Page 31 of The Captive Knight
“Indeed he is, taking his strongest fighters and leaving his daughter and his vassals unprotected. I would think you’d want to cut off the traitor’s balls and serve them to his hounds.”
“Better he lives to rage that he has lost everything to you, my lord.”
“Now there’s my wild woodland knight.”
The prince’s teeth flashed but Jehan felt no mirth. “Are you heading out on a new chase?”
“No. The traitor is a sparrow, not worthy of the hunt.” The Prince bent his head as the squire slipped a chain-mail shirt over his head. “We’re marching out of this cold, miserable castle within the hour.”
Warnings rang in his head. “Which men will you leave me?”
“Why would I leave you men at all?”
“To hold the castle.”
“You’re coming with me.” Edward shrugged the chain mail down his torso. “This place is nothing more than a hut on a hill.”
Jehan had heard similar words when he’d taken over Castétis. Edward had dismissed it as nothing more than a hunting lodge. For a prince of England, even such a place as Castelnau, with its eagle’s-eye view of the river valley, wasn’t worth the trouble of a second thought.
“My lord,” Jehan said, treading carefully, “if you leave this castle unguarded, the viscount will return and take it back.”
“Not likely. Tournan was last seen heading north. Running like a rabbit to his traitor lord, King Jean, no doubt.”
Jehan’s jaw tightened as thunder grumbled outside.
“As pleasant a diversion as this was,” the prince continued, “and as pleased as I was to see you free of that traitor’s grasp, I didn’t come to Gascony to capture castles. I came to burn a swath from the sea to Carcassonne and teach these treasonous lords who is the true king of France.”
Jehan clenched his hands into fists. “You’ll burn the village.”
“The village as well as what I can of this castle, if this damned rain permits. If the viscount does scuttle back, I want him to return to a place bereft of roof-beams, stables, kitchens, provisions—”
“Then you’ll leave a formidable enemy at your back.”
“Come now. We swept over these walls like the sea.”
“They were more thinly defended than we knew, and overwhelmed by the size of your army. But if the viscount returns with the Count of Armagnac and his army—”
“You are overly concerned, Sir Jehan.” Edward hiked his hands on his hips as his squire laced up the chain mail. “I wonder why.”
With wariness, Jehan met the prince’s knowing gaze. He had always suspected that Edward took so quickly to him because they’d caroused together, fought together, and whored together all while coming of age. The other reason was revealed during a long, drunken night, when the prince had admitted how much he admired men who had built reputations from nothing but brawn, bravery, and determination. Undiluted merit, he’d called it, unsullied by the advantages that royalty bestowed.
Jehan supposed it was inevitable that the prince would know there was something more than chivalry involved in this matter.
“Twenty men,” Jehan insisted, “and I will hold it all, a bulwark of supplies in the middle of enemy territory.”
“I don’t need a bulwark of supplies. What I need is one of my fiercest, most fearless knights beside me.”
“A foot soldier can burn a village as well as anyone.”
“If Armagnac comes out of hiding, it will be knights I’ll need. And think of the pillaging in Carcassonne. Would you give it all up for a good tumble?”
His mind screamedI will not dishonor hereven as his blood rushed at the thought of her naked body.
“God’s Blood, you should see your face.” The prince frowned and ran his hand over his mustache. “This pretty blond has dug her talons deep.”
“I could not call myself an honorable man,” Jehan said, “if I didn’t protect a woman who risked so much for my safety.”
“And what of the bounty I offered you last night?”
