Chapter Eight #3
Perhaps that was one of the most difficult things for her to accept after her marriage to Maximilian.
As she had lamented the night before, she was going back to an existence that wasn’t pleasant, only with Maximilian, there might be more to it.
Ernest hadn’t been demanding of her at all, but she suspected Maximilian might be.
He was younger and more virile. To think that she would have more consummation encounters with him like the one they’d had in the church made her sick to her stomach.
The only good thing that would come of it, hopefully, was a child.
A child she could love unconditionally, and one that would love her unconditionally in return.
She’d never had that in her entire life.
And then there was Addax.
Her husband’s friend, a man who had been pleasant from the start.
She’d realized when she saw him coming across the bailey that she was happy to see him.
He was quite handsome with his long black hair and dark eyes.
His face was angular, with a square jaw that she found quite handsome.
He had a way of smiling that made her stomach tremble, a giddy feeling she hadn’t often experienced over the years, if ever.
It was exhilarating. She was quite interested about his life before he came to England, and he’d been polite enough to tell her a little something about himself yesterday, but she suspected there was much more.
As they rode away from the castle and toward the tournament arena, with her perched on the back of his horse, she felt rather guilty over liking the fact that she was holding the man around the waist. She felt as if she was indulging in some kind of forbidden pleasure with a man she found attractive.
The town of Berwick was busy today as the fishermen brought in their morning catches.
As they traveled down the main street toward the bridge that spanned the River Tweed, she could see the boats on the riverbank as the men delivered their haul.
She could also see the tournament on the opposite side of the river, spread out over a wide area.
Banners snapped in the sea breeze, and there seemed to be a great crowd there today.
“Do all tournaments have the same types of games?” she asked, pointing.
Addax had to direct his horse through the crowds near the bridge, pausing when a small child darted out in front of him.
“Mostly,” he said. “Sometimes it can depend by the town. For example, there is a town in France that includes breaching a castle wall as part of the competition. Men are required to climb it while other men try to knock them off. Whoever is left is the winner.”
“God’s Teeth,” she muttered. “That sounds rather violent.”
“It can be,” he said. “But it is also a great deal of fun.”
She didn’t have to see his face to know that he was grinning. “Then you have competed in France?”
“I have competed in many places.”
“May I ask how you came to England?” she said. “You mentioned that the Earl of Hereford and Worcester found you in the Levant, but did he bring you to England also?”
Addax shook his head as they began to plod across the great stone bridge.
“Nay,” he said. “Although he was in the Levant for almost three years, and Essien and I spent nearly the entire time with him, we did not come to England with him because he was focused on his king, and Richard was being targeted by men who called themselves allies. That took all of his focus, so he arranged for my brother and me to serve some Thuringian knights. They were good men. When the crusade was over, we returned to Thuringia with them, but these knights were mercenaries. They ended up fighting a war for a Flemish lord, Count d’Acoz, and that is how my brother and I came into the count’s service.
That is where I had my first tournament—in Flanders. ”
“And you loved it?”
“I did,” he said. “I had a choice—either follow the Thuringians and become a mercenary, or remain with d’Acoz and serve him in the capacity of a knight whilst also competing in tournaments to earn money.
Given that I did not come with my father’s wealth, I had to earn everything I have.
The tournament circuit is a much less violent way of doing it than fighting someone else’s battles and getting paid for it. ”
Coming off the bridge, they were nearing the arena now. Emmeline could see it looming up ahead. “Then how did you come to England?” she asked.
She couldn’t have known that it was a complicated story, one without a simple answer, but he summarized it as best he could.
“The Flemish lord I spoke of, d’Acoz, was allied with Ajax de Velt,” he said. “When de Velt, whose ancestors are Flemish, came to visit d’Acoz, I was enthralled by tales of England.”
“And that was Cole’s father?” she asked.
“Indeed,” Addax said. “Ajax de Velt was a warlord like no other, and d’Acoz could see that I was quite interested in the life the man led and the battles he’d fought.
D’Acoz has a large empire, but it is very peaceful, and I suppose I grew bored.
I needed a new adventure. Therefore, with d’Acoz’s permission, I swore fealty to de Velt and came to England. And I have loved it ever since.”
They had reached the arena, and Addax began to head to the west side, where the competitors gathered. But as he moved, people were calling his name, greeting him, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Emmeline. The man was revered here.
“And England loves you,” she observed.
Addax grinned, lifting a hand to Beau de Russe as the man headed in his direction. “I have made many good friends here,” he said. “I have traveled to many a place and lived many different lives, but this is the one I like best.”
“And you intend to stay here forever?”
He pondered that. “A very good question,” he said. “I always hoped to use the money I have earned to hire an army and return to Kitara. But strangely enough, I am not entirely sure I view it as my home any longer.”
“Mayhap that is because you’ve not lived there since you were a small child,” Emmeline said. “Didn’t you tell me that you were five years of age when you left?”
“Aye.”
“Then it must seem more like a dream,” she said. “Years and distance have made it a faraway land, just beyond your grasp. But this place, at this moment, is clearly where you live.”
She made some sense, and Addax looked around, at the people, the horses, the excitement of the tournament field, and the beauty that was the north of England.
Years and distance have made it a faraway land.
That was very true. Kitara did seem like a dream he’d had once, only that wasn’t a context he’d ever put it in. But Emmeline had.
He appreciated her wisdom.
“I do indeed live here,” he said. “And I have my brother with me, so the only family I have is here. I wish I had my mother and sister, but alas…”
He trailed off, unable to finish that statement.
It has always been a painful thing for him.
By that point he’d reached Beau, who greeted Emmeline politely.
Addax had to ask the man where Maximilian was, twice, before he received an answer, and even then, Beau was trying to be discreet about it, but Emmeline heard one word:
Lists.
Because of the sword bouts on this day, the arena floor had been divided up into what was effectively four pens.
Spectators were allowed on the arena floor to watch knights face off against one another in what was essentially a sword fight.
They were not allowed to stab each other, but nearly everything else was permitted.
If a man was disarmed or fell down, he was disqualified, and the victor would remain while the next challenger entered the pen.
Then the process would start all over again.
As Addax dismounted his horse and helped Emmeline slide to the ground, he introduced her to Beau, whom she’d not yet met.
As Beau politely acknowledged her, they could hear the cheers of the crowd going up.
“The sword fights are bloody today,” Beau said. “We’ve seen some fairly serious injuries.”
Emmeline looked at the knight. Beau was very tall, and had quite large hands.
He was blond and somewhat fair, but he had dark, smoky eyes that gave him a rather mysterious look.
She remembered that Addax had told her that he was called Bringer of Nightmares and was quite formidable on the tournament circuit.
Looking at the man up close, she could well believe that.
“And you have not competed in the sword fights, my lord?” she asked him.
Beau grinned. “Not me, my lady,” he said. “As soon as I heard that Kieran Hage was entering, I withdrew.”
Emmeline tilted her head in Addax’s direction. “Your friend said the same thing,” she said, eyes twinkling with mirth as Addax laughed softly. “Is he really so terrifying?”
Beau crooked a finger at her. Curious, she followed him, with Addax trailing behind her.
They walked onto the arena floor, which was crowded with people around the four pens.
Beau took Emmeline and Addax over to the pen on the southwest side, where a knight had nearly had his arm cut off.
The victorious knight was working up the crowd as his competitor was helped off, but that didn’t last long.
As Emmeline and Addax watched, the biggest man they’d ever seen—at least the widest—entered the pen.
He was ready for the bout.
Emmeline recognized the men accompanying the enormous knight as William de Wolfe and Paris de Norville. She remembered them from the night before. As she watched, the victorious knight faced the enormous newcomer, and a field marshal started the bout with the wave of a flag.
It was nearly over before it began.