She opened her mouth to reply, but Sarah stepped up to her side and introduced, “Ellie.”
Ellie stared at Sarah for a moment before turning to him with a nod. She presented her hand to him, knuckles up.
Strange. A villager wouldn’t expect to have her knuckles kissed. Or a merchant. But he would not miss the chance. He grasped her hand, soft and delicate. No callouses nor hardened skin from work. He pressed his lips to her knuckles. She smelled of roses. “I’m very pleased to see that you were not harmed in the street fight.”
“That’s why I came. To thank you for helping us in the town,” Ellie explained.
He bowed his head, accepting her thanks. “How could I not? I am a knight. An undefeated champion, in fact.”
Her brows rose. “Really?” She glanced at Sarah. “Our apologies, but we have never heard of you.”
“Sir Julian is undefeated in the one tournament he has entered,” Gilbert answered proudly as he came up beside them.
When Elora shifted her gaze back to him, Julian’s insides melted, liquified. Good heavens, he was a seasoned man. This was not the first woman he had ever seen. He had been with his share of women. Why did she affect him like this?
“Yes,” was all he could say.
“Onetournament?” Sarah asked, unimpressed.
“He knocked Sir Osmont to the ground in the first pass,” Gilbert boasted, lifting his chin.
“Osmont?” Ellie echoed, her voice rising in surprise.
Gilbert nodded. “The winning purse was enough to enter this tournament.”
Ellie’s gaze moved over Julian’s face. “Sir Osmont is an esteemed jouster. To defeat him is quite notable.”
Julian wanted to be close to her, to bask in her radiance. He could only nod.
Gilbert elbowed him in the ribcage, hard.
Julian grunted and rubbed his side. He tried to shake himself out of the cloud he’d found himself in. “Yes.” It was difficult. He knew he was losing her interest. He needed to say something—something charming.
“Julian has challenged as many opponents in this tournament as time would allow,” Gilbert added. “He jousts Osmont on the morrow.”
Ahh! Finally. He knew what to say. This tournament was all he thought of, all he dreamed of. Well, until he’d met her. “I will win this tournament.”
She tilted her head and smiled. “That is a worthy goal. The knights here have all competed in numerous tourneys.”
Julian nodded. “All of which I have attended. I’ve watched them. I know their faults and their weaknesses. I am confident I can emerge champion here.”
Ellie shared a glance with Sarah, and something passed between them. Before Julian could comment on it, Ellie remarked, “Surely, not all the knights have faults.”
“Everyone has flaws. Even me.”
She narrowed her blue eyes contemplatively. “These knights have already won tournaments. How could they have faults if they’ve won?”
“Their opponents didn’t know what their faults were or how to use them to their advantage.”
“What is your weakness?” Ellie asked.
Julian’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He glimpsed Baldwin shaking his head. When he glanced back at Ellie, her face upturned awaiting his answer, he knew he would give her anything. The intensity of her stare swept through him, warming him. His shoulders sagged slightly as if he was under a spell.
My weakness is you. But he could never say that.
The silence grew. Her grin faded, and a different radiance reddened her cheeks.
A cheer rose from the field of honor in the distance.
