Chapter Twenty-Four

R eynard stood in the middle of the tourney field with the few knights who were left to compete. The day remained cloudy, but the sun peeked out from the clouds on occasion. The empress had declared that her games would resume this morn and she was determined to see them through. The recent rains, however, caused the ground to remain wet from the rain whilst puddles of water had formed in several areas of the field. 'Twould make the mud beneath them treacherous, and Reynard could only hope he could keep his feet during today's matches. Now they only waited on the guest of honor. Elysande was late, and the empress voiced her displeasure.

"Where is she?" she demanded before turning toward a servant. "Find out what is keeping Lady Elysande so the games can begin.

The servant rushed off to do the empress's bidding whilst everyone else waited. The crowd that had been in attendance at the beginning of the games had now dwindled given the days the weather kept them away. Villagers had fields to till, lords had business matters of their estates to tend. Only those who were most determined to vie for the empress's favor remained… those who were willing to accept any meager offering from their monarch in return for their fealty.

Only half a dozen men were still eager to make Elysande their bride at any cost. Two were lesser lords in need of a wealthy heiress. Whilst Elysande had no ready funds, the dowry the empress had agreed upon was more than promising. One was a merchant hoping for a title and lands to call his own. Reynard glanced over to Warin and Morcant, the latter of whom had a smug look upon his face that only puzzled Reynard the more he stared at him. There was something going on with the man, but Reynard would take the matter out upon the field of honor.

Several more minutes passed when the servant returned with Elysande's sobbing maid. The empress bid the men who awaited the games forward.

"It appears that Lady Elysande has either fled Oxford or something afoul is afoot. I present a new challenge to those of you who are left to fight," the empress said with a scowl. "The one who finds her shall win the privilege of her hand."

"Bloody hell," Reynard cursed, watching the men take off at a run. But leaving without learning any further information was futile and he decided to see what else Olive might be privy to. Lord Constantine came abreast of him, clearly of the same mind, whilst Hawke ran in their direction.

"She would not just take off and flee to possibly incur the empress's wrath," Hawke declared, looking over to Reynard.

"Are you certain? Perchance she did not like the direction the games were heading," Warin said whilst his gaze went to the crowd.

"I agree with Hawke, especially when she knows what is at stake," Reynard replied as they picked up their pace.

"She favors you still," Warin replied although he did not appear as though this bothered him overly much.

"Then why were you still willing to compete in the games?" Reynard inquired with a raised brow.

A snort escaped the knight. "Mayhap call it morbid curiosity to see if I could get her to find some small measure of a common accord between us."

"And have you thus far?" Reynard could not help but ask.

A sound escaped him. "Not particularly," he muttered beneath his breath. "The matter has become a matter of manly pride, I suppose. To see if I would be the last man standing. You understand, of course."

"Aye… of course," Reynard said, hating that he was agreeing with a rival for Elysande's hand.

"Her maid may know more than she thinks. 'Twould bode well to see if we can learn anything from her," Warin continued.

"Another thing we can agree upon. If this keeps up, we may end up as friends," Reynard said with a laugh although the situation was nothing to be merry about.

A grunt escaped Constantine. "I would not go that far, Norwood, but we shall see."

But Olive did not have any words of wisdom to impart to the pair. Nay. The only information she could tell them was she had attended Elysande this morn nigh unto two hours ago as she prepared to go down to the hall to break her fast before the games began. If someone had abducted the lady, then they most likely had a two-hour head start to wherever they would take her.

Hawke cursed. "Who would be so bold as to take the lady?"

Reynard rocked back on his heels. "I may have a notion."

"Well? Out with it, man. Who do you think abducted Lady Elysande?" Constantine bellowed.

"Morcant," Reynard said, planting his feet wide.

"He is not that big of a fool," Constantine said, shaking his head.

"You think not? Perchance you did not observe him whilst we were waiting for the tourney to begin. He had a smugness upon his visage that spoke to the idea that he knew something was up. He may not have taken her himself, but my guess is he had something to do with Elysande's disappearance."

"Hiring someone to do the deed is more his style than dirtying his own hands with the deed. I daresay he would have her removed to his territory—his lands are to the east near Stevenage," Constantine stated as he pulled his tabard over his chest.

"'Tis north of London?" Hawke asked, following Reynard who headed in the direction of his tent.

"Aye," Constantine answered before continuing. "I suggest we saddle our horses and ride together in that direction to rescue the lady."

Reynard halted his progress. "You must know I will not allow anyone other than myself to wed Elysande."

An unexpected chuckle left Constantine. "Then we best ensure we find her first so you can marry the lady."

"You are willing to give me aid?" Reynard asked, surprised the man before him would give in that easily.

"If I cannot convince her that we would suit, then I will concede the matter. However, do not blame me if I give it my best effort once we find her."

Somehow finding an ally with Lord Constantine was almost a miracle but he would take whatever help he could find. Although another argument ensued, Reynard convinced Hawke to stay behind in the event Elysande was returned. When Reynard caught up with Oswin, Blake, and Kingsley, they, too, agreed to accompany him. Richard, however, had his hands full in his attempts to tame his sister. For now, time was of the essence, and Reynard could only hope that Elysande had not come to any harm.