Page 90 of A Knight’s Vengeance

CHAPTER 17

In the hazy glow of candlelight, tears shimmered on Elizabeth’s face. Geoffrey lay beside her on the coverlet and listened to her breathing slow to a normal pace. He wondered if they were tears of regret, guilt, or worry for what the future might bring.

He shifted the arm curled under his head, but left the other draped over her belly. He sensed her drawing away from him even as his fingers caressed her skin. He did not want the moment to end. Not now. Mayhap not ever.

Leaning over, he kissed the damp hair at her temple. “Are you all right?” he whispered.

“Aye.” She wiped away the tears with the back of her hand.

“I did not hurt you?”

With a faint smile, Elizabeth shook her head.

“’Twas not easy to be gentle with you,” he said, his tone gruff. He remembered all too well how her sleek body had molded to him. He had not expected such pleasure when it had been her first time. The damsel had surprised him yet again.

Her soft laughter startled him. “I did not expect you to be gentle. As you once told me, you are not a patient man.”

“True.”

He saw her hand stretch toward him, but he still flinched when her fingers trailed the length of his scar. ’Twas not a hasty examination, but one of careful study, as though she committed to memory each puckered ridge and lump. He tried to pull away, but she did not let him go.

“Tell me about this,” she said.

“Are you certain you wish to know?”

Her blue eyes were moist but steady as they met his. “Aye.”

“’Tis not a pretty tale.”

Her gaze shadowed. “This wound almost cost your life.”

Geoffrey closed his eyes and tried not to heed the tenderness in her tone and touch. No words could express the full extent of his injury—the endless months of agony while his flesh had fused, and the emotional torment that had accompanied his healing. He wondered at the risk he took in telling her. To dig into his past would make him vulnerable. If he gave her insight into the man he once was, he gave her a weapon to wield against him.

Part of him no longer cared.

“You got this on Crusade,” she pressed, and linked her fingers through his.

He nodded. “I still remember the day as though ’twere yesterday.”

When she stared up at him, her gaze expectant, he said, “It happened over a year ago, at Acre. The city was still ruled by the infidel. King Richard wanted to free it and the hundreds of Christians imprisoned when the Saracens took control.”

“I have heard of Acre,” she murmured, interest brightening her expression.

“King Richard and the French king had decided to launch a fierce attack. The city, though, was well fortified and situated by a sea harbor.”

“Did they plan a siege?”

“Aye. King Richard and the French king agreed to concentrate forces on the city’s gates, which were the weakest point in the defenses. My brother and I were assigned to the division that would swarm inside once the gates fell. King Richard knew of my skill with a sword and placed me at the front, where⁠—”

Elizabeth raised her free hand. “Wait. You have a brother?”

“Had.” He could not keep the pain from his voice. “His name was Thomas.”

Sympathy softened her eyes. “I am sorry.”

“As am I.” He stared down at his fingers, joined with hers. In the farthest reaches of his mind, he heard his comrades’ coarse laughter, smelled sun-baked sand, and tasted the breeze blowing in from the eastern sea. “The first of our fighters attacked,” he began. “The rest of us awaited the king’s orders. All of a sudden, we heard a terrible noise behind us, yells, screams, and beating drums. It sounded like the demons of hell had come for our souls.

“Hundreds of Turks flew upon us, shrieking like mad men. Soldiers fled in panic. Even knights, like I, who had sworn fealty to God and King within the hallowed walls of the church, deserted King Richard.” He shook his head. “I knew if I ran, I would be no better than the infidel who threatened to bring an end to Christendom. I would die rather than break that sacred oath.” A rough laugh warmed his lips. “I doubt I could have done aught else, for the Turks surrounded me.”