Page 65 of The Sword and the Damsel

“Wait,” Alais yelled.Sir Thomas and Victor froze, swords drawn. Everyone turned to stare at her.

She had their attention now. What was she going to say?

They couldn’t fight their way out of the castle, no matter how talented Victor might be with a sword, so a solution had to be negotiated. “My lady, what do you want from Lord Daniel?”

Lady Helisende’s smile sent chills down her back. Thomas and Victor stood at the ready, but neither moved. “Smart woman you married, Victor. She’s saving your neck, you know,” the countess said. “My dear, never trust a man to do a woman’s job. You see how emotional and hot-headed they are? Fools, the both of them.” She motioned for Thomas to lower his sword, which he did reluctantly. “Now, let’s talk.”

“Yes, let’s,” Alais said, putting a hand over Victor’s sword hand and giving him a reassuring look. Slowly, he lowered his sword. Thinking back to all the dinner conversations she overheard between Daniel and her father, she said, “Daniel and his cousins have Hastings surrounded on three sides. Canterbury is seeking to expand its territory. While Hastings’s port dwarfs Winchelsea’s, our power at sea exceeds yours when combined with our cousin’s in Pevensey. You cannot hope to attack Winchelsea without invoking the combined wrath of Pevensey and Hawkhurst, and you would drive us into the arms of Canterbury to bring you down if you attempted it. So, my lady,what is it that you hope to gain, since you cannot win Winchelsea without bringing about your own doom?”

Lady Helisende chuckled coldly and clapped slowly and deliberately. “Not bad. Not bad at all. Your brother-in-law couldn’t have said it better. I am besieged by enemies, and I must take advantage of every opportunity to gain protection for Hastings. Your presence here gives me leverage, and I intend to use it.”

“To what end?”

“Don’t rush me, little girl,” Lady Helisende snapped. “Your family may hold the political advantage outside these walls, but at present, you are the one surrounded by peril. Don’t forget it.”

Victor grasped his sword.

“Don’t,” both women said at the same time. Alais paired her command with a restraining hand on his arm.

“I would like some amendments to the agreement with Winchelsea. When Lord Daniel stole Winchelsea out from under me—”

“He didn’t steal Winchelsea. He defended us whenyourefused.”

Lady Helisende was the only one at fault for her own loss of territory.

“Winchelsea was mine, and I want it back.”

“Never.”

A long silence stretched as the two women stared each other down.

“Perhaps not today,” Lady Helisende said at last in icy tones. “As you pointed out, I am at a strategic disadvantage. I might win the battle for Winchelsea but lose the war once Pevensey and Hawkhurst got involved.”

“Then what is it you want today?”

Lady Helisende stood and paced.

“When we last negotiated, our goal was peace and nothing more. But Hastings has suffered from not having a closer alliance with its nearest neighbor and relations with Hawkhurst and Pevensey have soured since last year’s hostilities. I would rather ally with my neighbors, however much I mistrust you, than with Canterbury.”

Alais could hardly believe her ears. “You want anallianceafter threatening to invade?”

“As you pointed out, I cannot defeat you. Therefore, I must join you. What choice do I have? Hastings’s independence and integrity must be preserved at all costs, and the Archbishop of Canterbury doesn’t just want an agreement, he wants land. It has taken me years to consolidate my hold over Hastings, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let the Church carve it into pieces.”

Alais narrowed her eyes. “This is a strange way to negotiate an alliance. Daniel is a reasonable man. Why not simply reach out?”

Lady Helisende clutched the arm of her chair until her knuckles shone white. “Do you think I haven’t tried? Lord Daniel was content with the agreement we negotiated and hasn’t even responded to my attempts to propose changes. But with you here, he’ll come riding to the rescue. He’llhaveto talk to me.”

Now that Alais thought about it, she wasn’t surprised that Daniel ignored Lady Helisende’s requests. Winchelsea had little to gain from amending the agreement.

“If Daniel agrees to renegotiate the agreement, you’ll let us go?”

Lady Helisende shrugged. “For now. Though I might have a future need for you. After all, even a disloyal Victor has his uses, and now that you’ve married into the family, I expect regular visits. Whatever the reasons were for your hasty nuptials, your marriage nonetheless creates a new political alliance, one I mean to take full advantage of.”

Alais shivered. “Let us go now as a good faith gesture, and we will tell Daniel what you want and make sure he comes to negotiate. And we will agree to regular visits, within reason. If you keep us here, you risk incurring Daniel’s wrath. He is unlikely to agree to anything if he feels coerced.”

Tapping her fingers together, Lady Helisende said, “You will spend six months of every year in Hastings. Lady Alais goes with Sir Thomas to find Lord Daniel. Victor stays.”

Six months?

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