The Other Countess (12 page)

How like his brother to diminish his achievements
, thought Will. That’s what families were for – keeping anyone from developing too high an opinion of themselves.

‘If it’s Ralegh, you’d best consider if you want to topple Devon’s favourite son off his horse. Our sovereign lady may not like that.’

‘Or she might,’ interjected Will, knowing that the Queen’s moods were hard to predict.

‘True. In that case, I’d just play it fair and see what fortune brings.’

A loud ‘Ohhh!’ went up from the spectators.

‘What was that?’

‘Blount just tickled Ralegh in the ribs, but he stayed on.’

‘Sir Charles is on form today.’

‘Certainly is. He’s been telling everyone how he saw off that alchemist fellow this morning. Had him dismissed from the castle, thanks to Lord Burghley.’

Will sat up so quickly, his head spun. ‘He did?’

‘Yes. As he tells it, Hutton walked out with a couple of broke-backed nags, his daughter riding among the baggage like some camp follower.’

Will swore.

‘What’s the matter? I thought you would’ve been delighted to see the back of them.’

He flopped back on the grass. ‘Remember the Lady Eleanor?’

James grinned. ‘With much pleasure.’

‘That’s her – Hutton’s daughter. I didn’t know until last night.’

‘Shame.’ James flicked the colours on the helmet. ‘Well, Will, there’s always other ladies to woo – and you’ve got the Lady Jane already halfway there.’

‘I know, I know, I had no intention of pursuing the lady, but I did owe her an apology.’

‘What for? That girl’s father ruined our family; I would’ve thought the apology should be the other way round – and I hazard you were thinking of many ways in which she could earn it.’

‘Don’t talk of her like that, Jamie. The girl is virtuous as far as I know. In fact, that’s the problem. I caught her fighting off Perceval last night but, like a drunken idiot, I suggested she was a common jade when I should’ve at least offered my protection.’

‘What did Perceval do? Did she escape?’ James looked daggers at Sir Henry. Play the libertine though James may, he had a strong chivalrous streak and hated to hear of mistreatment of the fairer sex.

Will gave him a grim smile. ‘Aye, she did. Kneed him in the groin and kicked me in the shin for good measure.’

James barked with laughter. ‘’Swounds, I love the lady. She’s too good to waste on that madman, her father.’

‘When I came to my senses this morning, I knew I had to find her to make sure that no disaster had overtaken her. Perceval was still intent on pursuing her when we parted. But it seems we are both too late: she’s gone.’

‘Then perhaps it’s for the best.’

‘Except she’s left with the impression that I’m an ill-mannered beast. Besides, I do not like to think that she might be forced into the most desperate circumstances because of her father.’

‘No, she doesn’t deserve that,’ agreed James. ‘But you can do no more than offer the apology should your paths cross again. She’s not your responsibility.’

‘I suppose not.’ It didn’t stop him feeling like a louse.

James took Will’s forearm and hauled him to his feet. ‘You’re up next, Will. Put the dark lady from your mind and try to do honour to the fair.’

‘Who am I against?’

James checked the board that listed the scores in chalk against the names of the competitors. ‘Ralegh, God help you. Seems as though the judges are awarding all his way unless there’s a clear hit. See what benefits being in favour brings?’

‘Then I’d better do my best to dislodge him from his saddle, if not from the Queen’s opinion.’

Tobias brought Barbary alongside the mounting block. ‘You have to win, Will; I’ve pledged my silver-handled dagger on you beating him.’

‘I should lose just to teach you a lesson about gambling,’ grumbled Will, swinging up into his seat.

‘He won’t take it that far,’ Tobias told James. ‘Will he?’

Facing Ralegh at the other end of the lists, Will had a moment when he wondered what on earth he was doing. He’d come to court with the urgent, but necessary task of restoring his family’s fortunes and he was now about to hurtle down a course divided by a wooden barrier in an attempt to knock the current royal favourite off his perch. The problem was, as James had put it, he had no idea if he was also destroying his one chance at winning approval from the sovereign. That was if he won. If he lost, he would be more likely to retain the
Queen’s good opinion, but he stood the chance of doing himself an injury and he did not like that prospect much either.

‘Damned if I do, damned if I don’t,’ he muttered to himself.

Problem was, Ralegh looked the conqueror already. Will knew he made the more romantic spectacle with his white stallion and gilded mail, but Ralegh’s sober armour marked him out for the real soldier rather than the holiday player. It was annoying and very bad for his confidence. But no one ever won if they went into a joust with the expectation of defeat.

His new manservant touched his stirrup. ‘Mighty and magnificent lord.’

Will raised his eyebrows at that, imagining what cutting remark the Lady Eleanor would have made in rejoinder.

Put her out of your mind, Will
, he berated himself.

‘Yes, Diego?’

‘I watch Rah-Lee. He looks well, but he has no power behind his weapon. He shifts to the left at last moment.’

Impressed, Will gave the boy a closer look. The Moor’s dark-brown eyes were intelligent and shrewd – no fool, this one.

‘Barbary, he does not like to lose,’ added Diego, patting the horse’s neck affectionately.

‘Neither do I.’

‘Then all will be well. Lord Tobias will not lose his dagger.’

‘We’ll see. Good work, Diego.’

‘Thank you, my master.’ The servant released Barbary’s head and gave Will an elegant deep bow.

Muttering a prayer for protection, Will settled the lance into the ready position and waited for the steward’s signal. As soon as the red cloth dropped to the ground, Barbary was off. The surge was amazing; Will had not felt such speed since he and
his brothers sledged down Bowman’s Hill in the winter of ’76. The despondent fog that had settled around him since the night before lifted; his mind sharpened, all focus now on the quivering end of his lance and the man hurtling towards them.

Impact was brutal. Will was thrown back in his saddle as Ralegh’s lance hit his shield squarely in the centre. His own weapon struck his opponent’s shield a little to one side. So Diego was right: Ralegh did shift at the last moment – probably as he rose up in the saddle to put his weight behind the thrust. Neither man had been unseated, but Will guessed they would both have numbed arms and new bruises. He reached the end of his run and turned to look at the judge’s verdict.

Devon peacock, one: Berkshire impoverished earl, nil.

He returned to Diego and found Tobias ready to act as his squire, checking that the padding on the lance was still secure.

‘Stinking garlic-eater, he’s got the judge in his pocket!’ fumed Tobias. ‘Make him eat dirt, Will.’

‘I’ll try my best,’ Will said soberly, his side feeling as if it had fallen between Vulcan’s hammer and his anvil.

Diego quieted the excitable Barbary. ‘My old master, he said that you can prick a man out of a saddle with a lance as a blade does a walnut in its shell. Under and up.’

Will thought it a bad time to take lessons, particularly second-hand from a man who had ended up in the Tower.

‘And who was this paragon of chivalry, Diego?’

‘My Lord Leicester’s last chief serjeant-at-arms.’

As the country’s senior military commander, Will imagined Leicester employed the best. Perhaps he would do better to listen. ‘Do you have any more advice for me, Diego?’

The canny Moor smiled. ‘Aye, my lord.’

‘Be quick. We are about to run again.’

‘Rah-Lee is too confident. He will not expect even a beginner’s trick from you. Always you have relied on brute strength to unseat your opponent, not skill.’

Well, that put him in his place, thought Will, amused. No wonder James liked the boy.

‘And this trick would be?’

‘Rise in your saddle and aim a little below centre of the shield boss, allow for his shift to the left, then sit heavily, levering your lance up.’ He lifted his skinny shoulders and let them drop in a shrug. ‘Blade under walnut.’

‘That easy, eh?’

The Moor just smiled.

‘If I come back in one piece, Diego, remind me to give you a shilling.’

‘And if you don’t, sir?’

‘Run as if the hounds of Hell are after you because I won’t be pleased.’

Drawing Barbary to a halt at the far end of the lists, Will waited for the signal. The crowd cheered their man – far more waving Ralegh’s colours than his, he noted. Some troublemakers from the Devon man’s circle set up a chant – ‘Ra-legh! Ra-legh!’ – clapping and whistling their encouragement. Will closed his eyes, blocking them out. He could see the manoeuvre Diego had described in his mind’s eye, but he suspected the execution would be much more difficult. But one encounter down already, he really had little to lose. He opened his eyes and focused, staring down the narrow channel that marked his course through the lists. Up and out.

The handkerchief fluttered to the ground and Will spurred
the stallion forward, relishing the surge of power between his legs as the horse’s muscles bunched. He couldn’t see Ralegh’s face behind his helmet, but he concentrated on the memory of the man’s smug expression, letting his irritation with the favourite’s arrogance fuel his smouldering temper. He was determined to unhorse the peacock and hold on to his seat by sheer bloody-mindedness if necessary. As they closed, he rose slightly in his saddle. Up and out. Knife under walnut. Remember the shift to the left.

Then it all happened so quickly. He let out a grunt as his arm took the shock of the clash of lance on shield. The point of Ralegh’s weapon had merely glanced off. Sitting down abruptly, he levered up, his lance slipping between shield and arm so that his opponent popped out of his saddle as cleanly as a pea from a pod. Once lifted over the height of the pommel, Ralegh was thrown backwards by the momentum and ended up sprawled on the ground, watching the tail of his horse as it continued its canter to the end of the list.

A great cheer went up from the crowd. Where Ralegh’s colours had waved, now the green of Dorset fluttered. Even the most biased judge would have to award this one to the earl. Will reined Barbary in and passed Tobias his shield, James his lance, then removed his helmet. With the restricted view the visor allowed, he had not been able to savour the full sweetness of his victory, but now he could see that Ralegh was still on his back, his servants removing his visor.

‘I haven’t killed the man, I hope?’ murmured Will, wondering where he could find a fast ship to the continent if he had to flee.

‘No, Will, he’s just winded,’ grinned James. ‘Brilliant riding, my lord.’

‘If even you say so, then I must have been good.’ He watched the marshal approach. ‘What’s this?’

‘My lord, Master Ralegh cedes the encounter to you. He does not wish to run again,’ the marshal declared.

Will dipped his head. ‘Then I lay my victory at Her Majesty’s feet.’ He tucked his helmet under his arm, knowing what was expected of him now. ‘My lance, James.’

Kicking Barbary into a high stepping walk, he approached the stands where the Queen sat under a canopy. Dipping his lance, he waited before her as the victor’s wreath was fetched.

‘My Lord Dorset, you have surprised us all,’ the Queen said in a carrying voice, placing the wreath on the end of the lance. ‘Your youth has defeated more seasoned knights. We congratulate you on your performance.’

‘I dedicate my victory to you, Your Majesty,’ Will said solemnly. ‘God has smiled on this unworthy beginner.’

Elizabeth’s lips curved, knowing he was referring to his good fortune at the expense of her current favourite. ‘Perhaps He did so to remind the more experienced of their fallibility. Yes, that may be the way of it. You have also gained the purse.’ With a flick of her wrist, she signalled the marshal to hand over the prize money.

‘The greatest reward is to know that I have pleased Your Majesty,’ Will said gallantly, hooking the string of the purse to his scabbard. It felt delightfully heavy.

‘A noble sentiment. We will be seeing more of you at court, I trust.’

‘Can the lesser planets keep away from the sun, Your Majesty? Do we not ever dance back to you in our revolutions through the sky?’

She actually laughed at that. ‘I see you are quite the charmer, Dorset. The ladies at court should be warned. And now, I must visit your poor opponent and offer my commiserations.’ She rose, the signal for everyone else to get to their feet. Will waited for her to depart before riding back to his brothers.

‘All well, Will?’ asked James.

‘Yes. Her Majesty was amused rather than displeased that I’d beaten her favourite. I think she appreciates the reminder to him that he is but a man, even if he does win her smiles at the moment.’ With a sigh of relief, Will swung off Barbary’s back on to the mounting block. ‘Help me off with this armour, will you, I’m broiling in here.’

With swift efficiency, James and Tobias unlaced the plate steel, removing the extra weight that he’d been carrying for hours, then the padding.

‘Ah, that feels good,’ sighed Will, stretching luxuriously, plucking at his shirt to unstick it from his body.

‘You need clean linen,’ commented James.

‘I’ll go back to the inn and bathe.’

‘No, I mean now – for when you greet the Lady Jane. You can’t leave your field of triumph without furthering your courtship.’

Will grimaced as he tugged his shirt off over his head. ‘I’m not sure it’s courtship yet, Jamie.’

‘Better be.’

Will donned the fresh shirt Tobias had found for him. ‘Please, don’t ruin the moment for me. I want to enjoy this, not start arguing with you. I’ll go return her favour and speak to the lady; let that be enough.’ He remembered the purse and drew out a gold angel, tossing it to Diego. With
excellent reflexes, the Moor caught it from the air. ‘For your advice.’