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But in the way of women, she took her time about it The noise of the distant crowd had died off, the increased traffic in the pavil- ion area alerting them that the current tournament was over Atournament would be in a half hour So he wandered hand in hand with his lady, looking over articles of clothing, jewelry, weaponry, goblets Jacob atching her consider a set of beaten silver goblets when he heard his na their way, holding the hand of his six-year-old grandson "Happy birthday, " Elijah offered as they approached "Mrs Went- worth was kind enough to invite us to join in the party tonight Were you surprised?" "Immensely " Jacob shook the ram looked different When he drove the limo, he al- ore a dark suit and tie, and usually was armed Even in the more casual clothes, the black ested he wasn&039;t to be trifled with His grandson had no fear, how- ever He gripped two of the ers in his s her selection "Pretty lady Princess "

"Yes, she is, " Mr Ingram said "This is Mrs Wentworth, John She invited us to the party tonight What do you say?" "Thank you, " the boy said and then lifted the ite I&039; to take it hoh Won&039;t be afraid of no dogs " "Any dog, " his grandfather corrected "Whiskers?" Lyssa srease" Ingrah Jacob noticed it didn&039;t quite reach his eyes There was a wariness to his posture even as he continued, his gaze shifting between Jacob and his Mistress "Tough I don&039;t know about If she isn&039;t sleeping in hosts in the house I&039;d have been happy to drive you tonight, Mrs Wentworth And you are looking hty pretty, " he added, so fond of the reed "Before you know it she&039;s going to have the Harley T-shirt and fringed jacket " The little boy giggled, and she winked at hi down When Elijah tensed, Jacob abruptly understood the htening of her facial features, he suspected she would have straightened and turned away, that haughty veneer falling into place to mask her reaction, but she was already down to John&039;s level and he moved into her space without hesitation Elijah reached after hi his atten- tion and firaze snapped to hiht shake of his head "I love Whiskers Thank you for giving hiood, " John infor out the jeweled hairpiece "You&039;re very lucky to have such a wonderful grandfather, " Lyssa told the boy "He&039;s as brave as any knight here I&039;o with me, ooorrr"--she drew out the syllable as the boy wrinkled his nose at the idea of jewelry shopping--"you could go see that juggler over there We just saw him pull a ball out of a boy&039;s ear " When she rose, she o, I think he may be your son&039;stoward the jeweler&039;s tent In her ht a flash of a delicate ear, apulled over a baby&039;s face, then the curtain fell back over the thought He didn&039;t think his lady knew he&039;d seen it Elijah&039;s actions had struck a vulnerable point in her, enough that she hadn&039;t guarded her thoughts as she usually did At least that&039;s what he told hies which hit hihter His daughter Their daughter "I&039; one eye on John, now involved with the juggler "I justYou knohat she is, Jacob " Jacob watched her study the rings and noted the jeweler stepping back to let her look, not yet engaging her in dialogue She used that unapproachable air when she needed it Like her seductive talents, it was evenher space when she wanted it "She&039;s s, " he said quietly "But she&039;d stake herself be- fore she&039;d harm a child Huain, Elijah She invited you here because she knoe&039;re friends, but she also invited you because she likes you She ht be pretty damn near invincible in our terms, but her heart can be bruised just like anyone else&039;s " He pressed a hand to the man&039;s aro to Lyssa&039;s side, surprised at the protective anger swirling through hi fro theht of the trio of candles the jeweler kept on the counter The candles rested in a tray of water and polished rock for aesthetic effect Jacob slid a hand to the small of her back and reinforced it with a touch from his mind, a wordless reassurance

She put her hand up on her hip, her fingers curling over his No response in words or thought, but he felt her accept both offerings like a cons, he reached out to touch one he liked A si with a sapphire center stone The stone rested in a fairy&039;s lap, her tinyatop it She lay reclined in the clasp of her lover who appeared to be hu-of their bodiesfor the stone Lyssa pressed closer to his shoulder, exalanced at the jeweler "How much?" To him, it was expensive He knew to Lyssa it was a paltry su a necklace the equal of which he&039;d only seen on movie stars and fashionthe money out of his pocket It constituted about a week of the salary he accepted from Lyssa "For an admirer of yours?" she asked in a neutral tone Jacob lifted his shoulder in an uncoift it, if it&039;s not to your liking I just" He&039;d never given her a gift, and today he wanted to do so "I thought it would please you " She was giving him that arch look she did so well, and he wouldn&039;t be baited She&039;d never struck hi Bran&039;s dignified and unquestionable loyalty to slobbering affection But she knew full well how ood to hide it He couldn&039;t bear her laughing at hi "I&039;ll give it to so his wrist, she stopped him Extended her left hand "Let&039;s see if it fits " Nodding, he tried her ht "If you&039;d prefer the right hand, my lady, we can put it--" "I prefer the left hand, Jacob "

He thought her dark green eyes could rearrange all the shadows of his soul into the shape of herself "After all"--her voice was soft as their gazes held--"you did promise me forever, didn&039;t you?" She put his heart in his throat so easily he wondered she didn&039;t just pull it out completely If she didn&039;t, he was sure he&039;d choke on it one day When he slid the ring over her ring finger it fit perfectly, snugly at the base as it should He gripped her hand for a ers linked with his

Abruptly, she turned, drawing him on- ward "It&039;s about ti across the field to the cheers of the as- seh the wooden bleachers were filling up quickly, there was a space in the center portion of the third row Lyssa accepted Jacob&039;s hand as she navigated to the cushioned seat, holding up the edge of her skirt to avoid tripping on it When she sat, she spread it beneath her, folding a triangle of the excess fab- ric over her thigh and crossing her ankles, her back straight Though she could tell Jacob was pleased by his surroundings, there was a pensiveness to hi nu- ances of his ht up only in his Faire circuit ht?" "Yes,the back of his neck "God It gets clearer and clearer, the longer we&039;re together I rememberIt was dim, in that closed tent, and hot I noticed you weren&039;t even sweating YouHadme I was embarrassed that I was soAroused before you " A touch of color rose in his face, a bathed by that cool water, a treasure in the desert, couldn&039;t cool ht&039;s voice, his formal cadence of speech in her head, and the hair rose on her arms at the sound of it "You fell asleep at one point with your head inhis head to look at her, the breeze learapes in my mouth Your sweet breath on my face" His brow knit "Why did I leave you?" "You were joining a battle elsewhere I wanted to keep you, but since you were a e to turn you from your path " An ironic sle Then as now, I&039;m not your equal in honor Fair play isn&039;t always in my vocabulary " "You have an honor and sense of duty that rivals that of the entire Round Table, ue about fair play " Catching her swatting hand with a laugh, he kissed it, then looked back at the field "I loved doing the circuit, but probably the best times were after, when it was just us The players It felt the way it should Real Soets aith hiabond I&039;htened "If there is such a thing as reincarnation, and if they e&039;d like to believe they were, I wondered if you&039;d find Gawain and Lancelot, maybe even Arthur, someplace like this So they could be as close as possible to the wistful dreaone before " A wry smile touched his lips "With the conveniences of cable and microwave pizza within reach instead of draft y castles, invading hordes and winter food shortages " "Perhaps But I tend to think spirits ofcouldn&039;t bear to live only in the shadohat they once were They would need a new quest, equally ilanced at him "Isn&039;t that why you left?" The tru a further reply as they heralded the beginning of the tourna in the row just below the this plan for Jacob&039;s birthday coripped Lyssa with a quiet contentment she hadn&039;t experienced in soer to see ould happen next A horse in trappings of red silk cantered onto the field The other knights had cantered back out of the ring, into the large canopy tent set up next to the arena entrance

This knight was in gold and silver armor and bore the Faire pennant As he ca the tourna with his knight "My lords and ladies"--the knight turned his h the air--"the hour grows late, and so it is time for a very special tale I must ask you all to lis- ten carefully, for this tale has never been told at our Faire before, and it never will be told again You also will see soain So you must pass it on to your children and your children&039;s children That is how all legends endure " Jacob&039;s brow furrowed While it had been some tih that if his player said the story had never been told before, it hadn&039;t He wouldn&039;t take the risk of having someone attend his Faire twice, as many often did, and hear the "story that had never been told" twice "Once, a long, long tiht continued, "there was a horse of unparalleled beauty Fate placed her into the hands of evil men As many of us know, evil cannot accept the existence of so beautiful They do their best to twist it, ly So they hurt her Beat her " The voluenuine tone of outrage to the corners of the field "They tried to take away her spirit When they couldn&039;t, they were detere of Rex flashed into his head The first night he&039;d seen Lyssa, when he&039;d been with Gideon Watching at a dis- tance as her husband broke her arm Rex had done it just to see her reaction Jacob curved his fingers protectively over his lady&039;s delicate hand Lyssa glanced at hi to the knight and not to his thoughts He pushed the dark iht they&039;d broken her, she was sold She was scarred, her beauty gone Frightened and bitter, she fought the touch of man however she could It was almost as if she wanted to be de- stroyed When the heart is so painfully abused, it can no longer see the light of love, the warmth of hope

All it desires is escape from a world that seeaze shifted to young John, sitting on the far side of Eli- jah The shape of the child&039;s s forward, she placed a hand on Elijah&039;s shoulder He turned as shewell aware of her whereabouts, but he accepted the touch,some tension in his shoulders as he received and understood her unspoken gesture No, she didn&039;t blaht by a knight, " the ht with a true heart so pure, he was able to heal this noble steed with patience and love " The narrator paced the horse forward, deliberate, slow steps, stopping just a nose from the arena wall He pitched his voice lower, but it still carried to all present "For you see, this man didn&039;t mark tiet this done before I&039; else?&039; " She glanced surreptitiously at Jacob He was leaning forward, his body language saying he obviously recognized the horse in the story, but she knew he didn&039;t know all that was planned yet Her intuitive knight, so clever at reading other people, so oblivious to things about himself "He measured deeds, not tiift to us all Unfortunately, when one deed is done, it&039;s ti hands to undertake his next quest " The knight backed the horse now, crabwalking her to a left-facing profile The lights around the bleachers disappeared and the spot- lights turned, focusing on the entrance to the large pavilion tent The baritone voice reverberated out of the darkness "She has becoh she bears the scars of her trials, we feel she is ht into our souls just by existing " Two knights cath of ribbon in their hands that threaded back through the closed curtain

"My lady" Lyssa found Jacob&039;s hand, squeezed it "Tonight, Boudiceaa&039;s knight has come home She will bear no man&039;s hands on her while he is present, so her usual rider has stepped aside You are all witness to a spectacular, once-in-a-lifetiht froain " One of the twoa broad grinning face "Aye, enough of this e of Canterbury, want to see if he&039;s grown soft I intend to kick his arse " The children burst out laughing, but quickly quieted as the nar- rator boomed out, "Boudiceaa, come find your master " Tears pricked Lyssa&039;s eyes at Jacob&039;s expression, so she could detect even in the darkness She&039;d never been able to surprise Rex with a gift like this Jacob&039;s speechless amazement made her feel a way she wasn&039;t sure she&039;d ever felt before She wasn&039;t sure if she wanted to embrace him, or run off where he couldn&039;t find her to compose herself In the end, she simply watched with the others as another damsel he&039;d saved erupted onto the field to the astonished cries of the audi- ence She was sure ht in their lives An Andalusian galloping full tilt, e and the other knight held were at- tached to her light halter, so as she galloped past, they snapped free, fluttering back toward the had created the alh the Andalusians eventually had been replaced with breeds ht in full ararb of hts To Jacob she holly beautiful, despite the scar she bore across her nose and that had taken her eye There was also a long scar running down her back haunch, results of the cruelty that had brought her to auction

In teaching her to trust him, she&039;d broken his arm, left teeth marks in his shoulder, clipped his teency rooun to her head and end herfor his brother, confused by the emptiness in his heart he hadn&039;t kno to fill until he&039;dhim the chance to save her, she&039;d res- cued hihts were restored to the bleacher area A performer and also female, she deliberately slowed down to ait, crested arch and flowing tail Murmurs of aept over the children and par- ents like a wave But when she reached the wall she lifted her head, snorted, put up a hoof and banged the lower boards, causing squeals froo to her, " Lyssa murmured "I would never stand between such a love " Jacob turned, placed his forehead against hers You knew I needed this I love you I wanted you to knohat that means to me, no mat- ter what happens between now and the end of it His eyes darkened with e her face in both hands, he kissed her fair brow When he rose, holding on to her hand as long as he could, the knights shouted their approval It got the crowd started as well Jacob noted many of the Faire players fro the arena wall to the left of the bleachers It was the easiest thing in the world to simply put a hand on the wall and vault stylishly over it He was glad the boots he was no longer familiar with didn&039;t trip him up and sha his face into her muscular neck When he lifted his head he found that Terry, the other knight holding a ribbon, had dis at him from a foot away He handed his reins to a squire who trotted his horse off the field

"So I hear you&039;ve become a kept man these days " Terry raised his voice for the benefit of the audience "I&039;ll just go keep your fair lady coave hihed and stepped close enough to grip his shoulder A fierce look crossed his countenance "It&039;s good to see you again, Ja- cob Happy birthday " Jacob glanced at Lyssa, sitting in her blue and silver colors a a sea of h to finger her skirt After assuring their chaperone or parent it was quite all right, she was touching the head of one little girl with an assortracious lady When it suited her Bou butted hiiggled His heart swelled at the bright, healthy look in her eye Terry and his troupe had cared well for her, continued to nurture her spirit to even greater heights, as he knew they would

When Terry ca nod "Look at some of my newbies " He nodded toward the squires and a couple of the knights leaning on the eren&039;t part of this tourna who the hell this interloper is, taking Martin&039;s regular ride They&039;ve heard stories about him of course, but they&039;ll expect him to be rusty, or not as familiar with the moves " Terry wore his sandy brown hair in a Roman style, short at the nape, his face clean shaven His hands were callused and gnarled fro hazel eyes, Lyssa saw a ies for preferring the rorinned as the horse bent one knee to Jacob, inviting hiht her breath as Jacob took hold of a hand- ful ofup on her bare back in one litheher into a pretty circle, his o, she thought she&039;d like to see him on a horse Her reaction to it, body, heart and soul, was as absurdly overwhelmed as she&039;d expected it to be "Martin rides her well, but you can see it&039;s the difference between day and night You should have seen her when she cahtened bitch I&039;d ever met, of any spe- cies No one could handle her Only Jacob knew her soul was still underneath all that Looking back, I think she knew she could trust him the minute he touched her She just had to knock hiht It&039;s just that way Jacob leaned forward, spoke in the mare&039;s ear in a loudinto the h he&039;d never left "See her? That&039;s my lady " The horse&039;s ear swept back "Want to show off for her a bit, rin before he uttered a co walk When he changed the coain, for in on Jacob and Bou TheJacob let the anticipa- tion build Lyssa saw the children as well as their chaperones coe of their seats He barked a one-syllable co out her back and front hooves at once as the chil- dren cried out in reaction When she landed gracefully, she turned in another circle, bowing her arched head, tossing her mane as if well pleased with herself and the applause "Do it again, " several children called out,a dramatic whinny from Boudiceaa on the last juroup "Knights used it to help theht in close quarters The horse was a soldier, too " Looking toward Terry, he called out, "Are you still doing open jousting, or have you beco around that tilt barrier everywhere?"

"I can&039;t wait to see George knock you on your arse, " Terry re- sponded dryly as the children and parents responded with laughter and oohs Glancing at Lyssa, he spoke loudly "George hits like a bat- tering ra but pieces left You should pick yourself out another knight " The kids offered appropriate jeers to that re the full sandy arena again George trotted his horse forward, i motion where his horse appeared to wave his front hooves ly in Bou&039;s direction "What say you, skinny Irishht break if I knock you off that pretty horse " Jacob snorted, but couldn&039;t help but grin at George&039;s broad wink When he turned Bou to accept a lance fro, leaning against Terry&039;s aret your lips away froe will not be the only thing i a brow "My thoughts were running along those very lines She&039;s quite fair I can&039;t i but an annoyance to her You think I&039;m afraid of your tiny lance?" "No I think you&039;re afraid of your wife " Laughter at that fro and not-at-all-worried Beatrice, stilllook from where she stood with the otherpose in the tavern ave hi and war her attractive face and her auburn hair pulled back, she looked as maternal and lovely as he re to give the jeweled net in her hair to the man ins the joust today, " Terry an- nounced

"My lady, you best tie the favor to my arm now, for I can tell you I&039;e has been hit nu the quintain, " Ja- cob pointed out "It explains why he has delusions of grandeur " Which of course led to the children, now actively part of the ga out for an explanation of the quintain While George was handling that, Lyssa saw a fift h man come onto the field He was dressed ht, for he wore only a pair of breeks and no shirt on his upper body, unless one counted the Celtic tattoos on his well-developed biceps He brought his e head reached over and his velvety lips were in range of the children They squealed and shrank back, but at a cal word from Beatrice, they reached out tentative hands to touch the soft nose "Warrick, " Terry ift to women Too many of them don&039;t disabuse him of the notion because of his fair looks " Lyssa hid a smile The narrator with the baritone, who Terry whispered was called Elliott, had picked up after the quintain expla- nation and was now on to another history lesson to entertain the audience while the field was being set "Does anyone kno the giving of the favor came about?" "I shall explain it, " Warrick boldly asserted Quite deliberately, he shifted his attention to Lyssa She cocked a brow, a to her alone Jacob was a few paces away, and he and Bou had nearlythe audience She wondered how he&039;d trained the horse to do that "A knight could fight in honor of a noblee lord&039;s woman If he won, he could treat her as his oifeFor one night " "A sanctioned form of adultery, " Lyssa noted in a low voice to Terry Elijah shot her a glance over his shoulder, huaze "Secularly at least " The Faire owner grinned "The Church frowned upon it

I suspect problems arose if the lady in question was ht&039; than all her days with her husband " When Warrick continued to boldly stare at her, Lyssa returned the favor Gave hi His skin shuddered, visibly Whinnying, his horse began to back up Jacob had sidled Bou closer and now pushed against Warrick&039;slook I told Terry to behave, my lady I didn&039;t think I&039;d have to tell you He clapped a hand on Warrick&039;s back, startling the man out of his sudden stupor "Believe me, Warrick, she will eat you for breakfast Stick to the tavern wenches " "She can have s on the side, " Terry quipped "Does she have as deft a tongue as face?" This fro in on the rowdy banter since Warrick seeue "I wonder--" The crowd burst into laughter as he had to do a quick duck, for Jacob twirled the lance dexterously, nearly taking his head off with its reach Lyssa found herself delighted to watch the one another and exchanging insults It was obvious this ritual of genuine heckling had been a ave it the tension of a serious sport rather than the distracting sense of a perforive the children a taste of the rings first, so with those set up at the edge of the field, the trumpet sounded Jacob did not even need to tap his heels Boudiceaa was off and running Lyssa watched, her heart in her throat as ed down the field toward four hanging rings, Boudiceaa a full two lengths ahead "Speed is confidence, my lady, " Terry explained "Aher with nothing but his knees guiding her, and her going flat out Not even a bridle " They reached the end of the field Jacob speared his ring with the lance, spun his steed andthe alloped with spirited abandon back up the field "Holy Christ!" Terry laughed out loud "Wouldn&039;t have believed it if I hadn&039;t seen it That boy is unstoppable " George roared for another lance as soon as they careat show about the insult done hie as Jacob and Bou pranced behind hie whirled, the pair immediately looked serious and repentant Bou executed a little dip over her front leg, her forelock hanging down, and Jacob bowed frolared at thean to do a high step trot in place,over the other as Jacob held one hand in herthem this time, Bou froze in place, one hoof still in the air Jacobas upsetting George "He&039;s very good, " Lyssa said over her own laughter, as well as Eli- jah and John&039;s "Oh, he&039;s an outstanding player, " Terry agreed "You&039;ve given us all a gift, hted to have hie has a chance, but it would be fun to see the young upstart knocked on his tight arse for once " Jacob had been brought a breastplate, helmet and buckler Once donned, he hefted his lance Elliott su down, the ed forward on Boudiceaa with a bloodcurdling yell George and his steed thundered toward them across the open field Lyssa remembered the actual medieval tournaments where jousts had been done with a tilt barrier, where the lances had to be held at an angle over the knight&039;s body It was i to now see it done the way it had been done before that, twoeach other on powerful horses, the lances leveled straight for each other With three e She told herself there was no chance the lance was going through the breastplate, not with the tip guarded by a coronal

The lances struck the bucklers, splintering the weapons and forc- ing both ainst their horses&039; haunches with the ialloped by one another Squires raced out with another lance for eachone another again Halfway there, George&039;son with a roar, however A few strides off, Ja- cob tossed his away When the horses were abreast, he lunged out of his seat, his knee pressed up high on the seat to propel hi thud to the far side, clear of George&039;s horse, tus Lyssa realized she&039;d come to her feet Terry eased her back to her seat "The first thing a player learns is how to fall, my lady No worries " "So this isn&039;t" Real was not the word she was seeking As if in agree history of competition They tend to like to beat the pride out of each other before they call it quits It ood show; that&039;s for certain " As the twoswords The kids were having the ti out for their favorite John was likewise hollering and clapping, sta Elijah had a firm hold on his shirt so he wouldn&039;t bounce be- tween the planks of the seat and the floor of their row, though she noted their so out his support for Ja- cob along with his grandson By the time the squires were there with the swords, both men had shed the arhtly lit arena, clods of dirt and grass chipping up around thee spun and struck and Jacob retaliated, e for too long, though there were a couple of near misses where Jacob ducked under a slice of the sword Lyssa&039;s heart juasped as Jacob was knocked to a knee, rolled away

As George ca the sword down, Jacob writhed around it, punched him in the jaw and followed it up with a shove froe toppled backward In the blink of time he was on his back in the dirt, Jacob was up, his blade at his throat Ie&039;s next e called out with a rueful s on which knight the child had de- cided to chae up and the two h froe&039;s sword bloell could have turned the tide in his favor Then her servant turned, found her in the crowd Seeking his la- dy&039;s approval of his victory Emotional and physical response flooded her in such a hard wave she drew in a breath as if she&039;d just felt a sharp pain As he moved toward her, his eyes rested on her face with that potent absorption thatto devour hi to slow her rapid heartbeat, she let her attention move from his face to the broad shoulders and the sweat that dampened the front of the thin tunic The capable way he still held the sword, as if it were an exten- sion of his hand The graceful power of his body as he walked to- ward her Looking at hi to slow her heart rate Bou alking alongside without reins to guide her When they reached the wall, the children were already pressing forith the supervision of the Faire people As Bou bent her head to al- low herself to be touched, Jacob placed a hand on her neck "My lady, " he spoke "Have I won your favor? A?" More than you knoever, Lyssa rose, tossed her hair "I know not

Perhaps it was as a him the second lance " There were jeers and boos Jacob placed a hand over his heart as if he&039;d been struck, staggering back to laughter "What say all of you?" she called out The children shouted out their opinions iuided thee scowled ferociously and yelled his disagreeesture to silence them all

Jacob raised a brow as they quieted at last "It seems they have more faith in my abilities than my lady does " I have too much faith in your abilities It ht she blocked from Jacob, she accepted Terry&039;s hand to proceed down the bleachers until she stood just above hi the jeweled fab- ric, she tied it on his arer on the sleeve of his tunic to feel the muscle beneath As the audience cheered, she heard John hollering out his approval and Elijah&039;s whistle Jacob wound his fingers in a loose lock of her hair and tugged, giving her one of his set a taste of your lips " Those vivid blue eyes locked on her "What on? Lead an ar, even in my service, that would make you turn away from me or love me less than you do today She covered his surprised ht she&039;d given him as clearly as a spoken sentence She kneover what he would help her do next week, knew there was nothing she could do to stop it He was right She had to have the blood Perhaps, with the ti as short as it was, she should have been like Carnal and simply taken a cri what the disease could do to her ees, she couldn&039;t take the risk of being influenced by the blood of an evil car- rier Nothing could make me love you any less, my lady I love you more every day How many times must I tell you that my life is yours to command? Earlier, she&039;d told him she loved him It was not the first time she&039;d said it, but now she knew she should never say the words again How could it even co what itthe type of love froht to offer in return She knew the world wasra- tionalhim the third mark had made sound sense He&039;d asother ends she&039;d always ig- nored had been right If vaoodhis life for her He was offering her everything, including the right to tarnish the integrity of his soul