blase about the happening, then wouldn't she be telling the vassal that she placed little significance on his life? Humility be damned, she decided. 'I would do it again, regardless of my husband's wrath. Please understand, Roger, your lord is not angry that you were saved; he is only displeased with my unseemly behavior. You must consider that he is unfamiliar with having a wife… and he is-'
'Do not trouble yourself explaining your husband to me,' Roger replied, smiling. 'He has already discussed the matter with me and he is most thankful that you were able to save me.'
'He told you that?' The amazement was obvious in her voice. Then why has he carried on so? Elizabeth asked herself, though she dared not question the knight. It was not his place or his duty to instruct her in the ways and thoughts of her husband.
Roger took hold of Elizabeth 's elbow and bent his head toward hers. 'They light the fires now. Come and stand close to one and warm yourself. You tremble with the cold.'
'They risk a fire?' she asked as she followed the vassal through a group of soldiers. 'Won't Rupert's men-'
'Do not concern yourself,' Roger admonished in a quiet voice. 'Your husband knows what he is about. You have only to trust him.'
'Aye,' Elizabeth immediately responded, embarrassed that she had asked the question of the knight.
There were perhaps ten or twelve soldiers circled around the fire as she and Roger edged up to the center, and Elizabeth noticed that each time she made eye contact with any of the men, they smiled and then lowered their gazes, as if in deference… or embarrassment. Elizabeth wasn't sure and found herself feeling very awkward and somewhat hurt by their attitude. It was another puzzle after a long day of puzzles and confusions. 'My presence seems to intimidate the men,' she whispered to Roger with an embarrassed little sigh.
'They are in awe,' Roger whispered back, giving her elbow a little squeeze.
'Awe?'
'Your courage has shaken them,' he said, smiling at the surprise in her eyes. 'They have never known one such as you, for you are not like other women.'
'And that is praise?' Elizabeth asked, smiling in return.
'Aye, it is,' Roger explained. 'You are a fitting bride for their leader,' he proclaimed.
Their leader does not agree with you, Elizabeth thought. She glanced around, looking for her husband, but Roger's gentle tug on her elbow turned her thoughts back to him. From the look in his eyes, it appeared that he was not quite finished with his gratitude. 'I am sorry that you placed yourself in such danger for my benefit, yet now that it is over and done with, I am glad. I will thank God each and every morning that you had the courage to do what you did.' He chuckled when he saw the flush on her cheeks his praise caused, and added as a jest, 'Why, I will even pray to the souls of your parents for having the foresight to see that you learned how to swim, since I was the one who benefited from their schooling.' He was grinning with his last remark, and Elizabeth smiled again.
Geoffrey had walked up behind Elizabeth, as quietly as a panther stalking in the night, and found himself losing some of his anger with Roger's remarks. He was about to pull his wife into his arms and lead her to his tent when her words stopped his actions.
'I am afraid your prayers to my parents would only confuse them, Roger, for God's truth, I do not know how to swim yet. Though I tell you it does not appear to be overly difficult if you remember to hold your breath and-'
Geoffrey's bellow of rage jarred Elizabeth a good foot off the ground. She clutched at her heart and whirled around only to bump into her husband.
'Geoffrey! What is the matter?' Elizabeth could barely get the question out, so shaken was she by his scream.
'Do not say another word,' Geoffrey rasped, 'do not…' His anger was fresh as a new flower just bursting into bloom, and he felt he was close to being totally out of control, and if he could just get her into his tent, away from his men, perhaps then he could calm himself enough to merely throttle her.
Elizabeth was half-dragged, half-pulled into the small tent and then dropped like a sack of barley onto a blanket.
'Now what have I done?' Elizabeth asked, rubbing her arms where her husband had clenched her. 'I will be black and blue and it will be from your hands, not the enemy, Geoffrey. You do not know your own strength, I think,' she ended.
Geoffrey did not immediately respond. He took his time lighting two candles and sat down crossed-legged in front of her. When Elizabeth got a glimpse of his face, she wished she had the nerve to blow the candles out. Oh, but he was furious, the tendon pulsating in his neck was testimony to that fact, and Elizabeth was good and sick of it. She backed up a space, until her shoulders were touching the side of the tent, and readied herself for his yells.
'You will answer my questions with a simple yes or no, Elizabeth,' her husband began. She was surprised by his soft, almost gentle tone of voice, though she detected a small tremor in it and looked up at him. Now, what is his game? she asked herself; he was clearly near the brink of exploding, as far as she could discern.
'Geoffrey, I would-'
'A simple yes or no,' Geoffrey insisted, snapping each word out.
Elizabeth nodded her agreement and waited. She watched her husband take several long shuddering breaths and then rest the palms of his huge hands on his knees. She thought she saw his hands tremble before he braced them against himself, but discounted that notion and forced her gaze back to his face.
'I could not help but overhear your conversation with Roger,' Geoffrey began, his tone deceptively mild, 'but I may be mistaken. And I am always a reasonable man. Yet I could have sworn on William's sword that I heard you tell Roger that you did
Since he continued to hold his hand over her mouth, Elizabeth could only shake her head, and that small gesture of denial upset her husband yet again.
'You jumped into the water knowing you did not know how to swim?' he asked, his voice incredulous now.
'I held the rope and I-'
'A simple yes or no.' Geoffrey roared the order in a voice that shook the tent.
There is nothing simple about my actions, Elizabeth longed to say. But there was no reasoning with him, she decided. Since he does not wish to hear the whole truth, then let him be upset. 'Yes,' she said as she folded her hands in her lap.
A loud cough from outside the tent turned Geoffrey's attention from Elizabeth. 'Enter,' he yelled, louder than he had intended.
Roger lifted the flap of the tent with one hand while he balanced a wooden tray with the other. Without a word, he placed the tray on the floor between Geoffrey and Elizabeth and withdrew to the outside.
Slices of freshly cooked meat, hard crusts of bread, and orange berries filled the tray to overflowing, but neither husband nor wife made a move to touch the fare. Roger reappeared with a single cup and a leather pouch filled with water or wine, Elizabeth surmised. She looked up at the vassal and smiled but Roger did not glance her way and did not see it.
'Thank you, Roger,' Elizabeth said when he turned to leave the tent. Though he did not respond with an answer, Elizabeth saw the slight nod.
'You do not thank a vassal for doing his duty,' Geoffrey muttered. He took a large chunk of bread, tore it in half, and handed a portion to Elizabeth.
'Why is that?' Elizabeth asked as she accepted his offering. 'He has done a kindness. It is only proper to thank him.'
'It is not. He does his duty, wife. All of us have duties, obligations… it is the way of things,' he stated emphatically. 'By thanking him, you imply that perhaps there are times when he does not do his duty to your satisfaction. To counter that, you would have to say thank you each and every time an act is performed in your behalf.'
'That is why I have never heard you say thank you or give any praise to your men… or to me!' Elizabeth frowned and could not resist adding, 'You boast that you are a reasonable man and yet what you have just said
