Free Honor & Roses by Elizabeth Cole Page A

man coming over the wall.”
    “Do you?” Alric pulled out his dagger. “Show me.”
    Edmund’s eyes widened. “But we practiced the move with only blunt sticks!”
    “Tell that to the Welsh and see if they care. Come. Prove how well you learn.”
    The younger boy took a deep breath, and then darted toward Alric with surprising speed. 
    He didn’t have much trouble deflecting Edmund, but he allowed the boy to disarm him, noting that his maneuvers were almost exactly what had been taught to everyone. The boy had a good memory.
    The dagger fell to the ground, and Edmund halted, looking up at Alric with eagerness and a bit of fear.
    “Well, pick it up,” Alric said. “Minding a knight’s weapons is one of the primary duties of a squire.”
    Edmund swooped to retrieve the dagger, handing it back to Alric. “Here, sir!”
    “If I take you on as squire, will anyone object? You’ve no other tasks?”
    The boy shook his head vigorously. “No one will mind! My grandmother says I’m just underfoot.”
    “What do your parents say?”
    “They’re gone, sir.”
    Alric suddenly saw the boy’s eagerness to learn a trade in a new light. “Ah,” he said. “When?”
    “Last winter. February. They were traveling and there was a storm,” Edmund said. “Someone found them in a ditch after the ice and snow melted. They tried to take shelter, but…”
    “I’m sorry to hear it.” Alric put one hand on the boy’s shoulder. “If you promise me you have no other obligations, I’ll teach you to squire—though I can’t guarantee you’ll be
my
squire. I may have to leave before you’re fully trained.”
    “Yes, sir. Just give me a chance.”
    “So I will. You can begin by joining me on my way to the stables. I want to check on Rolande.”
    “I saw him this morning! He was pawing at the ground. He wants exercise.”
    “I expect so.” Alric chuckled. “I will show you what needs to be done.”
    Edmund was a quick student, and Alric believed he’d eventually make a good squire. Late in the afternoon, he left the boy in the stables so he could attend to the last item he wanted to look over: the gatehouse and the gate itself.
    Everything else was for naught if the gate wasn’t solid. He examined the complex mechanisms, and tested the gate several times, until he was satisfied he could either open or close it within moments. Then he made his way to the back of the manor, checking over the perimeter on the way.
    He examined the lock on the much smaller wicket gate, which was a door a single person could pass through even if the main gate was closed. Then he heard a laugh behind him.
    “So serious, sir knight. Are you expecting an attack?”
    Alric turned back to see Cecily standing there. He had avoided talking with her for a few days, and he found that he still wasn’t over the kiss of the first night.
    “No, my lady,” he replied. “Merely testing everything to make sure all is in good condition. This is your manor after all, and your lands.” Though Theobald certainly seemed attached to being lord here.
    “What is your judgment?” she asked, no longer teasing.
    “Cleobury is better defended than nearly any place in England that I’ve seen, save for the new Norman castles.”
    “Well, Theobald is a careful man. He has ever been so, considering how he came to hold the title.”
    “Cecily, what happened at Aldgate—it won’t happen again,” Alric said, remembering the fateful night when Cecily’s old manor was attacked and caught fire.
    “I try not to think about it,” she muttered. “It’s like a dream now anyway. Or a nightmare. The details have all blurred.”
    Seeing her troubled face, Alric forgot his previous intention to keep his distance. He took her in his arms. Cecily leaned against him, gulping a few breaths.
    “I didn’t mean to summon bad memories,” he said in apology.
    “Oh, Alric.” Cecily clung tighter to him, and he enjoyed every moment. Guilt rose up. He shouldn’t benefit