Page 391 of Historical Hotties
Henry’s brow furrowed as he considered the serious problem. “I do not like violence,” he said. “I would rather see this come to a peaceful conclusion.”
Brant glanced at Aramis and Suffolk before replying. “I am sure we all would,” he said. “But we must ask Bastian. It is he who has been wronged, after all.”
Henry was still thinking on the situation. He turned to Suffolk and Aramis. “You will bring Sir Thomas and I will tellSir Bastian that he cannot kill him,” he told Suffolk. “I will order him not to and he cannot disobey. You will go and bring Thomas now.”
Suffolk actually felt much better about the situation at that point. If Henry ordered Bastian not to kill his brother, then Henry was correct– Bastian would have to comply. Relieved, he bowed to the king and headed back to Wallingford to collect his troublemaking brother. After Suffolk departed, Henry turned to Aramis.
“You will find Sir Bastian and tell him to come to me,” he said. “Tell him that Suffolk is bringing his brother and that Sir Bastian cannot kill him. I do not think a man should be killed for such a thing as hitting a woman. He should not have done it, but he does not deserve to die because of it.”
Aramis, too, bowed respectfully to the king before quitting the tent in search of his nephew, who last he saw was gathering with his knights. Once Aramis was gone, Henry turned his attention back to Brant.
“Do you think it is right to tell Sir Bastian not to kill Sir Thomas?” he asked. “Sir Bastian is very angry at Sir Thomas for striking his wife but I do not believe Sir Thomas should be killed for it.”
Brant gazed down at the boy who was trying hard not only to understand the minds of men, but to make decisions for them. It was so much more complicated than ordering one man not to kill another, but in Henry’s mind, it was something he’d not come to understand yet. He still had a lot of learning to do on the ways of men. Brant shrugged faintly.
“I cannot say how Bastian will feel, Your Grace,” he said. “But I believe your decision is a sound one.”
“Why?”
“Because if Bastian kills Thomas, there will forever be bad blood between Bastian and Suffolk. No one wants that.”
Henry felt more confident in his decision now. “The men who serve me must learn to get along with each other,” he said. “But Sir Thomas caused the problem. I will send him away.”
Brant thought that was a reasonable decision. “That would be wise, Your Grace.”
Henry looked at him, surprised. “I am wise?”
Brant smiled faintly. “You are most certainly learning to be, Your Grace.”
Happy, and feeling proud, Henry returned to the map on the table that he and Brant had been studying. It was a map of Berkshire and the surrounding countryside and he was learning a great deal about his landholders there.
Meanwhile, outside the tent, one of his landholders, one Sir Bastian de Russe, was not particularly happy with the wisdom of his young king.
*
“Hewhat?” Bastiannearly bellowed.
Aramis put his hand on the man’s arm to calm him down. “Henry has ordered you not to kill Sir Thomas,” he repeated. “He promised Suffolk. He told the man if he produced his brother, he promised that you would not kill him. You cannot go against his wishes, Bastian, so you may as well live with it.”
Bastian was glaring at his uncle as if wanting to throttle the man but he knew he was only carrying out the king’s wishes. Bastian had been standing in his circle of knights when Aramis had approached so all of the knights, including Wellesbourne, heard the king’s decree through Aramis’ lips. Andrew even put his hand on Bastian’s arm in a soothing gesture or, more truthfully, took hold of him so he would not slug his uncle out of sheer outrage.
“You did not want to kill Thomas, anyway,” Andrew said to Bastian. “If you did, you and Suffolk would forever be at odds and that would not bode well for anyone.”
Bastian turned to him, scowling. “So now I have the child-king declaring his wishes and I am not permitted to seek justice for what de la Pole did to my wife,” he snapped. Seeing the expression on Wellesbourne’s face, he realized that he sounded like a madman so he took a deep breath and struggled to calm. “I suppose Henry’s decisions worked well enough for me when they were in my favor, however. Still, this does not make me happy. Not in the least.”
Aramis clapped him on the shoulder. “Let us retreat to your command tent,” he said. “Suffolk will bring his brother there.”
Displeased to the point of brooding, Bastian headed for his tent with Wellesbourne, Martin, Gannon, and Lucas in tow. It was a powerful group, including the Duke of Warminster, which ended up congregating in Bastian’s tent, waiting for Suffolk to return. Henry was in the tent with Brant as the knights filed in, appearing particularly anxious when he saw Bastian appear.
As much as Bastian wanted to ignore the boy to display his displeasure with the king’s command, he couldn’t in good conscience do it. The boy was only doing what he felt best, in this case, what his heart dictated. He hadn’t enough experience to really understand the minds of men and the mind of Bastian in particular, so everything he did at this point in his life was based on the tender feelings of a young boy. When Bastian saw the apprehensive expression on Henry’s face, he went straight to the young king to ease any fears.
“Your Grace,” he greeted steadily. “I understand Suffolk was here.”
Henry nodded nervously. “He was,” he said. “Did… did Warminster tell you what happened?”
Bastian wanted to scowl at the boy but refrained. He didn’t want to frighten the young king who was only now learning to find his own voice.
“Aye, Your Grace,” he said as neutrally as he could. “I understand that I am not allowed to kill de la Pole.”
