The Lioness and Her Knight (11 page)

"I've already sent a knight out," Laudine repeated.

"What knight?" Malvolus demanded.

Luneta deemed it time to step in. Assuming a bright and cheerful voice, she said, "Isn't it the most fortunate thing? My cousin Ywain had just arrived to visit me, and we had barely finished telling him about the curse of the castle when the storm broke and he offered to go fight for Lady Laudine."

"You fool!" Malvolus shrieked.

"Yes? You called?" asked Rhience.

"Don't you know what you've done?" Malvolus stammered. His face had recovered its color and more, to the extent that he was quite purple. "The enchantment that was laid on this land says that when there is only a mistress over the castle, then whatsoever knight defends the Storm Stone and marries the mistress becomes the new lord!"

Startled, Luneta glanced at Laudine and saw the same astonishment in her eyes. Evidently Sir Esclados had never mentioned this part of the castle's curse. The shocked silence was broken by Rhience's sardonic voice. "Ah, so that's why you were so eager to deck yourself out in borrowed armor and rush out to fight. You were thinking to raise your station in life. But what if Lady Laudine didn't
want
to marry you?"

Malvolus glared balefully at the fool and for several seconds struggled against his rage. At last, he controlled himself and bowed stiffly to Laudine. "I assure you, my lady, that my only intention was to protect you."

"Indeed, I'm very grateful to you," Laudine replied warmly. "Why, you could have been killed!"

Malvolus bowed again, stiffly, then stalked toward the door with as much dignity as was possible for a man who had just had an ambitious plot exposed while wearing a silly outfit. Just before he left, Rhience said casually, "By the by, Luneta, where did your cousin get armor? I thought his visit was going to be social only and that he wouldn't be wearing armor when he came."

Luneta understood at once and flashed a grateful smile to Rhience. His quick thinking might save an awkward scene. Ywain had undoubtedly rushed off to put on his own armor, which he knew was in Malvolus's room. When Malvolus saw that armor, he was sure to recognize it and to ask some bothersome questions. "Yes, that's true," she replied. "But one of the servants told me that there was a suit of armor in Malvolus's room, so I told him he should try that." She smiled sweetly at the steward. "I hope you don't mind, Malvolus. My cousin's bigger than you and so that armor might fit him."

The steward ground his teeth, but he bowed again. "Of course not, my lady. By all means, send people to my private chambers whenever it is convenient for you."

Luneta smiled even more brightly. "That's very kind of you. Thank you."

Malvolus left, still seething. Rhience listened at the door until he heard the steward's clanking steps disappear, then turned back to Luneta. "So," he said carefully, glancing at Laudine. "Your cousin is here?"

"Laudine knows about Ywain," Luneta said. "They are betrothed, in fact."

Rhience gave Luneta a swift, shrewd look, but then bowed deeply and graciously to Laudine. "I felicitate you, my lady. I have known this man Ywain before, and I believe he is a good man who will love you well."

Laudine blushed and looked very self-conscious, but happy. "You don't ... you don't think ill of me for getting betrothed so soon after my husband's death?"

"No, my lady."

"And nor will anyone else!" Luneta declared as a sudden thought came to her. "Because I'll wager that everyone in the district knows that the one who defends the Storm Stone becomes the lord of the castle! When they hear that Ywain has defended the stone, they'll all assume that you had no choice but to marry him! Just as, I suppose, you would have had to marry Malvolus if he'd gone out to fight." Laudine blanched at the thought, and Luneta continued, "Why, it's perfect! No one will question your decision at all."

It took two or three repetitions before Laudine grasped all the implications of this new idea, but when she did she was even more enthusiastic than Luneta. "Then everyone will think that I
had
to marry Ywain, and no one will think that I've been disrespectful to Sir Esclados!"

"Quite true, my lady," Rhience said.

Laudine's face brightened. "Then I can go ahead with the full six months of mourning, just as I ought!" she exclaimed joyously.

Rhience raised one eyebrow, but said only, "You can grieve as long as you want, if that's what will make you happy."

Laudine missed Rhience's irony and sighed with relief. "That was the part that bothered me the most. I just couldn't help feeling that it was wrong not to have the proper time of mourning. Ywain and I can be betrothed now, then married in six months after I've put off my blacks!"

"And I thought it was only men who went into mourning before they got married," Rhience commented.

"My lady," Luneta said, "is this really necessary?"

"I was taught that a proper time of mourning was
very
necessary," Laudine said primly.

"What a curious expression!" Rhience said thoughtfully. "I wonder what the opposite of 'very necessary' is? Mildly necessary? Somewhat essential?"

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Laudine.

"Shut up, Rhience," said Luneta.

***

Luneta had been afraid that she would have to explain to Laudine a great many awkward details—such as where Ywain had been hidden for the past two weeks—but it appeared that once Laudine had grasped that she could marry the young and handsome knight Ywain and still go through the socially correct time of mourning for her deceased husband, her happiness precluded all other thoughts. She sighed over Ywain's beauty and courtesy for nearly an hour—which Luneta found very tedious indeed—until the footman Rufus entered their room and announced that a host of knights had approached the gate and the knight at the head had asked for her by name. It was Ywain, of course. He had defended the stone and returned to claim his betrothed, and behind him rode a small army of knights from Camelot, including Gawain and Terence.

It was some time before Luneta understood all this, since the next few hours were spent helping Laudine and the castle servants prepare rooms for their illustrious and unexpected guests, but she did finally learn what happened at the Storm Stone. After leaving Laudine and Luneta, Ywain had put on his armor, saddled his horse, and departed through a seldom-used side gate, all without arousing the least suspicion, since he still had the faery ring. Once in the magical copse, Ywain had removed the ring, lowered his visor, and galloped off to challenge whoever had disturbed the stone. Arriving in the clearing, though, he had found not one wandering knight but a host of knights from Camelot.

It was Gawain who told Luneta what happened next, as he and Terence were sitting with Luneta in her room late that evening. "It was Agrivain's own fault, of course," Gawain said. "Back in my chambers that night, when your friend Rhience told about this magical basin, Agrivain had been boasting about how he wanted adventures, too. So, when Kai mentioned the Storm Stone at the next meeting of the Round Table, Agrivain must have felt obligated to back up his words, and he demanded that this adventure be given to him." Gawain grinned ruefully. "Poor Agrivain."

"Why
poor?
" Luneta asked.

"Letting alone what happened to him at the copse, which is enough, he got much more than he asked for. Nearly everyone at the table wanted to see the magical storm, and the end of it was that nearly a dozen of us came along. I doubt Agrivain really wanted to fight at all, and I'm certain he didn't want to do it in front of a crowd, but he was trapped. When we found the stone, he brought on the storm, then mounted up to wait for a fight while half the Round Table sat around watching.

"A minute later, along comes this knight. We were all expecting an angry, rude fellow like the one Rhience described, but this knight comes into the clearing, stops his horse, and calls out, 'Who disturbed the stone?' Agrivain says, 'I did,' and gets ready to charge, but the knight only explains that these storms are a curse on the land and that he is sworn to protect the land. Then he says, 'If every knight here will take a solemn vow never again to pour water into the magic basin, then we shall have peace between us.'"

"What a sensible thing to do!" Luneta said approvingly.

"Except that it didn't work," Gawain said. "I suppose Agrivain took this as a sign of fear, or maybe he didn't hear what Ywain said."

"He heard," Terence said.

Gawain shrugged. "For whatever reason, Agrivain charged, and Ywain popped him off his horse as neatly as you could wish. Then he dismounted and held his sword to Agrivain's throat. As I said, poor Agrivain."

"Did anyone help Uncle Agrivain?" Luneta asked.

Gawain looked surprised. "No, why would they? It was a fair fight. If anything, Agrivain was the one in the wrong for attacking a knight who was offering terms. Then Ywain asks again for everyone to take a vow to leave the stone alone in the future, and we all promised."

"Even Uncle Agrivain?"

Gawain nodded. "Not, perhaps, very gracefully, but he did it. So then, as the chief knight present, I asked if I might know the name of the knight who had defeated my kinsman, and Ywain put away his sword and without a word slowly loosened his helm, took it off with a flourish, and said, 'Your kinsman, of course.' Very dramatic, our cousin."

"A silly ass, more like," Terence contributed mildly. "He couldn't have done anything that would have more thoroughly embarrassed Agrivain."

"I suppose that's true," Gawain said. " Ywain's young, though. And he
had
just impressively beaten a knight of the Round Table before everyone he most wished to impress."

"Is Ywain really that good?" Luneta asked.

Gawain nodded. "And more. I don't think I've seen a knight so gifted so young." Then he added loftily, "Barring myself, of course."

Luneta giggled, and Terence closed his eyes wearily. "I wonder if Ywain bashed the wrong relative."

Gawain grinned again. "To be honest, the boy might be able to do it. He's a natural. As I said to him on the way to the castle, he could clean up prizes at any tournament in the country. I was telling him about the Lincoln Tourney that's just been announced. I think all the best knights in the land will be there, and the prize is a crown studded with rubies. He tried to act as if he weren't interested, but I think he is."

Luneta smiled to herself. What Gawain didn't know was that, with her help, Ywain had found something more precious than any tournament prize. Ywain would hardly be attracted by such baubles now that he had won the love of Laudine.

Luneta was wrong. The next time she encountered Ywain, the first words out of his mouth were about the upcoming Lincoln Tourney. "But Ywain," Luneta said reproachfully, "you've just gotten betrothed."

But Ywain was ready for this. "Yes, of course. And if there were any chance of my marrying my dear Laudine at once and settling down with her, I would do it. But haven't you heard Laudine's plan? She wants to put off our wedding for six months, out of respect for Sir Esclados."

"Stuff!" Luneta snapped. "She has no more respect for Sir Esclados than for her horse!"

"Well, out of respect for social conventions, then," Ywain conceded. "And you can't deny that she has a great deal of respect for those."

No, Luneta could not deny that, but she was still unsatisfied. "You can't get engaged to a lady and then trot away the next day."

"Not normally, perhaps. Usually, I'd take her with me, but there's this silly curse about the lord of the castle having to stay right here to guard the stone as long as it might be disturbed. I'm going to be stuck here for the rest of my life once we're married, you know. I need to see the world while I can."

Luneta hadn't thought about that. "Aren't you already the lord of the castle, since you defeated the stone?"

"No, only after I marry Laudine. I checked with everyone, even Laudine, and they agree."

"Laudine agrees?" Luneta repeated. "You mean she's approved this plan?"

Ywain looked mildly effronted. "You didn't think I would do this without discussing it with Laudine, did you? We love each other, and lovers talk about things like this. She says she has no objections."

Luneta stared at Ywain, then took her cousin by the hand and dragged him off to Laudine's sitting room. "What is this nonsense about Ywain going away?" Luneta demanded of her hostess as soon as they were alone.

Laudine allowed a slight but audible sigh to escape. "But my dear Luneta," she said, "surely you don't expect him to stay here, kicking ... kicking his heels and doing nothing while he waits for the mourning time to be finished."

"There, see?" Ywain said. "Just what I told her."

"I'm well aware that it's just what you told her," Luneta replied with asperity. "Listen to me, Laudine. Don't just repeat what Ywain said to you; tell me what
you
want."

"But my dear," Laudine said with a trembling smile. "He is to be my husband. I want whatever he wants."

Luneta stared at Laudine, aghast. "Bleah!" she said.

"I beg your pardon?" Laudine asked.

"That's appalling! Don't you have any preferences of your own? Good Gog, if that's how you acted with Sir Esclados, no wonder he treated you like a spaniel! If you
will
lie down on the doorstep, then you can't be surprised if people wipe their feet on you!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Laudine said coldly.

"You're going to let my cousin here pledge his love to you, then turn around and ride away? And for six months? Or longer, until he's done playing games? Are you willing to sit here for the next two years, wondering when he'll think of you again?"

"Cousin Luneta!" Ywain said sharply. "I think of Laudine every minute of every day. It is that very thing that makes it such torture to stay here beside the most beautiful woman in the world but unable to claim her for my own! I will count the days until I am permitted to marry my heart, my life, my love—"

"Oh, stow it, Ywain," Luneta interjected. "What about the Storm Stone? Who's going to be here to protect the stone if you're gone?"