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

to sword hilts Falkes de Breaute said coolly, "We'll be rejoining our men You do remember the men-at-arms awaiting us in the bailey7You need not offer us your hospitality for the night, after all "De Braose said nothing They departed the hall with enough haste to compromise their dignity, hands still on sword hilts Only then did William de Braose moveCrossing the space that separated him from his wife, he struck her across the faceMaude's head rocked back, she stumbled, put up a hand to stanch e sudden gush of blood No one spoke Her sons looked away Will al°ne took a shocked step toward herYou stupid bitch " William de Braose's voice was low, raw with a8e, but it carried clearly to all in the hall "Know you what you've Hi,,6 anc' your accursed unbridled tongue, you've destroyed us

24SHREWSBURY, ENGLANDOctober 120&UOOl^kJooN after Maude de Braose publicly accused John of murder, William de Braose and his sons made a desperate attempt to regain possession of the castles deBraose had surrendered to John. Failing in these assaults, they plundered and burned the market town of Leominster. John proclaimed de Braose a traitor to the crown, and on September 29 he freed de Braose's vassals from all allegiance to their fugitive lord.Gwenwynwyn, Prince of Lower Powys, at once sought to take advantage of the resulting chaos by launching raids upon the de Braose lands and those of neighboring Norman lords. John responded with more force than the Welsh Prince could hope to equal. The two agreed to meet at Shrewsbury to discuss peace terms.SHREWSBURY Castle had been held by the crown for more than two hundred years, and the great hall had been rebuilt in stone by John's father. John's son was thinking of that as they awaited the arrival of the Welsh Prince, wondering if his grandfather would have done what John meant to do. Probably so, Richard decided; his father's lessons in cynical statecraft had been learned underHenry's tutelage.Now he glanced about the hall, at the other men: Ranulf de Blundeville, Earl of Chester; Thomas Erdington, Sheriff of Shropshire; Lord Robert Corbet and his son Thomas; Robert de Montalt. There was no one else in the hall; Chester had cleared it of retainers, servants, ana men-at-arms. Richard knew why, knewChester was seeking to ma*6 Gwenwynwyn's capitulation as painless as possible.No easy task, giye the surprise they were about to spring upon him. But he gave Ches credit for trying; tact was an attribute Richard appreciated.

279Richard had only recently joined the knights of Chester's houseId but the past weeks had caused him to revise his earlier unfavoruie opinion of the Earl He was not a particularly likable man, was of a erved and taciturn nature, but he was an astute judge of character, hrewd and surprisingly subtle, and he had soon won Pilchard's respect Richard knew this coming confrontation withGwenwynwyn had to be wkward for Chester, the two men had once been allies But nothing showed in Chester's face or demeanor There was in his manner only the dispassionate resolve of a man set upon doing his duty, upon carrying out theKing's command however little he might like it pochard wondered if the Corbets shared Chester's reluctance to do what John wanted done Theirs was an even more awkward position, for Gwenwynwyn had takenRobert Corbet's daughter to wife But they'd voiced no protests, raised no objections With the fate of William de Braose still uppermost in all their minds, few of John's barons were eager to incur his displeasure in this, the tenth year of his reign"Pilchard7" Thomas Corbet was looming over him Without waiting to be asked, he sprawled down beside Pilchard in the window seat Richard retreated as far as he was able, but not in time to avoid Thomas's elbow in his ribs He was not comfortable with such close physical proximity, even with those he liked, and he did not like Thomas Corbet For all his self-professed contempt forLlewelyn, Thomas was showing himself quite willing to trade upon Llewelyn's marital connection with the crown and his own tenuous connection with theWelsh Prince to establish an unwelcome familiarity with Llewelyn's brother-in-law, and his sensitivity was such that he was utterly oblivious toRichard's measured recoil"Have you had further word on de Braose's whereabouts7" Richard was tempted to deny Thomas the pleasure of being one of the first to know But all would know soon enough, and he said grudgingly, "De Braose and his family fled to Ireland on Thursday last, are seeking refuge with his son-m-law, the Lord of Meath ""Indeed7 And will your lord father the King now" But Richard was spared further conversation by the arrival of Gwenwynwyn Richard had never met thePrince of Powys, but he was quite curious about '"is man who was Llewelyn's avowed and embittered rival, and he watched with considerable interest asGwenwynwyn was escorted into e hall He was a good ten years older thanLlewelyn, appeared to be in15 middle to late forties, a short, dark-complexioned man, stocky and newy, he bore a surprising resemblance to the swarthy, thickset Earl of ster And likeChester, Gwenwynwyn had black eyes ablaze with er> intelligence, sharp with suspicion Chester was advancing to greet him Gwenwynwyn's eyes flicked

280past the Earl, encompassed the hall. "I was summoned to meet with King John,"he said, in fluent Norman-French. "Why is he not here?""The King's Grace has instructed me to act on his behalf." Chester's voice was neutral, matter-of-fact. "He has been grievously affronted by your recent incursions into Norman lands in South Wales. No man, be he Welsh or Norman, may violate the King's Peace with impunity. The King has therefore directed me to take you into the custody of the crown, to detain you here in ShrewsburyCastle."Richard saw the looks of incredulous outrage upon the faces of Gwenwynwyn'sWelsh followers, saw hands drop to sword hilts Gwenwynwyn looked no less outraged, but he showed now that he resembled Chester in more than coloring, showed himself to