My Noble Knight by Laurel O'Donnell Page A

with.
    “Yes! Yes!” Layne said. “You both were brilliant, I’m sure.”
    Griffin peeked around the side of the tent to see Frances elbow Colin. Colin swatted him in the head. Layne shook her head. The silence spread easily and Griffin could hear the crackle of the fire.
    “And what about you, Laynie?” Colin asked, wiping a sleeve across his mouth. “Is the old curmudgeon treating you with respect?”
    Griffin ducked back into the shadows. He drew in a small insulted breath and held it.
    “He isn’t that old,” she protested.
    “He hasn’t tried anything dishonorable, has he?” Frances demanded, his voice tight.
    Griffin leaned closer to hear her answer.
    Layne chuckled, but the sound was more of a gag than a mirthful laugh. “He wants to make a proper woman out of me.”
    Frances scoffed. “He can try, right Laynie?”
    “What has he done?” Colin wondered.
    Griffin peeked through the folds of the tent again, through the gap, to watch. Layne’s back was to him, her arm still around a sleeping Michael.
    Layne shrugged. “He makes me cook.”
    The men laughed out loud at that.
    Layne threw a stick at Frances that he batted aside. “I’m surprised he’s not sick to his stomach!” Frances roared.
    It took all Griffin’s will not to rush to her defense.
    She lifted her chin. “He’s strong. Really strong.”
    That made the men stop laughing. Good, Griffin thought smugly. He’d knock them flat in the tourney for laughing at Layne.
    She leaned forward slightly. “He let me watch him practice once. He doesn’t like when I do. He says that ladies should show no interest in the technicalities of the joust.” Her voice mocked his as she said it.
    Frances grimaced and shook his head.
    “What did you learn? Does he have any weakness?” Colin asked.
    Griffin stiffened. It was something he had never even considered. Was she a spy? Would she relay his fault to her brothers and betray him? Of course she would. Her loyalty was to her family.
    “I didn't learn about a weakness.” She pulled something out of her tunic and displayed it to her brothers. “But about a stirrup leather.”
    Chills shot down Griffin’s spine. A stirrup leather. Where had she gotten that?
    Colin took the leather from her hand, looking at it.
    “I'm not supposed to have it,” Layne admitted.
    Colin looked at her.
    Frances took the stirrup leather from Colin’s hand, glancing at it. “What about it?”
    “It was cut,” Colin answered. “Someone’s trying to sabotage him.”
    Layne nodded. “I have to get this back before he finds out it’s missing.”
    Colin took the stirrup leather from Frances and handed it to Layne. “I don't want you there. If someone is trying to sabotage him, then he’s in danger. And if he is, you are, too.”
    Layne shook her head, running her hand over the leather strap. “I'm more worried about Griffin than me.”
    Griffin stayed hidden in the dark. The strap was cut? Sabotage. The word sent anger boiling through his veins. Dishonorable cur. Who could have done this? But his thoughts slid back to Layne. What was she doing with the stirrup leather? Where had she gotten it from? What did she plan to do with it? There was only one explanation. She didn't want him to find out it was sabotaged, so she had taken it. Then another terrible thought reared its ugly head in his mind. Had she cut it so her brother would win? Was Layne capable of such a dark deed…



Chapter Ten
    L ayne collected the leftover bread to consolidate the remaining food for later. No use wasting any of it. She heard footsteps and whirled.
    Frances came up behind her.
    Layne grimaced. “You never could sneak up on me.”
    “I wasn’t trying.”
    “What are you doing here?” Layne wondered and continued to place the leftover bread into a sack. When Frances didn’t reply, Layne looked at him over her shoulder.
    He shook his head in disbelief. “He’s already changed you.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “You used