The Gorgon (16 page)

Red-faced and tight-lipped, the
eldest du Bonne brother proceeded to roughly escort his rebellious sister to
the lodges where Genisa and Edward await the commencement of the games. With a
halting explanation of her behavior to his father, Stephan quit the lodges in
search of his charger. With the joust set to begin, he had more pressing
details to worry over than his sister.

He had made her well aware,
however, that he would deal with her at a later time. Edward had never dealt
the punishment for his children; Stephan always had. As long as the eldest son handled
the unruly brood, Edward was assured that all would be dealt with in a fair and
diligent manner. In truth, Stephan was like a crutch; the more used, the more
needed. Not strangely, Edward would never dream of interfering in his heir's
method of discipline or justice; whatever his son decided was good enough for
him and he supported the man.

Therefore, Edward pretended to
disregard his daughter's rebellion as she took a seat in the lists and Summer
ignored him back. Genisa eyed her sister-in-law with a great deal of
bewilderment. She couldn’t understand why the woman should suddenly transform
from a respectful sister into a defiant vixen. The sweet young lady who had sat
with her atop the battlements yesterday morn had changed overnight.

"Summer?" she whispered
hesitantly, tugging on the woman's sleeve when she failed to obtain a response.
"Summer? Is something the matter?"

Summer turned to her
sister-in-law with an expression Genisa had never seen before. It was so...
cold. "Nothing is the matter, Genisa. Nothing in the least."

Genisa's pure blue eyes were
somewhat sad. "Then why is Stephan so angry with you? Summer, why won't
you tell me what's happened? Does it have something to do with Bose de
Moray?"

Summer's cool stance wavered
slightly. "Your husband is angry b-because I have made my own decision
regarding Sir Bose and he does not agree."

"Decision about what?"

Summer's attention moved to the
field as a knight clad in magnificent red and black thundered by the lodges, a
massive carved eagle protruding from his newer helm. The crowd roared its
approval and she watched the knight as he turned at the end of the field and
lost himself amongst the other contestants.

"Sir B-Bose asked that I
supply him with a favor and I did," she finally replied. "Stephan is
angry."

Genisa's brow furrowed.
"Why, that is foolish. My husband seems to forget that we met the very
same way, at a tournament in Richmond. He gallantly asked for my favor and I
supplied him with a piece of my gown."

Summer looked to her
sister-in-law again, her expression somewhat less harsh as she recalled the
event. "I remember. He could not stop speaking of you."

Genisa smiled, noting that Summer
sounded a good deal more like her usual self with that short, gentle reply.
"And I could not stop speaking of him, either," another knight roared
past the lodges, clad in green and yellow and both women turned to watch the
man ride by. "Good Heavens, I'd wager to say that a good portion of the
married knights have met their wives at tournaments. I find Stephan's attitude
so ridiculous that I believe I'll tell him so."

Stiff manner fading with Genisa's
support, Summer was once again relaxed and smiling as opposed to stiff and
resentful. After all, her sister-in-law had nothing to do with Stephan's
unbending attitude. She softened further

"Nise," Summer looked
to the lovely woman. "I do apologize for the terrible things I said
yesterday. You do not b-bray like an injured goat and you do not talk too
much."

Genisa's smile broadened and she
reached out, clutching Summer's hand tightly. "You already apologized to
me, darling. This morning when you allowed me to help you dress for the day.
There is no need for spoken sorrows between family."

"Aye, there is. I truly d-did
not mean what I said. I was... confused, I suppose, and upset."

"I know," Genisa
squeezed her hand. "I realize it must be difficult for you, having your
first taste of the real world. You've been isolated so long for your own
protection that it is only natural that your first experience of excitement
left you feeling deprived of a normal life."

Summer cocked an eyebrow.
"How insightful, Genisa. Especially f-for you."

Genisa wasn't insulted in the
least; Summer knew her well enough to know that her view of the world moved
scarcely beyond the surface of her frivolous thoughts. "They are not my
words, but Stephan's. When you ran off last night, he was very worried and
spent a good deal of the time trying to rationalizing your state of mind."

Summer lowered her head
shamefully, shrugging after a time. "I do apologize for f-frightening
everyone, but at the time, it was as if... as if I had to break free,"
suddenly, the crowd emitted a mighty shout and Summer's head came up to locate
the source of their excitement. It took her no time to witness Bose's arrival
at the edge of the field, mounted astride his mighty charcoal steed as several
men hovered about to adjust his armor.

Instantly, her heart thumped
against her ribs and she could feel the familiar heat rush her cheeks.
"B-But I do not regret my actions. Had I not run from you, I would have
never met Bose."

Genisa noted her sister-in-law's
expression as she beheld her favored knight; literally, she could read the
wonder and appreciation in the woman's eyes and it was not hard to recall the
same excitement at the time she had first met Stephan. "You have only just
come from him, have you not?" she asked. "What did you speak
of?"

Summer continued to watch the
distant knight, pondering Genisa's question in spite of her distraction.
"Nothing terribly exciting," she said, skirting the solid issue.
"Stephan demanded I reclaim my favor, as I said, b-but I refused to do so.
Instead, Bose and I had a wonderful conversation until a matter arose that he
was required to deal with."

"Situation? What was
that?"

Summer shook her head faintly,
her eyes riveted to the black and white warrior. "T-truthfully, I do not
know. He excused himself so quickly that I never had a chance to ask."

Genisa mulled over the answer,
watching the countenance of her sister-in-law's demeanor. "Was he
wonderful, Summer?" her voice was soft, encouraging. "Was he
completely, utterly wonderful?"

Summer nodded, her gaze never
leaving the massive knight. "More than wonderful, Nise. He is everything a
knight should be. Everything a man should be."

A grin graced Genisa's lips.
"When the two of you spoke, was it kindly? Did he notice your
stammer?"

Eyes still fixed upon Bose,
Summer nonetheless cocked a droll eyebrow in response. "A deaf man would
be able to detect my stammer. He told me, in fact, that his mother suffered the
same condition," the intensity of the crowd rose again as Bose gathered
his reins and paced about at the edge of the field, working off the nerves of
his excitable charger. Summer's stare never left him, a faint smile upon her
lips. "Look at him, Genisa. Look at him and tell me that you do not b-believe
him to be wonderful, too."

Genisa, her own smile broadening,
tore her gaze away from Summer's awe-struck expression long enough to refocus
on the black and white knight. "He is indeed wonderful, Summer."

Summer heard the softly-uttered
words, her thumping heart creating a deafening rush in her ears as she stared
at her champion. He handled the enormous destrier with a good deal of skill and
grace,
Chivalry
the French used to call it. Before the term meant
knightly goodness and strength, it meant the precise skill of handling a
warhorse. With thigh pressure, soft noises and delicate rein movements, the
ability to control one's horse masterfully was a truly impressive skill.

And Bose most definitely
possessed the skill. Summer continued to watch him, entranced, when suddenly he
whirled his horse in a wild circle and abruptly dug his heels into the animal's
sides. Throwing up great clods of earth, the vicious charger was suddenly
bearing in her direction and Summer gasped with surprise and glee, knowing he
was coming to impart a few words to her before his bout began.

Summer rose to her feet in
anticipation, her hands clasped to her breast and her eyes wide. But just as
she managed to leave her seat, a familiar chestnut charger bearing red and
white standards suddenly veered into Bose's path, the horses nearly colliding
in what would have surely been a devastating accident.

Bose was nearly unseated but
managed to regain his balance quite nicely, raising his visor to his
interceptor. Banking his fury with almost being pitched from his warhorse, he
braced himself for the discouragement he knew was sure to come.

Stephan, however, was not so
adept at hiding his anger. Visor secured, Bose could easily imagine the
expression behind the menacing voice. "I told you to stay away from her,
de Moray,” Stephan growled. “I meant it."

Bose continued to struggle with
his nervous charger. "But she does not share your opinion. And I continue
to carry her favor."

"I know you do. However you
managed to convince her that your reputation and intentions are completely
innocent, know that I am not as gullible as she is. I'll not have an alleged
murder pursuing my sister and you would do well to heed my warning."

A flicker of emotion crossed
Bose's face, as quickly vanished. "I am well aware of the rumors spread
about my dark past, that I murdered my wife to gain her inheritance. But I
swear upon God's Holy Order that the rumors regarding such nonsense are
completely false."

Beneath the visor, Stephan
continued to glare at him. However, it was difficult not to sense his candor;
Bose's tone was steady, his manner calm. There was nothing within the
bottomless black depths that suggested anything other than the undeniable
truth.

Stephan was not an unreasonable
man. But four years of gossip had imbedded itself within his thoughts more
deeply than he cared to admit. In his defense, however, within that time Bose
had done nothing to reject the wild myths, feeding them instead with his
stand-offish manner and self-isolation.

Whereas the majority of circuit
knights were friendly and cordial to varying degrees, Bose severed himself from
all social contact. No one truly knew the man, making it extremely easy to
consider the hearsay.  Unlatching his three piece helm, Stephan slowly raised
the gleaming visor.

"Why tell me now?" his
voice was oddly strained. "The information has been prevalent for four
years, de Moray. Why vindicate yourself now?"

Bose's gaze trailed to the
luscious woman standing atop the lodges, her long hair gently wafting in the
breeze. "I never cared what others thought until now," tearing his
eyes away, he refocused on the wary brother. "Believe me, Stephan. I never
killed my wife. 'Twas a vicious rumor invented by my mother-in-law to damage my
chances on the tournament circuit. My wife died in childbirth and her mother
has made it her goal in life to wreak misery upon me."

Stephan regarded him for a
moment. "But I have also heard tale that you resigned your position as
Captain of the King's Guard in disgrace because of your wife's death. What do
you say to that?"

"I resigned my post because
of the memories associated with it. I had met my wife while serving as Captain
of the Guard. Our Henry was quite disappointed in my departure, in fact. He was
terribly fond of me."

Stephan continued to meet his
gaze, fighting against the mounting indecision gripping his heart. As an
honorable knight, he should believe the man without question and allow him to
pursue the woman of his choice. But as the protective brother, he could not give
himself permission to accept the knight's explanation.  At least, not yet.

The peal of the trumpet sounded
over the field, announcing the approach of the first bout. Bose's gaze was torn
between Stephan's dubious expression and Summer's distant form.

"Just a word, Stephan,
before the joust," his voice was nearly a whisper. "One word and I
shall vacate immediately. Please."

Stephan sighed faintly, irritated
with his confusion and wondering why he could not seem to overcome the gossip
he had professed to disregard.

"Nay," his eventual
reply was muted. "Not now. Mayhap... later. I must think on it."

Bose emitted a heavy sigh,
disappointed. "Very well," his voice was calm and resigned. "I
shall obey your wishes this time. However, I...."

His word were abruptly cut short
and Stephan watched, startled, as the knight's normally expressionless face
took on a countenance of such ferocity that Stephan immediately turned to see
what had disturbed him so.

Breck Kerry was poised before the
lodges, speaking with Summer.

***

Summer had never seen him coming.
One moment, she was gazing at Stephan and Bose in deep conversation and in the
next, a knight bearing green and yellow standards was immediately before her.
His armor was beautiful, his banners unsullied with dirt or flaw, and atop his
elaborate helm was the image of a great horned beast.