Page 36 of Betrothal

Oh, Lord, that bodes ill.

With a final fearful glance at the two men, she reluctantly allowed her partner to lead her to the floor. She could not stop herself from peering anxiously back at Geoffrey, still loath to leave him alone with Guy. She could only pray some friend would drag Geoffrey back to his table before he tried to kill the man.

“My lady.” Thomas spoke, and Alyse turned her attention to him as they took their place in line. “Will you still give me the honor of this dance? Or would you rather return to converse with your betrothed and Sir Guy?” Thomas managed an innocent look, although his eyes sparkled with merriment. “I believe that conversation will be highly entertaining.”

“In truth, Lord—” Thomas gave her a swift look of reproach. “Forgive me, Thomas.” She smiled at him, heat rising in her cheeks. “’Twill take me some time, I fear, before that name comes easily to my lips.” He grinned at her as they joined hands to begin the fast-paced farandole.

Perhaps the rapid dance, coupled with Thomas’s company, would keep her from worrying about the havoc brewing behind them.

Fortunately, the dance was a lively one. Alyse skipped and leaped with Thomas, pushing herself to keep the quick pace. She could not, however, completely forget her betrothed. When they reached the farthest end of the Great Hall, Alyse turned her head to where Geoffrey and Guy still stood talking. Oh, that she could be privy to that conversation!

She sighed, drawing a laugh from Thomas. The sound recalled her to her partner. This was the dance she had coveted since she arrived at court. She would not allow thoughts of Geoffrey to ruin it. Neither would she neglect her newest champion any further. Giving him her best smile, she redoubled her efforts to enjoy their time together. Eventually they slowed their steps in the second part of the dance, which allowed for more conversation.

“You seem distracted, Alyse,” Thomas remarked, when they finally had time to catch their breath.

“I must beg your pardon, Thomas. I have looked forward to this dance for several months, and now my fears about Geoffrey and Guy have not allowed me to enjoy it as I had hoped.” She smiled, though still panting with her exertions from the first figure.

He looked at her, head cocked. “My lady, you perplex me. I recall you asking for this dance scarcely an hour ago, yet you say you have anticipated it for months? Are the minutes of your life counted as days where I am concerned?”

She laughed, holding his hands and looking at him as the step demanded. “I speak only the simple truth, my lord. Ever since I came to court, I have waited for you to ask me to dance.”

His eyes widened, and he loosened his grip on her hands. She clutched them back as they prepared for the farandole’s third part. “You never did, so tonight I made bold to do so, thinking it might be my only chance. However, as fate would have it,” she smiled and nodded toward her betrothed, “I am distracted by whatever exchange Geoffrey and Guy are engaged in and cannot take the full pleasure.”

Thomas gazed at her, the lazy smile that had so often beguiled her on his lips. “My pardon, my lady—”

“Alyse,” she broke in, grinning mischievously at him as she turned the tables. “You promised to call me Alyse, Thomas.”

He laughed. “Aye, Alyse. My pardon, for the unforgivable sin of not asking you to dance these many weeks. I can give no reason, save idiotic folly, that kept me from your company thus. But I vow this will not be the last time we dance. May I not steal you again from Geoffrey after this?”

As the leading couple, they raised their clasped hands, forming an arch through which the remaining couples flowed.

Alyse sobered as she met his eyes overtop the bridge. “I fear not, Thomas, for the next dance is promised to Guy.”

Chapter 15

Thomas’s laughter rang through the Hall at her words, drawing even the attention of Geoffrey at the opposite end. “Oh, Alyse, you will lead him a merry chase tonight, will you not? Is this more revenge for his earlier sins?” His eyes gleamed with his approval. “I do hope so. If this was done without malice, I tremble and fain would see you angry at me!”

Alyse shook her head, glancing toward the place where Geoffrey and Guy stood, still in conversation. “No, Thomas.” Her original idea to annoy Geoffrey surfaced. “Well, aye, I did hope to vex him with this dance, because of our earlier quarrel.” She peered again at the two men near the dais and longed to know the bent of their conversation. “But after the ceremony, Guy insisted on a dance. I did not think it wise to say no. I have not seen him in many years and he seemed…disappointed.”

“Why would he be disappointed, Alyse? He won today’s joust and danced with the princess. What more could he possibly want?”

“To marry me.”

Thomas sucked in his breath audibly and stared at her as the last of the dancers went through their arch. They dropped their left hands, he clasped the hand of the last dancer and they were away again. He continued to stare at her, a speculative look on his face as he made his final bow. They halted at the far end of the Hall, and he took her hand to lead her back to Geoffrey.

“He offered for you?”

“Aye. Apparently, my father found Lord Longford’s proposal more advantageous.”

“You are disappointed?”

Alyse started, jerking her hand from his arm. “How could you ask such a question, Thomas?”

Her partner shrugged and returned her hand to his arm. “Guy is an acquaintance, a friend. Someone with whom you are familiar. Geoffrey is, or was, a complete stranger. A man you still know but little. You might prefer the devil you know to one you do not.”

Alyse opened her mouth to deny it then paused, considering her answer. Would she have indeed welcomed Guy’s suit, had he appeared at court with the betrothal contract in hand? In light of her newfound feeling for Geoffrey, a truthful answer seemed a betrayal.

“At the moment of the announcement, perhaps that might have been true.” The admission came grudgingly. She glanced at the man beside her, recalled it had been his name she had desired to hear that night, and fought to remain calm. That was not a confession she could make to him. “Not from any affection I held for him, but because I did not know Geoffrey at all. A friendly face might have been less disturbing.” Still, it would not have been the face she desired. “It is true I grew up knowing Guy, but I have not seen him in many years. We would have been as strangers too.”