Page 281 of Historical Hotties
“Because you are the eldest, you must protect them,” he said, watching her still-blank expression. “If someone was trying to hurt them, would you protect them?”
She cocked her head thoughtfully. “Once, a soldier tried to take Joan,” she said. “I screamed and he was stopped.”
Thor smiled. “You see?” he said. “You are a very good sister because you love them, and that makes God very happy.”
She didn’t look so blank any longer. Hearing that bit of praise from Thor made her smile. “And I will go to heaven!”
“Of course you will,” Thor said. “But that brings me back to what we were originally speaking of. Do you believe it is wicked when someone lies? Does it displease God?”
She nodded eagerly. “Aye, it does.”
Now, Thor had her understanding what he wanted to speak to her about. At least a little. He forged ahead.
“I am going to tell you a story because I want to explain something to you,” he said. “Many years ago, a lady had a baby. A lovely daughter that she loved very much. God was very happy with the birth. But someone wicked took the baby away. Told the baby lies about her mother. The mother was not wicked, and it was very sad for her to be kept away from her baby. God was no longer pleased. He was displeased with the wicked person. Would you be displeased, too?”
Jane had to think about that. “But why would the wicked person take the baby away and lie?”
“Because she wanted the baby,” Thor said. “The wicked person took the baby away because she did not want her mother to have her. She told the baby anything she could so she would hate her mother. That surely must displease God very much because it of the lies. One of the commandments is to honor your father and mother, after all.”
Jane nodded but wasn’t sure what to say to it all. Thor could see that he was close to overwhelming her with his conversationbecause she was young and clearly wasn’t very adept in the art of conversation. It occurred to him that everything she’d said to him about the word of God sounded as if she was mimicking someone.
Perhaps that was all she knew.
The only human contact she’d ever had.
“I am telling you this for a reason, my lady,” he said quietly. “You were the baby in my story. Someone very wicked has kept you from your mother and has told you lies about her. God is not pleased about that. He is not pleased that you called your mother the devil.”
Now, Jane was starting to catch on to what he was saying and why. Her breathing started to quicken.
“Where is Madam Madonna?” she said, her eyes welling. “I want to speak to Madam Madonna.”
Thor could see that he was about to lose her. “My lady, listen to me for a moment,” he said. “It is important. With Madam Madonna, all you knew was poverty and suffering.”
“Nay!”
“Are you hungry?”
“God wants us to suffer!”
“He does not,” he said. “Madam Madonna wanted you to suffer. She wanted you to be hungry and cold. But your mother has come to help you and you will never be cold and hungry again, I swear it. You will go to bed with a full belly and awaken to food and warmth. She will love you and you will be happy. Would that not be better than living in rags as you do?”
Jane was starting to weep. She lurched to her feet and ran off before he could stop her. But he let her go, standing up and brushing the chaff off his breeches, hoping he hadn’t made the situation worse with her. The child had clearly been conditioned to believe only what Madam Madonna told her.
It was a sad situation.
Pondering his next move, Thor wandered from the stable, heading out into the large lower bailey where soldiers and servants were gathered. He’d brought around eight hundred men with them, and at this moment, his men were on the battlements, at the gatehouses, and guarding de Lucera and Madam Madonna in the vault. Given that he needed to speak to those sworn to Stafford, he pushed aside thoughts of Jane and headed toward the gathering. Truett was bringing in several more errant Stafford soldiers and saw him coming. As his herd of soldiers mixed with those already gathered, Truett went to Thor.
“That is all we can locate, Thor,” he said. “We are fairly certain that this is everyone.”
Thor looked at the collection. “Excellent,” he said. “How many Stafford soldiers?”
“We can only find about seven hundred,” Truett said. Part of the de Nerra family, he was big and dark and intimidating. “It seems that there were twice that many, but after de Tosni died and his wife fled to London, no one wanted to remain under the de Lucera knights. I’m hearing tale that they stole from their own soldiers and treated them rather poorly.”
Thor grunted. “Then that will work in our favor,” he said. “When was the last time they were paid?”
“When de Tosni was alive, from what I can gather.”
“What about the servants?”
