The Last Arrow RH3 by Marsha Canham Page B

not only remained on the stallion's back but seemed damned accustomed to being there had kept him playing the game if only to find out who she was, where she had come from, how she had come by the skill and nerve needed to sneak up on him and disarm him like a petty thief.
    Discovering her to be the sister of Robert Wardieu and the daughter of La Seyne Sur Mer had explained a great deal.
    Discovering there was more to see beneath the forest grime than just suspicions and surly accusations had caught him off guard a second time, and he had found himself gawping at her like a fool. Her skin was smooth, flawless, and when her mouth was not flattened in a scowl it was proportioned lushly enough to evoke unhealthy thoughts in a man who had not sampled such earthly pleasures in an overly long time. He had only gained an impression of breasts beneath the mannish leather jerkin, but he could see now they were large enough and shapely enough to push impudently against the confining layers of silk. A small waist and narrow hips recalled the long, slender legs that had enough strength in them to hold the temper of a warhorse.
    What could they do with a man between them?

    He shifted uncomfortably on his seat. He had eaten a quantity of good, rich food and consumed far more wine than he normally permitted himself. He had to move, get away from all this stifling family camaraderie before it clogged his throat. Talk at the table had turned to the upcoming haslitude, and he knew he was expected to contribute to the enthusiasm and excitement, but frankly, he was not going to Gaillard to play any more games. And talk was just that: talk. The proof came when two men stared at each other through the slats of their visors and waited for the marshal to signal the joust to begin.
    "The only things in life which can be truly counted upon," Robin was saying, "are one's faith in God, in the lady you wed, and obedience to the laws of knighthood. The only truly great pleasure is to measure your strength in honorable combat with one of equal rank and birth. And I dare swear," he added, raising his cup for a toast, "there is no sunset as lovely as the sharp, cutting edge of a sword."
    "Aye!"
    "Hear, hear!"
    A chorus of similar sentiments gave the men an excuse to drain and refill their cups. It also signaled the end of a relatively long dinner hour, and the Wolf pushed painfully to his feet, amiably passing his hosting duties on to his sons. But instead of sitting back down when the lord and his lady wife had gone, Griffyn stretched his arms wide and feigned a hearty yawn.
    Robin noticed. "You have had a tiring day."
    "My legs are unaccustomed to forced marches."
    "Ahh yes, you mentioned the need earlier for a hot bath and a pair of helping hands."
    "I am not pressed. It can wait until tomorrow."
    "Tomorrow," Robin said, grinning, "I plan to see what stuff you are made of. You will need a run or two to warm your blood before Gaillard. And I am curious to know if you are as good as I remember."
    Griffyn smiled. "I would be more than happy to ease your curiosity, my lord, but I would fear the repercussions if I was too successful."
    Robin followed his gaze to where Brenna was watching them both over the rim of her wine goblet. "You will have to excuse my sister. She is suspicious of all men by nature and even more so of strangers."
    "The reward on your head?"
    "Partly because of that." He nodded. "Assassins and spies have been sprouting up throughout the countryside like mushrooms, many of them well paid just to survive a night in the village."
    Griffyn looked around, noting again the not altogether casual placement of guards at either end of the dais. "And she thinks I might be one or the other?"
    Robin spread his hands in a gesture of complaisance. "My father carries a reward of nearly ten thousand marks on his head, dead or alive. My stepbrother Eduard and I are not so valuable dead, but there are warrants and charges of treason that would pay a great