She grinned sadly. “Edward would never agree.”
“I will convince him!” Julian said with exuberance, then sighed heavily. “I will find a way.”
Raucous shouts and laughter came from amidst the colorful pavilions in the center of the camp, drawing their attention.
Julian glanced back at Elora. He reached out to touch the side of her head, near her injury. “How is your head?”
“Well. Sarah took excellent care of it. It doesn’t even hurt.” Elora tilted her head, regarding him. “You missed the last two rings.”
Julian grinned. “When I saw you, I thought something was wrong. Nothing else mattered.”
She walked ahead of him through the grass field toward the river; her hands rubbed her arms.
Julian followed her. Anguish gripped him. He would do anything to ease her concerns. He wished he could make her believe that he would win the championship joust. That he would fight for her.
She paused at the bank of the river, staring out over the moving water. “Tell me of your jousting.”
Surprise washed over him. “Jousting? I would have thought you would ask about my childhood or how I met Gilbert. Why jousting?”
She shrugged. “Weareat a tournament.”
“I am undefeated, as you know.”
“Have you always been good at jousting?”
He picked up a pebble from the shore and tossed it into the water, remembering the teasing he’d endured. “No. I was small in stature as a boy. I remember there was a time I could barely lift a two-handed sword.”
“How did you become a knight? Why would your father pick that profession for you if you had trouble lifting a sword?”
The memories turned dark. His father’s scowling visage rose like a storm cloud in his mind. Turbulent darkness awoke in Julian’s soul. “He didn’t. He mocked me every time I trained. I felt like a failure.” He shook his head as if trying to remove the images from it. “He even took Osmont under his wing and trained him instead of me. It was Baldwin who agreed to train me. I left home with him, and I’ve never been back.”
She stepped close to him and put an arm about his waist. “That must have been very difficult for you.”
Julian shrugged as if removing an old cloak. He watched the distant horizon. “I will never be a failure again.”
She wrapped both arms about him, squeezing him.
He looked down at her, lifting an arm to drape it over her shoulders.
“What did Baldwin teach you?” she wondered.
“Everything my father could not. Which was everything.” He nuzzled her head, the scent of roses filling his nostrils. “I owe him everything.”
“He sounds like a wonderful mentor.”
“He’s more than a mentor. He’s the only family I have known for years.” Silence settled over them as Julian recalled the months and years of training. When he’d met Baldwin, he had already known how to ride a horse, but Baldwin had taught him more. Baldwin had taught him how to use his legs to control Storm. And jousting… “He taught me everything. He taught me to look for flaws in the styles of others.”
“What type of flaws?”
Julian recalled the men he had faced. Osmont was the easiest. His pride and temper made him overconfident and lazy. “All types. Some knights are not good riders, which is easy to spot. Others, like Mace, favor one side over the other and protect it more. One correctly aimed hit, and they can be unhorsed.”
“What of Osmont?”
Julian’s lip curled in contempt, and his eyes narrowed. “Osmont has many faults. Least of all is his arrogance.”
“Can you defeat him?”
“I can and will.”
