Knight of Passion by Margaret Mallory Page A

below.
    Now that was satisfying. He’d feel even better if he could find an excuse to throw a few punches.
    “Sir James!”
    Jamie turned to see Martin coming down the path with an armful of towels and went to meet him.
    “Thank you, Mar—
Aaugh!
” The air went out of himas Owen grabbed him around the knees and slammed him to the ground.
    Jamie lifted his head, blinking mud from his eyes. Muck oozed between his fingers.
    “James, tell this lad it was all in good fun before I have to hurt him.”
    Jamie turned to see Owen lying faceup with Martin’s foot on his chest. Better still, the point of Martin’s sword was at Owen’s
     throat. The sight struck Jamie as so hilarious, he rolled over on his back, laughing.
    Making the same mistake Owen had earlier, he wiped his face on his muddy sleeve. “Lord above, there is even grit between my
     teeth!”
    Martin saw that he had misjudged the threat and sheathed his sword. This was a mistake, however, because his foot was yet
     on Owen’s chest. Owen sprang up, sending the lad flying backward.
    That was when the mud fight began in earnest.
    Linnet peeked around the door of the buttery. The queen’s back was to her, and she was peering intently at something out the
     window.
    “Whatever are you doing here, Your Grace?” Linnet said.
    The queen jumped back, looking like a dog caught dragging the family roast from the table.
    “One of your ladies-in-waiting told me I’d find you here.” Linnet had thought the woman was jesting. “I came to ask if you
     were ready to go to the hall for dinner.”
    “You must see this,” the queen said, crooking her finger.
    Linnet joined her at the window. It afforded an unobstructed view of the Thames, which ran along this side of the castle.
     On the river’s edge, three men were shouting and tossing one another about in the mud.
    “They strike each other with such violence that at first I feared they meant to kill each other,” the queen said without turning
     away from the scene. “But amid the grunts and shouts, I hear them laugh.”
    Linnet wondered just how long the queen had been watching. “Of all things…,” she murmured, then narrowed her eyes. “Is that…”
    “Aye, your Sir James is one,” the queen said.
    “He is not my Sir James.”
    “The slighter one may be his squire,” the queen said. “But who is the third one?”
    “I cannot tell with all the mud on him.”
    Linnet’s mouth fell open as the men suddenly began stripping their clothes off. In contrast to the rest of their bodies, their
     hindquarters looked remarkably clean and white as they ran toward the river. Judging by how they pushed and shoved one another,
     this was a race. Linnet heard the splashes as the three hit the water.
    “But it is winter!” the queen said, gripping the window ledge. “They could freeze to death.”
    The queen was not concerned enough, however, to pry herself from the window to call for help.
    “They are fine, I’m sure.” Linnet chuckled as the men splashed and dunked one another in the water.
    “How lucky men are,” the queen said in a wistful voice. “To be so free…”
    “Free, indeed,” Linnet murmured as the first two menwalked out of the water with no apparent concern for their nakedness.
    The queen pretended to cover her eyes, but she was looking through her fingers. The laugh died in Linnet’s throat as Jamie
     emerged, water streaming off his sleek, muscular frame. She sighed as he stopped to shake water from his long hair.
    “Merciful God, is he not beautiful?” the queen whispered.
    Truer words were never spoken. When Linnet tore her eyes away from Jamie to turn to the queen, she realized her friend had
     not been speaking of Jamie. The queen’s hand was pressed to her chest, and she had eyes for none but the stranger. Linnet
     took another look at the man, this time giving him a thorough perusal, head to… hhhm… toe. He had a fine build and a jaunty
     air, but he was no Jamie