“You and her brother made a bet that you could defeat me in a sword fight. I had been drinking, or I would have trounced you. You chose to fight me in her father’s courtyard, in front of her. You made me look a fool, and now I will take my revenge.”
Valten had a vague memory of defeating Ruexner in a nobleman’s courtyard, but he remembered it another way. “I did not challenge you to that duel. You challenged me. And as for betting on the outcome … the young man insisted. What can I say? I did not know you were in love with his sister.” Ruexner was drunk and entirely to blame. But he would not listen to reason, not now. Probably not ever.
“Now I have stolen your ‘queen’ to make you pay for all the times you defeated me, for humiliating me in front of Carmelita, and for giving me this scar.” He pointed to the one on his cheek, from when Valten had unhelmed him in a tournament in Burgundy. It had been a fair fight. Scars were part of tournaments and battles — Valten’s own face was proof.
“Can I help it if I am better at fighting than you?”
Ruexner drew back his fist and aimed for Valten’s nose. Instinctively, Valten raised his hands and blocked the blow with his arm. Then he brought his elbow around and struck Ruexner’s jaw with a satisfying crunch.
Malbert struck Valten in the side of the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking Valten to his knees. He blinked at the stars exploding in front of his eyes.
Gisela screamed.
“You are upsetting my betrothed again.” Ruexner put his boot on Valten’s shoulder and shoved, but Valten caught him around the ankle using his bound hands and jerked his foot out from under him. He landed on his back beside Valten.
Malbert promptly kicked Valten in the stomach. He fell to his side, unable to bite back a grunt of pain.
Ruexner got up, breathing hard, and kicked Valten again. He tightened his stomach muscles, making the blow less effective. But he’d still be black and blue and very sore. He prepared himself for the next blow, which came swiftly.
From the small clearing, Gisela screamed, “Stop!”
But Ruexner did not stop. He kicked Valten again and again in the side and the stomach. Valten felt one of his ribs crack. God, this can’t be how I die, leaving Gisela at the mercy of this fiend. He was beyond being able to fight back as darkness encroached on his vision and the roaring in his ears increased.
It seemed as if Gisela’s screams were growing closer. The brutal kicking stopped. He heard a loud thud and several startled yells.
He forced his eyes open. Gisela was on top of Ruexner on the ground, pummeling his head with her fists, while Ruexner held his arms up to protect his face.
Valten struggled to get up, desperate to protect her. But the pain in his head and stomach almost caused him to black out. He fell onto his side.
Ruexner would kill her. God, no.
His two men pulled her off him, with Gisela kicking and fighting like a lioness. “Leave her alone,” Valten growled through clenched teeth.
“Take that she-devil back to the clearing!”
Lew began trying to pull Gisela away, holding on to both her wrists.
Ruexner stood and brushed himself off. Then he knelt beside Valten and leaned close to his ear. “I am not finished with you. Next time I plan to give you a scar for a scar. ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ eh? And even your little she-devil spitfire will not stop me.”
Ruexner stood and Malbert pulled on Valten’s shoulder.
“Get up,” Ruexner ordered.
Valten swayed as he slowly got to his feet, keeping his eyes on Gisela, who looked to be holding her own. The blow to his head had made him dizzy. Blood ran down his brow, tickling him. But his stomach and ribs hurt worse. Breathing almost wasn’t worth the pain. He groaned before he could stop himself.
Gisela struggled against Lew, who was holding her by her arms but didn’t appear to be hurting her. She lunged toward Valten, but Lew’s grip held.
Ruexner pushed him forward, making him stumble. He caught himself, but stayed bent over. When they entered the tiny clearing among the trees, Gisela turned and kneed her captor in the groin. The man went down, falling on his knees on the ground. Gisela ran to Valten.
She grabbed his arm. “Are you badly hurt?”
He tried to smile at her, to lessen her anxiety. “No.”
Her hand trembled as she reached toward his temple, where he felt the trickle of blood. But then she placed her soft little hand against his cheek.
“I am well. Don’t worry.” He longed to wipe away the tear from her face with his fingertip, but he was afraid he’d become too unbalanced and fall.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry I caused all this.”
“You didn’t cause it.” How could she think that?
Ruexner snorted derisively, looking at Gisela. “He doesn’t look so strong and fierce now, does he?”
She turned on Ruexner. “You’re a fiend. He never did anything to you. Why do you hate him so much?”