My Noble Knight Read Online Free Page B

said. “You will be fined. Fifty shillings.”
    A collective gasp moved through the crowd like a small breeze.
    Griffin’s eyebrows rose. That was a hefty fine. One could buy a war horse for fifty shillings. But it was a fair price for the crime. He nodded in agreement. The matter was settled. They would pay the fine and hopefully the little chit would be put in her place and never joust again.
    Colin exchanged a glance with the other brother. Griffin realized he must be Frances, the one that should have jousted. Colin straightened as he turned back to Dinkleshire. “We do not have that much coin.”
    Griffin shifted his gaze from Dinkleshire to Colin.
    “We can not pay that fine. We can work it off, but…”
    Dinkleshire’s face turned red.
    Griffin realized Dinkleshire knew they wouldn’t be able to pay that much coin. He had hoped to drive them off, send them back to their lands. He had wanted to punish them all and had set the fine incredibly high so they would never be allowed to compete in future jousts. Griffin knew he should be grateful. Ridding the tournament of the likes of the Fletcher girl and her brothers was a boon to all righteous knights. But there was also a nagging feeling of disappointment. He had never shied away from a challenge. If the girl had been so talented in the joust, surely her brothers would be even more so. If this heavy fine drove the Fletchers out of the tournaments entirely, he would never have a chance to face them on the field of honor.
    “You know the alternative,” Dinkleshire warned.
    Colin drew himself up. He lifted his chin, a mirror image of the girl’s defiant tilt.
    “Colin,” the girl hissed, taking a step forward.
    “Layne,” Frances called. “Haven’t you done enough?”
    “I do,” Colin answered Dinkleshire.
    Dinkleshire stared at him for a moment. Then, he signaled his guards with a wave of his hand. “Take him to the dungeon.”
    Griffin sighed quietly. A severe punishment, but a deserved one. The sanctity of the tournament had to be preserved.
    “No.” The denial ripped from the woman’s very soul. It touched something primal inside of Griffin. She stepped forward as the guards came to surround her brother.
    Her youngest brother tugged pleadingly on her arm to keep her back.
    As the guards moved aside to usher Colin forward, the woman took another step. “No!” Her cry froze everything.
    “Layne,” Frances snapped.
    “No,” she repeated. “You can’t take him. This isn’t his fault.”
    “No, it’s not,” Dinkleshire said. “Maybe you’ll remember your place in the future.” He turned away.
    Griffin saw the anguish in her large blue eyes, the agony in her parted lips, and his heart skipped a beat.
    Her shoulders dropped. “It’s my fault. I did this.” She lifted her chin. “Take me instead.”
    For a moment, time seemed to stop as everyone looked at the girl. Then, Dinkleshire began laughing. “Surely you jest!”
    Griffin saw the spark in her eyes as her teeth clenched. “If you don’t, I might joust in a tournament again and all of this will be for naught.”
    That stopped Dinkleshire’s laughter. His lips thinned. He poked a finger at the girl, signaling the guards to take her. As they left Colin’s side and moved to the girl, Frances cast a quick glance at his brother.
    Colin held up his hands in helplessness and shook his head. “You can’t take her!” he called. “She’s just a foolish, impulsive child. She doesn’t know what she’s doing!”
    “She knew enough to get past you,” Dinkleshire retorted.
    Griffin’s fists clenched. A woman in the dungeon. It went against his code of chivalry. Women were to be protected, cherished. Saved from harm, not put into harm’s way. Even those who were foolish enough to joust against him. He winced at the last thought. She had won. And that pricked his pride. But he could not allow them to throw her in the dungeon. “Wait.” The command seemed to come out of his mouth