Promised to the Crusader Read Online Free PDF

Elaine said. ‘I have some skill with herbs and could make you a tisane to restore his strength.’
    ‘Give me the herbs and leave us,’ the servant said. ‘My master would not wish to trouble you.’
    ‘Nay, Janvier,’ the knight said weakly. ‘Do not treat a lady so scurvily.’ His eyes narrowed as he rose to his feet with Janvier’s help. ‘What do you here, mistress? Are you alone?’
    ‘My brother and his wife are nearby,’ Elaine replied, relieved as she saw Bertrand leading the horses towards them. He had made his detour and was on his way to meet them at the appointed place.
    The knight nodded, looking at her oddly. ‘These are dangerous times to travel, mistress.What is your name and where your destination?’
    Elaine hesitated. Should she tell him her story? He was ill and something in his eyes made her feel that she could trust him—but in her precarious situation she must be cautious.’
    ‘We travel to the lands of our lady,’ she replied. ‘My lady is in some danger and we are vowed to help her if we can.’
    ‘Will you tell me her name?’ the knight asked and now he was standing alone without the help of his servant. ‘It might be that we could travel together. It is safer to travel in numbers.’
    ‘My lady’s name…’ Elaine faltered. She wanted to tell him the truth, but Marion was shaking her head. It was perhaps too soon to trust the knight, for he might lead them straight to the earl’s men.
    ‘Her name is the Lady Philippa of Earlsmere,’ she said, the lie coming awkwardly to her tongue. ‘We travel south-west, sir…to the lands of the Marches, between Wales and England.’
    ‘Then bear us company for a little time until we must go our separate ways,’ the knight said. ‘I think perhaps you are in some trouble, mistress. Although my strength is not yet what itshould be, my servant and I would protect you if we could.’
    Elaine wavered. Ought she to take this knight at his word? Even as she hesitated, Marion gave her another warning look.
    ‘You are kind, sir, but we travel alone,’ she said. ‘I shall give your squire the herbs, which must be steeped in hot water for six hours, and half a cup of the mixture drunk twice a day. Their healing properties will help you to regain your strength, sir.’
    ‘I thank you,’ the knight said. He laid a hand on Janvier’s arm and the servant held back whatever he had meant to say.
    Elaine gave the servant the herbs, then allowed Bertrand to help her mount one horse while Marion rode pillion behind him.
    ‘You took a risk,’ Marion said as they rode away. ‘It might have been a trap.’
    ‘The knight has been very ill,’ Elaine said. ‘I believe we should have been safe with him, but it was best to be cautious.’
    She was conscious of an odd feeling of loss as they rode away. His eyes had said something to her, but she was not sure why they had made her heart race. Her instincts had told her she could trust him, but perhaps Marion wasright. He was a stranger and as such could not be trusted once he knew her true identity.
    ‘The earl’s men have been misled,’ Bertrand said. ‘Yet it will not be long before they discover their mistake and come after us once more. We must put as much distance between us as possible.’
    Zander sat silent, lost in his thoughts and unsure of his own feelings.
    ‘Something lays heavy on your mind,’ Janvier said. ‘You have seemed strange since the stranger came to your aid.’
    ‘It was she,’ Zander said. ‘She would not tell me her true name and yet, though she is older and a little changed, I know it was Elaine Howarth.’
    ‘The lady to whom you gave your promise?’
    ‘Yes. She did not know me, Janvier—or she did not wish to acknowledge it. Either way…’ He shook his head. ‘Yet she was dressed as a yeoman’s sister. Why was she in disguise—and where was she going?’
    ‘Perhaps she merely bears a likeness to your lady?’
    ‘I was not certain enough to reveal