Chapter 16
It was only a week before the tournament now, and honestly, Jonathon couldn’t wait for it to be over. More and more knights had arrived in the last few days, and all of them wanted something from the blacksmith.
Some wanted their armor fastenings strengthened, and others wanted new shoes for their horses.
They even expected Jonathon to sharpen their swords and polish their armor.
It had become too much for him to work only at night.
Having no other choice, he called for his brother and Gerold to return to the castle smithy to help him keep up with the orders.
Jonathon pounded out his frustration on a horseshoe, having gotten little sleep.
He arose early to get some work in before he had to waste the entire day following Raven around, doing absolutely nothing.
She was still sneaking off at every opportunity to practice with her weapons, not wanting to accept the fact she was to be a lady and married to a noble.
That was something else that bothered him.
In his dreams he somehow hoped there would be a way for him to marry Raven, even though he knew it was impossible.
As an armorer, he made decent money most of the year.
He had hoped if he could become a master, mayhap Lord Corbett would see him in a different light.
It no longer mattered now, since he had no presentation piece to put before the guild masters anyway.
He would have to wait for an entire year to even have a chance again.
By then, Raven would be married and will have forgotten all about him.
Every day Raven seemed to bother him, begging him to make something for the guild masters, but he told her he had no time to do so. Besides, he’d already lost his chance to present to them, so what did it matter? Still, the determined wench never seemed to stop trying to get him to change his mind.
“Brother, it’s a little hard to sleep with you pounding away, making so much noise,” complained Avery, emerging from the bedroom, rubbing his eyes.
“It’s morning and we have a lot to do,” grumbled Jonathon. “If we’re going to ever get caught up, I have to get something done before I spend the day with Raven.”
“Aye, what’s happening with that?” asked Avery with a yawn, walking over and pulling the string that worked the bellows. “I thought that after you spent the night with her, things would change between you.”
“Shhhh,” said Jonathon, stopping his banging, looking over at the door.
“Forget that it ever happened. I don’t want to talk about it, and neither do I want her father or brother to ever find out about it.
Or her husband-to-be,” he said under his breath, picking up the horseshoe with long tongs and taking it over to the forge.
“It was a mistake. I never should have allowed myself to get involved with someone I knew I could never have.”
“Does she want you?” asked his brother.
“I-I’m not really sure anymore,” he answered.
“So she hasn’t given you any impression that she feels the same way about you as you do about her?”
“Yes, but she lies so much that I’m not sure I believe her.” Jonathon turned the horseshoe as it started to glow red.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, she said she wants to marry me and that she loves me.”
“Really?” Avery worked the bellows once more. “Well then, what’s the problem?”
“The problem is, I’d like to believe it is what she honestly feels in her heart, but I’m not convinced.”
“What is there not to know? You make no sense, Brother.”
“I think she might only be saying this because she is so adamant about not wanting to marry the winner of the tournament. She’s got a very rebellious nature, you know.”
“I’ve noticed. Then, you think she only went to bed with you to hopefully scare off the nobles when they find out she might be pregnant with a commoner’s baby?”
“What?” Jonathon looked up so quickly that he almost dropped the tongs. “I-I never considered the fact I might have... fathered her child. Damn it, what was I thinking? God’s eyes, I’m going to hang now for sure.”
“A little too late to worry about that, I suppose.”
Jonathon put the horseshoe back on the anvil and started pounding on it with his hammer again. “You don’t think she’d really... I mean, would she do that to me?” asked Jonathon. “Do you think she might actually be pregnant?”
“I don’t know, but like you said, the wench is pretty rebellious and sneaky. I suppose you could ask her if she’s pregnant, but it’s probably too soon to know.”
“Yes. Too soon,” repeated Jonathon, feeling his world crashing down around him. “Oh hell, Avery,” he said, stopping his work and wiping his brow with a rag. “I’m in over my head, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Wish I could tell you, but I can’t,” said Avery with a shrug, crossing his arms and leaning against the brick edge of the forge. “You play with fire and you’re eventually going to get burned. Ow!” he said, jumping up, rubbing his backend. “Guess I got too close to the flames.”
“Now you know how it feels.”
“Jonathon, guess what I just saw?” Gerold ran into the shop, having already been up and around early. The boy was always up before anyone else.
“I don’t have time right now,” said Jonathon, taking off his apron.
“It was Lady Raven. You should have seen her!” the boy said in excitement, crawling atop a stool.
“Did you say Lady Raven?” Jonathon looked over to the boy in question. “She’s out of bed already? Damn. I had hoped she’d sleep late so I’d have more time at the forge. Bid the devil, I can’t get a break.” He hung up the apron and donned his tunic.
“She’s over by the archery range with her bow and arrows,” said Gerold.
“She is?” asked Jonathon, wondering what she was up to now.
“Aye, and you should see her.” Gerold’s eyes lit up with excitement as he rocked back and forth on the stool. “She’s a better shot than any of the knights I’ve seen practicing that have already arrived for the competition.”
“Stop rocking on that stool, Gerold, you’re going to fall,” said Jonathon, having stepped in as the role of the boy’s father lately. “Don’t forget about your chores.”
“I won’t,” said Gerold, hopping off the stool and grabbing a broom. “I’m going to do my chores fast so I can go watch Lady Raven again.” He started sweeping quickly, raising a cloud of dust.
“Slow down or we’ll choke to death,” he told Gerold.
“But I want to go watch Lady Raven!”
“There will be nothing to see because I’m about to stop her.”
“Aye, you’d better go after her,” agreed Avery.
“I will,” Jonathon answered with a sigh, changing his shoes.
His gaze fell on Raven’s armor in the corner.
He’d still been working on it late at night, even though she told him not to.
When Jonathon made a promise, he wanted to see it through.
Besides, this would be all Raven had to remember him by shortly, and he never wanted her to forget him, so he was doing an extra good job on it.
“I need to get her out of there before the competitors awake and see what she’s doing,” he mumbled. “It won’t bode well with her suitors to know she’s a better shot than them. Plus, her father is going to kill me for not keeping a tighter lead on her.”
Jonathon headed out the door at a brisk pace, making his way over to the archery range. Some of the competitors who had arrived for the tournament were already up and about. He hoped to hell he wasn’t too late.
“Raven, we need to go now,” said Lark, looking over her shoulder. “The knights are startin’ to wander over. Ye dinna want them to see ye.”
“Actually, I do,” said Raven, reaching over her shoulder to pull another arrow from the quiver on her back. “I’ve decided to purposely practice in front of them to scare them off.”
“Och, nay,” said Lark. “Yer father isna goin’ to like that.”
“I don’t care,” said Raven, nocking the arrow and pulling back the bowstring.
A few of the men who had pitched their tents in front of the castle saw her and headed in her direction.
“If I can’t have Jonathon, then I will do everything in my power to keep any of the other men from wanting me for their bride.
” She loosed the arrow and it hit the target, just off center.
“Damn,” she spat aloud, pulling out another arrow. “I need to be perfect at this.”
“Cousin, stop yer cursin’. Someone might hear ye.”
“I hope they do,” she answered, wanting to do anything in her power to push these men away.
“Ye’re no’ still thinkin’ about really enterin’ the tournament, are ye?” Lark asked in a low voice.
“Shhh.” Raven’s eyes scanned the area and she leaned in closer to Lark. “I already have,” she said, smiling.
“Ye have? How?”
“As you know, the competitors have been signing up as they arrive.”
“Aye. So?”
“So, yesterday, when Jonathon went to work in the forge, I volunteered to watch over the table with the sign-up sheet for the tournament.”
“Ye did?”
“Aye. Just for a while. My father thought I wanted to meet my potential husbands. Actually, I wanted to sneak another name onto the list. Sir Jonathon Nevar of Lyon, France. I sent the master of ceremonies to fetch me a drink, and when he’d gone, I wrote the name down on the sheet.
I even made up a crest and have been constructing it in the ladies’ solar.
I will sew it on my tunic and wear it during the tournament. ” She smiled proudly at Lark.
“Please tell me ye dinna,” said Lark, looking as if she were going to swoon.
“I most certainly did, and it was easier than I thought,” she said, still smiling. “I used Jonathon’s first name since I like it. And Nevar is my name spelled backwards.” She giggled at her cleverness.
“Nay!” Lark’s eyes opened wide. “Ye shouldna have done that. It is insane. Ye canna go forward with this foolish plan.”
Raven scowled. “Neither can I agree to marry whichever fool wins the contest, when I’m in love with Jonathon.”
“Och, Raven. This is bad. Very bad,” said Lark shaking her head.