Chapter Twelve

“I hear you play chess, Douglas.”

The question came from behind. Douglas was in the knights’ quarters, bent over a basin of water with soap all over his face. He splashed the warm water all over his head and neck and face, standing up with it dripping off him to see Eric in the doorway.

“I play chess?” he said, blowing water out of his mouth as he reached for a towel. “Lady Isabel plays chess like a master. I barely escaped with my life, if you must know.”

Eric chuckled, leaning against the doorjamb. He was already dressed and shaved, ready for tonight’s feast. Douglas was running late, quickly washing up before the evening began, because Lady Isabel insisted on clean men at her table.

“I know very well,” Eric said. “There have been several times when she has nearly taken everything from me in a heated game and stopped short of tossing my steaming carcass out into the bailey. Her competitive instinct is legendary.”

“I know that now,” Douglas said, drying off his face. “I shall not make the same mistake twice.”

“Pity,” Eric said. “She enjoyed the game. She only has me to play with, and I think she is bored with me.”

Douglas refrained from commenting on that. The first thing that came to mind was that is not what I’ve heard, but he didn’t say it. It was clear that there was something between Isabel and Eric simply based on body language, but as with everything else, if Eric wanted him to know, the man would tell him.

“Mayhap I would consider it if you act as my second,” Douglas said, tossing the towel aside and hunting for a clean tunic. “I will never again enter the solar alone. I feel too vulnerable if Lady Isabel is in there.”

Eric snorted. “Do not be troubled,” he said. “She likes you. Speaking of liking, what happened in the hall earlier?”

“With what?”

“With the scolding you gave Astoria.”

“Oh,” Douglas said as he picked up a dark blue tunic. “That.”

“Aye, that.”

Douglas shrugged. “There is nothing much to tell,” he said. “She has been harassing Mira because she feels that, somehow, Mira stole me away from her, and she broke a gift I’d given to the girl. I intervened.”

Eric nodded in understanding. “She is going around telling everyone you called her stupid and ugly.”

Douglas paused in pulling the tunic over his head. “You’ve heard this?”

“I have.”

Douglas rolled his eyes and finished pulling the garment over his head. “I did say that, but there was much more to it,” he said. “I told her that she was behaving stupidly and that made her ugly on the inside as well as the outside.”

Eric fought off a grin at Astoria’s dramatics. “I was sure there was more to it when I heard what happened,” he said. “If nothing else, you have been quite tactful since the day you arrived. You have never struck me as being the cruel sort, Douglas.”

“My mother did not raise me to be.”

Eric pushed himself off the doorjamb. “I did not think so,” he said. “But I thought you should be aware.”

Douglas straightened out his tunic, which clung to his magnificent torso. “Is anyone listening to her?”

“Not at all. They are telling her that she deserved it.”

“She did.”

Eric couldn’t help it. He burst into soft laughter. “Of that, I am certain.”

Douglas grinned as he picked up a comb and ran it through his hair. “Not to change the subject, but what do you know about de Honiton and his son?” he said. “I’ve heard the son fostered here for a few years.”

Eric nodded. “It was before my arrival,” he said. “Isabel tells me he was an undisciplined lad, spoiled, and his father refused to believe there was anything wrong with him.”

Douglas set the comb down. “One of those, eh?”

“One of those.”

Satisfied that his hair was properly combed, Douglas set the comb down and reached over to pick up his elaborate belt and scabbard, moving to strap them onto his waist. He wasn’t going to wear any protection this evening, but he also wasn’t going to enter a hall unarmed. That was something his father had taught him. Men drank and things happened, so it was always good to be armed.

“Mira told me that the lad behaved inappropriately toward her when they were both members of the de Kerrington household,” he said. “Evidently, he had feelings for her that were not returned, so he resorted to pinching her in delicate places.”

Eric was watching Douglas tie the leather straps of the scabbard onto his thigh to secure it. “I’d not heard that,” he said. “In fact, I know nothing about the father or the son. But I suspect you are telling me this for a reason.”

Finished with the ties, Douglas looked at him. “I am telling you this because Mira has agreed to permit me to court her,” he said. “I would hope the de Honiton son has grown up and developed manners, but if he has not, I will defend her. I am simply warning you should it come to that.”

Eric wasn’t surprised to hear that. “I had heard about your dramatic proposal in the ward yesterday,” he said. “So the rumors are true? You did declare your love?”

Douglas gave him a half-smile. “Not at that time,” he said. “I did it to discourage the girls who were following me around. It was only a ruse at the time, but the situation has changed since yesterday.”

“Now you are serious?”

“I am.”

Eric nodded his approval. “Mira is a good girl,” he said. “I have known her for years. She’s so lovely that she looks like an angel amongst the heathens.”

“I would agree with that. I noticed that about her, too.”

“I’m sure you did,” Eric said. He paused a moment before continuing. “I am not entirely sure I should mention this, as I do not wish to overstep, but I was here when she returned home and then came back again. She told you about her mother’s new husband?”

Douglas nodded. “She did,” he said. “She said the man’s daughter took exception to her, so the mother sent her back to Axminster.”

“That is true,” Eric said. “Lady Isabel was glad to have her back to help her with the young ladies, but I honestly cannot imagine anyone turning Mira away. She’s a sweet lass. All this is to say that I hope she is not a whim for you. If you are not entirely certain how you feel about her, then break it off now. She does not deserve to be toyed with.”

Douglas was studying him carefully. “You are protective of her.”

Eric shrugged. “She has no one else,” he said. “I suppose I’ve appointed myself her protector. A little, anyway. She does not know it and she would probably take a stick to me if she knew I felt that way, but I am asking you to be kind to her. She has a big heart and deserves to be happy.”

Douglas smiled faintly. “That is as generous an endorsement as I have ever heard, de Kerque,” he said. “I appreciate that you’ve assumed that role, though you were not asked. She did not tell me the two of you were close.”

Eric shook his head. “We are not,” he said. “But many years ago I had a little sister, and Mira reminds me of her greatly. Her name was Joanna and she was an angel. A sweet little thing.”

Douglas was listening closely. “Am I to understand she is no longer with us?”

“Nay,” Eric said softly. “Joanna drowned in the river near our home when she was about fifteen years of age. We’re not quite sure what happened, but it seems that she was on the riverbank and somehow slipped in. My mother never recovered from it. You see, my father died about the time Joanna was born, and I was the man of the family. I protected Joanna from the moment she was born. I have never forgiven myself that I was not there to protect her from the river, so when I met Mira, and she reminded me so much of my sister, I suppose I appointed myself her secret supporter.”

Douglas’ smile broadened and he went to Eric, putting a big hand on the man’s shoulder. “She could not have a better one,” he said. “Let me assure you that she is not a whim for me. She something a good deal more, actually. I promise that I will do you, and Joanna, proud.”

Eric smiled weakly. “That is all I ask,” he said. “But now that you’ve told me about Raymond de Honiton, I will be watching him as well. I hope that is agreeable with you.”

“Verily.”

“Good,” Eric said. Then he glanced over at the window to see that the sun was nearly all the way down. “We should go to the hall now. Lady Isabel will want us there to entertain her visitors.”

Douglas swept his arm in the direction of the door. “After you, my lord.”

It was a show of respect and Eric knew it. Feeling the least bit pleased, and also feeling some camaraderie with Douglas, he headed from the knights’ quarters with Douglas on his heels.