He was jesting. Sort of. Lavenham’s loyalty had been based on his financial situation at times.

As he laughed at his own joke, Delaina found herself looking at a lovely woman several chairs down.

She was wearing a dark blue silk gown and had a caul on her head, essentially a silk skull cap, that was sewn with tiny pearls.

It was quite lovely, and as Delaina admired it, the woman caught her stare and turned her nose up at her.

That told Delaina all she needed to know.

But she was used to it.

“Careful with your treasonous talk, Lavenham,” Lord Daventry responded to his friend’s comment. “If someone hears you and does not know better, you will find yourself in the Tower of London.”

Lavenham waved him off. “There is no sense of humor in the upper echelons of the English nobility,” he said, looking around the crowded hall. “But, I will admit, they are a handsome bunch to behold. Speaking of handsome, I am missing your wife. How is Lady Daventry?”

Lord Daventry wasn’t quite sure how he felt about the question, given his mistress was sitting right next to him. “At home in Norton,” he said steadily. “How is Lady Lavenham?”

“The same. Cold and irrational.”

“Then I am sorry for you,” Lord Daventry said, but he didn’t mean it. He set his cup down and turned to Delaina. “My dear, shall we take a turn about the room and see my old friends?”

Delaina smiled at the old man and began to stand up, but Lavenham stopped them. “I am sorry,” he said. “I did not mean to offend with my question about… Well, with my question. Please do not leave on my account.”

Lord Daventry eyed him, having reached his fill of Lavenham’s tactless behavior.

He hadn’t seen the man in so long that he’d forgotten what a buffoon he could be.

“Then mayhap you should take a turn about the hall and see your old friends,” he said.

“Surely you do not wish to speak to me for the entire evening.”

Lavenham smiled and lifted his cup. “The evening is young,” he said. “Shall we speak of how you have been since we last met? I seem to remember hearing you had been ill.”

With a sigh, Lord Daventry planted his bulk back in his chair. “It was nothing,” he said. “Indigestion only.”

“I am sorry to hear that. Are you still feeling poorly?”

“On occasion,” Lord Daventry said. Then he turned to Delaina and leaned into her. “I will chase him away, my dear. Be patient.”

Delaina forced a smile. “Not to worry, my lord,” she said. “Speak to him as long as you wish. Surely you do not want to spend all of your time conversing with me.”

“And why not?”

“Because we converse all the time.”

He grinned, flashing dingy teeth. “But I like speaking to you,” he said. “You are gentle and intelligent. You are a most congenial companion.”

Delaina smiled modestly. “You are kind, my lord.”

“Are you going to keep her all to yourself?” Lavenham called across the table, interrupting their quiet conversation. “I, too, would like to speak to this glorious creature. I had no idea Jerome de Courant even had a daughter. I am very sorry to hear of his passing, my lady.”

Lord Daventry sighed heavily at the intrusion, turning to look at him. “You are touching on a difficult subject, lad,” he said. “She does not wish to speak on her father.”

That wasn’t exactly true. Delaina had no love for a father who sold her off in exchange for a debt and started this life she led. But she knew that Lord Daventry was trying to get rid of a man who couldn’t take a hint, so she didn’t say a word while Lavenham appeared contrite.

“My apologies,” he said. It was finally beginning to occur to him that he wasn’t wanted, so he drained his cup and slammed it back to the tabletop as he stood up. “I think that I will find some old friends to speak with. Farewell, my friends.”

With that, he slipped away, and his entourage, who had been back against the wall, flitted after him. As he vanished into the smoky, crowded hall, Lord Daventry shook his head.

“I thought he would never get the hint,” he said. “He is a nice man, but he runs off at the mouth.”

A smile played on Delaina’s lips. “But he is a valuable ally.”

“He is.”

“Does he have a big army?”

Lord Daventry lifted his eyebrows in resignation. “Big? Aye,” he said. “Big and well equipped. You would not believe it, but Lavenham is an excellent warrior. He comes from a family of knights.”

Delaina nodded with interest just as several royal knights entered the hall through the main doors.

They were dressed to the hilt in mail and weapons, their tunics proudly proclaiming their royal link.

Her attention was diverted from Lavenham to the group of fairly massive warriors who had just made an appearance, a group of men she’d been familiar with, once.

A long time ago.

She leaned toward Lord Daventry. “The royal knights have arrived,” she said. “The king’s appearance must be imminent.”

Lord Daventry was in the process of accepting a second cup of wine from a nearby servant. He glanced at the group, knowing who they were, knowing what they were capable of.

Everyone in the room did.

“Indeed,” he said after a moment. “They herald his arrival more than trumpets ever could. Do you recognize any of them?”

Delaina was fixated on the heavily armed men. “Nay,” she said. “The men I knew those years ago are long gone. Do you know any of them?”

Lord Daventry had commented on Lavenham’s prowess as a warrior, but the truth was that Lord Daventry had quite a military background as well.

He, too, came from a family of knights and warriors, and the Daventry army was large and well trained.

In his youth, Lord Daventry had been an excellent knight and a strong fighter, but that was before age and ill health had slowed him down.

Still, he knew the fighting men of England and the powerful houses.

He knew the players. He found himself studying the knights who, although they were wearing royal standards, had elements of their houses or families on their bodies.

And he knew some of them on sight.

“Aye,” he said after a moment, his gaze lingering on a tall knight with chin-length blond hair. “I’ve seen them before, most recently at the meeting of Parliament.”

“Who are they?”

Lord Daventry was still looking at the knight.

He pointed. “That tall man,” he said, “is Sir Denys de Winter. His father is Davyss de Winter, the Earl of Thetford. I met Denys many years ago at his father’s side, as he was newly knighted then.

But, clearly, he has gained much experience if he is in the king’s hall.

Surely you have heard the name of de Winter, my dear? ”

A woman in Delaina’s position was usually quite astute about the families of England because of the company she kept. She knew who they were and their histories. The Jewels were always educated on the powerful players in England’s hierarchy, so she knew the name and more.

Being a courtesan meant she knew as much, or more, than the man she was with.

“I have,” she said. “They command most of Norfolk. The de Winter war machine is well known.”

Lord Daventry nodded. “Indeed, they are,” he said. “De Winter had four sons, as I recall, but one was killed not long ago. One married the heiress of the earldom of East Anglia and the other commands Norwich Castle. Well-placed family, I must say.”

Delaina nodded, watching as a knight with the broadest shoulders she’d ever seen began directing the others to move. “Who is the one in command?” she asked.

Lord Daventry caught sight of who she meant and lifted his eyebrows. “Ah,” he said knowingly. “That one. That is a de Wolfe.”

She looked at him. “You know him?”

Lord Daventry nodded. “I have seen him,” he said.

“He is from the most powerful family in Northumberland. That man is the son and grandson of earls. The de Wolfes control most of the border with Scotland. They have more elite knights than any family in England, save just a few. The knight you speak of is Sir Magnus de Wolfe, lord commander of the king’s knights. ”

Delaina nodded in understanding. “A very important man.”

“A very important man.”

Her gaze lingered on the knight with the light brown hair.

He’d had his back to her, so she never caught a glimpse of his face, only grasped his sheer size.

None of the knights were wearing helms, in fact, even if they were heavily armed, so the lack of a helm was somehow less intimidating to the guests.

Given that it was a social situation, they weren’t fully dressed.

But that didn’t mean they weren’t ready to fight.

“Very interesting,” she said after a moment. “Do you recognize any others?”

Lord Daventry tried to get a good look at some of the other knights, but they were too far away and his eyesight wasn’t what it once was.

“Not at the moment,” he said. Then he shifted uncomfortably in his chair before rising unsteadily to his feet. “I will return in a moment, my dear. Please remain here.”

Delaina knew where he was going. “Is the pain bad this time?” she asked quietly.

He patted her hand as he stood up and tried to belch. “Nay,” he said, fist to his sternum. “I shall use the privy and return swiftly.”

Lavenham had touched on something that had been going on with Lord Daventry since Delaina first came to know him.

The man suffered from terrible gastric issues, from pain in his gut to terrible bodily function issues to pain and pressure in his chest. He was a big man, having gone to fat long ago, and he ate too much, too often.

Delaina was fond of the old man and tried to help him eat more sensibly, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

The result was the awful gastric problems, which were more or less constant.

He was about to rush off to the privy to either force his bowels to vacate or force himself to vomit.

She’d seen it before, many times.

“Shall I go with you?” she asked. “At least allow me to be within earshot should you need help.”

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