“In the knight’s quarters? Are you mad?”
Brogan shook his head. “She is in the town to the south in St. Helen’s. She has my daughter with her. They are staying in a small inn.”
“God’s Bones,” William hissed. “Did you bring the whole family to put in peril?”
Brogan remained calm. “This is St. Alban’s scheme. I had to bring him. For all you know, he is my aged father.”
William lifted his eyebrows exaggeratedly. “He’s English. You’re German. Anyone will be able to pick up the difference in your speech right away.”
“He is my stepfather.”
William sighed heavily, eventually emitting a snort of ridiculous irony. The complexity, and therefore the unbelievability of the situation, was growing by leaps and bounds.
“As you say,” he muttered. “All that aside, don’t you think you should practice before taking the field against St. John this afternoon? Fighting on horseback is much different than fighting on foot.”
Brogan cocked an eyebrow. “What do you think I’ve been doing for the past two weeks?”
William crossed his arms over his chest. “You tell me. In fact, you need to tell me everything. The fact that you’re here not only puts Avalyn in danger, but me as well because I know who you are. By virtue of the fact that I have not told Aubrey, I have put myself in extreme peril. At the very least, Aubrey and de Neville would kick me out of their service were they to discover this. More than likely, I would be arrested and tried as an accessory.”
Brogan’s jaw flexed. “Accessory to what?”
“To thievery. You are planning on stealing the lady, are you not?”
“Aye.”
“No liege, nobleman or king would ever trust me again if truth became known that I assisted you in your quest for the lady. I would be finished as a knight and quite possibly forfeit my life.”
Brogan was quiet, contemplating. “Will you come with us, then? I am not sure Avalyn will want to leave you here to face justice.”
William wriggled his eyebrows. “Hopefully my part in this will not be discovered.”
“Then why are you helping us?”
Round blue eyes snapped to Brogan, fixing on him. Brogan watched the emotions rolling forth, the narrowing of the orbs. After a moment, William averted his gaze. “Because I am a fool for the lady, just as you are. She deserves some happiness in life. If I can help her achieve that, then I will do so gladly.”
Brogan could see something in the man’s expression. He’d suspected it from the first, but it strangely wasn’t something that overly concerned him. “You love her.”
It was a statement, not a question. William refused to look at him, instead lifting his shoulders weakly. “She loves you. WhatI feel is of no consequence.” He shifted on his legs and began to move towards the knight’s quarters once more. “Now, tell me; what have you been doing to prepare yourself for this charade as a knight?”
Brogan would not push the man on his feelings. They were of no matter as it was. Inglesbatch had already proven himself a selfless individual and Brogan would not insult the man with inconsequential concerns. Besides, if he thought about it, he’d known the truth from the onset and the knowledge did not bother him. He knew that Avalyn did not return any presumed feelings.
He followed William towards the barracks. “St. Alban has been working with me day and night with sword and joust,” he said, changing the subject. “I’ve hardly slept at all. My entire focus was to be ready for this moment.”
“But two weeks?” William repeated, glad that they were no longer touching on the fragile subject of his feelings for Avalyn. It wasn’t that he did not want Brogan to know; he simply didn’t want to talk about it. “And you believe yourself ready to confront a man of St. John’s experience?”
“We will soon find out.”
William paused again, looking at him with a great deal of skepticism. “Do you really think two weeks of practice will prepare you for this? Your patins said you had been a knight for almost twenty years. If you don’t perform like a man with years of experience, then this pretense is over. Aubrey has been pushing Avalyn to set a wedding date, and if you do not execute to acceptable standards, then Aubrey will not accept you and any hope for this scheme will be finished. Avalyn will not be able to delay their wedding any longer; she’s been fortunate to hold out this long. Do you comprehend?”
“I do,” Brogan replied steadily. “I will be ready.”
“You’d better be.”
They resumed their walk, eventually reaching the knight’s quarters. It was a long building, built from the same dark gray granite stones that the rest of Guerdley Cross was constructed from. Nestled against the outer wall, it was also close to any action the fortress might see. In the dust and chaos of the bailey, the two men paused and looked at one another. There was heavy emotion in the moment.
“You had better go in and prepare yourself for your bout against St. John,” William said, wondering why he suddenly felt so disillusioned by this entire scheme. He was positive that Brogan was going to fail against St. John’s years of experience. “I shall come for you later.”
Brogan shifted on his enormous legs, the mail left to him from his father constricting in tender places. “I want to see her,” he said in a low voice.
