Chapter Ten

H awk nearly leaped over the table to throttle Montworth when he started slobbering over Alyce's hand. And he would have had Red not knowingly clamped down on his shoulder to stop him from the rash act. His trusted companion always knew when to support him.

Hawk watched Alyce's face intently, looking for any hint of unease; he was determined to hurt the sheriff if necessary. Alyce's stiff smile did not slip, but she turned her head slightly to the side as though not wanting to fully watch as Montworth pressed his mouth to her hand. If Hawk had his way, he would knock every tooth from that mouth before the night was over.

"Steady," Red muttered to him as they circled the table. "I've never seen you so lacking in control."

Hawk did not miss the questioning pinch of Red's brows, but he had no desire to explain himself, and he wasn't even sure he could. He clenched his fists at his side, reasoning that this sudden surge of protectiveness over Alyce was nothing more than his distaste for any man who made a woman uncomfortable with unwanted advances. He was forced to watch as a child while his mother suffered the attention of men she did not want, but whose touch she allowed as a means of survival.

Cynwulf pulled out Alyce's chair for her to sit, then motioned to the chair beside her as he looked at Hawk. "I ask you to be a companion to my sister as we sup, Sir Grogan."

Hawk eyed his host suspiciously but nodded his consent. The corners of Cynwulf's lips turned up in a cordial smile that did not reach his eyes. After the meeting they had earlier in the day, Hawk expected no less.

Cynwulf had insisted the king had no reason for concern, that the rumors of his paternity were nothing more than speculation, that Hawkspur was loyal to the crown, that he had everything under control, and that there was no need for Hawk and his men to waste their time here when there the king surely needed them elsewhere. Hawk had listened to Cynwulf's entire speech, his boredom apparent. When finally he'd stopped his one-sided argument, Hawk told Cynwulf his efforts to defend his innocence made it quite clear that he did not have everything under control at Hawkspur and Hawk's presence was most definitely required here.

He had expected vehement denial and more bluster from Cynwulf but to his surprise, his demeanor calmed. He became as focused as a wolf who had suddenly spied a fat hare, and Hawk realized he needed to be careful to not underestimate the young lord of Hawkspur. Cynwulf dared, then, to demand Hawk shield Alyce from the ugliness that would certainly accompany the Welsh rebellion when it reached Hawkspur's borders.

At that moment, Hawk wondered if he had misjudged Cynwulf. Perhaps the reason for Cynwulf's lack of cooperation was simply rooted in his desire to protect his sister from distress and not due to a guilty conscience as Hawk originally suspected.

Except Lady Alyce's disposition did not seem so frail as to need coddling or shielding from distress.

And Hawk's intuition was rarely wrong. Cynwulf wanted her protected from something other than the threat of the rebellion disturbing the peace of Hawkspur. It was obvious to Hawk that Cynwulf feared she could be in danger, but from exactly what, the man would not say, and Hawk did not know…but he would find out.

The lord of Hawkspur may have resigned himself to the inevitability of acquiescing to the presence of the king's knight embedded in his castle, but he would not bend completely. Hawk had to admit he would lose respect for any lord who readily allowed even a man of the king to displace his position of authority without some resistance.

If he were lord over Hawkspur, he would not give it up without a bloody fight.

Hawk dismissed the troublesome meeting with Cynwulf and turned his attention to Lady Alyce as he lowered himself into the chair beside her and stretched his legs out under the table. He found it amusing that she would not look at him now despite not taking her eyes off him as he walked to the dais. He'd purposefully slowed his gait to give her more time to look her fill, and to goad the little weasel scampering along behind him trying to get to Lady Alyce first.

"I believe you have an admirer in Sheriff Montworth."

Alyce flicked her hand in the air as though swatting away a pesky fly. "It is nothing," she said, still looking straight ahead.

"You may look at me, Lady Alyce," Hawk drawled, deciding she would avoid facing him for as long as possible unless he did something about it.

She turned to him, her nostrils flaring, and Hawk smiled at her in return, completely satisfied with her response. It did not take much to raise the lady's ire, and it seemed the best way to get her to engage with him was to ruffle her feathers.

"I do not need your permission, Sir Grogan," she said in a haughty tone, putting extra emphasis on his name to show her displeasure with him. "Mayhap I did not want to look at you."

"Ah, we are back to ‘Sir Grogan' which can only mean I have perturbed you again." Hawk cocked one eyebrow at her, thoroughly enjoying the way her cheeks flushed with color whenever she was flustered or angry. He guessed she was both by the way her eyes widened as she pursed her lips together. "You may not want to look at me now, but you were definitely looking your fill of me a moment ago."

Lady Alyce's mouth dropped open with a gasp, and Hawk's eyes went immediately to her lips, her white teeth, and the pink cavern of her mouth. He felt a surge of lust as he thought about what he would like her to do to him with that mouth, then immediately pushed those thoughts aside.

He had to be careful when it came to Lord Cynwulf's sister. She could be a valuable tool in determining what Cynwulf was up to, but she could also prove to be a distraction if he let himself get too drawn in by her unexpected appeal. She was not the type of woman Hawk typically dallied with, but something about her honest responses and lack of courtly flirtations was refreshing. She did not play coy with him, yet he knew by the way she watched him and her nervous fidgeting when he was near that she felt unsettled by him.

"It was a rather amusing display," she said, quickly recovering her composure, "with the sheriff bobbing up and down and side to side behind you like an agitated mole."

"I took my time so I could look my fill at you, as well, my lady. Your gown matches your eyes and suits you well," Hawk admitted, surprised at his own honesty. "Goading Montworth was an added boon."

Her cheeks flushed again and watched the enticing way her breasts swelled under her gown with her indrawn breath. She held his gaze, but her hands fidgeted with the edges of her sleeves. It was no great mystery to discern what Lady Alyce was feeling at any given time; the mystery was how she could so boldly hold his gaze while nervously plucking at her cuffs at the same time. She was a confusing and alluring mix of nervous and brazen, questioning and confident.

Platters of food were placed on the tables by bustling servants, along with jugs of wine and ale.

"I am forgetting my manners, Sir Grogan—"

"Hawk," he said in reminder. He speared a piece of mutton from a platter and offered it to Alyce, placing it on her trencher when she nodded approval.

"Hawk," Alyce agreed, as a polite smile curled her lips. "I suppose I should be thanking you instead of being irritated with you for your interference when the sheriff first arrived. Had you not intervened, I would still be trying to escape his clutches."

"He is not your lover, then?" Hawk asked, more gruffly than he meant.

"Lord, no!" Alyce's face dropped at her outburst, and she looked quickly in the direction of her brother and Montworth. Hawk was sure Montworth would be making every attempt to keep his eye on Lady Alyce despite Cynwulf trying to draw him into a conversation.

"And though I do appreciate your concern," she continued in a softer tone, "you should know I am quite capable of handling myself when it comes to unwanted advances."

"I have no doubt of your abilities, my lady. I apologize if I offended you."

Her fingers settled into her lap at his apology, and she appeared to relax again. It was not that he felt her lacking, but that he believed Montworth to be untrustworthy. He merely wished her to know he was near should she need him. "Just know I am at your service should you require it."

Alyce nodded politely in acknowledgment of his offer, but her shoulders tensed again, and Hawk had to suppress a smile pulling at his lips. The woman was definitely independent and did not like to admit she ever needed anything from anyone.

But she'd leaned into him when Montworth advanced toward her a second time during the encounter. He didn't think she even realized what she had done. But he noticed.

Hawk was a protector—that's how he earned his gold. It's all he knew how to do. The only thing he knew how to do well.

The only person he hadn't been able to protect was his mother.

Hawk lifted his cup to take a long drink of the fragrant wine. He set it down, then said quietly for Alyce's ears only, "Montworth believes to have an agreement with your brother."

"Cynwulf told you that?" Alyce's cheeks flushed and she quickly diverted her gaze to her food.

"I overheard him speaking to your brother." The king may have named him Hawk because of his speed on the battlefield, but Red made the moniker stick, declaring it more fitting than even the king realized. Hawk had an uncanny sense of hearing and often eavesdropped on conversations at other tables in the same hall that sounded like nothing more than garbled mumbles to others.

Red also claimed Hawk could best an owl in seeing a mouse on the forest floor in the dead of night. Hawk attributed it to the need to hone his skills for his own survival, skills honed since the death of his mother when he'd been at the age of seven. His father had not provided for his mother or him as his bastard son, but he at least had the decency after his mother had died to arrange for Hawk to be trained in the household of a fellow knight.

"Yes," Alyce conceded, "my brother entered into negotiations with Montworth without my consent, something he swore he would never do. Something he regrets now." She turned away from him and Hawk surmised she was embarrassed by her confession.

"He is not the man you would have chosen?"

Alyce shook her head, and Hawk felt a greater relief than he had a right to feel. Of course, Alyce would not hold any esteem for a man like Montworth, but it should not matter to him what she thought about the sheriff. Or any other man, for that matter.

"I choose no man," Alyce stated firmly. She chewed slowly on a slice of the mutton from her trencher, then said, "I am contented as my brother's chatelaine and do not have the need nor the desire for a husband. I will not marry the sheriff or anyone else despite my brother's insistence." She paused a moment, a blush rising in her cheeks, then said, "Now I must ask for your forgiveness. I sometimes speak more plainly than is considered polite, reveal more than I should."

"I like your honesty," Hawk said, pressing her for more truths. "Are you truly content with a life of serving your brother and never having a family and home of your own?" He watched Alyce's face tense as she started to fidget with the sleeves of her gown again. He followed the path of her stare to a serving woman with a small child toddling after her. When he looked back at Alyce, her expression had changed to one of pained resignation.

She shook her head quickly as though clearing it. "I have everything I need here. I have a home that keeps me content, duties to fill my days, and people I care for deeply. The village has become my family, and I want for nothing." She lifted her chin as she said the last, as though daring him to question her.

He thought Alyce a most unusual woman. She was forthright, even as she tried to disguise her pain. Hawk looked to the serving maid again and wondered what the woman had to do with Alyce.

He broke off a piece of bread from a loaf placed on the table and handed Alyce a part of it before dunking his portion into the juices on his platter and taking a big bite.

"Forgive me if I do not believe you are as contented as you say." He couldn't help himself. He did not intend to poke at a raw wound, but he wanted to know more about Alyce, and she seemed to want to talk despite her reluctance.

Alyce stilled her hands in her lap, folding her long fingers together, then lifted her eyes to look directly at Hawk. "It is quite bold of you to judge my life of servitude to my brother when you are no different. You serve your king and have no home or family of your own, yet you appear content. How is that any different from the life I lead?"

This was not the response he expected, and he quickly tamped down the hollow feeling that her words wrought. He had accepted a long time ago what his role in this world entailed, and he was realistic about the bounties he could expect from such a life. His sword arm and acumen had earned him the respect of a king and an abundance of gold to live comfortably, more than he ever expected as the bastard child of a middling baron, but his status as baseborn did not give him noble blood, a title, or enough gold by which to build a home and a family.

And even if he did take a wife and sire children, they would come to resent him for always being gone to do the king's bidding, to fight the king's battles, never certain he would return alive.

He would not ever be called lord, but the gold he had earned gave him solace, as did the women who warmed his bed from time to time. He thought for a brief moment about his latest mistress Nicola but found that he did not long for her when he was away from the king's court. He should feel guilty about his easy dismissal of her, save that he knew she did not pine for him while he was away either. Hawk was not her only paramour, and she did nothing to hide the fact, though she did give him precedence over the other men in her life when he was at court.

"You seem to be at a loss for words," Alyce said to him when he didn't respond to her question about how her life of willing servitude was any different than his.

"Perhaps you and I are not so different after all," Hawk conceded. "We have both made the most of what is offered to us."

"Although your life is far more exciting than mine," Alyce said with a wistful smile.

He was pleased to see Alyce's shoulders relax and her face soften again. "Tell me of the excitement you think you lack in your life, my lady."