KIND
EYES AND A LION’S HEART
CHAPTER
SIX
PART
TWO
When Viola entered
Melvin’s chamber, she found him sitting on the floor, cradling his cousin’s
head in his lap. Lord Barengar’s eyes
were closed, his face pale and bloody, and his chest rising and falling
slowly. She saw at once that his nose
had been broken.
It was
also obvious there’d been a struggle in that room. A wooden dummy lay on the ground with a
broken shield beside it. Melvin’s dented
helmet had rolled toward the bed, and there was a dagger near the wall. Melvin’s clothes were disheveled, as well as
his hair, but mercifully he didn’t appear to be injured, too.
“Alphonse,
go and fetch Royden, the physician,” she said to the squire. “Tell him Lord Barengar has fallen, hit his
head and broken his nose.”
Alphonse
nodded and quickly left the room.
“Barengar
didn’t fall,” Melvin mournfully admitted.
“I knocked him down with the dummy.
And I suppose I should have sent Alphonse for the doctor, but I don’t
imagine Barengar will want it to get about that I hurt him.”
“Whatever
happened between you, I’m sure you were perfectly justified,” Viola said
briskly as she went to the washstand, more relieved that Melvin was unhurt than
sorry for Barengar. She poured some
cold, clean water into the basin, soaked one of the linen squares, then knelt
beside Lord Barengar and began to wash the blood from his face. “What happened?”
“We quarreled and he drew his dagger
so I threw the dummy at him.”
Viola sat back on her heels and regarded
him with amazement. “You threw it at him?”
The
wooden figure alone weighed more than fifty pounds and with the chainmail,
likely two times that.
“Yes, well, I was angry. He said things I didn’t like.”
That didn’t seem like much of an
explanation for the rage he must have been feeling, especially considering what
she’d heard his cousin say to him at other times.
Before
she could ask any more questions, her uncle marched into the chamber. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.
Melvin laid his cousin’s head gently
on the floor and got to his feet. “My
lord, I apologize for disturbing the peace of your castle. My poor cousin, that is, Barengar here --”
Barengar groaned and opened his
eyes. He looked around, dazed, then
struggled to stand up.
“Barengar, what the devil happened
here?” her uncle asked.
Lord Barengar looked from Lord
Percival to Viola and lastly at Melvin, who couldn’t look more guilty if he’d
killed his cousin and buried the body in the yard.
“My
lord,” Barengar began. He paused, looked
at Melvin again and spoke more firmly.
“My lord, what happened here was my fault. To my shame, I confess I insulted your niece
and Sir Melvin rightfully defended her.”
As
Viola regarded Melvin with even more appreciation, Melvin stared at his cousin
with amazement as well as relief.
Lord Percival didn’t appear to be
convinced. “Is that so, Sir Melvin?”
Melvin nodded. “Yes, although I should have given Barengar a
chance to apologize. We’re nobles, after
all, and shouldn’t be brawling like drunks at a tavern, but I just saw
red. I’ve never understood that
expression before. I do now. Utterly lost my head, my lord, and next thing
I know, I’m heaving the dummy at him.
And then when he fell under it!
Nearly fainted myself when I saw what I’d done. Thank God he’s all right, except for the
nose. I hope the physician can --”
“I see,” Lord Percival interrupted
just as the physician came into the chamber.
The
doctor took one look at Lord Barengar and ordered him to sit down.
He did, on the bed, and before anyone
could say a word, the doctor put his hands on either side of Lord Barengar’s
nose and pushed. Lord Barengar yelped,
Viola winced, her uncle cursed and Melvin swooned.
This work is protected by copyright. See sidebar for notice.
Note: This novella is PG13. With the exception of GWYNETH AND THE THIEF
and THE WASTREL, my books are usually steamier.
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