The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux Page A

days."
    "And will there be many men guests?"
    "Of a surety, but women also. Ranulf, what is wrong? Has some misfortune befallen you? You do not smile at me."
    "Do you not know the Black Lion never smiles?"
    She could not help the shudder that passed through her. It was as if another man occupied the form of the man she had learned to care for. "Let us go now. I do not care for the others. Let us ride now to your island."
    "Nay." His voice was cold. "You have chosen the others, so let it be. It is not for me to ever deny a wife."
    She leaned back against him and felt him stiffen, and she was frightened by his action as much as by his words.
    The old donjon of Lorancourt was decorated with serge bunting, the black and green of M alvoisin, and a great feast had been prepared. There was a large white swan, baked and dressed and then reassembled so that it looked almost alive, every feather repositioned perfectly. There was a roast boar stuffed with rabbits that were stuffed with partridges. Pies of every type covered the white tablecloths.
    There were many who raised their cups and drank to the health of the young couple.
    "Ranulf, you look tired. Are you so unhappy at this marriage?"
    His eyes showed no humor. "I have yet to see what I have married."
    She blinked to control the tears that came to her eyes. "The belt is most beautiful. I thank you for it."
    He barely nodded to her and drank deeply of his wine.
    Lyonene sat quietly, unaware of the noise or the many people around her. Where was the man she remembered, the laughing man who had teased her and held her? "Can you not tell me how I have displeased you so?"
    He softened toward her somewhat and touched her cheek with the back of his fingers. "I am a vile-tempered man and 'tis no fault of yours. M ayhaps we could leave this for a while and find some place to be alone."
    "No more of that!" a voice called to them. "You will have a lifetime of her, and for the rest of us, we must mourn her loss." It was Sir John de Bano, a near neighbor, a man Lyonene had known alLher life.

    She smiled up at him.
    "Lady Lyonene must show us this blasted Irish game of trucks. William can never remember the rules and neither can I. If Giles had come, he could tell us, but he has not."
    "You will come and play the game with us?" she asked Ranulf. "It is a most unusual game and requires great skill."
    "Nay, I am not in a mood for games. Go with them since you seem to enjoy their company."
    She started to tell Sir John she would not leave her husband when the older man pulled her arm, motioning for her to come.
    "Do not fret," the man told her when they were alone. "I was just so at my wedding. Scared me half to death. I knew all my life had ended. I felt M aggie to be a stranger, although I had known her for years. Now come 61
    along and show us this cursed game and enjoy yourself! He will recover by himself."
    "I hope you are right, but he seems a different person from the one I met."
    "And he is. He is a husband now and not a carefree bachelor."
    "If that is so, then I should have run away with him and not married him."
    Sir John gaped at her. "You are like a daughter to me and I at times thought you were to be one, so I will do a father's duty and tell you not to speak so again but to Father Hewitt. Your words are a sin, and you must repent them."
    She lowered her head so he could not see her eyes. "Yes, Sir John."
    "Good. Now come along to the trucks table."
    Lyonene could not enjoy the game or any of the merriment, for her eyes always strayed to the silent Ranulf, who joined in nothing and only sat and drank. Each time she tried to approach him, she was laughingly whisked away to a far side of the hall.
    Only Geoffrey talked to Ranulf, for the other guests were very aware of his status as one of the king's eleven earls.
    The tables were set for supper and the free-flowing wine, ale, beer, verjuice, must and metheglins added to the already high spirits of the guests.
    "You are enjoying