< previous page page_238 next page >

Page 238
feel. Some excuse can be found at the last hour if the wound troubles you. This will be nothing. Everyone likes Alexander and all wish to avoid marring his knighting with death or sadness."
Concealment having been decided upon, there were ends to tie up. Salisbury's boatman was summoned and told to discover the owner of the craft Braybrook had used and return it so that there would be no outcry over its loss. The bodies of the hirelings were cast into a cart and sent out with a detail of men to be buried in secret. There was no need for Geoffrey to show himself in court that evening. It was reasonable that, having taken his betrothed on the river after a hard morning's hunting, he would wish to spend a quiet few hours by the fireside.
The next day, Braybrook was indeed missing from court. When Geoffrey arrived, some wondered aloud whether Braybrook's absence was a response to Geoffrey's reappearance. To such hints, Geoffrey returned no answer beside a smile, and he took up his usual pursuits except that he was never out of eyeshot of Joanna. Fortunately, only a few days remained before the culmination of the festivities. On the night of March 7, Alexander stood his vigil. The knighting and feast took place on March 8. Had Joanna been able to get any sense out of her betrothed, she might have demurred at his fighting in the tourney the next day. Geoffrey, however, was too drunk by the end of the feast to do anything but giggle when she protested that his wound, although not serious, was still unhealed and would make him awkward.
She did not argue long, discovering that Geoffrey was no safe company for her that night. Hardly were they alone, when he embraced her far too fervently. In fact, had he not been too inebriated to balance himself properly or to be effective as a lover, he would have accomplished what Braybrook failed to do. Joanna was far more amused than shocked. Ian had a tendency to become amorous when he was drunk also, and Joanna had watched Alinor's technique for handling him when it was impossible to yield to his de-

 
< previous page page_238 next page >