Chapter Eleven #3
Her eyes widened and her hands froze in mid-clap. “You are competing?”
He nodded. “This is an enormous tourney and any knight worth his weight in salt pledges to compete.”
Her excitement, so strong at first, suddenly banked into something dark and brooding. She simply nodded her head, trying not to show her true feelings.
“I am sure you will do fine,” she said quietly. “I… I am looking forward to the spectacle.”
He was far more astute than she gave him credit for. “Nay, you are not,” he growled. “What is the matter?”
She shook her head and sat back in the cab. “Nothing, truly.”
The next thing she realized, the cab door was flying open and Matthew’s bulk was in the door.
Reaching out, he grasped her by the arm and pulled her out.
Somehow, he managed to remount his charger with her in front of him.
It could not have been very easy if she hadn’t been somewhat cooperative, and she suspected that she had. In fact, she had gone quite willingly.
Seated in front of him with his massive arm around her, she settled back contentedly. She had grown so accustomed to him by her side day and night, almost since they had met, that she was coming to crave it.
“Now,” he rumbled in her ear. “Why did you look as you did when I told you that I was competing in the tourney?”
She thought about being evasive but was coming to realize that did not work with him. “It is foolish, really.”
“Let me be the judge of that. Why do you not want me to compete?”
She sighed heavily, realizing she would have to tell him. “’Tis silly.”
“Tell me.”
She settled back against him, pressing herself more closely into his armor. Even though it was cold and hard, still, Matthew was on the other side of the protective metal lining. She swore she could feel him.
“When I fostered at Pickering, the earl held a tournament,” she began quietly.
“I was perhaps twelve years old at the time. We had a knight in service at the time, a man sworn to the earl and, by all accounts, a very fine man. In any case, he competed in the tournament and made it to the final round. We were all so proud of him. But as we sat and watched, this fine, strong knight was brought down by a lance that split and ran great shards into his face and neck. He lingered for four days before finally passing on. It was a horrible death.”
He understood, somewhat. “So you do not want me to compete.”
She turned to look at him, his sweaty face underneath the raised visor. “Matthew, I cannot bear the thought of a mistake or an accident and losing you to an injury that simply did not have to happen. I would just… die.”
His blue eyes glittered at her. “I have competed in many tournaments and have yet to be badly injured in one. In fact, I have won more times than I have lost. But I have never had anyone in the lists cheering for me as you will. The thought of it makes me very proud.”
She did not have the courage to ask him not to compete. To do so would be to display doubt in his abilities as a knight. She turned around and faced forward.
“As you will make me proud, I am sure.”
His lips were suddenly on her ear, kissing her softly. In spite of the fact that his metal helm was knocking her softly in the head, Alixandrea closed his eyes blissfully as his lips moved across her lobe.
“I will not compete if it will upset you,” he whispered. “I only want to make you happy. I could not bear it if you were miserable.”
She put her arm up, encircling his neck as his lips moved to her jaw. His warm mouth was sensual, warm, inviting.
“I will not be miserable, Matt,” she murmured. “But I would be lying if I said that I am not concerned for your safety.”
“Matt!” Mark was hailing him from the opposite side of the carriage. He reined his big red charger around so that he could gain a look at his brother. “The Street of Jewelers is coming up on the left. I shall take the men on to the Tower.”
Matthew moved his mouth from his wife’s neck, being careful not to shout in her ear as he replied. “Leave me a contingent of ten and take the rest.”
“Can I come, too?”
They had almost forgotten about Caroline, sitting quiet and lonely in the carriage. Both Matthew and Alixandrea looked over and smiled at her.
“Of course, darling,” Alixandrea said. “In fact, perhaps Mark will join us.”
Caroline shook her head even as Matthew called out the invitation to his brother. Mark did not reply directly, but he muttered orders to John, who, along with Luke, continued on to the Tower as Mark, Matthew, Alixandrea, Caroline and ten men at arms lingered behind.
The Street of the Jewelers wasn’t a particularly large place.
It was, in fact, rather small. Situated in the heart of an avenue surrounded by plaster and thatched-roof row houses, it was full of people and stalls.
Some merchants seemed to work out of their shops, but still others had lean-to’s up against the walls.
And, oddly enough, it did not smell. The dirt avenue was swept and relatively clean.
Matthew lowered Alixandrea gently to the ground.
As she stood there and gaped at the bustling site, he dismounted behind her and handed the reins over to the nearest man-at-arms. Over to their left, Mark dismounted his steed, rather testily, and opened the carriage door for his wife.
That was as far as he went to help her. She had to climb out of the cab herself.
If Matthew noticed his brother’s behavior, he did not let on. He took his wife’s elbow and began to guide her towards the stalls.
“Now,” he said. “What will it be? A gold ring? A silver ring?”
Alixandrea was so excited that she could barely contain it. “I am not sure. I will have to see some examples and make a selection.”
The first shop they came to was a dim, crowded place that smelled of odd incense.
An old man with a strange cap on his head was there to show them his selection of fine jewelry.
There were red stones, white stones, green stones, and stones that had many colors in them.
Matthew and Alixandrea inspected the rows of fine rings in his carrying case.
“Here is a gold band,” Matthew had to remove his gauntlet so that he could pick up the jewelry. “It is rather nice.”
She glanced at it. “Too plain.”
He lifted his eyebrows and put it back. As he was sifting through some of the others, she held up a silver ring set with several diamonds. It was a slender, pretty band and she slid it easily on her slender, pretty finger.
“This one,” she announced, holding it up for all to see.
Matthew looked at it; it was a lovely, glittery ring. “Are you sure? There are many other shops. Perhaps we should look some more before making a decision.”
She shook her head. “Nay,” she said. “I like this one.”
He wasn’t going to argue with her. If she liked it, she liked it. “Do you want to look at anything else? Necklaces, perhaps?”
She took her eyes off the wedding ring long enough to glance at the other items the old man had. She veered off course and ended up back at the rings. Matthew watched her pluck a thick silver band from the collection. She looked up at him.
“Do you like it?” she asked timidly.
He lifted an eyebrow. “It is too big for you.”
“I meant for you.”
After a brief moment of realization, he snorted and removed his other gauntlet. He held up his left hand to her.
“Put it on.”
Grinning shyly, she shoved the ring onto his enormous finger. He held his hand up, looking at it, acquainting himself with the feel of it. “It is as if it was made for me,” he announced. “A perfect fit.”
“Truly?”
“Truly.” He kissed her, taking another look at her ring. “And this one is as flawless and delicate and beautiful as you are.”
She smiled modestly; his compliments were coming to mean a great deal to her whereas once, she was suspicious of them. Matthew put his arm around her.
“Now you must pick out something else, otherwise I will feel very foolish,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because we have only been here a matter of minutes and you have already made your selection. Caroline and Mark will think I have forced you into a quick decision simply to be done with it.”
“We cannot let them think that,” she leaned against him, gazing up into his strong face. “By all means, let us visit other stalls.”
Matthew paid for the rings and they emerged back onto the avenue with their new-found adornments. As Alixandrea excitedly showed Caroline, Mark went over to his brother and peered at his ringed finger. He lifted an eyebrow and shook his head.
“Why did you let her talk you into that?” he snorted.
Matthew was not oblivious to how his brother felt about Alixandrea.
It had been increasingly apparent since their father’s accident, even though she had clearly been exonerated of any wrongful actions.
Though Mark had mostly kept his opinions to himself, there were times when the truth broke through.
Yet his behavior did not seem isolated simply to Alixandrea; he had been increasingly hostile to his wife as well.
The more the wives were around, the more unhappy Mark seemed to be.
Matthew knew his brother well enough to know why.
“I am proud to wear this,” he told his brother. “If you had any sense, you would wear one, too.”
Mark looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Why?”
Matthew lowered his voice. “Because you are married and I would ask, for the duration of this trip, that you at least act as if you are. I do not want to hear tale of your indiscretions with your wife in residence with you.”
Mark’s dark eyes cooled. “My activities are of no concern to you and you have always respected that. I would ask that you continue to do so.”