christopher and David de Lohr know everything.”
Lyssa glanced at her chatty friend. “Y-You do not know the de Lohrs, do you?”
She shrugged. “My papa does,” she said. “They have come to visit on occasion and I have been present at the feasts my father has given in their honor. At least, I was present before I came to serve Lady de Nantes. I have never spoken with them, however, but my brother said they served with de Moray in The Levant. Kronos, they called de Moray. The Father of the Gods. Is that not wonderful?”
Lyssa returned her gaze to the enormous knight at the end of the table. “B-But why did they call him that?”
“Because even the greatest knights respect his wisdom!”
That made sense to Lyssa somewhat. Her attention lingered on Garret as he remained in conversation with Gavin. It had been difficult to see his features in the shadowed dusk outside of the hall but now that he was in the light of a thousand tapers, she could see the man quite clearly.
He had black hair and black eyes, and an angular-jawed face that was embraced by a neatly-trimmed beard.
The beard had some silver to it, hinting at his age.
This was no young knight, a novice among warriors; this was a man of character and experience, and there wasn’t one woman in attendance that hadn’t given him a second look.
Experience and reputation aside, Garret de Moray was all shades of handsome.
Lyssa’s gaze moved from his face, down his broad shoulders, and to his hands.
She remembered the size of his hands; they were enormous and when he lifted his hands as he spoke to his brother, she could again see how big they were.
Strong. The hands were proportionate to the rest of him, because there was nothing small or feeble about Garret de Moray.
He had size, muscles, and power. With that realization, Lyssa was willing to believe everything Juliana had just told her.
This was the man who had saved her from those lascivious soldiers.
She counted herself extremely fortunate.
“H-How long has he been Captain of the Royal Guard at Westminster?” she finally asked.
Juliana drained her wine cup and was holding it up for a servant to refill.
“At least since he returned from The Levant,” she said.
“Everyone returned about four years ago, I think. Gavin did not go because my brother, Gabriel, went and my father could not bear to be parted from both of his older sons. When Gabriel returned, he remained with my father and Gavin came to serve with de Moray at Westminster.”
Lyssa was still staring at Garret as Juliana spoke but, at that moment, he happened to glance around and caught her looking at him.
Embarrassed, Lyssa abruptly lowered her eyes, flushing brightly about the cheeks.
Had Juliana not been into her third cup of wine, she probably would have noticed her friend’s chagrin.
“H-He must have a very fine wife,” Lyssa said, now looking at her trencher. “D-Does he have children?”
Juliana snorted rudely. “Garret de Moray is the most eligible bachelor in all of England,” she said.
“He has had offers from the daughters of dukes and even a princess in France, I have heard. He is either not interested in marriage or extremely picky on a potential wife. I have not yet had the courage to ask my father to offer him my hand because I am sure he will reject me like all the rest.”
Lyssa dared to look up again, right at Garret, only to see that his focus was still on her. Vastly mortified, she lowered her gaze again, feeling like a fool that he’d caught her looking at him again.
“Y-You are beautiful and you come from a fine family,” she said, grabbing at her chalice and talking a huge swallow of wine. “I-I am sure he would not reject a de Nerra.”
Juliana took a big swallow because Lyssa was. They were never given the chance to drink like this, freely, and Juliana wanted to take advantage of it.
“I am too fearful to find out,” she admitted.
But her flighty attention moved away from de Moray to the contents of the enormous hall, filled with a thousand men and women, all of them enjoying themselves.
But something emerging into the hall off to the left of the royal dais caught her attention. “Look! Entertainment!”
Lyssa turned her attention to the area Juliana was indicating.
A troop of brightly-colored, dark-skinned people were running out into the center of the vast hall, jumping in the air, shouting and causing a ruckus.
They were clad in elaborate costumes with feathers on their heads, and they were followed into the hall by a row of drummers.
As the drummers began to beat a loud, primal cadence, the troop of entertainers began gyrating in a complex and exciting dance.
The loud buzz of conversation in the hall fell to a soft hum when the dark-skinned dancers began their show.
Men leaped in the air as women spun in circles, their flowing skirts billowing up.
Someone produced a ring of wood and a man with a torch lit it.
Flames shot up from the circle as the men in the bright costumes launched themselves through it in a daring feat of bravery.
It was all quite exciting and Lyssa, as well as everyone else, watched with fascination.
But the buzz of conversation in the hall soon rose again, even as the entertainers performed in the middle of the room, and Lyssa’s attention eventually drifted to Garret purely to see if he was still standing at the end of the table.
She couldn’t seem to get her mind away from him.
He was still there, and Rickard de Moray’s wife, Tristiana, had joined the conversation.
The pregnant woman was laughing with her husband and brother-in-law, and Lyssa envied the woman greatly.
What she wouldn’t give to be standing there, laughing with Garret, too.
The more she thought about the man, the more intrigued she became.
More food was brought out to their table and her attention was diverted as servants placed a beautiful almond pudding on the table, garnished with honeyed rose petals. A servant began to dish up slabs of it with a big knife but just as Lyssa received hers, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
“Lyssa, Lady de Nantes wishes to speak with you.”
Lyssa turned to see the duchess’ premier lady-in-waiting, and Lyssa’s own aunt, Lady Rose de Barenton.
Rose was an older woman, a childless spinster, who had served the young duchess ever since her marriage to the duke.
She was more like a mother to the duchess than an actual lady-in-waiting, and ran an efficient and tight house and hold with the duchess’ permission.
Rose loved her aunt but the woman could be rather stuffy and strict at times. She forced a smile.
“O-Of course,” she said, rising from the bench. “D-Do you know what she would have of me, Auntie?”
Rose looked oddly strained, even more than usual. She took her niece by the hand. “I am not for certain,” she said quietly, pulling her along. “But I believe it has something to do with the prince’s wife.”
Lyssa looked at her in surprise. “H-Hawisa?” she said. “W-What do I have to do with her?”