Richard Lionheart / Crusade story

I don't remember a lot of this book. It was about a girl who ran away to Richard the Lionheart to beseech his protection so that she could avoid a forced marriage. Richard was on Crusade, and to travel to him, she disguised herself as a boy. As a boy, the main character caught the eye of Richard who employed her as a page boy.

The scene I remember best is when the main character is involved in a masque or pageant for Richard's birthday (I think). They dressed her up in a loincloth and a blindfold and hoisted her up to play Cupid and sing. She must have been fairly young since the bare chest aspect didn't tip anyone off...

I'm pretty sure the girl fell in love with Richard, and he was truly surprised when he discovered that she was a girl.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

This is the only title that comes up by tagmashing cross dressing and crusades. It certainly sounds like your plot.

http://www.librarything.com/work/156405

I hadn't thought about that tagmash. That does sound similar to the book I'm looking for.
Thanks Aquila! I'll let you know if that ends up being the right one.

I read this book - it was called something of 3 lions. I can't remember the first word, flag maybe.

The tagmash Aquila pointed me to is called Shield of Three Lions, so I'm pretty sure it's the correct book. It's at the top of my TBR (right after the library books) so I'll let you know for sure soon.

I know this is from forever ago, but just in case anyone was awaiting confirmation this was Shield of Three Lions by Pamela Kaufman.

I didn't see this message when you posted it originally, but I recognised the book straight away. It was a fun read; hope you enjoyed it.

I think it sounds like "Shield of Three Lions" don't remember the author.