An Uncertain Choice

“Take me to him, Bartholomew. Please.”


Through the dimly lit passageway, I followed the old guard’s labored footsteps. We went down a winding back stairway so that we entered a narrow door next to the buttery, where the ale and other beverages were stored.

The Great Hall was dark except for the low light of the fire and a shallow candle on the table closest to the hearth. Many of the duke’s men slept on pallets and rushes on the floor throughout the main gathering place. Of course I’d given the duke the largest guest room, and I’d assumed Sirs Collin, Bennet, and Derrick took turns sleeping outside the door of his chamber and guarding it as was the custom. I’d also assumed they’d long past retired for the night.

But to my surprise, the duke sat at the table pulled before the hearth. On a bench across from him was one of his knights. A chessboard was spread before them, and the duke was staring intently at the pieces.

The knight across from him stretched his arms above his head, fiddled with a spot of dried wax on the table, and finally slouched on one elbow, giving the chessboard a cursory glance. Seemingly without thought he moved one of his pieces and then backed away, leaving the duke to study the board again. This time, the knight let his hand dip down to scratch behind the ears of the dog lying at his feet.

“Pup?” I whispered.

Pup raised his head, cocked his ears in my direction, but then turned back to the knight, whose fingers moved to the dog’s flank with long, scratching strokes.

“I told you he made a new friend, my lady,” came Bartholomew’s laughter-filled whisper by my side.

The darkness of the room shadowed the knight’s face, but when he bent closer to the candlelight to take another turn, I caught a glimpse of his straight, sandy-brown hair and the scar next to his eye. “I should have known it was Sir Derrick,” I whispered, remembering Pup’s attraction to him earlier in the day.

Sir Derrick took no time at all in moving another piece — this one his queen. Even from a distance I could see that he didn’t have many left on the board and that he’d placed his queen into a dangerous situation. I could only assume he lacked any strategy or was entirely too reckless and impatient for the game.

“You want me to go over and fetch the dog, my lady?”

Bartholomew’s too-loud whisper reached across the distance and brought Sir Derrick off the bench, dagger in hand. He peered into the darkness that surrounded him. “Who goes there?”

Bartholomew shuffled forward several steps. “Just me, sir. Come to get the dog for Lady Rosemarie.”

Pup rose and wagged his tail. Yet he still didn’t leave Sir Derrick’s side.

Bartholomew waved at the dog. “Come on now, Pup. The lady needs you.”

Pup didn’t budge.

“She needs him?” Sir Derrick asked, stuffing his dagger back into the sheath belted at his waist.

“Yes,” I said, stepping out of the dark shadows. “As a matter of fact, I do need him.”

At my appearance, the duke rose and Sir Derrick bowed. “I’m sorry, my lady,” he said as he straightened. “The dog came to me and has stayed. I would have sent him back to you had I known.”

“’Tis all right.” I bent and stretched out my arms to the dog. “Come now, Pup.”

Pup lifted his face toward Sir Derrick, his big eyes seeking the knight’s permission.

I let my arms fall to my sides, surprise washing over me. “Sir, it looks like you have won the undying devotion of my dog.”

He grinned, gently rubbed Pup’s nose, and started across the room toward me with Pup trailing at his heels. He stopped several feet away and nodded at my dog to continue. Pup bounded the last of the distance, eagerly rejoining me and licking my outstretched hand.

“How quickly your loyalty shifts, Pup,” I admonished, sinking my fingers into his thick hair.

“’Tis not any reflection on you, to be sure,” Sir Derrick said. “The dog is merely affectionate.”

“No. He’s rarely affectionate with anyone but me or the village children. You must have a secret way with dogs.”

“Perhaps I do.” His voice was mysterious, and I thought back to the knight who had visited me in the chapel and what he’d said about the sheriff’s dogs.

“You must share the secret with me.” I nodded toward the abandoned chess game. “Then perhaps I shall share my secrets regarding chess with you, for it appears you have need of them.”

“Have need?” Sir Derrick’s brow shot up, and his lips quirked. “I was doing quite nicely, if I may be so bold as to boast.”

I laughed softly. “Then I should like to see you play when you’re doing poorly.”