Page 47 of Lionheart

"Ishe harsh with you? Does he beat you? Mayhap I should have a talk withhim."

"Nay,Father, Lionheart has not hurt me." Her shoulders stiffened. "I wouldnot allow it. But I have been thinking," she mused. "With Lionheartaway, mayhap I should find Sir Ren and warn him to beware, that Lionheart is onthe prowl."

"'Tis too dangerous," Father Caddoc cautioned. "What if you shouldencounter Lionheart?"

"I shan't. I will be disguised as a knight and I will have mysword to defend myself. Aye, my mind is made up. I shall leave tomorrow morningafter Mass."

ChapterNine

Lionheartcalled a halt at the crest of a rocky hill, his gaze traversing the barren landas their horses drank from a bubbling spring. He had seen naught to indicatethe presence of the Black Wolf or his army, and that puzzled him.

Lionhearthad begun to believe that Llewellyn had fled and was no longer a threat.Lionheart was not yet ready to return to the keep, however. Two days was notnearly long enough to be away from Vanora. His obsession for her still raged.He was beginning to fear that distance was not the answer. Naught would assuagehis lust for the passionate vixen he had wed save having her in his bed andmaking love to her until he was too exhausted to move, much less think.

'TwasGiles who spied the knight riding the path below them and pointed him out.Excitement thrummed through Lionheart when he saw the knight's gold-trimmedwhite tabard. The mysterious White Knight! His fists clenched and heshook with the need to have the knave at the end of his sword.

Were itnot for the White Knight, Llewellyn would not have gotten away and he would notbe saddled with a wife. He would not have met Vanora, much less wed her.

"Shallwe give chase?" Giles asked, jolting Lionheart from his reverie.

"Stayhere with the men," Lionheart ordered. "The knave is mine. He hasgiven me much grief, and I intend to put an end to it."

His face set in hard lines, Lionheart mounted his steed and rodeoff. He trailed the knight for a time, keeping well behind so as not to beseen. Lionheart thought the knight too sure of himself, too cocky. The manseemed oblivious to danger, as if it did not exist for him. Did he go to Llewellyn?Lionheart decided to follow and find out.

* * *

Vanorarode blissfully toward Draymere at a comfortable trot, hoping to find Cragdon'sknights safely ensconced in Daffid's keep. She needed to warn them to stay putlest Lionheart's patrol find them.

The daywas fine, albeit a little on the cool side. Winter would arrive before she knewit, and she recounted all the chores that must be done before cold weatherarrived. Her distraction was such that she did not realize she was beingfollowed until she felt the skin crawl on the back of her neck and sensed amenacing presence.

Whirlingin the saddle, she saw naught but the forest and its shifting shadows. Justwhen she was beginning to think that her imagination was playing tricks on her,she saw him.

Lionheart!

Why hadshe not seen him before? How long had he been following her? Setting her spursto her palfrey, she raced through the forest and burst into a wide valley thatlay between towering mountains. Aware that she could not lead Lionheart toDraymere, she abruptly changed direction, heading for the foothills. She had abetter chance of losing Lionheart on rough terrain than on open ground.

Darting aglance over her shoulder, Vanora was dismayed to see Lionheart quickly closingthe distance between them. The mountains offered the only means of escape, butshe feared she could not reach them in time. Her next option, the one she hadhoped to avoid, was to stand and fight.

Wheelingabout, sword in one hand and shield in the other, she waited for Lionheart. Hereached her in a cloud of dust and skidded to a halt, his horse prancing in acircle around her. Though his visor was lowered, she would know him anywhere.His powerful warrior's body was as familiar to her as her own. Neither chainmail nor chausses could disguise the strength of his limbs or the width of hisshoulders.

"Sowe meet again," Lionheart growled. He drew his sword and positioned hisshield. "Prepare to meet your maker, knave."

Guidingher horse with her knees, Vanora shot forward to meet her foe. She needed theadvantage of surprise if she was to survive. She knew Lionheart was strongerthan she was and far better at warfare, but she hoped to acquit herself well.If she could unhorse him, she might be able to elude him.

They metin a harsh clash of metal against metal. Vanora ducked beneath the slashingthrust of his sword, using her shield to deflect the brunt of his punishingblow. She brought her own sword down, only to meet his shield. Her horsereared, its front hooves slashing at Lionheart's steed. The steed retaliated,crashing against her smaller palfrey, nearly unseating her.

"Surrender,sir knight, and mayhap I will spare your life," Lionheart roared over herpalfrey's scream.

Panic rodeVanora. She feared Lionheart's wrath if he learned her identity. She shook herhead and launched another attack. Lionheart met her, remorseless in his fury.She deflected his blow but took the next. The flat of his sword sent hersprawling to the ground. Leaping from his saddle, he stood over her. Thediabolical gleam in his eyes, clearly visible through his visor, pinned her tothe dirt.

"Removeyour helm," Lionheart ordered. "I want to look upon your face beforeI skewer you."

Her handswere shaking as she raised them to her head. Just as she started to lift hervisor, an arrow sang through the air, piercing through a weak link inLionheart's mail. Clutching the arrow, he staggered and began a slow spiral tothe ground.

Crying outin dismay, Vanora searched the hillsides for the archer but saw no one. Risingunsteadily, she knelt beside Lionheart despite the danger of becoming the nexttarget.

The slowrise and fall of Lionheart's chest assured her that he still lived, but theblood pouring from his wound frightened her. She knew what had to be done.Grasping the shaft of the arrow and exerting all her strength, she pulled thebarb from his flesh and tossed it aside. She heard Lionheart groan, but noother sound escaped his lips, though she knew the pain must be unbearable. Sheripped off a section of his tabard with her knife and searched beneath his mailand hauberk for the wound. When she found it, she made a pad of the cloth andpressed it hard against the lacerated flesh.

He staredup at her through pain-glazed eyes. "You had best kill me while you can,for you will not get another chance."