"And who is?" she snapped, recovering herself. "That filthy Peregrine?"
"A better match for you than anyone else I've seen. Severn wouldn't allow you to control him."
"I have no desire to control him or even so much as look at him." She put her hand on Tearle's arm. "This Peregrine may be a friend to you, but to me he is rude. He never speaks to me. At dinner he talks to my father, not me."
"And wisely so—as you have just said, he must court your father and not you."
She gave Tearle a look of exasperation. Could he understand nothing? "Colbrand spoke to me. He—"
"Colbrand!" Tearle said through his teeth. "I have heard enough of the man to last all my life. He is too stupid to tell girls from boys. Within a year of marriage you'd hate Colbrand."
She glared at him. "I do not need a year to hate this Peregrine. If you love them so much, you marry them, but not I. I thank you for helping me rid myself of my father's urging me to marrying one of them, but I do not feel I owe you any reward. You got what you wanted."
"What I wanted? Pray tell me, what did I want?"
She looked at him in astonishment. "Why, the same as I wanted: to humiliate the Peregrines. All of England will laugh at them after today, and when it is known that it was a Howard who beat this Severn even the animals in the fields will laugh. You will have no more worries of war with them, for they will be too afraid to stick their noses out their doors." She smiled. "You and I have done a fine job indeed. Your Severn will be hard pressed to find a bride at all, rich or poor."
She lifted her skirts and left him alone in the garden.
Tearle was too stunned to move from the dark garden. Every word she'd said rang in his ears. He had meant merely to impress a bit of a girl, but instead he had helped to make the Peregrines a laughingstock.
He knew that Anne was right; the identity of the Black Knight would eventually be found out. Too many people knew for it to remain a secret forever. Some of his men knew, Anne knew, and Zared knew. Before long word would get out, and as Anne had said, all of England would laugh that a Howard had beaten a Peregrine.
Tearle thought of his brother Oliver and knew that Oliver would be filled with glee at the knowledge of what Tearle had done. Oliver would see to it that the news of a Howard beating a Peregrine was spread all over the country.
Tearle sat down heavily on a stone bench. Zared was correct: He had destroyed the Peregrine family. Through good intentions he had accomplished what three generations of his family could not do with their weapons.
He lay back on the bench and looked up at the stars. Was there any way he could right the wrong he had done?
Zared didn't sleep much that night. She lay awake trying to figure out a way to keep her promise to Severn and make Lady Anne marry him. She thought of going to Anne but remembered too well the way the woman had reacted when Severn had caught her runaway horse. She thought of going to Hugh Marshall and pleading Severn's case, but as Severn said, it would not look good to plead foul play. She doubted she'd be believed anyway.
She lay there and listened to Severn thrash about on his cot. No longer did he spend half the night carousing and teasing the women. He remained in the tent, not even spending time with his men—which was good, since the men weren't exactly proud of riding under the Peregrine banner.
Morning came, and Zared went to get them some food. Severn was not to joust until afternoon, and she did not think either of them would leave the tent until then. At midmorning she went outside to the privy, and as she was leaving a hand was placed over her mouth and nose.
She kicked and clawed at the arm about her waist but could not escape. When she thought she was going to die from lack of air the hand moved away from her face, and she gasped for air. As she did a cloth was stuffed into her mouth, then a cloak thrown over her body.
She was picked up, thrown across the saddle of a horse, and taken away. Howard, she thought. Once again she had been captured by a Howard.
They rode for some while before he stopped the horse and pulled her down, then removed the cloak from over her body. She was not surprised to see him.
"Do not look at me that way," Tearle said. "I mean you no harm."
Once the cloak was gone Zared started running, removing the gag as she ran.
He caught her within a few yards, grabbing her and landing hard on the ground so that she fell on him. He held her against him as she struggled.
"Do not kick me, I beg of you," he said tiredly. "You have stabbed me, I have been trampled by a horse while protecting you, I have nearly killed myself on the tourney field, you tried to cut my head from my body, you have perhaps removed all hopes of my having children, and last night I slept not at all. Please, I beg you, give me a moment's rest."
He sounded so genuinely tired that Zared nearly laughed. She didn't laugh, but she lay still on top of him. He was so very warm and comfortable, and she, too, had not slept much for two nights.
"What is it you want of me now?" she asked.
He pulled her head down against his chest. "Please do not struggle. I am too weak to protect myself from your knives and your swords… and your feet."
"Weak!" she snorted. "You downed Colbrand."
"Easy," he said. "Very, very easy."
"Release me," she said, pushing against him, but he wouldn't let her go. "I shall scream for help."
"I shall kiss you then."
"No!"
He smiled at the fear in her eyes. "Will you marry me if I get Lady Anne to marry your brother?"
She lost her lethargy at his words and began to struggle against him in earnest.
With a sigh he released her, but when she tried to stand he put a big hand on her shoulder and made her sit by him.
"I would not marry you were you the last man—"
"Even to bring Anne's riches into your family?"
"I wouldn't marry you…" She looked at him stretched lazily before her. "Her father will not allow her to marry a Peregrine. You have seen to that. You have made all of England laugh at us."
"I did not make anyone laugh at your family. I did not put honey on Severn's armor or remake your family's banner. If I want to beat a man, I do so with a sword or lance." He smiled at her. "You have seen that."
"I know you could not beat my brother, so you loosened his cinch to make it seem that you could beat him."
"I could beat your brother were I to lose an arm."
Zared's face turned an unbecoming shade of purple, and she leaped on him, ready to strangle him.
He chuckled and rolled with her, tossing her back and forth in his arms, moving his head when she tried to claw him.
After a few moments Zared realized he was playing with her, and her body went rigid. When his hands loosened their grip she moved off of him.
"I will not marry my enemy." She looked away from him.
"I thought you cared for your family name," he said, rolling to his feet. "I thought it mattered to you whether the Peregrine name is a great source of humor." He started walking toward his horse, but Zared put herself before him.
"You know nothing of family pride," she spat at him. "You live on stolen land. Your brother is insane. If you fight, you must do so in disguise."
"I disguised myself to protect your family name," he said, aghast. "I did not want people to know a Howard beat a Peregrine."
"You beat my brother?" she yelled. "You had to loosen his cinch to—"
He bent and kissed her.
Zared turned her head away, hating the way he made her feel. "It is because I love my family that I would not marry a Howard," she whispered.
"A marriage alliance would end the feud."
She looked back at him, recovered again. "Your brother would—"
"I would live with you," he said. "Wherever you wish. I will go with you to live with your brothers."
She blinked at him. "Rogan would kill you," she whispered.
"I doubt he can."
"You are a fool."
"Probably,"
he answered, shrugging. "I may be a fool, but I am not without honor. I did not loosen your brother's cinch. I can beat him without such low tricks."
"Ha! You could not—" She stopped because he looked as though he might kiss her again. She turned away. "It matters not. It is done now. Lady Anne will not marry a man who causes laughter."
"Then you will not do what you can to stop the killing, or to help your family bring a rich bride into the family. I understand." He took the reins of his horse.
"I would do all that I could to protect my brothers. I would do anything."
"Oh?" he said, one eyebrow raised. "It does not seem so to me."
She looked at him, eyes narrowed. "How do you plan to get Hugh Marshall to allow his daughter to marry a Peregrine?"
"You leave that to me."
She gave him a slow, humorless smile. "Do you plan to throw a cloak about her head, put a gag in her mouth, and kidnap her? Howards are masters at kidnapping defenseless women. Will you force her to marry my brother? Do you mean to start a feud between the Peregrines and the Marshalls? Do you plan to unite with the Marshalls to wage war on us?"
For a moment he was quiet, just standing there and blinking at her. "Do you think of naught but war? Do you believe there exists no other motive for a deed besides war? I do not plan to force Anne Marshall to do anything. Her father will give her in marriage to your brother."
"And you are sure of this?"
"As sure as one can be about the future." He smiled at her. "But I will not go to the trouble to arrange your brother's marriage if I am not to get what I want in return."
"And you want a Peregrine," she snapped. "You will not go to my brothers' house to live as you have said. You will force me to go to the Howard house. What then? Torture for me? Or do you use me as a hostage to force my brothers to do your bidding?"
"I have told you I will not take you to live with my brother. I will live with you and your family, just as I do now, as Smith."
Zared could only stare at him. Was he stupid? "The Howards watch us. They will see you with my brothers, and they will betray your identity. When my brothers know who you are they will kill you. And your brother will—"
"Yes, I know," he said, his voice full of disgust. "There is no more use in our talking. Go back to your brother. Ask him to propose marriage to Colbrand for you. Marry him. See if on your wedding night he can tell that you are a woman." He mounted his horse and looked down at her. "Give my farewells to your brother."
As she saw him start to ride away all she could think of was that her worries were at last over. She was at last free of the hideous burden of keeping his identity a secret.
But as he turned his horse away she called after him. "Wait!"
He halted and looked down at her.
"What of Lady Anne?" she asked. "How do I get her to marry Severn?"
"The problem is that your brother is an object of laughter, and Hugh Marshall will not allow his daughter to marry him."
"And you can change his mind?" she asked nastily.
He turned his horse away, but she caught the reins.
"Tell me how!" she demanded. "You owe me this after the way I have kept your secret."
"And you owe me for saving you from my brother's men, and you owe me for saving you from the horse, and you owe me for—"
"Tell me!" she yelled, smacking him on the calf with her fist. "It is all to my family and nothing to you."
"You know my price," he said quietly.
She put her forehead against the neck of the horse. "I cannot marry you," she said slowly. "You are my enemy, and I hate you."
"If you think you hate me, it is nothing compared to what Anne Marshall will feel when she's made to marry your brother."
Zared smiled at that and looked at him. "Before the games her horse bolted, and though Severn saved her, she sneered at him. She said she needed to boil the reins before she could touch them again."
"That sounds like Anne."
"You know her well?"
Tearle wasn't sure, but he thought he detected an undercurrent in her voice. He didn't dare hope it was jealousy he heard. "Well enough," he said.
He took a deep breath, for he meant to make her decide. No longer could he bear the indecision about his future, and since it was the last day of the tournament, it was now or never.
"I will get your brother the wife he wants," Tearle said. "Hugh Marshall will give Lady Anne to Severn, but I will not do it nor tell you how unless you agree to marry me."
"You will not succeed," she said. "Hugh Marshall will not do the bidding of a second son."
"Then you have no cause for worry, do you? If I fail, you will not have to marry me." He looked at her. "But I will not make the attempt if you do not swear to what I want."
She dropped the bridle and walked away to look at the forest. To marry him? To marry a Howard? How would her brothers react if they discovered that their new brother-in-law was actually a Howard? Severn might hesitate in killing him since he liked him, but Rogan wouldn't blink before running him through. And then Oliver Howard would bring an army to kill them.
On the other hand, all of England was laughing at the Peregrines. Only Severn's marriage to Anne Marshall would stop the laughter.
Zared put her hands to her ears. He was like the devil tempting her, and he looked like the devil, too, sitting atop the big horse with his black hair and eyes. Marry him? she thought. Marry him and live forever under the rule of a family that her family had hated for generations?
"I cannot," she whispered.
Tearle reined his horse away.
"Stop!" she screamed. Not looking at him, her fists clenched at her sides, she said, "I will."
"I did not hear you."
She didn't look at him. "I will marry you," she whispered.
"I still didn't hear you."
She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with anger. "I will marry you," she shouted. "If you can get Lady Anne to marry Severn, I will marry you." Her lips tightened. "But I will never go to live at your brother's. I will never be put under Oliver Howard's rule."
He looked down at her, and his face softened. "I will live wherever you do until you are willing to follow me wherever I go."
"Ha!" she said. "Ha!"
But Tearle just smiled at her, turned his horse, and rode away.
Chapter Ten
« ^ »
Zared walked back to the tents, her body shaking with both anger and fear. What in the world had she done?
"You were gone long enough," Severn snapped at her.
She almost let him have a piece of her mind. How could he be ill-tempered with her after what she'd just done for him? Agreed to do for him, she corrected herself. So far none of the horror that could happen had happened.
The thought cheered her a bit. Perhaps nothing bad was going to happen. Perhaps she and Severn could stay in the tent until his last run on the tourney field, then they could go home and pretend nothing had happened. Perhaps people would forget all about the mysterious Black Knight, and about the mud in Severn's helmet, and about the banner with the satyr on it.
Sure, she thought, and God will give me angel's wings tomorrow.
Severn dropped his dagger, and Zared jumped half a foot.
"What ails you?" he asked.
"Nothing. I am fine. I have no problems. My life is a joy."
Severn smiled. "Missing Smith, are you?"
"It is good you have bone in your head, for you have no brain to hold your helmet off your neck."
"I'll brook no such insolence from you," he said, and in one lunge he was across the tent after her.
Zared didn't try to escape him as she usually did. Instead she felt like having a good, rousing fight, so she put her head down and rammed Severn in the stomach. He grunted, then grabbed the back of her clothes and pulled her away.
"What the hell's wrong with you?" he asked just before she swung her leg and kicked him in the shin.
"Why, you little??
?" he gasped, tossing her to the cot.
Severn had every intention of teaching his little sister a much-needed lesson, but in walked Smith, a tearstained, richly dressed woman held firmly to his side. Severn looked up from Zared and caught both her elbows in his ribs. With a grunt he cuffed her one across the head and sent her rolling off the cot.
"What is this?" Severn asked, rising.
Zared rolled away from the side of the tent, shook her head to clear it, and stood, narrowing her eyes at the Howard man as soon as she saw him.
"Tell him," Tearle said to the woman.
She began to cry, then she lowered her head and shook it no.
Tearle tightened his arm about her waist. "I will give you to him," he threatened.
The woman gave a quick look at Severn, and there was fear in her eyes.
"My brother is not—" Zared said, meaning to say that he was not to be used as punishment, but Tearle cut her off.
"Tell him!" he ordered.
The woman sniffed. "She will kill me."
Tearle didn't say another word to the woman, but then he didn't have to. His look was quite enough for the woman.
Zared watched the woman cry a bit more. When she spoke, at first her words were so soft she could barely be heard.
"Lady… mud… armor… banner."
Zared looked in puzzlement to Severn and saw he also was straining to hear.
"Louder," Tearle said.
The woman put her chin in the air and glared at Severn as one might glare at the face of the devil.
"My lady does not want to marry you. She arranged for the mud in your helmet, the honey on your armor. She paid a man to paint your—"
She stopped because Severn was advancing on her, but Tearle protectively put the woman behind him.
"She is not the one," Tearle said. "Lady Anne played the tricks on you."
"Anne?" Severn asked in wonder, and Zared knew what he was thinking. Usually women liked him, usually women did what he wanted and were pleased to be allowed to do so. By any reckoning Severn was a handsome man. Were he not her brother, Zared might even believe him to be as handsome as Colbrand, so the news that Anne had done those things to him was shocking.
"Lady Anne did these things?" Severn asked.