To approach him now, in her maid’s uniform, would be too much of a risk, after all that had passed between them. She needed to find another way to get close without drawing his attention.
On this side of the tiltyard were some of the staff who had come to watch the joust. Some made their own bets, though for far smaller sums than the courtiers. Gwynnie saw Samuel and old Rudyard talking together, exchanging copper-coloured coins.
“Samuel?” Gwynnie hurried toward him.
“Have you come to see the joust, Gwynnie?”
“I need a favour.” She tugged at the cloak around his shoulders, and it fell away.
“Your own not enough?”
“Not right now. I shall return it in a moment.”
He was distracted as Rudyard accused him of not paying enough money for his stake in the joust.
Gwynnie turned away and wrapped Samuel’s cloak around her shoulders. It was vast, with leather scraps covering the pock-marked cloth. It was so large, it swamped her entirely. Pulling the hood over her head, she crept through the crowd.
“Are we ready?” the herald bellowed, the words echoing across the yard.
Gwynnie just had time to wonder where the king was before the herald brought his arm down.
The knights charged. Each one lowered their lance as they gripped the reins of their horses and bent forward.
Gwynnie hurried forward, darting through the smallest gaps in the crowd.
“He’s going to win!” someone shouted.
“No, he’s not!” another cried out. “You’ll lose your money.”
Gwynnie ignored all the jeers, focusing on her target. She reached Renard and stood beside him, her heart thundering in her chest as the horses’ hooves struck the ground so firmly that she could feel the vibrations through the earth beneath her.
Renard took no notice of her. His eyes were trained on the jousters, his gaze flitting between the two of them. The favourite of the pair thrust forward first, driving his lance into the other’s shoulder as the horses charged past one another.
The crash of wood on metal echoed. The crowd gasped at the sudden splintering of wood from the lance. Renard and the others all clambered back from the wooden barrier, and Gwynnie moved with them. They jostled together, colliding, for there was so little room in the enclosure. Gwynnie reached beneath the two cloaks and into her gown, pulling out the binding that held the jewels. Without hesitating, she reached for the loose pocket within Renard’s cloak, slipping the binding in.
“Get off me!” The bellow made her jerk, but it didn’t come from Renard. It came from another man nearby, someone who clearly disliked the cramped conditions. The crowd spread out again, including Renard, who moved back to his position by the railing.
Gwynnie retreated, her smile growing a little wider. She had done it. If Renard had hoped to frame her with the jewels, he wouldn’t be able to accuse her now. Instead, he would have to explain why he of all people had the jewels on him. She was playing him at his own game.
The herald yelled the result of the first joust from atop his platform. Some complained, others cheered, and money changed hands. Once more, Gwynnie slipped between all the shouting people. Not one looked her way; they were too busy thinking of money. Even as she returned the heavy cloak to Samuel, he took it without really noticing her, far too busy insisting that Rudyard pay up properly for the bet he had made.
Gwynnie reached the benches. There was someone there she had spied earlier, someone she now had to talk to if she was going to make this plan of hers work.
Further down the benches, not so high as Fitzroy and the courtiers, sat Tombstone. She could have sworn Pascal was beside him earlier, but now, Tombstone was alone.
In contrast to those around him, Tombstone didn’t smile or cheer with the others. He was strangely calm, his face impassive, like it had been carved from stone. It took Gwynnie a minute to realise that he wasn’t watching the joust; he was watching the crowd instead.
Gwynnie hurried forward, intent on talking to him, when she saw something that made her hesitate.
A young man walked past Tombstone, talking loudly with a friend beside him. He was handsome, with blond hair coiffed behind his head and a manicured beard across his chin. Gwynnie was not the only one to notice the handsome man.
Tombstone’s eyes flicked from the crowd to the man too, and he watched him walk past. In fact, Tombstone’s eyes seemed to linger even longer than Gwynnie’s did.
“We have our next competitors,” the herald boomed across the crowd. “The first is a man you all know well, the Duke of Northumberland.” There was a general cheer of approval, until the herald turned and raised his hand. He pointed to what had to be the largest tent in the tiltyard, the great swathes of crimson material parting to reveal the rather large figure that waddled out, his armour struggling to fit across his person. “And our second competitor, unbeaten in this discipline, King Henry!”
There was such a roar that Gwynnie whipped her head around. Rather than looking at the king, as so many did, she looked at the queen.
Queen Anne raised her hands and clapped eagerly with the others, before dropping them to her swollen stomach.
“The king is jousting!” Murmurs erupted through the crowd as King Henry approached his horse.
CHAPTER 14
“Tombstone?” Gwynnie crossed toward him. “I must speak to you.”
“Another time,” he said dismissively. “I’m busy.”
“Well, you look busy.”
His brows quirked together at her sarcasm. He looked past her toward the yard where King Henry was now being helped onto his horse.
Gwynnie followed his gaze and winced. She’d heard many great things about King Henry’s ability to joust, his great pageantry and skill. Yet the man she saw before her needed help getting onto his horse. The chest plate of his armour was pulled so tightly across his vast girth that he appeared to struggle to breathe in it, as he sat atop the saddle.
His face was distinctly purple this morning, contrasting with his red hair. A young man passed him a helmet, though Henry seemed to consider refusing to take it.
“Have you placed money on the joust?” Gwynnie asked.
“No. I do not gamble my money.”