Chapter Six

Chapter Six

L EANING OVER THE edge of the water, Alyx studied her own reflection. She did look like a boy, she thought with disgust. Why couldn't she have been born beautiful, with lovely features that could never be mistaken for a male's no matter what she wore? Her hair, all a mass of curls, its color not sure of which way to go, changing with each strand, eyes turned up, lips like a pixie's, were not what a woman's should be.

Just as tears were beginning to blur her vision, Jocelin's voice startled her. "Cleaning more armor?" he asked.

With a sniff, she turned back to her task. "Raine is too hard on it. Today I had to hammer out a dent."

"You seem to care much for his things. Are you perhaps beginning to believe that a nobleman could be worth something?"

"Raine would be worth much no matter what his birth," she said much too hastily, then looked away, embarrassed.

She'd been in Raine's camp for a week now, had spent nearly every second in his company and her opinions of him had completely reversed in that week. Once she'd believed he took over the camp, but now she knew it was that the outcasts forced him to take care of them. They were like children demanding that he provide for them, then acting rebellious when he did. He left his bed before anyone else and saw to the security of the people and always, late at night, he made sure the guard was alert and ready. He forced the people away from idleness and made them work for their own keep or else they'd sit and wait for him to provide for them, as if it were their due.

"Yes," she said quietly. "Raine is worth something, although he gets little reward for what he does. Why doesn't he leave this scurvy lot and leave England altogether? Surely a man with his wealth could make a decent home for himself."

"Perhaps you should ask him that. You are closest to him."

Close to him, she thought. That's where she wanted to be, even closer to him. Only now was she beginning to be able to function through her blinding fatigue, to live through the strenuous training sessions each morning, but as her muscles hardened and she began to feel better, she became more involved in the camp life.

Blanche occupied an exalted position in the camp, making everyone believe she shared Raine's bed and had his ear for anything they wanted. Alyx tried not to consider if Blanche ever had spent the night with Raine, but she liked to believe he had more taste than to use a slut like Blanche. And something else Alyx was able to find out about Blanche: she was terrified of Jocelin.

Jocelin, so incredibly handsome, so polite, so considerate, had every woman in camp panting after him. Alyx had seen women use every manner of enticement to lure him to their sides, but as far as she knew, Joss had never accepted an invitation. He preferred his duties and the company of Alyx to anyone else. And although he never mentioned her, he stayed well away from Blanche. When the woman happened to meet him she'd always turn tail and run.

Besides Joss, the only other decent outcast was Rosamund, with her beauty and the devil's mark on her cheek. Rosamund kept her head down, expecting people's hatred and fear. Once Raine had found a couple of men wagering on whether or not they'd be selling their souls if they took her by force. Twenty lashes each was his punishment for the men, followed by banishment, and Alyx felt a surge of jealousy that Raine so violently protected the flawed, beautiful healer.

"Alyx!" came a bellow through the trees that could only belong to Raine. At least now he called her by her name.

Using every ounce of power her voice contained, she yelled back at him, "I am working." The man was obsessed with work.

Coming through the trees, he grinned at her. "That voice of yours gives me hope that you'll grow, although it looks to me as if you're getting smaller." Critically, he eyed her legs stretched before her.

With a little smile, Alyx was glad to see that at least one part of her was unmistakably female. Her long legs and curvy little bottom had only been enhanced by the hard exercise of the last week. Perhaps now, at last, she would be revealed as a girl and then... what? She'd be tossed from Raine's tent and he'd once again only have that whore Blanche to care for him. Reluctantly, she slapped a steel leg sheath over her own legs.

"I'll grow," she snapped, "and when I do I'll pin you to the ground with your own sword." An upward glance at Raine saw that he seemed to be puzzled by something.

"You wanted Alyx for something?" Joss asked, his voice full of amusement as he interrupted the silence.

"Yes," Raine said quietly. "I need some letters written and some read to me. A messenger has come from my family. You can read, can't you?"

Curiosity made Alyx jump. She very much wanted to know about Raine's family. "Yes, of course," she said, gathering the armor and following Raine.

A man, dressed finely, his doublet embroidered with gold leopards, sat outside the tent, waiting patiently for Raine's command. With the wave of one hand, the young man was dismissed and Alyx wondered if all Raine's men obeyed so well and what a far cry from the outcasts they were.

There were two letters for Raine, one from his brother Gavin and one from his brother's wife, Judith.

The news from Gavin was bad. Bronwyn, Raine's other sister-in-law, had been taken prisoner by the same man who held Raine's sister, Mary. Bronwyn's husband was waiting, sitting and waiting, afraid to make a move for fear Roger Chatworth would kill his wife.

"Your brother Stephen," Alyx asked tentatively, "he loves his wife?"

Raine only nodded, his lips drawn into a tight line, his eyes focused on nothing.

"But it says here that she was in Scotland when she was taken. Why was she in Scotland? The Scots are coarse, vicious people and—"

"Hold your tongue!" he commanded. "Bronwyn is the laird of a clan in Scotland and there is no finer woman. Read me the other letter."

Chastised, Alyx opened the letter from Judith Montgomery, fully aware of the way Raine's eyes softened as she began to read. The letter was full of prayers for Raine's safety and entreaties for him to leave England until it was safe for him to return. She asked after his comfort, whether he had food and warm clothing, which made Raine chuckle and Alyx bristle at her wifely tones.

"Does her husband know she concerns herself so for her brother-in-law?" she asked primly.

"I'll not have you speak of my family so," he reprimanded and Alyx hung her head, embarrassed at her jealousy. It wasn't fair that she had to pose as a boy and never have a chance of gaining his attention. If she could wear a pretty dress perhaps he'd notice her, but then again she certainly was no beauty.

"Take your head from the clouds, boy, and listen to me."

His voice brought her to the present.

"Can you write what I say? I want to send letters back with my brother's man."

When she had pen, ink and paper, Raine began to dictate. The letter she was to write to his brother was one of anger and determination. He swore to stay as near as possible to his two sisters and he would wait as long as he could before bringing his fist to Chatworth's head. As for the King, he had no fear, since Henry's main source of income was from men he declared to be traitors. He told Gavin that Henry would pardon him as soon as he agreed to forfeit a goodly portion of his land.

Raine ignored Alyx's startled gasps at the insolent way in which he referred to their sovereign.

The letter to Judith was as warm and loving as hers had been, even once referring to his new squire, who thought he had no sense, not even enough to keep warm, and often covered him at night. With her head lowered, Alyx wrote, not allowing Raine to see her flushed cheeks. She'd had no idea he was aware of the many times she'd tiptoed about the tent, pulling the fur-lined coverlet about his bare shoulders.

The rest of the letter Alyx merely wrote, too embarrassed to even read what she wrote, and when she finished them she held them open, ready for Raine's signature. As he bent toward her, his face close to hers, she inhaled the smell of his hair, that thick, dark, curling mass and wanted to bury her face in it. Instead, she reached out and touched a lock of it, watched it curl about her fingertip.

Raine's head came up as if he'd been burned, his face inches from hers, his eyes wide as he looked at her. Alyx knew her breath had stopped and her heart had leaped to her throat. Now he'll know, she thought. Now he'll say that I am a girl, a woman.

Frowning, Raine stepped away from her, looking at her as if he couldn't quite decide what was happening. "Seal the letters," he said quietly, "and give them to the messenger." With that he left the tent.

Alyx gave a sigh that made one of the letters flutter to the floor and quick tears came to her eyes. Ugly, she thought. That's what I am—very, very ugly. No wonder no man ever even tried to contradict the priest and take me for his wife. Why fight for a prize not worth winning? Who wanted a flat-chested, boyish girl with a noisy voice for a wife? And no wonder Raine didn't see through her disguise.

With a sharp backhand swipe, she wiped her eyes and returned to the letters before her. No doubt his sisters-in-law and his sister were beautiful, beautiful women with chests...

With another sigh she finished the letters, sealed them and took them outside to the messenger, walking with him to his horse.

"Have you seen this Lady Judith or the Lady Bronwyn?" she asked the messenger.

"Aye, many times."

"And are they, perhaps, handsome women?"

"Handsome?" he laughed, mounting his horse. "God must have been happy the day he created those women. Lord Raine will not leave England nor would I if I had either of those women in my family. Go on, boy, try and find someone to console him," he said, motioning toward the tent. "The loss of such beauty even for a moment must make him a miserable man."

Console him! Alyx muttered as she went back to the tent, only to be greeted by some commotion, Raine standing at the heart of it.

"It is well for your life that you did not kill her," he was saying to two men, one a pickpocket, the other a beggar. Both had been on guard duty all morning. "Alyx," he said over their heads. "Saddle my horse. We ride."

Taking off at a run, Alyx had the big horse saddled and ready by the time Raine reemerged from the tent, a battle ax and a mace in his hand. He had mounted and pulled her up behind him before she could ask a question, and in seconds they were galloping through the forest at a breakneck speed.

After a good run, as fast as the trees permitted, Raine drew to a halt and jumped from his horse. Catching the reins, Alyx slid forward into the saddle and got her first glimpse of what was going on. A pretty woman with big brown eyes, wearing a beautiful dress such as Alyx had never seen before, was flattened against a tree, looking with terror at three men from the camp as they brandished knives and swords at her.

"Get out of here, you scum," Raine growled, tossing first one man, then the other aside.

The woman, shaking in fear, looked up at Raine in total disbelief. "Raine," she whispered before closing her eyes and starting to slide down the tree.

Raine caught her in his arms, lifted her, cradling her to him. "Anne," he whispered. "You are safe now. Alyx, fetch some wine. There's a pouch on my saddle."

Somewhat in awe of the scene before her, Alyx dismounted and took the hard leather container to him as he sat down on a fallen tree, holding this woman close to him.

"Anne, drink this," he said in a sweet, gentle voice, and the woman fluttered her lashes and began to drink. "Now, Anne," he said when she was fully awake. "Tell me what you were doing this deep in the forest."

The woman certainly didn't seem to be in any hurry to remove herself from Raine's lap, Alyx thought, as she looked with absolute wonder at the woman's dress. It was of deep, deep red silk, a fabric she'd only seen in church, and it was embroidered all over with tiny hares, rabbits, deer, fish, all sorts of animals. The square neckline was very low, exposing a great deal of the woman's ample breasts, and about the neckline and waist were trims of gold and red, sparkling jewels.

"Alyx!" Raine said impatiently, handing her the bag of wine. "Anne," he said with great tenderness, holding the full-grown woman as if she were a child.

"What are you doing here, Raine?" she asked in a soft voice.

Can't sing, Alyx immediately thought. No strength in her voice and just a hint of a whine.

"King Henry has declared me traitor," Raine said, one dimple flashing.

Anne smiled at him. "After your money, is he? But what have you done to give him reason to take your lands?"

"Roger Chatworth has taken my sister Mary and Stephen's new wife."

"Chatworth!" she exclaimed. "Didn't that woman Gavin was so in love with marry a Chatworth?"

"My discreet brother," Raine said in disgust. "The woman is a whore and one of the worst sort, but Gavin could never see it. If nothing else, my brother is loyal. Even after he married Judith he still loved Alice Chatworth for a while."

"But what has this to do with why you are here?"

Why doesn't she stand on her own feet, Alyx thought. Why does she so calmly sit on his lap and talk as elegantly as if she were in some nobleman's hall?

"It's a long story," Raine said. "Through an accident, Alice Chatworth was badly scarred, and what little there was of her mind went with her beauty. Her brother-in-law cared for her since she was a widow, and perhaps the woman poisoned his mind, because later Roger challenged my brother to a fight, the winner to get the wife King Henry promised Stephen."

"Yes," Anne said. "I remember now. There was a great deal of property involved."

"Stephen's Bronwyn is a wealthy woman, yes, but Stephen wanted the woman as much as the land," he smiled. "But Chatworth could not stand losing and he has taken prisoner my sisters."

"Raine, how dreadful. But how did King Henry—"

"I was taking some of the king's men to Wales when I heard of Mary's being taken and I turned and went after Chatworth."

"Leading the King's army?" she asked, and when he nodded, she grimaced. "So Henry has some reason to declare you a traitor. Is that why you are dressed like a farmer and roaming about these dreary woods?"

"Aye," he said, looking at her. "You look well, Anne. It's been a long time since—"

With that she jumped off his lap, standing before him, smoothing her dress, a gown Alyx longed to touch. "You'll not seduce me again, Raine Montgomery. My father has promised to find me a husband soon and I'd like to go to him as pure as possible so I'll stand for no more of your lovely words." Turning, she looked at Alyx for the first time. "And who is this lad who stares at us with his mouth agape?"

Immediately, Alyx closed her mouth and looked away from the both of them.

"This is my squire," Raine said, his voice full of laughter from Anne's words. "I may have to live in this forest, but I do have some amenities. He works hard and can read and write."

"I take it no one was able to drive that knowledge into your thick skull," she snapped. "Raine! Stop looking at me like that. You'll get nowhere with me. Now you, boy, do you have a name?"

"Alexander Blackett."

"Blackett?" she said. "Where have I heard that name before?"

From the issue for my arrest, Alyx thought in a panic. Why hadn't she changed her last name? Now this odious woman would reveal her disguise to Raine.

"It's a common enough name," Raine said in dismissal. "Alyx, go back to the camp and wait for me.

"No, boy!" Anne said. "Raine, I'm serious. I'll not be used by you again, and I will not stay alone with you. You must lead me back to the other hunters. When they see that I am lost they'll try to find me."

"I have guards," he said, catching her about the waist, pulling her between his thighs. "We'll have all the time we need alone. Alyx, leave us."

"I want that pretty little squire of yours to stay," Anne said, her hands on his shoulders, pushing him away. "You've been so long in this woods perhaps you've come to prefer pretty boys over—"

She never finished her sentence as Raine drew her close to him, pulling her mouth down to his.

Unabashedly, Alyx watched them. Never had she seen anyone kiss someone like this, with bodies together, heads moving. More than anything in the world, Alyx wished it were she Raine was holding in his arms.

So engrossed was she in the scene before her that when the first arrow came sailing through the air, landing inches from Raine's leg, she stood still, not sure what was happening. Raine reacted instantly, in one motion flinging both Alyx and Anne to the forest floor.

"They are after me," Raine said calmly. "Alyx, you are small enough to move along the tree." He pointed with his head. "Try to make it to my horse and fetch the weapons."

"What about you?" she gasped as another arrow landed just above their heads.

"I must take Anne to safety. Obey me!" he commanded.

Without another thought, Alyx began crawling forward on her stomach, inching her way into the dense covering of the forest. Every time an arrow struck behind her, her body tightened in fear. Afraid to turn around, scared she'd see Raine lying dead, she struggled ahead. When she reached the end of the fallen tree she lifted to a crouching position and began to run. When the arrows sounded in the distance, she was able to halt and get her bearings.

The horse, that great angry stallion of Raine's, was prancing wildly from where it was tied, a man near it, trying to catch the reins. If they caught the horse, there would be no way of fighting, for most of the weapons were tied to the saddle. Damn Raine, she thought. He was so hot for the silk-clad woman he forgot everything.

After a moment's silent prayer, Alyx opened her mouth and let go of a bit of music she knew the horse liked. Instantly, it calmed, ears perked, and at that moment the man grabbed the reins, untied them and had the horse under control.

"The horse is as stupid as its master," she said under her breath before beginning another series of notes, high, sharp and discordant, something the horse hated. She was rewarded with the animal's bucking, loosing itself from its captors. When it galloped toward her, Alyx held her breath, afraid of the great animal for a moment before she once again began to sing and the horse calmed, allowing her to catch it and mount.

"Now, please do what I say," she whispered when it turned its great head toward her, its nostrils flaring, eyes wide, trained to help one heavy man in war and not liking this featherweight person in the saddle. "Go!" she commanded in the voice she used to control twenty-five active choirboys.

The horse took off in the wrong direction and Alyx used all her strength to pull back on the reins and guide the animal back where she came from.

"No, Raine! No!"

Alyx heard the woman Anne screaming as soon as she had the great beast under control, and when she broke through the trees, there stood Raine, sword drawn and bloodied over a dead man, facing two other men also with swords, Anne clinging behind the broad expanse of Raine.

"They are my father's men," she screamed. "They've come to find me. I told you they would." With that Anne left Raine to go to the man on the ground. "He's not dead. We can take him back with us," she said, tossing an angry look at Raine. "Why do you never listen to anyone?" she snapped. "Why do you draw sword and talk later?"

Alyx, feeling a great surge of anger tear through her, jumped down from the horse. It was obvious from his tight-lipped face that Raine was not going to defend himself. "My lord was attacked first!" she said, spitting rage at them. "When an arrow flies at him is he to stand and ask who sends the arrow before drawing sword? You, my fine lady, were well content when he protected your precious, plump body with his own, but now that it costs you the care of a man you do not remember how you tried to entice my master into the bushes."

"Alyx," Raine said from behind her, his hand on her shoulder. "Remember, it is not chivalrous to—"

"Chivalrous!" she yelled, whirling to face him. "The bitch—"

Raine clamped his hand over her mouth, drew her to him, her back pinned against his chest while she struggled to free herself. "Anne," he said quietly, ignoring Alyx, "forgive me and the boy as well. He has had little training. Take your men and go back to the stream. I will send someone to guide you out of the forest."

"Raine," she said, rising from the inert man. "I didn't mean..."

"Go now, Anne, and if you see any of my family, tell them I am well."

At that she nodded, a man helped her mount a horse behind him, the wounded man was thrown across the saddle and they left.

When they were out of sight, Raine released Alyx.

"They tried to kill you!" she gasped, glaring at him. "And that woman railed at you for hurting her man."

Raine shrugged. "Who can understand women? She's always been concerned with money and estates."

"And I take it you know her well," Alyx said, rubbing her jaw, aware of the touch of Raine's hand on her mouth.

"Her father once proposed that I marry her."

That made Alyx halt. "And you decided not to, or did she turn you down?"

He grinned crookedly, making one dimple show. "She accepted me in every way I asked but I did not ask her to marry me. She wavers from one moment to the next. She cannot even decide which dress to wear each day. I'm sure she would not like being a faithful wife, and I dislike beating women."

"You dislike..." Alyx sputtered.

"Now," he said, moving forward from the tree he'd been leaning against, "if we are through with your education about women for today, I'd like to do something about this leg of mine."

At that she glanced downward and for the first time saw the dark stain of blood soaking Raine's hose.