The Robber Knight's Love (The Robber Knight Saga #2)(182)
“Err…yes, Milord.” The servant cleared his throat. “Besides, even if he were as ugly as the night, there would still be the fact that he is heir to one of the richest duchies within the Empire. Richer even than your estate, Milord.”
There were a few moments of heavy silence.
“So,” d’Altavilla surmised, his face cast in shadow. “He is rich, charming, and handsome. Now all that waits to be seen is whether he is strong. If he wins the tournament, she will pick him over me.”
“You cannot know that, Milord.”
“Oh yes, I can.” D’Altavilla gave a humorless laugh. “Because, unlike you, I know Salvatrice.”
“Oh.”
“Exactly.”
“But you cannot honestly think that he will prevail against you, Milord!” Sergio protested. “You’re the best jouster north of Salerno!”
“And Sir Tomasso di Zaragoza was supposed to be the best jouster south of it, and look what happened to him! I should have known! I should have realized sooner it could not just be luck that gained that fellow the victor’s crown!”
Breathing heavily, Lord d’Altavilla marched to the other end of the stable and slammed his fist into the wooden wall, making the whole building shudder. He remained standing like this for a few moments, frozen in rage. Then he turned, and, strangely, the expression on his face wasn’t all that angry anymore. If Sergio were to have put a finger on it, he would have said it looked rather…determined.
“You actually think he could beat you in a fair fight, Milord?” he asked cautiously.
“Yes, he probably could.” D’Altavilla stepped forward, and an evil smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “But who says our fight is going to be fair?”
Angel’s Fall
“…and then the robber knight said, ‘You miserable worm! I shall vanquish you and the Emperor!’, and then he spurred his horse, lowered his lance, and galloped towards me.”
“Oh, Sir Reuben!”
“And I called out at him, ‘Never shall you vanquish me! You are a wicked knight, and I shall smite you and destroy you utterly!’ Then I, too, lowered my lance, and we galloped towards each other over the grass. We met in the middle of the sunny meadow. And what an encounter it was!”
“Really?”
“The most terrible clash I have ever felt,” Reuben confirmed earnestly. “My shield was ripped from my hands, and my lance broke into a thousand splinters.”
“Good God! What did the other knight do?”
“Well, since he was not a knight of honor, but a wicked robber knight, he did not give me time to replace my lance. Instead, he turned and charged at me again, intending to pierce my heart!”
“No! How horrific!”
“Fear not, Milady!” Flicking back the hair out of his face and throwing Salvatrice a meaningful smile, Reuben leaned forward. “Do you see me lying dead on the floor, or am I sitting alive and well here in front of you?”
“You…you are alive and well! But…” She gazed up at him with wide, adoring eyes. “But how is that possible?”
“I dropped my splintered lance and drew my sword. And when the terrible robber knight charged me, I lifted the sword and—whack!—like this cut off the lance in half!
“Mary, Mother of God!”
“Indeed, the Mother of Christ must have stood beside me in that moment and guided my sword-arm. How else would I have been able to perform such an astonishing feat?”
“Your piety becomes you, but I beg of you, do not belittle your own achievements, Sir Knight.” Shyly, she touched his arm. Reuben felt a tingle from the spot where her tender finger had brushed his muscles move up his spine. “It was your strength which achieved this, your sword that cut the lance in half.”
“I can do other things with my sword, too,” he murmured, leaning forward farther until their face nearly touched. “Much more interesting and pleasurable.”
“Oh, Sir Reuben…” her eyes grew even wider. Reuben felt his heart swell, and other parts of him further down, too. “You are so wonderful.”
His lips graced her ear. “Do you wish for me to demonstrate how wonderful I am right now?”
“But you haven’t finished your tale, yet,” she teased. “What did the robber knight do next?”
“He? Bah!” Reuben waved a hand. “After I had broken his lance, he tried to come at me with his sword, of course, even tried to throw a dagger at me, dastardly, traitorous cad that he is, but he was no match for me. My first blow threw him off his mount!”
“How wonderful!”
“I sprang down to the ground and shouted, ‘Surrender to me, wicked knight! Surrender to the mercy of the Emperor!’ And he…well, he said things that I cannot repeat in the presence of a lady.”
“You are the epitome of chivalry, Sir Reuben.”
“I dueled the robber knight on the ground. I would have had him disarmed in seconds if it had been a fair fight, but he used all kinds of dirty tricks on me!”
“Dear God! What dirty tricks?”
“Well, for example, he threw a dirty dish cloth at me.”
“My Goodness! But…” A little frown marred the brow of Lady Salvatrice. “Where did he get a dish cloth out on an open meadow?”