Chapter 16 #2
“Don’t say a word about it to anyone. Only Albert knows, because I’ve convinced him to act as my squire.”
“Yer father will have both yer heads.”
“Nay. I’ll take care of that, don’t worry. I will smooth things over with my father once I’ve won the competition.”
“How are ye plannin’ on winnin’? Ye will be goin’ up against strong men. Accomplished knights. Soldiers. Plus, ye’ll have to joust.”
“I thought about that, and figured out the answer. I only need to win both the archery and sword-fighting rounds. If I do, it won’t matter about the joust because it will never have to happen.
The way my father set up the tournament, the two winners of these first events are the only ones to move on to the joust. So, if I win both of them, the tournament is over and I am proclaimed the winner. ”
“I’m afraid ye’ll be hurt. I canna let ye do this.”
“You can and you will. You know as well as I how important it is to marry the right man.”
“I’m scared for ye, Raven.”
“Don’t be. I’ll be fine.” She spotted Jonathon hurrying toward them from the smithy. “Damn it, Jonathon’s here. He’s going to make me stop. I don’t have much time to practice.”
“Ye need to tell Jonathon the truth. Be honest with him,” said Lark, trying to change her mind.
“Nay, I can’t. If I tell him, I’m sure he’ll inform my father and it’ll be over before I even have a chance to try. Now, stay silent. I mean it.”
“Lady Raven, what are you doing?” Jonathon hurried to her side. Some of the competitors started to stare.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m practicing archery,” she answered.
“Whatever for?” He seemed nervous and kept glancing over his shoulder at the knights and nobles who were starting to wander over.
“I was bored. Plus, you know I like to practice with my weapons.”
“Not now. Not here.” He reached for the bow. “Come, let’s go to the great hall.”
“Nay!” she said. “Not until I am finished.”
“You are finished,” he said. “I am supposed to be guarding you. Now stop this.”
“Guarding me from what?” she asked, pulling back the bowstring and letting the arrow fly. It landed dead center of the target.
Jonathon’s eyes opened wide when he saw it. “That was... that was good,” he told her, sounding impressed.
“I know,” she said with a smile. “I have bested every man at the castle, including my own father, when it comes to archery.”
“Well, that’s nice, but you need to stop it now.” He reached for her bow once more but she moved it away from him. “How are you at archery, Jonathon?” she asked him curiously.
“Me?” He lowered his hand. “I-I’m all right at it, I guess. I mean, I’ve been hunting since I was a lad, so the bow is no stranger to me.”
“Compete with me,” she said, urging him to do it.
“What? Nay. I can’t. I’m a just a commoner, Raven,” he reminded her under his breath. “I don’t belong here and we both know it.”
“I saw you jousting with my brother,” she said, letting another arrow fly. Once again, she hit the center of the target. The competitors hanging around noticed and moved in closer to watch her. “Compete with me as well,” she told him.
Jonathon’s heart raced. The competitors who were here for the tournament and to try to win Lady Raven’s hand in marriage were noticing Raven’s skills and moving in closer.
He needed to stop her. He was hired to keep her out of trouble, and to act like a lady, not a man.
If word of this got back to Lord Corbett, he wouldn’t be happy.
“All right,” he told her in a low voice. “I’ll compete with you, but only if you promise to stop this nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense. Now pick up that bow and arrows,” she said, nodding to the equipment right behind him.
Jonathon hadn’t used a longbow before. Only the bow and arrows he had for hunting. Still, it couldn’t be that hard, could it? “If I can beat you, two out of three shots, then you’ll agree to put down the bow and stop this,” Jonathon told her, not asking.
“Done,” she said, raising a corner of her mouth, looking and sounding so cocky. “And if not, we continue until you can. Even if we’re here all day.”
“Fine,” he spat through gritted teeth, just wanting to beat her and get her out of here before she created more of a spectacle of herself.
He picked up the long bow and an arrow, feeling as if this wasn’t going to be as easy as it looked.
God’s eyes, what had he agreed to? This woman was like a siren and he a bewitched sailor.
Anything she asked, anything she said, he ended up agreeing to it, although he wasn’t sure why.
He nocked the arrow and pulled back the bowstring, aiming at the target.
“You might want to wear an armguard or gloves,” she told him, just as he was about to shoot.
“What?” He jerked, with her distracting him, and his arrow hit the target, but off to the side. It wasn’t a very good shot at all. “Damn it.”
“Perhaps an armguard or gloves would help.”
“Nay, I don’t need them, now stop distracting me,” he growled.
“I’m just trying to help.”
“My hands and arms are toughened up from working in the forge, so I’m fine. Now shoot.”
“Of course,” she said, using perfect form and hitting the target dead center. “That’s one for me, none for you,” she told him, holding up her pointer finger.
The men watching started talking quietly amongst themselves about Raven’s skill. This wasn’t good. He needed to get her out of here quickly.
Once again, it was Jonathon’s turn to shoot. Now that he had tried it with the longbow, he felt more comfortable this time and knew what to expect. He was determined not to let the wench distract him. He maintained his focus and this time his arrow hit the target dead center.
“Beat that,” he said smugly, lowering his bow.
“Gladly.” When she was ready to shoot again, he thought he’d pay her back the favor. He leaned in close and spoke in a low voice.
“You should really use a chest guard, my lady.”
“I don’t need it.”
“I’d beg to differ with you since I know the size of your…”
“Oh!” she exclaimed, being so flustered that she missed the target completely.
More comments went up from the crowd.
“One for me now, so we’re tied,” he gladly pointed out.
“Stop that,” she said with a snarl. “I know what you’re trying to do and it won’t work.”
“Really.” He grinned and raised one eyebrow, taking his shot before she could distract him again. He hit the target once again, dead center.
“You’re not bad at archery,” she commented. “But I’m better.” She lifted the bow and took her shot, hitting the center of the target as well.
“Damn,” said Jonathon. “We’re even. My lady, I don’t think we should go another round.” He eyed the crowd starting to gather. This wasn’t good at all and he was becoming very uncomfortable.
“Normally, I would disagree with that,” she told him. “However, I have some things to do today, so I think I’ll stop for now.”
“Och, thank goodness,” said Lark, rushing to her side.
“You have things to do?” asked Jonathon, handing the bow to one of the competitors, since they all seemed to want to practice now. “Like what?”
“I have a bit of sewing to do,” she told him, as they walked to the great hall. “I’ll be in the ladies’ solar, and you aren’t allowed to be there. So, after the meal, why don’t you work on finishing my armor while I sew?”
“Y-you’re going to sew?” asked Jonathon, surprised to hear that she even knew how to do it. After all, she didn’t partake in too many things that were expected of a lady.
“How close are you to finishing my armor?” she asked.
“I’ve worked on it. A little. I just haven’t had much time to even think about it since all the competitors have started showing up, needing me to do things for them,” he explained.
She stopped in her tracks and cocked her head. Lark stood by silently. “Are you saying the competitors are more important than me?”
“Nay. Of course not, my lady. However, they need things done before the tournament starts,” he explained.
“I need my armor done by then, too, I told you that at the start.”
“I thought you no longer wanted or needed it, since you realized ladies can’t joust.”
By the look on her face, he realized he shouldn’t have spoken his thoughts aloud. It only made her angry.
She leaned in close to him this time, speaking directly into his ear in a low voice. “The deal was, you make my armor, or I tell my father what we did.”
He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. “Nay, that’s not right. It was so you wouldn’t tell him we kissed,” he corrected her.
“Well, you wouldn’t want him to find out anything else, either. Would you?”
“I don’t believe you’d tell him... everything,” he said, not thinking she was that bold or dumb.
“Are you willing to bet on it?” she asked, making no sense to him at all. Why the hell would she want to tell her father she made love to a man right before she was about to be betrothed? Still, with Raven, one never knew, and he couldn’t take the chance that she might not be bluffing.
“Are you... pregnant?” he asked, holding his breath while waiting for her answer.
“Nay!” Her eyes opened wide. “Or at least, I don’t think so.”
“Good,” he said, almost thinking she was and that was what she planned to tell her father.
“Now, about my armor?”
“I’ll make the helm next, as well as the pauldrons,” he told her, talking about the helmet and the shoulder coverings. “I’m not sure I’ll have time to finish the gauntlets or sabatons though. That’s the gloves and shoe coverings,” he explained, when she looked confused.
“I know what they are,” she spat.
He was sure she knew what a gauntlet was, but didn’t think she knew the term of sabatons. She obviously just didn’t want to admit it.
“Will that be a problem, my lady?”
“Nay. I don’t need them. Just do a good job on the rest of the pieces, please.”
“I will,” he said, curious as to why she was making such a stink about getting her armor. After all, once she was married, she’d never even have a chance to use it. No knight would be daft enough to let his lady wife even dress that way.
Unless it was him, he realized sadly, more than eager to see Raven fully dressed and wearing his creation.