Of Lords and Commoners: Book 1 (Lords and Commoners Series) Read online

Father sat to the left of the lord. “Where is your son?” he asked.

  “He is competing in this year’s tournaments. He must do what he can to prove himself.” With this last statement the lord looked pointedly at me.

  I quickly looked away. In fact, I had to suppress a strong desire to run. Something deep inside was telling me to get out of there — that the lord was dangerous. He seemed to be in a particularly unpleasant mood.

  Thankfully, the archery competition started and we could all focus our attention on that. Josiah did well, advancing into the second round. He always hit the target and almost hit a bull’s-eye but Teller’s dead-center shot knocked my brother out of the competition. Still, that was good for his first year. Maybe he would be able to win next year. Well, that was if Teller happened to make a bad shot, which he rarely did.

  Elijah’s arrow split right through Teller’s center arrow. It was a tie. That required an extra round between the two of them to determine the winner. Teller’s first shot landed in the center of the red dot but slightly to the right. Elijah’s arrow landed dead center. Teller’s final shot was a hair to the left. Elijah split his first arrow in the center of the bulls-eye with such force that it sent a loud cracking sound through the silent crowd.

  “And the winner is the young Lord Chastellain,” Ivan announced. He shot a glare toward his son. Ivan held Elijah’s arm up and the crowd cheered.

  “Well done; that was impressive. I had no idea your son was such a skilled archer,” Father proclaimed to Lord Chastellain.

  “Wait until you see him in the other events.” the lord smirked.

  Oh no, I thought. This will not go well. How could the lord be so sure of his son? He is a pampered noble and he is half the size of some of the other men competing. Archery is one thing but Elijah would not stand a chance against Ivan, Teller and some of the other men who were used to hard manual labor. Elijah was tall and lean but not overly muscular. I did not want him to make a fool of himself, especially trying to prove himself to me. Ivan and, more recently, Teller were the reigning champions in most of the strength competitions. Teller was also one of the fastest in the tournament.

  My thoughts were interrupted by Mari who ran up to the stands where we were seated. She gave a courteous bow to Father and the lord and an urgent look to me.

  Samuel quickly rose and took her hand. He placed his lips to the back of her hand for quite a time — a bit too long. “There is My Lady. I had a splendid time last night.”

  Mari’s cheeks instantly reddened. “Thank you, My Lord, as did I.” She gave him a curtsy. “Please excuse me. I must have a word with Vallachia.”

  Her urgency caused me to stand and ask to be excused. Mari and I hurried off arm in arm — as usual. When we were safely out of earshot, I asked, “What is the matter?”

  Her cheeks were no longer red and her mouth was downturned. “I spoke to Teller this morning before the tournament. He and Elijah both overheard our conversation last night.”

  I gave her a questioning look, not fully understanding.

  Mari continued, “They both know why you supposedly fainted last night!”

  Of course. Now Elijah knows why I did not agree to his proposal and Teller knows how I feel about him. I actually felt relief. The truth is out. I will finally find out how Teller feels about me and be able to openly refuse Elijah. The townspeople will talk about how I am not a respectable lady for wanting a boy who had not proposed and whom my father had not given me permission to marry. Oh, well, there is nothing I can do about that now. “Good,” I finally said. “This entire mess needs to end.”

  “What about your reputation?” Mari asked.

  “I plan to refuse Elijah, whether Teller will have me or not.”

  “Well, that is the other problem. Teller would ask you to marry him but he has nothing to offer you. No home — no money. He said he cannot propose.” Mari looked forlorn.

  Two conflicting yet equally powerful emotions hit me as once. The first was joy that Teller possibly loved me. The second was a pain that stabbed my chest. He will not ask for my hand. “Well, I must have a talk with Teller.” My voice was full of determination.

  “You are serious about this? You will give up everything for nothing?”

  “The way I look at it is that I do have everything with Teller and nothing with Elijah. I hardly know him. I would do anything for love and happiness. Wouldn’t you?”

  Mari looked at me incredulously. I returned her stare. We were clearly at an impasse. She searched my face and I held her gaze with determination until we both broke into a hardy laugh at our differences.

  “Come. The next competition is about to start. Let us take our seats,” I said.

  Chapter 16 Ludus 1260 A.D

  Samuel left his seat by the lord to sit by Mari. They were soon happily chatting away. I was thrilled for her. Samuel seemed amiable and he was entertaining company. I felt a twinge of trepidation when I thought about him having to return to Denmark. I pushed the thought aside. Let her enjoy his company while she can.

  “All is well?” Father whispered.

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “You look pleased.”

  I did not reply, as Lord Chastellain looked even more disgruntled — if that were possible. It was best to end the conversation with prying ears nearby.

  The throwing contests were about to start. First was the javelin tossing. Josiah did not make it into the finals but did quite well. Elijah barely made it into the finals. I felt nervous for him. Why do you care about him? the voice in my head asked. I could see that there was good in Elijah. Perhaps if he could get out from under his father’s influence, he would be a kind man. I considered Elijah a friend.

  However, there was no need to worry about Elijah. His final javelin toss went a good three lengths farther than any of the others. Mari and I exchanged an astonished look.

  “Well, who would have guessed?” Father said. “Elijah must not have been trying as hard in the first round.”

  Lord Chastellain did not look surprised; in fact, he had a passive expression on his face. He looked almost … bored.

  For the ball-throwing contest, Elijah did not hold back. This time he won handily. No one came close to meeting his mark.

  “Have you ever tried to pick up that metal ball? It is so heavy — I would be lucky to throw it one length,” Mari exclaimed.

  We all chuckled — all but Chastellain, of course.

  “I have never seen someone throw that far. You must be very proud of him,” Father said.

  The lord did not look proud, simply inert. He did not reply.

  I no longer needed to worry about Elijah. Now I was concerned for Teller. He had come in a distant second and that was clearly not good enough for Ivan, as he looked furious. I felt an angry heat rising to my face. It was not as though Ivan’s toss had come any closer to winning. In fact, Ivan came in fourth place! I had a strong desire to point this fact out to Ivan. He is such an arse. I took a couple of deep breaths to calm down.

  Father patted my arm. As usual, he probably knew what I was thinking.

  The final events for the day went much the same. Elijah jumped impossibly far into the sandpit. He won, even though Teller’s jump had beaten the previous town record — Ivan’s record.

  At this point, Lord Chastellain gestured to Elijah with his palm facing down and moving his arm slowly up and down — a gesture that usually means slow down or restrain yourself.

  Elijah nodded. He started out behind in the sprint but easily finished slightly ahead of Teller. He did not even look winded after the race.

  I narrowed my eyes with suspicion. What is going on? The lord and his son are clearly in collusion — again. Perhaps they are cheating, somehow?

  After the day’s competitions, I sneaked away to find Teller. When I spotted him, my heart quickened. I ran to catch up with him but had to make a quick turn to avoid Elijah and the mass of people around him cheering and congratulating him. Teller was headed into t
he woods.

  Perfect, I thought. With all the attention on Elijah, no one will notice that I followed Teller. Catching up to him, I slowed my pace to match his. He gave me a weak smile and we walked in silence for some time. I knew how he was feeling and did not know what to say. He was used to being the best in the village.

  “Your father is not going to be too hard on you, is he?” I asked.

  “Well, I’m going to avoid him for a while longer — in hopes that he will calm down.” After a pause, he added, “It is all the Chastellains’ fault. I wish they would go back to wherever it was they came from. They are getting in the way of everything!” His jaws clenched.

  “Yes and there is something odd about them. They are … I am not sure exactly. I mean, it appeared that Elijah was not trying at times, perhaps even holding back in the games,” I tried to explain.

  “How could a scrawny, spoiled lord be so good at such games?”

  “Precisely my point. Something is amiss.”

  Teller nodded thoughtfully. “Your uncle warned me that I should ask your father for permission to marry you before someone else did. I don’t even have time to get settled enough to ask you to be my bride. Not with Elijah pushing you into marriage.”

  I smiled and put my arm in his. That was enough of a marriage proposal for me. “No one is going to push me into anything. There must be something we can do … let’s run away. We could elope.”

  “Where would we go? I have nothing — no money to move to a new town.”

  It seemed like a plausible idea at first but it truly was a childish notion. The urge to run away from one’s problems was normal but not always the best of ideas. The thought of leaving my father and brother was unbearable, not to mention Uncle Ezekiel. Who would take care of them? “I suppose you are right. How can we leave our families?”

  “Aye, who would protect my mother and little brothers from my father?”

  I stopped him from walking and looked into his eyes; they were dark and troubled. “I wish we could run away, though.”

  He put his arms around me and whispered, “As do I.”

  I wanted to stay like that forever — in his arms but eventually I pulled back. “It is not that complicated. I will refuse Elijah and that will give you more time. Meanwhile, we will know how we feel about each other. I will wait for you.”

  He pulled me in close and gently placed his lips on mine.

  I could have gotten lost in that kiss but I felt that we were being watched. For the second time that day, the hair on the back of my neck prickled. I pulled back and looked around. “We should be getting back,” I said. We had wandered quite a way into the forest.

  “I will walk you home.” His eyes were brighter, greener. Then they darkened. “Father will be looking for me and I can’t put off confronting him for much longer. Besides, I should be there to divert his anger from my family.”

  I felt ill at the thought. “How will you fare?”

  “Well enough. He will want me to compete tomorrow. So maybe he will be lenient with me.” He made a point of looking into my eyes. “You know I would never treat you as Father treats us.”

  “I know.” Teller was kind, unlike his father. He had always been caring and protective toward others.

  “I hate my father sometimes and I have sworn that I will not be like him.”

  It was difficult to imagine what it would be like to hate one’s father. It must be terrible, I thought.

  We had to pass Teller’s house on the way to mine. As we approached his home, we heard yelling. Teller took to his heels at a full run.

  “Where is he? Where is that worthless son of mine?” Ivan shouted.

  Teller burst through the door and I ran in after him.

  “Here! Here I am. Leave them alone.”

  Teller and his father start circled each other.

  “You let some puny pampered little boy beat you today. You are a disgrace!” Ivan’s cheeks were red with anger and his fists were clenched.

  I stood in the doorway. I wanted to grab Teller’s two youngest brothers and run away with them.

  “I beat all of your records today. I did better than you ever have. Does that not count for anything? Nothing I do is good enough for you!” Teller retorted.

  I’d thought Ivan looked angry before but now he looked murderous. His eyes were wild — like a rampaging bull. He swung at Teller, who easily dodged the blow.

  Teller came up under his father, grabbing his tunic by the neck and slamming him against the wall with his forearms pressed against his father’s chest.

  The entire house shook. I instinctively put my arms around Teller’s two youngest brothers, covering them the best I could. I wanted to protect them in any way possible, even if it was only to block their view of the fight.

  Ivan’s eyes were wide. Teller threw his father to the floor. Ivan winced in pain and clutched his arm. He must have landed wrong.

  Teller towered over his father. “Never! Never again. Not to me, not to them.” He gestured to his mother and brothers. “You will not hurt anyone anymore.” In a lower voice, he added, “It’s over.”

  Father and son stared at each other for a long moment. Teller grabbed my arm, firmly leading me out of the house. It was almost dark and I was breaking curfew; soon Teller would be as well. We walked quickly in silence to my home. I was in shock. How different our two homes were. Mine was quiet and peaceful. It seemed that standing up to Ivan was for the best. If his father knew he could not bully Teller anymore, things might get better … I hoped.

  When we got to my door, I wrapped my arms around Teller.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that,” he whispered.

  “Is all well, or rather, will it be?” I asked.

  “Yes. It felt good. It has been a long time coming.”

  “I’m proud of you. That must have been the hardest thing you have ever had to do — standing up to your father like that. … Why now?”

  “I’m not entirely sure. I want things to be different. I don’t want us — you and I — to live under his tyranny.”

  I smiled as I was truly happy for the first time in months. I kissed his cheek and headed for my door. With everything that had happened this evening, I had forgotten about being inconspicuous with Teller.

  “If, by chance, things are not better, please bring your family here,” I said.

  “Thank you but I think all will be well.” He smiled that beautiful smile, the one that had first helped me to realize I had fallen in love with him.

  “I’m sure you are right. This needed to happen. Goodnight and good luck,” I said.

  “Goodnight.”

  Chapter 17 Ludus 1260 A.D

  The next morning I felt as light as a cloud and full of energy — Teller and I are to marry … someday.

  “Well, it is wonderful to see you smile. Do you care to elaborate on why?” Father inquired.

  “Yes, of course, Father.” My face fell. “There is one matter of business we need to attend to. We must send the Chastellains a clear and final rejection letter.”

  “I suspected that was coming. Aye let’s be done with it. After the festivities today, we will send them a letter.” Yet Father looked worried.

  “What is wrong? What do you think they will do?” I asked.

  “Lord Chastellain is a powerful man. Let us hope that he will do nothing. They should take rejection like the gentlemen that they are.” Under his breath, he added, “I pray.”

  This concerned me. There is nothing they can do. Or is there?

  The first event of the day was the broadsword contest. The competitors wore metal breastplates and the goal was not to kill or mortally wound anyone. Whoever was able to hit the other’s breastplate first was the winner. This lasted most of the morning, as it was a popular event, with many of the men taking part.

  That afternoon the competitions would end with a ball game. We called it Ludus ball, after our town. This was fitting since Ludus also means play. There were few
rules and the game was simple and chaotic. The only objective was to get the inflated pig’s bladder into the opposing team’s goal, which was made of two wooden fence posts stuck in the ground on either end of the field.

  Father and I went to watch Josiah’s fencing matches. I was relieved that the Chastellains were nowhere to be seen. However, part of me was uneasy about why they were not in attendance. It seemed unusual that they would miss the last day of festivities after being so involved in them yesterday.

  Josiah won his first fencing match and lost his second to Teller. Teller went on to win the final match handily. Ivan did not participate for the first time since he had been old enough to compete. He was favoring the arm he had fallen on last night. However, he appeared content and cheered for his son. Ivan beamed as he raised his son’s arm in victory.

  I felt blood rush to my cheeks. How could Ivan say such horrible things to his son last night and now proudly claim Teller because he was a winner again? I had to fight the urge to slap Ivan across the face.

  I did not fully understand Ivan. Above all else he valued being the best. This ideal did not match my own. Ivan’s values were not necessarily bad, as they pushed Teller to try his hardest. It was Ivan’s temper and meanness that were the problem.

  Father and I cheered for my brother in the Ludus ball game. The day was an enjoyable one, except I felt terrible for Mari. She was forlorn because Samuel, like the Chastellains, was nowhere to be found.

  “You do not think Samuel would return to Denmark without saying goodbye?” Mari asked.

  I shrugged, as I did not have an answer. All I could do was place an arm around her shoulders to try to console her.

  Father gave a young boy a coin to carry the renunciation letter to the Chastellain manor directly after the Ludus game — during which Teller had scored the most goals. Two of the players lifted Teller up on their shoulders as everyone applauded. The ball players were bruised and sore after the game, yet exhilarated. Hungry, too, I imagined, as everyone migrated to the town center for the final pig roast and feast to end this year’s midsummer festival.