LordoftheHunt by Anonymous Author Read Free Book Online

more so when he frowned as he did right
now.
    “Hugh is also a fine swordsman,” Adam ventured.
    Hugh rounded on him. “Nay. Flatter me not. ‘Tis your sword
famous in poem and song. I’m sure Lady Mathilda would wish to see you ply it.”
    “ Mon Dieu ,” Adam muttered.
    “I look forward to seeing you on the tournament field, then,
Sir Adam.” She turned to Hugh. “And you, as well. I have long wished for the
pleasure of seeing your sword.”
    Adam almost choked.
    “I do not intend to enter the fray, my lady,” Hugh said, his
face blandly indifferent. “I am here to watch Adam Quintin take all honors.”
    Brian de Harcourt approached. He whispered in Adam’s ear,
“Do you see why Joan is called plain?”
    Adam ignored him, grabbed Hugh’s arm, and marched him away.
    “Was that necessary?” he asked. “I’ll have your tongue
stewed by the cook for that.”
    “I don’t see what I’ve done to warrant such punishment,”
Hugh said with mock solemnity, his hand on his breast. “I merely wished the
lovely lady to know that you’re a master swordsman.”
    Lady Mathilda clapped and the hall fell silent. A boy held
her arm as she climbed onto a stool and then onto a chair that she might be
visible to all who gathered in the hall.
    “I wish to welcome my illustrious guests to Ravenswood
Manor. I have many festivities planned to entertain you who have come to our
Harvest Hunt and Tournament.”
    A cacophony of cheering and shouting burst from the
gathering. She held up one delicate hand and again the hall fell silent. “Each
night, as we gather here for supper, I will assess the day and award a kiss and
a token to the man who has afforded the most pleasure to one and all.”
    “What is this?” Adam asked Hugh.
    “A woman making fools of men. If you want her, this is what
you must bear.”
    Adam headed away from the dais and the small, perfect woman
who ruled there.
    “Do you think it was wise to abandon the field to Brian?”
    “Why not? I’m as sore as a virgin on her wedding night and
have no wish to sit down right now. I want to do nothing more than rest my
bones. And the bishop’s nowhere about.”
    Hugh stepped in front of him. “Adam, you are here for one
purpose and one only. As is every other man you see.” Hugh swept out his hand
to the crowded hall. “How can you win the woman if you allow such a man as
Brian to occupy her attentions?”
    Adam glanced over his shoulder to where Brian was seated at
Lady Mathilda’s feet. The lady was smiling and giggling in a manner that set
Adam’s teeth on edge. He realized he must pretend to care about her. No one
must know the true reason he was at Ravenswood. Yet he had other matters to
attend to this night.
    “I cannot turn about now,” he said to Hugh. “I’ll unseat
Brian when the time comes as surely as the boar unseated me today. And why are
you leaving?”
    Hugh shrugged. “I’m not after the lady. I thought I’d do my
hunting over at the kennels; perhaps see if the huntress is lonely.”
    Adam frowned. Hugh’s tawny hair was unruly and his face a
hard collection of lines, but he’d not failed with many women, save the one
who’d just broken his heart. Was it because, for once, Hugh’s name and wealth
had been of no use to him? The lady had been seduced by a man with greater
power—a brother to the king of Spain.
    A knot of minstrels began to strum their lutes and sing of a
knight’s bold and brave deed. The refrain emphasized the size of the knight’s
heart in comparison to the size of a boar’s great tusks.
    Adam’s frown transformed into a wide grin. “You need not
fear Mathilda will forget me. Listen and hear how my single sword blow killed a
boar this very day.”
    He bowed to Hugh and strode through the keep doors. The air
was almost warm for the time of year. The scent of burning torches filled the
night as did the rich scent of roasting meat. Dozens of fires were lighted
about the bailey where servants and men-at-arms