Chapter 4
E van’s mind wasn’t on the sword fight this morning, but rather stuck on the fact that Maggie didn’t like him enough to want to take him up on his offer. What did he do that was so bad that he was scaring her away? He thought he’d made up for knocking down her little girl, even though he couldn’t quite remember if he’d told her he was sorry. Then again, as a noble, he wasn’t expected to apologize to a commoner.
“Sir Evan? Sir Evan?” called out his squire, waving his hand in front of Evan’s face. They stood in the same field where the joust had taken place yesterday. The swordplay would be fast and easy today, and Evan wasn’t worried about it at all.
“Giles, what is it? And do you really need to wave your hand in front of my face?” he ground out.
“Sorry, my lord.” The boy lowered his hand. “It’s just that Sir Daegel is waiting in the field and the crowd is becoming impatient for the show.”
“All right, let’s get this over with then.” He took his sword from his squire, warming up his wrist by waving the sword around in a figure eight.
“Did you want me to block the view of you again?” asked Giles.
“What in the devil’s name are talking about?” He turned and started to walk to the center of the field. Giles ran after him.
“I mean, did you want that wench to see you today or not?”
“What wench?” This squire always seemed to be talking, and Evan wasn’t a small talk type of man. He’d never been so chatty when he was a squire. Squires should be seen but not heard. He had half a mind to tell Giles that too.
“The wench with the little girl. You know … that pretty new midwife.”
“Midwife?” That got his attention. He stopped in his tracks and spun around to face his squire. “Where? Where is she?”
“She’s right there in the front row again.” The squire pointed and Evan’s attention followed. Sure enough, Maggie was sitting on the front bench wrapped in a cloak with her hood up over her head. She had her midwife basket of supplies on her lap today instead of her daughter. Charles didn’t seem to be with her either. He figured she’d left little Emma behind with Charles, since she’d commented that swordplay and jousting was much too violent for her daughter to watch.
“I need to talk to her.” He started in Maggie’s direction.
“What about Sir Daegel?” Giles called out after him.
“I’ll leave you to talk to Daegel. I have nothing to say to him.”
Maggie saw Evan making a beeline toward her, and it caused her heart to jump in her chest. Quickly, she pulled her hood closer to cover her face, but it was too late. He’d already seen her. She had meant to stay hidden, but Evan seemed to always know exactly everything that was happening.
“Maggie, good morning,” he said, with a smile that could brighten up anyone’s day. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Really? Why not?” she asked, too shaken to even return his greeting. She smoothed her skirts, aware of all the onlookers watching and listening. Damn, she didn’t want all this attention.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, resting one arm on the wooden slated fence that was the barrier between the onlookers and those inside the part partitioned off for the knights and soldiers. “I figured you’d think this was too violent to watch.”
He was using her words against her and she didn’t like it.
“It is too violent, and that is why I did not bring my daughter or my brother with me,” she said with a stiff upper lip.
“I see.” He perused her and bit at his bottom lip. “Then you’re really not that squeamish after all?”
“Squeamish? Of course, not. I am a midwife and have probably seen more blood than you have on a battlefield.”
“Oh, really.” He chuckled as if her words amused him, and she felt her anger rising.
“Sir Knight, I only wait here now because you are my ride to town as soon as this silly game of yours is over.”
“Silly game?” He slowly lowered his arm from the fence. “I’ll have you know that sparring with swords is not a game and neither is it silly.” He raised his sword in the air, causing her to jerk backward in surprise. “This blade is sharp.” He ran the back of his hand against the broad side of the sword. “This is a weapon. It can kill. The two edges of my sword also symbolize that a knight serves both God and his people.”
He was causing a stir amongst the crowd and Maggie didn’t like what he was doing.
“Well, I doubt that God would approve, but your people are waiting, so mayhap you should give them what they want,” she told him.
“Evan! What on earth are you doing? Let’s go,” shouted Daegel, stretching his neck to see across the tiltyard. “You can flirt with the wenches later.”
“Pipe down,” Evan called out over his shoulder, then turned back to Maggie. “I am looking forward to our little outing today,” he told her, making her feel even more uncomfortable since the crowd of people were moving closer to her on the bench, hoping to overhear something to include in their daily gossip.
“It is not an outing, Sir Evan. It is business only. If I must remind you, I am looking for a job.”
“Evan!” Daegel called out again, waving his hands above his head this time, trying to get Evan’s attention.
“I’ve got to go,” Evan told her. “Just enjoy the show. I’m going to grind Sir Daegel into the ground.” He chuckled. “He can’t beat me in a swordfight and he knows it. Now I’m going to prove it.” He ran off, holding his sword in the air and nodding to the crowd. The spectators stood up and cheered, waving banners above their heads.
“I don’t care to see anyone grind another into the dirt,” mumbled Maggie, getting up with her basket and leaving behind the arrogant man and his dangerous show.
Evan fought like a lion, wanting to impress Maggie since he knew she was there watching. Plus, he needed to put his cousin in his place, since the joust yesterday was a little demeaning for him, even if it did end in a tie. He won the swordplay like he knew he would, sliding his blade into the sheath at his waist and waving both hands over his head, making the crowd cheer even louder. “Good job, Daegel, but you still can’t beat me with a blade.” Evan clamped arms with Daegel and slapped him on the back in a gesture of good will.
Daegel was sulking. “I’d like to beat you with something all right, and I promise you I am not speaking about a game.”
Feeling good about himself, Evan turned to look over at Maggie, hoping he had impressed her. To his dismay, the seat where she’d been sitting was now empty.
“Did you want me to shine your sword, my lord?” Giles ran over, eager to do his job.
“Squire, where did that woman go?” he asked, still scanning the crowd for Maggie.
“The midwife?” asked Giles.
“Yes.”
“Oh, she left even before you started to spar.”
“She did?” Evan suddenly felt worse than before. “Why?”
“I don’t know, my lord,” the boy answered.
“Mayhap your ugly face scared her off,” said Daegel, shining his sword with a rag. “After all, you don’t have a lot of luck with the wenches, Evan. Especially the pretty ones.”
“Bite your tongue, Daegel. I’m not talking to you.” Evan turned to his squire. “Run ahead to the stable and saddle my horse.”
“My lord? Are we going somewhere?” asked his squire.
“Yes. I will be collecting taxes from the proprietors in town today. Maggie will be joining us.”
Daegel stopped polishing his sword and looked up curiously. “You’re still not giving up on the wench, are you? Just face it, she doesn’t like you.”
“Did you want a horse for Maggie as well?” asked Giles.
“Nay,” Evan answered. “She will ride with me. Now go.”
“Aye, my lord.” Giles ran off to do as told.
Daegel’s soft chuckle made Evan turn back around. “What is so funny?” he asked.
“You are,” said Daegel. “You are knocking yourself out trying to get the attention of a mere commoner, and you are making a fool of yourself doing it.”
“Nay, I’m not. I am just offering my service to her. As a knight. It’s my duty.”
“Stop wasting your time,” grunted Daegel. “It doesn’t matter because it’ll all be over in a few days anyway.”
“I’m not wasting my time.” Evan thought his cousin was talking about the fact that Maggie said she was leaving. “I highly intend to change the midwife’s mind and convince her to stay right here at the castle instead of moving on.”
“I’m not sure your betrothed will like that.” Daegel got up and slipped his sword into his scabbard.
“What betrothed? I’m not betrothed.”
“Not right now, you’re not. But I heard our fathers talking. Uncle Garrett has set up an appointment this week for you to meet the wench.”
“What are you saying? What wench?”
“Your bride-to-be, you fool! I didn’t overhear her name or where she is from, but your father intends to have you betrothed in the next week, and married off as soon as the proper time for posting the wedding banns has passed.”
“What?” This shocked Evan to hear this. He knew he’d be betrothed sooner or later, but was hoping for a little later. He’d just got knighted yesterday. And wedding banns were only posted for a mere three weeks before the wedding. He wanted to enjoy his new title a while before being tied down to a woman he didn’t know. Alliances like these often didn’t take the opinion of the groom-to-be into consideration, but still he wished his father had talked with him first. Evan didn’t want an ugly or haughty bride. Neither did he want one who followed him around like a puppy and was afraid to speak her mind. Nay, after meeting Maggie he had a whole different idea about the kind of girl he’d like to be with, that’s for sure. “I am not getting married. Not yet,” said Evan.
“Whatever you say. Just don’t let your father hear that, because word is that he’s already sent out the missive and your prospective bride will be here any day now.”
“Damn,” muttered Evan under his breath, as he hurried to the stables. Things were happening too fast all of a sudden. He could try talking to his father, but if he’d already made a betrothal arrangement for him with a baron or an earl, it was going to be hard to stop. Nobles made alliances for a purpose, and breaking a betrothal was not a good thing. Why hadn’t his father talked to him first? Being Lord Warden, he often treated Evan like one of his men, giving orders without even considering that Evan might have a preference or something to say about the girl he was to marry.
Evan hurriedly made his way to the stables, to find Maggie about to get into a cart with a fishmonger who had delivered fish to the castle and was heading back to town.
“Maggie,” he called out, stopping her just as she was about to crawl up to the bench seat of the wagon with the seedy-looking man. “What are you doing?”
“I found another way to get to town, so I won’t need you to take me after all,” she told him.
“Hold on,” he said, walking over and looking at the man in the wagon. He was old and smelly and missing several teeth. His clothes were torn and filthy. And the worst part of it was that the man had a look of lust in his eyes. There was no way Evan would allow Maggie to be alone with this man, who would most likely accost her as soon as they rode out the gate. “Go, Fishmonger,” he instructed. “The girl won’t be riding with you, after all.”
The old man scowled but obeyed, leaving the courtyard without Maggie.
“Why did you do that?” she spat.
“I did it because there was no doubt in my mind that as soon as you left the castle, he’d try to abduct you.”
“And why do you care?”
Evan let out a deep sigh. “Maggie, I am trying to help you but you keep pushing me away. Why?”
“I don’t need your help.” She slipped the basket over her arm and started heading for the gate. He followed.
“You do need my help and you know it. For instance, in those dirty clothes and shoes that show your toes, no one is going to respect you enough to give you a job. Now stop being so stubborn and come with me to the stable. I told you, I’ll take you to town. We’ll stop on the way and I’ll buy you new clothes and shoes as well.”
“I don’t need your pity nor your generosity, but thank you. I’ll be fine on my own,” she said and kept on walking.
“My lord, here is your horse.” Giles approached with Evan’s horse saddled and ready to go. “Will you be wanting me to accompany you to town?” asked the boy.
“Nay,” said Evan hoisting himself atop his horse. He wanted to be alone with Maggie. Then again, he didn’t want the wench making up a lie that he tried to abduct her or something. And with this one, he wasn’t sure what she was going to do next. Mayhap it was a good idea to have Giles along as a witness just in case the girl tried to start trouble. He turned his horse in a circle and looked back to Giles. “I’ve changed my mind. Get your horse and follow me, but keep your distance. Just keep a close watch.”
“Oh. All right,” said Giles. “What about the midwife?” He craned his neck and looked across the courtyard as Maggie walked quickly to the front gate. “Is she coming with us?”
“Aye. She’ll ride with me, but stay close and watch her every action.”
“I am confused, Sir Evan.” Giles scratched his head. “For what exactly will I be watching?”
Evan looked over at the girl when he answered. “Keep an open eye for any games that girl decides to play, because I am not in a sporting mood today.”