The Bride Tournament Read Online Free

along with the drums.
    How could she sit between a husband she didn’t want and a father who had all but stabbed her in the back while the man she did want looked on?
    Her father leaned close and patted her on the shoulder. “You’ve done well thus far, Eleanor. I knew I could count on you.”
    “You have played me for a fool.” Though spots of fury danced before her eyes, she didn’t dare say much more in front of so many avid listeners. His hand was a stone, weighing her down.
    “Arthur could control you no more easily than I. Richard will make you a better husband.”
    The arrival of water and cloths for hand washing interrupted their conversation. After all said grace, servers brought her favorite soup of ground capon thickened with almond milk. She waved the bowl away.
    Who could she turn to for aid? Not the king who had taken Arthur’s title, not her father. Her only hope was the Church, for her betrothal had been annulled without her consent.
    The only person she could trust was Arthur, the other victim of this day’s events. But the king and her father had usurped any power he might have had to help.
    She clenched her spoon. “If you knew I’d be bound to another, why is Arthur here?” she asked. “How could you force him to stand before these nobles with nothing left to him?”
    “Arthur is—”
    “Never mind. How would I know you spoke the truth?” She shook her head.
    “He wished to say farewell. After the meal, you may have a few moments to speak with him.”
    “May have? You don’t have authority over me anymore. I’ll do as I please.”
    Her father picked up his cup and drank. “Arthur is a friend of Richard’s. They were knighted together.”
    Eleanor flinched. Richard smiled at something the person next to him said. Thankfully he hadn’t been listening to her.
    Heaping platters of roast heron, the first dish in the next course, had been served. Richard offered her the platter. For a long moment, the noise and smells faded, leaving only him.
    “Ah, already the newlyweds have eyes for each other,” her father crowed.
    She felt her cheeks flush. She’d been handed from a father eager to use her as a spy to a husband who had to take her to remain an earl. Neither valued her or her concerns.
    All around, guests feasted upon her father’s largesse, laughing and drinking, ignorant of his nearly drained coffers. The music and merriment made her long to scream or run from the room. Or both. She felt powerless to stop the events turning her life into a churning mess.
    Dancing began as Eleanor escaped to the alcove where mere hours ago she’d learned her future had changed.
    She rubbed her ice cold hands together to no avail. The next few moments would likely be the last she’d spend alone with Arthur. She’d be forced to live with a stranger and let the knight of her heart ride away.
    Arthur appeared beneath the arch, tall, slim and endearingly familiar.
    Her smile returned as he sat beside her. “Arthur, how are you? I’ve missed you.”
    Eleanor took a deep breath, enjoying the scent of his soap. Never would she smell the herbal pine mixture without thinking of him.
    “As well as can be, considering.”
    “Father kept everything from me until this morning. Had he told me sooner I could have done…something.” At last she could speak her thoughts. “Why didn’t you send word? Why didn’t you help me find a solution?”
    “I wrote you, but received no response,” he said. “What was I to do?”
    Eleanor bit back a scream. Worse and worse. Her father had stolen Arthur’s letters. Later she’d say a prayer of mourning. For she’d lost her other parent this day. His scheming and renewed obsession with alchemy had turned him into a man she didn’t care to know.
    “Look at me,” she insisted.
    His gaze was that of a stranger’s. Had circumstances changed him?
    “I thank God for Richard,” Arthur said. “He petitioned King Edward for lenience and received permission to give