Page 14 of To Honor

“So young for such a duty.”

“The youngest of all of the knight school’s instructors, aye. Her father was King Henry’s royal messenger, and none are so attuned to the intricacies of communication and diplomacy of court and beyond as she. You will be impressed, but maybe less enamored than most, given you’ve somehow captured the interest of Lady Evelina.”

“Captured the interest of Lady Evelina? Only our fair instructor is more elusive,” said a newcomer. Both Gareth and Alden turned to find a stranger had come up behind them. At least, the man was a stranger to Gareth. And judging from Alden’s expression, he did not know the knight either.

Black hair, neatly shaven and a good-looking man by any standards, less rugged than Alden and more polished, he was not a man Gareth had seen before. But he clearly knew both the strategy instructor and Lady Evelina.

“I do not believe we’ve met,” Alden said before Gareth could do so.

“Sir Roland de Vere,” the man said, sticking out his hand. Alden shook it. “You are the blacksmith, Sir Alden. And you, the revered tourney knight, Sir Gareth Claymore,” he added, shaking Gareth’s hand as well.

“You are new here,” Alden said, his tone hesitant.

“I am. Arrived just this morn.”

“But know much, it seems, about Blackwood.”

Not to mention Lady Evelina. If he’d just arrived, how did he know of the baron’s daughter already?

In response, he simply smiled.

De Vere. Where had he heard the name before? Then it occurred to him.

“Is your father the Lion of Ravensbrook?”

He did not seem pleased, though not offended either, by the question. “He is.”

“The Lion of Ravensbrook,” Alden murmured. “He led the charge under Henry at the Battle of Ravensbrook that secured victory with half as many men as the enemy.”

Alden simply stated what was common knowledge. It was a battle Gareth had heard of as a child. All young knights revered the Lion of Ravensbrook. But then he realized something.

“Your father supports the king?”

Sir Roland did react to that particular question. His ice-blue eyes turned stormy. “He does.”

Alden whistled. “A complicated entanglement, nearly as much so as if we were to arrive late for instructions. Lady Elara may not scare the pair of you, but I will not say the same for myself. She could scare the skin off a boar.”

With that, Alden marched ahead of them.

“The skin off a boar?” Roland asked. “I’ve not heard that particular expression before.”

“Nor have I. The smith has a particular knack for words.”

“That man himself could scare the skin off a boar. He could be Thorne’s son.”

Gareth laughed. He’d thought the same of the sword master, who smiled even less than Alden.

“So tell me, is it true you unseated the French king’s son this summer past to win le Tournoi des Chevaliers d’Étoile?”

It was not surprising de Vere spoke French. Knowing his father, he would have been educated by the best tutors, his family’s legacy well-known.

“It is. If the prize was not so high, I might have allowed the prince his victory.”

“Was it the high prize”—he lowered his voice as they followed Alden—“or the prince’s haughtiness that decided the matter?”

“Both,” he admitted. “So tell me, Sir Roland, how do you know of Lady Evelina if you’ve just arrived?”

Sir Roland smiled. “If there is something I love more than a swordfight, it is being in the arms of a beautiful woman. ’Tis only natural I would know of the two most beautiful ones in the region. But,” he added, “if you’ve captured her interest already, I would not interfere.” Roland slapped his hand on Gareth’s back. “For there is only one thing more important than both.”