Roseanne stood on her toes to better see the king and his colorful retinue as they approached the small village of Ashton. Flags flew in the breeze, dust formed a cloud covering much of the country road. A trumpet was playing to herald their arrival.
"They'll be staying here for a full week," Roseanne's friend Sarah said. "All those knights here for a full week! And if you can win the attention of one, he might make you his bride. Imagine that!"
Roseanne smiled. "I will win the attention of one, provided he is good looking. If not, why should I bother? I would rather have a kind heart and a handsome face than a chest full of riches."
The king was old and looked too heavy even for his sturdy horse. The noblemen around him were much the same, with flushed cheeks and dirty mustaches. Roseanne frowned at them in disgust. It was as she suspected; the stories about knights were greatly exaggerated.
"If one of these knights is chosen as my father's guest, he'll eat all of our food stores," she said. "And rather than trying to win his attention, I would stay as far away as possible."
"What's a little food compared to the glory of spending a moment in a knight's company?" Sarah sighed and waved at the passing knights. "Imagine their bravery, their honor."
Roseanne frowned. "I would wish to meet a knight like that, but these do not look like the knights I had imagined. In either case, I have to return home. Mother needs me to help prepare for our noble guest."
Sarah nodded absentmindedly, her focus still on the passing knights. She left her standing there and walked back to her family's farm, located a while away from the village on the brink of a forest lake.
As her parent's only child, Roseanne had many more tasks than Sarah. She was busy for the whole afternoon, all thoughts of the knights gone from her mind. Only when the clatter of hooves sounded against the country road did she remember that they were about to have a guest. She stood on the farm's courtyard together with her mother, prepared to greet her father and the knight who would stay with them for the week.
Her eyes fell first on her father, and she knew something was wrong. Then they wandered to the knight, she was startled. He was neither fat nor old, but young, slender and more handsome than any man in the village. His hair was the color of wheat in late summer, and his blue eyes were polite and kind.
"Roseanne, Lilly, this is Sir Thomas Artigan. He will be staying with us for the duration of the king's visit."
Roseanne wanted to ask her father what the problem was, but she bowed politely and held her tongue.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Knight," her mother said.
"Please, call me Thomas." The knight dismounted his horse, a slight blush spreading on his cheeks. His armor clamored as he made a quick bow. "I am an ordinary man who was blessed with a title, nothing more."
Roseanne's heart beat violently inside her chest, and her breath came in short gasps. Handsome and kind? Where in the world would she be able to find such a man again if this one slipped from her grasp?
"Thomas," she said, "can I offer you some refreshment? And please, do let me help you out of that armor."
Thomas nodded and followed her to the room prepared for him inside the small farmhouse. She undid the leather straps and dismantled the armor, making sure to let her fingers linger on his body while doing so. When she removed his leg plates, she gave him a polite and yet inviting smile.
He returned her smile, and though it was polite it was also a clear dismissal. Roseanne sighed, knowing she would have to change her strategy.
They ate the meal under polite conversation about the weather and the state of the country. Once they were finished, her father stood up and cleared his throat.
"I have been told the summer market in Ridgeville has been moved forward," he said. "It will take place on the day after tomorrow."
Roseanne gasped. "But father, you have to go to that market, or else we will have no wool for the winter."
"I know," her father said. "And Lilly must accompany me to help me with the chickens I intend to sell. As you can see, this gives me cause for concern. Roseanne, would it be too much to ask that you see to our guest alone?"
"Of course not, father," Roseanne said. She forced herself to remain calm and composed, but on the inside she felt giddy with excitement. Alone, with Thomas? She couldn't have prayed for a better opportunity to win his attention.
"I apologize, Sir Thomas," her father said. "My wife and I were blessed with only one child, and she happens to be a woman. I hope you will trust me when I say that she is most competent, however. When it became clear to me that I would have no sons, I took it upon me to raise her as one. She has all the talents of a man in the body of a woman."
"I am most confident she will provide for me," Thomas said with a smile. "And let me apologize for the inconvenience. You are most kind to let me stay here despite your difficult situation."
Roseanne's father smiled, and the conversation moved on to other topics. It was soon time for bed, and Roseanne spent all night thinking about the knight, his strong, muscled body and kind smile.
Her parents left at dawn the next day, and Thomas rode to join the king in his hunting games only a short while after. Roseanne tended to the animals all day and cleaned the house to make it as inviting and comfortable as possible. Then she waited for Thomas to return home.
He did so while the sun was still a while over the horizon. His shirt was stained with sweat and his face muddy. Roseanne hurried up to him and grabbed his horse's reins.
"Sir Thomas," she said. "Let me heat up a bath for you."
