Page 76 of The Champion

“What do you mean I can’t see him again, Majesty?” Rowena asked. Her entire body shook with the weight of her anger at King Henry’s denial of her request to stay with Stryder.

Against her normal custom, she had taken a full hour to dress appropriately before she sought an audience with the king. Henry never looked favorably on people who didn’t show him respect, and so, she had taken great care with her appearance. It was time she spent that she despised.

Not to mention she had wasted another three hours waiting outside his quarters in a small room packed with other nobles wanting to speak with him.

In all that time, Stryder had been waiting, alone, in his cell. It was enough to make her want to trounce the king fully for his cruelty.

“We have told you, Lady Rowena, ‘tis unseemly for you to visit with a man while he is locked inside a prison cell under suspicion of murder.”

“But he is innocent!” She tried to mitigate some of the fury out of her tone.

“We do not know this. There are two witnesses now that have seen him leaving the scene of both murders, not to mention the evidence of his tunic in the hand of the dead man.”

Rowena looked at Eleanor, but the queen refused to meet her gaze.

How could they do this to Stryder? Did they not understand the extent of their cruelty? “But Majesty, Lord Stryder will die in that cell alone. You can’t imprison him.”

“He will not die, Rowena,” Henry said as if she were an idiotic child who knew nothing of the world. “You may have faith in that. Now if you’ll excuse Us, We have other, more pressing business.”

Rowena wanted to argue, but didn’t dare. No one argued with the king. At least not for long.

Sighing, she gathered her skirts, curtsied before him, then headed out of the king’s receiving chambers with no real destination in mind.

What was she going to do now?

She had given her word and it pained her greatly that she couldn’t keep it. More than that, it pained her that there was no one there with Stryder. No one to give him comfort and keep him distracted.

Damn the king and his blindness!

As she walked through the halls of the castle, everyone was gossiping about Stryder’s arrest. His guilt.

“He is his father’s son...”

The words were repeated over and over again by more people than she could count. Only she knew the truth. He wasn’t his father’s son. But that knowledge would only damage him more.

Seeking peace from their inane speculations and meanness, she headed toward the one place she knew she wouldn’t hear such words.

Stryder’s tent.

At least there she would either be alone or with others who knew the truth of the matter. There, no one would be accusing the earl of murder. Instead, they would be trying to acquit him.###

Rowena noted a few of the knight’s whose heads turned as she made her way through their tented area. Several of them glared openly at her, especially when they realized where she was headed.

No doubt, they thought she had put Stryder up to the murders. She’d been accused of worse things. Not that she truly cared what they thought of her. Only Stryder’s freedom mattered to her.

Reaching his tent, she stepped quietly inside. Kit was already there, sitting alone at Stryder’s desk, his hands clenched tight in his lap. He looked so incredibly tired and sad. A tuft of his black hair stood out in front as if he had been tugging at it in frustration. His clothes were a bit rumpled, which for him, was rare. He normally took great care to keep his tunic and surcoat scrupulously orderly.

“Kit?”

He jumped at her low tone and turned around to face her. “Rowena,” he breathed. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Are you all right?”

He nodded, then shook his head. “I worry over my brother.”

“As do I.” She crossed the floor to stand near him. Placing her hand on his shoulder, she sought to give Kit some comfort. “I have to admit I’m rather surprised to find you here.”

“‘Tis the only place I could find peace. I swear, if I hear one more person malign my brother...”