Free Betrothal (Time Enough To Love) by Jenna Jaxon

status of dedicated bachelor, despite the need for an heir to his title.
    A shadow crossed his friend’s face and he turned away, dropping his hand from Geoffrey’s shoulder. “Oh, I have had my reckoning, if you will remember.”
    Geoffrey stared at his friend, stricken as the memory came back. “I beg your pardon. I had forgotten…”
    Thomas shook his head. “’Tis no matter. ’Twas long ago, but aye, a reckoning it was. So,” he reassumed his carefree manner and deftly changed the subject, “what knight will you portray at our Round Table? I have managed to secure Sir Tristan to Lady Carlyle’s Isolde.”
    Geoffrey arched an eyebrow. “Does that not, mayhap, strike a bit too close to the bone for comfort, Thomas?” Lady Carlyle was Thomas’s current amour although her husband seemed none the wiser at present.
    “’Tis unfortunate indeed that just yesterday Lord Carlyle was recalled to the Scottish border.” Thomas smiled wickedly at the thought. “Some minor uprising within his holding, I hear. ’Tis his place I take, although he was originally to be Sir Yvain and she to be the Lady of the Fountain. As I had already spoken for Sir Tristan, the lady made no protest at the change.” Thomas grinned, seeming self-satisfied at the turn of events. He looked inquiringly at Geoffrey. “And you and the delectable Alyse? Will you be Percival to her Elaine? Or mayhap Gawain and Orgeluse? I do hope you are Gawain, for Sir Tristan is one of the six knights superior to him.”
    A challenge suited him down to the ground. “Will we joust, you and I, Thomas, to settle that question once and for all? Or a Combat of the Field with broadswords? I will meet you however you like.”
    “A joust, I think. You have too much advantage with a sword, my friend.”
    “’Tis done. ’Twill be a good contest, I believe.” Anticipation of such a match with his friend brought satisfaction to his voice. “Yet I know not which knight I shall be at present. I have given the decision to Lady Alyse, and she will tell me her choice this evening.”
    Thomas stalked away then back, his lips a white line as he hissed, “I said besotted, did I not? Have you truly lost your senses? You are going to end up as Galahad, I will wager my horse on it. That starry-eyed chit will cast you as the Perfect Knight and herself as Orgueilleuse, scorn and all. ’Twill serve you right!”
    Geoffrey laughed, but an uneasy doubt sprang up despite his confidence in Alyse. “I am sure the lady will choose something more suitable, Thomas. She does not like to be made a spectacle of.”
    “She’ll have little choice in that respect, I think. The two of you together will draw quite some comment anyway. You were brazen enough to ask the king to allow her to accompany you. That alone has caused talk. Why, by all that is holy, did you let her choose your part?”
    “I wanted to please her, Thomas.” Geoffrey shifted uneasily from foot to foot. “Her demeanor toward me has warmed a bit these past two days, and I aimed to fuel that flame with the ride in the procession and the choice of knight and lady. It seemed a little thing at the time.” He glanced at his friend anxiously. “Think you she will choose unwisely?”
    “She has been little at court. How is she to know it would be unseemly for you as a lower knight to portray a figure of great consequence from the Round Table? Mark me, Geoffrey. If she chooses one of the more important knights, she will be seen as blatantly trying to raise your status.” Thomas glared at him in disgust. “Do you long for disgrace? You shall have it in that case. And be constantly on the lips of the whole court. You had best recant your offer and choose someone sensible yourself.” With a final disapproving glance at his friend, Thomas hastened toward the king, going forward to accept his assigned placement in the procession.
    Geoffrey stared after him, more than a little alarmed by his friend’s words. His gesture in