Affairs of the Heart by Maxine Douglas

 
    A
KNIGHT TO REMEMBER
    Historical Time Travel by Maxine Douglas
     
     
    England, 15th
Century
    “ Black Knight, pledge thy
loyalty and love to me and no other!” Queen Isabel Trenowyth
demanded.
    “ I cannot, Your Grace,”
the Black Knight replied, ignoring her haughty tone while holding
back his jet-black Andalusian from prancing too close to the queen
and her court. “My heart belongs to another.”
    “ Another? Thou wearest the
colors of this kingdom. My kingdom.” Isabel snorted, her proud face suffused
with rage. “Thy heart canst belong to no other in this time or in
any other time.”
    “ Thou speakest the truth.
I wear the black and gold colors of Heartsease as a knight by my
own pledge, sworn to protect the castle walls and its people,
nothing more, Your Grace. I cannot give my heart to one who on a
whim hast so many knights on bended knee.” The Black Knight backed
his snorting stallion a little farther from the anger of Queen
Isabel. He’d vowed to protect Heartsease and its lands for longer
than the queen’s reign; he’d never promised to be her
lover.
    “ Of course, there are
other willing knights of Heartsease who would give me the pleasure
I request. It is what thou hast refused me all these years which I
seek. I have offered thee everything, and now thee shall have
nothing.” Isabel waved him off like a finished piece of meat. “The
tournament shall continue.”
    A sneer marred her otherwise beautiful
face. “Ruin him, Sir Thomas!” Queen Isabel commanded of the Black
Knight’s opponent.
    Sir Thomas backed his gray mount away
from Queen Isabel until he reined in solidly beside the Black
Knight. The line had been drawn, and the Black Knight knew Isabel
would not take lightly a refusal from two of her
knights.
    “ My Queen, I cannot. I
have given my life to protect the people of thy kingdom. Heartsease
is the place of my birth and that of my family before me. Our
alliance to thy father before his death is long and unquestionable.
It will continue as such. On this day, I refuse to take the Black
Knight’s life to ease thy pride and bruised heart,” Sir Thomas
replied, loudly enough for half of Heartsease to hear
him.
    “ Thomas, thy protection of
me is admirable but not needed,” the Black Knight rebutted under
his arnet to his childhood friend and then turned to the queen. Her
furor over Thomas’s refusal was evident and so would be her
vengeance. He couldn’t allow Thomas to face her wrath. “I refuse
Sir Thomas’s protection and challenge him to Joust a’ Plaisance .”
    Queen Isabel thought for a moment
before coolly signaling for the Chief Marshall to approach her. A
wicked smile crossed her lips as she whispered into his ear. A look
of dismay soon turned to pleasure as the Chief Marshall faced the
Black Knight and Sir Thomas.
    “ These are the queen’s
terms of the challenge set forth. If the Black Knight loses, he
will remove the coat of arms signifying his alliance with
Heartsease and be banished from these lands for all time. If he
should be the victor, then Sir Thomas will be stripped of
knighthood and work the land as his father before him. In addition,
the Black Knight shall do the queen’s bidding day and night as
Queen Isabel so chooses.”
    A hush fell over the list as all in
attendance waited for the Black Knight’s answer to the cruel
request. If he accepted this challenge and lost, he’d be forced to
leave his homeland forever. This was the place of his birth and the
birth of his beloved Catherine. His victory would bring shame upon
Thomas and his family and devastate them, and he’d be at Isabel’s
mercy for the rest of his days. Either way, he was doomed. The
queen left him without a true choice.
    The Black Knight backed his black
steed, turned, and then trotted around the list toward William, his
young squire. Passing along the rail, he paused long enough to take
up the lace-andpurple-ribboned offering from Catherine, the
beautiful daughter of