Caelyn left the house and started down to the stables. She couldn't believe what an insufferable pig Adhemar was. "Men are our betters." she mumbled as she walked down the path. "Probably urinates all over the privy and doesn't bother to clean up after himself." she continued to mumble until she came to the paddock where her horse was kept. Sephora was a chestnut Arabian mare. Her father had given it to her as a birthday present on her 20th year. "Hello my pretty girl." Caelyn held out a carrot for Sephora as she ran her hands over the white markings on Sephora's snout. "Think we can manage a little ride today?" Caelyn put her foot in the stirrup and swung up into the saddle and walked Sephora around the paddock for a few minutes. "Planning on using the quintain today for practice?" Caelyn looked down to where Old Chancy was sitting on a bale of hay. "That obvious eh?" she smiled at her old friend. "I heard you were in to see Count Adhemar." he got up off his seat and walked over to give Sephora the rest of the apple he had been eating. "News travels fast in this house." she muttered. "Man is an insufferable jerk." Old Chancy smiled. "So you'll be needing the quintain to take out some of the anger. Too bad I don't have an image of his face so you could aim for it." he patted Sephora's flank as he called out to one of the stable hands to set up the practice target. Caelyn spent the next few hours practicing in the lists behind her father's stables. Since she was old enough to ride, her father indulged her fascination with jousting. He often took her when she was a child to the many tournaments in England. Soon watching wasn't enough for her; she wanted to be out on the field with a lance in her hand. Her father would laugh telling her that she was not but a girl and girls did not lance. Soon he was eating his words. Lord Andrew had been in Paris on business and returned home early. He heard the sounds of someone practicing in the lists. He stood at the railings around the lists and watched as Old Chancy gave instruction to one of the pages. "The lad is good." Lord Andrew came over to speak to Old Chancy. "The lad?" "Yes, the one on the horse up there." Lord Andrew chuckled "Is your vision going now Chancy?" Old Chancy didn't get the chance to answer; horse and rider approached the two men. "Well done son. Well done." Lord Andrew said to the rider. "Thank you father." Lord Andrew watched in shock as the rider removed his helmet and a tumble of auburn hair fell out and revealed his daughter. From that moment on, Lord Andrew allowed his daughter to practice jousting as long as there were no guests in the home. Today, Caelyn broke that rule. Lord Andrew sat at the desk in his study and looked back at the papers in front of him. For months now, the suspicions he harbored had been growing. Now they were no longer suspicions, they were full reality. He could not believe this was happening. He had trusted her; he even convinced himself that he loved her. "Excuse me Lord Andrew." The butler came into the room. "Lady Claire has arrived from London." "Thank you James." He answered distractedly. "Shall I set up tea?" "That would be fine. Would you see if Count Adhemar is feeling well enough to join us." "Yes sir." James bowed and left the room. Sir Andrew closed the leather book with the papers carefully tucked inside and put them in a cubbyhole behind a painting. Adhemar tucked his white linen shirt into his pants and checked his reflection in the mirror. He still wore bandages around his torso where the armor had cut into his flesh. There would be a scar on his forehead, but what was one more scar. Long ago he had stopped counting them. The sound of footsteps stopping in front of his door made him wonder if it was the young maiden who had given him that vile mixture several days ago. He found her visage haunting his dreams at night causing him to wake up with his body needing a relief he hadn't had in a long time. He walked to the door in his bare feet and flung it open surprising the exact person he was looking for. Eavesdropping?" Adhemar folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "Um, er...no..." Caelyn stammered and looked down at his feet, which were barefoot and crossed at the ankles. Was it possible for men to have handsome feet she wondered as she stared at his? "Something wrong with my feet?" he prodded. "No, not at all." she said rather quickly and realized how it sounded. "I mean no sir." she corrected herself. "I see Lord Andrew is still allowing you dress as a boy." "No one LETS me dress as a boy. I choose to do so." she put her hands on her hips. "You don't like to dress as a woman then?" his eyes wandered over her body stopping momentarily on her chest. Caelyn felt uncomfortable under his gaze and folded her arms across her chest not realizing that only emphasized her chest instead of hiding it. Adhemar tried to hide an amused grin. "I prefer my women to suit my needs and dress like a woman." he cocked an eyebrow and watched as her face turned red and anger grew in her eyes. "Well then." she tried not to spit her words out at him, "I guess I could never suit your needs then Count Adhemar." she curtsied and turned away from him. Adhemar watched her figure retreat down the hallway. Her hair was in a thick plait that hung down her back and little curls escaping their confines here and there. His eyes were focused on her bottom as she turned the corner.