Here Be Dragons - 1 by Sharon Penman (best inspirational books txt) 📕

the range of hearthfireDe Braose was genuinely shocked, too shocked to hide his dismay He knew John as few men did, had never made the mistake of underestimating him But even he had never imagined John would take such a chance, that he would nsk witnesses to their war of willsHe had no conscious awareness of coming forward, kneeling before John, the action was automatic "Your Grace, I think it best that we speak alone," he said warmngly, never taking his eyes from the man who was his sovereign, onetime carousing companion, friend, and benefactor "What I have to say be for your ears alone ""Indeed7 I can think of nothing you could say that would warrant a private audience Be thankful, rather, that I was willing to grant you any audience at all " John's voice was cool, impersonal, utterly at variance with what deBraose read in his eyes "What would you say to me7"And in that moment de Braose understood He had underestimated John after allThey might indeed share a bloody secret, but they were notand this was his fatal mistakepartners in crime He'd not thought John had the courage to call his bluff, and in this he had been wrong, too The twisted, dark road they'd traveled together since that Eastertide at Rouen had come to an abrupt end here in the shadow-filled solar of Hereford Castle John had thrown down the gauntlet in irrevocable and unmistakable fashion, before a roomful of witnesses Now the choice was his He could subject himself to his King, make a total and humiliating and costly surrender to a man not noted for generosity toward fallen enemies Or he could make use of what he knew, could damn John and doom himselfJohn showed no emotion, but his son Richard drew a sharp, audible breath, stepped from the shadows as if to forestall de Braose For Rich-j>rd- too, understood what was occurring When he'd first realized what15 father was doing, daring de Braose to speak of Arthur, to make aPublic accusation, Richard was appalled, until that moment, he'd notCognized how much he preferred not to know Arthur's fate Now he a.fed not at de Braose, but at his father, awed by the risk John wasWlllln8 to take°ut RUtbut was the nsk/ m truth' a11 that 8reat? As the Sllence spun uncle wrd'S 6yeS fllcked raPldlY to the faces of the other men, to his of ,he'"' to the aging Pembroke, to the elegant Peter des Roches, one e °nly two Bishops not to follow their brethren into French exile in

272the wake of the Pope's Interdict, and some of his anxiety began to eas No, not so great a risk after all. His uncle would be loyal to the grave ami beyond.Like Will, Pembroke was a man of rock-ribbed integrity, ijui imagination, and moderate ambitions, a man who had devoted th whole of his life to the fortunes of the House of Plantagenet. Whateve personal repugnance he might feel at hearing a confession of royal rnu der, it would not shake his loyalty, for his loyalty was to the crown to the man anointed by God to reign . . . even if that man be revealed as Cain. And Peter des Roches was no rebel priest, was a worldly, accommodating, and ambitious Prince of the Church, not one to be shocked by the dark underside of men's souls. Even if the worst came to pass, and de Braose blurted out an admission of conspiracy and murder, none of the men in this room would ever act upon it; instead, they'd do their best to bury their unwelcome knowledge beyond recall.But even as Richard realized that his father had shrewdly acted to minimize his political risks, he realized, too, that the personal risk John was willing to take was considerable. He could be sure that his brother and son would never betray him, no matter what they heard in this solar at Hereford Castle.But how could he be sure that they would forgive him?"Well?" John demanded. "Have you nothing to say to me?" There was defiance in the query, but there was triumph, too, for he'd correctly interpreted deBraose's continuing silence as surrender.De Braose did not answer. Once the initial shock had ebbed, he'd seen whatRichard had, that John had picked his audience with a sure hand, an artful understanding of the men he'd chosen as witnesses. But if John was bluffing, so was he. He would never have made a public accusation of any kind. The day that he accused a reigning King of murder was the day he signed his own death warrant, and he knew it. But knowing what he had to do did not make it any easier."I do owe Your Grace five thousand marks. I am here to promise payment.""Promises are cheap. You've made them before. And there are other considerations now. In the past year you've given me reasons enough to doubt your loyalty. As you know, a fortnight ago I dispatched the sheriffs ofGloucestershire and Shropshire and five hundred men-at-arms into the WestCountry. I thought their presence there might serve to prod your memory, to remind you where your interes lie. It would seem they did. But men-at-arms need to eat, expect the two pence a day. So, in addition to the five thousand marks you do o me for the honour of Limerick, you now owe me another thousa marks for the cost of that campaign." ^De Braose was truly taken aback by the utterly outrageous ga

273demand, that he should be assessed for the expenses of an army to ravage his own lands "I serve the King's pleasure," he said at56 with such bitter irony that John smiled"fust so," he said softly It was a warning as oblique as it was ecomical, but there was no need to say more De Braose understood all his grandfather's castles, Will de Braose liked Abergavenny the t He'd been born there, and had recently celebrated