Page 59 of The Wager and the Wedding

“Enough,” Lord James bellowed as he countered and advanced on Martin with renewed fury. “I don’t care about her heart. I only care whether she delivers on her bargain. And I intend to hold her to it.”

As if she needed further confirmation of the man’s callous, selfish nature.

“Over my dead body.” Martin struck out and nearly caught the earl in the side.

“That is the general idea.” Lord James snarled as he lashed out again, cutting into Martin’s left shoulder before he could get away.

Guilt assailed her at the thought that she had brought him into this mortal peril. If only she hadn’t tried to make a bargain with Lord James, none of this would be happening. Her own fear and selfishness had brought them to this pass. And now the husband she loved—who loved her in a way that no one had ever loved her—would pay the price for her folly.

“I won’t lie. That smarts.” Martin gritted his teeth as he dodged another killing blow.

Oh no.He couldn’t even come up with a witty quip. He must have been hurt badly.

It wasn’t right that she had only just found love and now she was in danger of losing it. But how could she help? The earl wanted Martin dead, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Or was there?Think, Isabella. Think! What would Lady Eleanor do?

No, that was no help. Lady Eleanor would let them fight it out and celebrate whoever survived as the stronger man. The weak deserved what they got, according to her. Trying to think like the deposed queen had gotten her into this mess. She had to find her own way out of this, leading with her heart instead of hiding it behind high walls built by her own ambition.

A clang of metal brought her back from her thoughts. Martin danced around the earl like a court jester, wearing him down bit by bit. If she wasn’t mistaken, the earl was starting to slow, the lag between Martin’s jabs and his ripostes growing by the minute. Still, Lord James struck with a force that made her quiver each time metal hit metal.

Martin circled. “There once was a man from Calais,” he sang in a teasing voice. “Who thought all his enemies to slay.”

Lord in heaven, what was her husband doing?

Lord James snarled and swung his blade at Martin’s head.

In just the nick of time, Martin ducked beneath the blade, his full lips curving in a teasing smile and his eyes twinkling. She couldn’t help but admire his brashness in the face of danger.

“He fought a court fool, who cut off his tool. Now he sings falsetto all day.”

Ducking low, Martin stabbed Lord James in the upper thigh, quick as a flash. The earl bellowed in wordless rage. Isabellathrew up her arms and cheered. There was hope! Her husband was a mad man, but his ridiculous swagger was undeniably effective at throwing his enemy off balance.

Martin ducked just out of the earl’s reach as his blade came crashing down on where he’d been a split second earlier. “Missed me,” he chided.

“I. Will. End. You,” Lord James said, punctuating each word with a murderous slash of his sword.

And he very nearly did. Isabella could hardly breathe as she watched. She tasted iron as she bit the inside of her cheek. Every muscle in her body tensed as she gripped the rough timber of the fence enclosing the yard.

A hairsbreadth away from those deadly blows, Martin danced out of the way and spun around the earl’s flank as if this was all a game. He was behind the earl now.

Get him, Martin! End this. Don’t let him get away!

“Can’t find me?” Martin taunted as the earl spun in circles trying to catch him. “But I’m right here.” On the final word, Martin jabbed his sword into the earl’s buttock, making him howl and nearly drop his sword.

Huzzah!

Isabella’s heart swelled at the sight. Surely, he had won now. How could the earl recover when Martin had dealt him such an injury? And what a fitting revenge for Lord James’s threats and browbeating!

“Take him down, Martin! Finish this,” she called out. “You can do it!”

Taking advantage of Lord James’s momentary lapse, Martin jabbed again, this time at the back of the earl’s knee. The giant man stumbled as his knee gave way, and he fell on all fours.

“Yes! Huzzah!” Isabella cheered and waved her fists in the air. He’d done it! Her husband had bested the earl! She never had to fear Lord James again!

Martin stepped on the earl’s sword and levelled his blade at his opponent’s throat.

“Yield.” All teasing was gone from her husband’s voice. It was cold and deadly as the North Sea. In that moment, he seemed to be as tall as the mast ofThe Wind Song. “Let us go, and I will spare your life. We’ll buy passage on a ship and be gone within the hour.”

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