A Dishonorable Knight (51 page)

"Well of course. What lady
wouldn't notice a man as strong and as handsome as
yourself
?
It has taken me days just to discover where you would be on duty alone so that
I might approach you."

Osgood stared dumbly at Elena while
her words slowly sank in. It was evident when they did because a broad,
half-toothless grin split his face. "Well aren't you a clever little thing
to chase me down here!"

"Yes and I've brought some wine
that we might enjoy it while we get to know each other."

A frown creased Osgood's thick brow.
"I ain't allowed
to drink
while on duty. Why
don't you save it till after I get
off.
Say, after
supper? We could meet in the stables."

Elena pouted prettily, her lower lip
pushed out and quivering delicately. "Oh but I shan't be able to get away
then. And who knows the next time we might meet? Won't you have just a little?
You're so big and strong, surely a few swallows won't impair your
watchfulness." At the appeal in Elena's eyes, Osgood melted like a piece
of fat over a fire.

"Well, of course a sip won't
hurt me. Besides, how can I refuse a pretty little lady like you?"

"You can't, of course."
Elena rushed to retrieve the heavy tankard of potent wine.

"You didn't happen to bring some
bread or meat with you, did you? I haven't eaten since sunup."

Good, Elena thought. "I'm so
sorry, it was all I could do to get my nerve up to bring wine. Next time I'll
bring a whole tray of delectables for you."

"Oh I don't want no delectables,
just a meat pie or mayhap a fruit tart." Elena held her breath as Osgood
took the wine and lifted it to his lips. He paused just before taking a swallow
and said, "Next time, lady?" a disgustingly lurid smile on his lips.

Elena forced her nose not to wrinkle
and instead smiled coyly. "Of course next time. How else are we going to
get to know each other?"

"How else, indeed? And I'm
hoping I'll get to know you real well!" He took a large swallow of the
dark wine and smacked his lips. "I'll be damned if that ain't the best
spirits I've tasted."

"Well take another swallow. I
picked out the very best wine just for you."

"Maybe just one more. Then I
better stop else I'll not stop and then won't we have fun?" His one more
sip took him four swallows to down and when he lowered the pitcher, he blinked
several times as if to clear his vision. "That's damn fine drink, lady.
But how'd you come by it?"

"Oh, I work upstairs," she
said vaguely.

Osgood took another swallow and then
sat back down on the low stool that had recently served as his napping post.
"Why don't ye set yourself down here with me and we'll get more
friendly?" he said, patting his knee.

Before Elena could think of what to
do, Gareth's voice behind her yelled, "NO!" She whirled around,
surprised, but found Gareth was not looking at her. He was glaring at Osgood
threateningly, which, she thought, was rather ridiculous considering he was
unarmed and trapped behind a locked door. Furthermore, he was impeding her best
efforts to free him. Before she could attract his attention and convince him
that she knew what she was doing, Osgood stumbled past her and slammed a meaty
fist against the door.

"Get back, ye dog. Ye're no
knight, so I hear, and you'll not be frightening this lady who's come to see
me!" Osgood swung around to face Elena and wavered on his feet. Grasping
his head with one hand and the wall with the other, he paused for several
moments. "Oh," he moaned, "I moved too quickly."

"Here," Elena said,
grabbing his elbow and leading him towards the stool. As she moved the inebriated
guard the few steps to his seat, she threw a meaningful glare over her shoulder
to Gareth and mouthed the words,
Be
quiet!

She maneuvered Osgood onto his stool
and then picked up the half-empty tankard. "Here, darling, take another
sip. It will clear your head."

Osgood obediently gulped the wine and
in a move amazingly fast for his increasing condition, scooped Elena onto his
lap, his fingers digging firmly into her waist.

"Now, pretty lady, let's get to
the 'knowing' part."

Striving to maintain her composure
and prevent her revulsion from showing--the man smelled as if he slept in a sty
with the hogs and what was left of his teeth were grey--Elena braced her hands
against his chest so that he could not pull her closer.

"Why don't you have some more
wine? I picked it out especially for you."

"I'm already half-way to drunk.
Are ye trying to make me pass out?" His foul breath was hot in her face
and Elena felt a draught of queasiness pass through her.

"Of course not, my dear one.
It's just that I don't know when next I'll be able to bring you such a fine
wine and I want you to enjoy every drop of this one."

"Well then," he said and
belched, making no effort to divert the foul fumes from washing over Elena.
"'Tis only fitting that you have some of this vintage. Here."

"No really, I--"

"Here," Osgood said more
forcefully and Elena took the tankard, fearful what the drunken man would do if
she protested further. Tipping the heavy vessel, she allowed the wine to touch
her lips and then quickly lowered the tankard.

"You're right. This is
delicious."

"Surely that's not all you're
going to have," Osgood protested, shoving the tankard back to her. His
clumsiness increasing, he sloshed wine over the edge of the pitcher and down
the front of her dress.

"Oh!" Elena exclaimed. She
longed to slap the man's face and then dump the contents of the tankard in his
lap. Instead she said as sweetly as she could through clenched teeth, "I
am not nearly as strong or large as you are and wine affects me
dreadfully!"

"Good!" he leered. Then, as
if suddenly struck by a thought, he leaned back and studied her face. "Ye
know, here we are gettin' to know each other and I don't even know yer
name."

Elena considered giving him her real
name--after all, the man was no doubt too drunk to remember what she looked
like, much less her name, but inspiration and caution struck and she said,
"Catherine. Catherine is my name."

"And a beauty it is, too,"
Osgood toasted with another swig of wine. He lowered the tankard, peeked in it,
and declared, "There's no point in leaving such a small amount, is
there?" Elena shook her head, but she doubted if his question required a
response since he was already tipping the tankard to drain the last drops of
wine. Setting the pitcher on the floor, he wiped his mouth on the back of his
hand and belched again. To Elena's great relief, this belch was mostly
concealed behind his hand.

"Now, let's get down to knowin'
each other," he said and wrapped his arms around her more tightly.

Elena panicked. He appeared nowhere near
the verge of passing out and his behavior was rapidly getting beyond her
control. Standing and twisting abruptly, she tried to disentangle herself from
his grasp. His reaction, much slower than a few minutes before, was to grasp
for her shoulder, but instead of grabbing the fabric of her gown, his fingers
became entangled in the delicate necklace she wore. The fine chain snapped and
slipped unheeded to the ground as she pulled back abruptly. She whirled around
in time to see Osgood waver on his stool before landing on the ground with a
grunt. The drunken man seemed surprised to find himself amongst the filthy
straw on the cold stone floor, and unable to push himself up. Elena darted
around him and snatched up the heavy pewter tankard. Inspired by fear and
conscious that at any moment another guard might come to relieve Osgood, she
swung around and brought the tankard down with a thud on his head. She gasped
when nothing happened. Or rather, when something happened--Osgood slowly turned
to look at his assailant. Elena wasn't sure she would have the temerity to
bring the tankard down again. She breathed a prayer of relief when his eyes
slowly rolled back and he sprawled further on the ground.

Taking a deep steadying breath, she
tried to calm herself, only to yelp when a voice said, "Elena!" She
was certain that she had been caught but quickly realized that it was Gareth
who called her. She moved in a rush to the door of his cell but he stopped her.
"The keys, Elena! The keys are on his belt!"

Elena leaned over the unconscious
guard and groped for his keys. Her fingers finally felt the cold metal of a
skeleton key and she pulled it free. There were three keys tied with a grimy
strip of leather. The first key fit the lock in Gareth's cell door but refused
to budge. The second opened the rusty bolt with a protesting screech. As soon
as the lock clicked back, Gareth swung the door open and Elena ran into his
arms. Their lips quickly met in a kiss filled with relief and passion.

Elena tore herself from their embrace
to snatch up the grey woolen cloak. "Here. You must wear this so that we
can get you out of the castle grounds."

Gareth needed no further prodding to
hurry and he swung the cape around his shoulders as he followed Elena up the
narrow stairs. When they reached the top, Elena gestured for him to wait while
she peeked into the hallway to make sure no one was about. She heard men's
voices and she quickly ducked back into the darkness, willing her heart not to
pound so loudly. They were guardsmen! There was no doubt about it! She heard
them complaining about their vigorous training schedule and, as their voices
drew nearer, speculating if they would see any profit from the war with Henry
Tudor. Elena turned to Gareth with questioning eyes. What would they do if they
were caught here? Surely both their lives would be quickly forfeit.

The men passed by the dark staircase
where she and Gareth were hiding and continued on down the hall, their voices
growing fainter as they turned a corner. Hot relief flooded Elena's limbs. She
felt Gareth push her forward and she quickly moved out into the empty passage.
From the corner of her eye she saw him pull the hood up over his head as she
led him through the maze of deserted halls until they reached the least used
entrance to the main keep.

Once outside in the late afternoon
sun, Gareth took the lead, pulling Elena after him as they darted to the
stables. They paused behind the large stone and wood building.

"Gareth, what are you doing? You
must get out of the castle grounds!"

"Not without Isrid. He's my only
chance to reach Wales and Eyri Keep."

"No! You mustn't go there!
That's the first place Richard will send men once he realizes you've escaped.
This is what you must do." Elena quickly outlined her plan for him to meet
up with her once she was outside Nottingham and escape to France. When she was
done, she glanced around to make sure they had not been spotted. Turning back
to Gareth, she was surprised and suddenly
shy
at the
look on his face. "What?" she asked.

"Why do you want to go with me
to France?"

Elena fidgeted. She was exceedingly
uncomfortable with saying how she truly felt. Let her convince a man with
flirting and coyness that she loved him--not like this, when she felt as if she
were laying bare her very soul. Glancing around again only delayed the
inevitable. She turned back to Gareth and forced herself to say it.
"Because...because." She swallowed. "I love you," she
blurted out.

Gareth's answer was to pull her as
tightly to him as he could and crush her lips with a kiss that bespoke passion,
acceptance, and longing. When the kiss finally ended, Elena was embarrassed and
found
herself
unable to look Gareth squarely in the
eye. Even when he tipped her chin up and softly called her name, she kept her
eyes downcast. Only when he repeated the words he had first said two days ago
did she look at him.

"I love you, Elena, and I would
take you to the farthest ends of the known world if circumstances were
different. But..." His voice was rough with emotion.

"But what?" Elena demanded.
She was still a little unsettled at having spoken her true feelings.

"But I must return to
Wales--"

"Why? That course is one of
certain death!" she interrupted.

"No. I don't think Richard will
waste the men it would take to follow me and I must reach Wales soon."

"Fine, then we will meet up and
go together."

Gareth shook his head and traced the
line of her cheek with a rough finger. "I can't take you, my love."

"Why not?" Elena demanded.
This man made no sense at all. They finally declare their love for one another,
she offers to give up a life of comfort and ease for him and he tells her no?

"I go to Wales to join Henry
Tudor's troops as they gather."

Elena rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Gareth! Not a fortnight ago you decided that the man had no claim to
stand on and you wanted us to return to Richard immediately. Now you've changed
your mind again?"

Gareth bowed his head and said
contritely, "I must apologize to you, Elena."

"Why?" The day's events,
combined with Gareth’s quixotic responses, were making her feel as if she were
losing her mind.