Page 4 of The Sword and the Damsel

He laughed with her, and the tension in the room broke. He had a marvelous laugh, rich, sonorous, and infectious. Soon everyone at the table was chuckling, though Carenza kicked Alais’s foot beneath the table.

“Thank God he has a sense of humor. Now keep your mouth shut,” Carenza whispered while everyone else was distracted.

She really hadn’t meant to be rude. Or overheard. Everyone else must have been wondering the exact same thing. Could she help it if she said what they were all thinking?

“Lord Daniel and Lady Carenza Rossignol, I am at your service,” he said with a bow to Daniel and Carenza. “My aunt sends her regards to you and the whole de Vere family.” He bowed to Alais’s parents, Lord Martin, and Lady Isabella de Vere. “From what she told me of her reasons for sending me, though, I don’t imagine her regards are particularly welcome.Nonetheless, here I am as a peace offering. I know your agreement specified she should send a ward or someone to marry into your family. I’m a little old to be a ward. I think my aunt is hoping I’ll marry, but I assure you I have no such expectation. Instead, if you’ll have me, I am prepared to swear fealty to you and enter your service. My aunt has released me from my oath to her so that I can join your household.”

Daniel stroked his thick, black beard. “I asked for a ward, not a vassal. This violates the terms of our agreement. Why should I accept you instead of tying you up and taking my knights to Hastings to remind your aunt what she agreed to?”

Sir Victor knelt slowly and then drew his sword, presenting it hilt first to Daniel.

“I’m a skilled fighter and an experienced battle commander, and my sword is yours, my liege, even if you order me to use it against my aunt. This is what she asked of me, and it is what I offer. Please, accept my sword.”

Daniel refrained from taking the sword, but he nodded slowly. “Tell me more. Of what value are you to me? I have swordsmen aplenty.”

“With all due respect to your swordsmen, it is unlikely you have any with my skill and experience. I returned a year ago from leading my aunt’s troops in Spain where we supported King Sancho II of Castilla and Leon against the Umayyads in the south.”

“Mark,” Daniel ordered one of the servants, “Go get Sir John and two wooden swords.” Then he turned back to Sir Victor, who was still kneeling. “Tell me more.”

“My aunt assigned me to lead Hastings’s Watch upon my return, so I have experience tracking and apprehending criminals and scofflaws and thwarting their activities,” Sir Victor continued. “I speak and read French, Spanish, and Latin. I have long familiarity with the traders and port business of Hastingsand could be of assistance ensuring the smooth operations of your custom house.”

Daniel nodded slowly. If Alais had to guess, he was softening toward this idea.

At that moment, Sir John came in with two wooden swords. The sinewy old man looked wary as he assessed the stranger before him.

“Sir John commands my soldiers,” Daniel said. “He’s as skilled a swordsman as any I’ve ever met. You will fight to the first touch with wooden swords. The hit must be on the torso. Limbs don’t count. And you’ll lose automatically if you strike above the shoulders. If you win, you stay. If Sir John wins, I tie you up and take you back to your aunt. Understood?”

“Yes, my lord,” Sir Victor said, standing and sheathing his actual sword. With a perfunctory bow to John, he accepted the wooden sword. Sir John bowed back, and they took their positions.

“Begin,” Daniel called out, and Alais could hardly breathe. This might well be the most interesting dinner she’d ever had. Sir John was a formidable opponent. She’d watched him fight on many occasions and rarely had anyone bested him. On the other hand, this newcomer looked every inch a fighter, his long powerful arms moving with deadly precision.

The wooden blades clacked again and again, their movement too swift to follow. At first, it seemed they were evenly matched, then Sir Victor gained ground, forcing Sir John back into the limited space at the end of the dining hall. John thrust. Sir Victor dodged. A loud thwack sounded as Sir Victor’s blade smacked against Sir John’s left side, just below his ribs.

Alais realized she had bitten her lower lip hard enough to bleed and promptly let it go, trying to ignore the general warmth she felt after watching such a display.

Sir John stood straight and turned to Daniel, panting. “He’s a fine swordsman, my lord. He beat me cleanly, no tricks.” Turning back to Sir Victor, Sir John bowed, and Sir Victor returned the gesture. The two of them seemed pleased with each other, as if delighted to have found a truly worthy opponent.

After handing back his wooden sword, Sir Victor turned to Daniel, unsheathing his real sword once more. “Will you accept my sword, my lord?”

Daniel gave him a long, assessing look. “I will.”

Once again, Sir Victor knelt and held out his sword. “Upon my faith, I swear to be faithful to you, Daniel Rossignol, Earl of Winchelsea. I will never cause you harm, and I will observe my homage to you completely against all persons in good faith and without deceit.”

Daniel accepted his blade and his vow and invited him to stand.

“I hear you are a troubadour, my lord,” Sir Victor said, smiling as Daniel shook his hand. “I’ve made a hobby of learning every lewd troubadour song I can find, though I’m sure that won’t endear me to the ladies present.”

Intriguing.

Daniel laughed, returning to his chair. He was hooked. No doubt about it.

I guess this Sir Victor will be staying.She regretted her careless words even more now. No matter who he was, she didn’t want yet another person in the castle to think she was thoughtless and shallow, though perhaps in this case, she deserved it.

“You know the one with the cat?” Daniel asked.

“And the man from Auvergne? Indeed, I do,” he said. His crooked smile was infectious.

Oh my. I absolutely must hear this song.

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