Tender is the Knight by Kathryn Le Veque Page A

tell you anything about the goat before I have had a chance to tell Lady Ryan,” he said, “but let me be clear; if you breathe one word of this to her before I have had the opportunity to speak to her, I will send you back to Launceston before you can take another breath and I shall never allow you back at St. Austell again.  Do you comprehend me?”
    By this time, Lyla was looking at him fearfully. “I do,” she said.
    Dennis gave her his best stern glare before throwing open the door to the bailey beyond,  introducing blinding white light to the dimness of the knight’s quarters.  A new day beckoned, one that now saw two warring families in a tense peace.  It was a new way of life for them all.
    “Good,” he said. “You seem like an intelligent girl, Lyla , but if you betray me, I will make sure you go the way of the goat.”
    Lyla could only nod her head at the big, intimidating knight as he dragged her out into the daylight beyond.
     
     
    ***
     
    “How do you suppose she is faring?” Thomas asked quietly. “Do you think she has been treated well?”
    In the earl’s rich solar, Thomas and Richard sat opposite each other, pondering the question that they had both been contemplating since yesterday.  Watching Ryan ride off with a host of St. Austell soldiers had been the most difficult thing either of them had ever faced.  Ryan had been the strong one, oddly enough, while Lyla wept and the two men struggled not to break down.  It had been a painful and poignant parting.  Now, Thomas asked the question they were all faced with.
    “I sincerely do not believe d’ Vant would like anything happen to her,” Richard finally said. “He seemed rather intrigued by her. Could you not see that?”
    Thomas shrugged, his jaw ticking as he toyed with a cup that had once contained a sweet red wine.  He had drunk it all, far too fast.
    “He was very possessive of her,” he muttered.
    Richard watched the man’s expression, that of a worried father. In truth, he was feeling some worry as well, old worries from long ago. It was something that he and Thomas never spoke of, something long buried in the past.  There was a time when more than one man loved the wife of Sir Thomas de Bretagne, Ryan’s mother, and because of that Richard had always been inordinately interested in the welfare of the Lady Ryan de Bretagne.  So had Richard’s brother, the king.  But that was where the situation had become very complex and was therefore something they did not speak of. It was a situation, and a mystery, long buried, but at moments like this Richard couldn’t help but reflect upon it.
    “He was indeed possessive of her,” Richard finally said. “He had every right to be; she is his wife. Would you rather that he be indifferent?”
    “Of course not.”
    “Then I would consider it fortunate that d’ Vant had such interest in your daughter,” he said quietly.  But his gaze lingered on the man, the dark eyes flickering with something deep and cunning. “Would you have Ryan home again, Thomas?”
    “Without question.”
    “So would I,” Richard said casually.  “Let us be honest, Thomas; we do not simply want peace with St. Austell.”
    Thomas looked at him. “We don’t?”
    Richard shook his head. “It would be better if St. Austell and all of her lands and ports belonged to us.  As it stands, St. Austell might as well belong to the king and that, my friend, will not do.”
    Thomas thought on that a moment. “Odd that you consider your brother an enemy,” he muttered. “I understand the factors behind it, of course, but it still seems strange me.”
    “That is because you love and respect your family,” Richard pointed out. “That has never been the case between Henry and me.  Were I to hold St. Austell and her ports, I would wield much power against my brother.  That has always been the goal, has it not? That is why we have waged such war on the d’ Vants; I need what they have.”
    Thomas