The Princess of Cortova by Diane Stanley

Author:Diane Stanley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2013-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

16

The Knight

LORD MARCUS HAD SEEN the princess many times over the years. He’d watched her grow from a pretty child into a beautiful woman. But it had always been from a distance, on formal court occasions, so in truth he didn’t really know her at all. Then he’d been chosen to command the guard that would escort her to Westria for her marriage to King Edmund.

He hadn’t expected to like her. As a princess and a famous beauty, she was bound to be shallow and vain, with few subjects of conversation beyond fashion, parties, and gossip. She would, in short, be a bore.

Instead, she’d proved to be surprisingly bright. And though her knowledge of the world was limited, she’d been quick and eager to learn, peppering Marcus with questions ranging from politics and history to poetry, science, and art. He’d found this charming, even a little touching, that she should be so willing to step out of the narrow confines of her privileged life and explore things that were difficult and new. He’d answered her questions as well as he could without flattery or condescension. And she’d been astonishingly grateful, hanging on his every word as if he were her superior and not the other way round.

That had been the beginning of their friendship.

Then one day it came up in conversation that Marcus played chess and that he never traveled anywhere without a board. Her lovely face had lit up with pleasure. Chess, she’d declared, was her greatest passion.

He’d smiled at this remark, instantly making all sorts of erroneous assumptions, most especially that by “passion” she meant that she liked to play now and then with her court ladies and that she found it to be jolly fun. Marcus, on the other hand, took the game quite seriously. So he’d cringed when she suggested they match their wits over a board that very afternoon.

But of course, there was no refusing. So he’d proceeded with caution, holding back and giving her the occasional opening to take a piece he’d never have lost if he’d been playing in earnest. He had sense enough not to lose on purpose: she’d figure it out and be insulted. But nor did he want to crush her with a quick defeat. So they’d plodded along for a while like a pair of beginners.

Then, on impulse, he’d made a move—he hadn’t been able to stop himself; it was just so clever—and she’d looked up at him with those amazing eyes, a flash of understanding crossing her face. Then she’d stared at the board for a spell, all fierce concentration, and countered with an even better move (how had he missed it?). Suddenly they both broke into laughter, each recognizing the other as a worthy opponent. After that, and for the rest of the journey north, they’d gone at it hammer and tongs—may the best man (or woman) win. Their friendship had shifted again, growing deeper.

At last they’d arrived at Westria, where Elizabetta would live out the days of her life as the queen of King Edmund the Fair.

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