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

that, it must not1 Llewelyn, please, you must act whilst there still be time Go to my father, seek his pardon Oh, please, I beg you'""Seek his pardon7" he echoed, incredulous "For what, putting him to the inconvenience of an invasion7" He swung about, too angry to risk remaining, but she was already at his side, clutching frantically at his arm"No, you do not understand1 I'm not saying Papa is right He's not, he's not1But there cannot be war between you When I think of you and Papa facing one another across a battlefield, I Llewelyn, please, please do not let it come to that1""Joanna Joanna, I cannot he to you, cannot pretend this is just one more border skirmish John wants as much of Gwynedd as he can conquer, wants my head on a pike ""No, Llewelyn, no He'd not go as far as that, not if he loves me And he does, he""I know you love him, Joanna, but do not defend him Not tonight, not to me "She stared at him, her eyes slowly filling with tears "My God, Llewelyn, what are we going to do7"He reached out, traced a tear's path with his thumb, brushing it away before it could reach her mouth "I do not know if it will comfort you any, Joanna, but you need not fear a battlefield confrontation I have no intention of taking the field against John "She drew an audible breath, and her hand tightened upon his arm °h, my love, my love, thank you1"Although the temptation to he to her was overwhelming, he shook18 "ead "I do not do it for you, Joanna John can call upon all the^sources of the English crown, has the support, as well, of most of the elsh Princes He can put ten, twenty times as many men under arms ever could I'd have to be out of my wits to engage him on the field JL °pen baftle " Llewelyn paused "And if he thinks I'm that big a fool, my pride will utterly vanquish my common sense, he's made the latest mistake of his life"u

324The night was so unseasonably warm that no fire had been lit in th hearth. ButJoanna had begun to tremble. "I'm so cold . . ." she sai

325'th Chester and Pembroke, calmed the camp by announcing that men ere being dispatched back to England for wagons of flour, bacon, and cheese.The supply party set out the next day at dawn. At noon the few urvivors staggered, bleeding, back into camp. With the realization that the man they were hunting had become the hunter, that Llewelyn had swung around behind them and cut off access to England, John's captains were hard put to maintain order. By month's end, Llewelyn's grim prediction had come to pass;they'd begun to butcher their horses.RICHARD was standing by an open window in the keep of Deganwy Castle, gazing down at their encampment spread out upon the slopes below. To his right flowed the fluid barrier of the Conwy, and beyond, the whitewashed buildings ofAberconwy Abbey. Richard knew the whiterobed monks would be moving about their daily chores, as if oblivious of the fact that only the width of the river lay between them and an enemy army. He wondered if the monks realized just how lucky they were. The abbey had flourished under Llewelyn's patronage, reason enough in his father's eyes to have treated the monastery as spoils of war.The silence in the chamber was oppressive, utterly disheartened. His UncleWill and the Earl of Pembroke had unrolled a crude map of North Wales. No one else was making even a pretense of productive activity. Richard's older half-brother Oliver was sprawled in a far corner, trying to sleep. So, too, was Oliver's uncle, Fulk Fitz Warin. John's mysterious magnanimity in pardoning Fitz Warin's treason had been resolved for Richard upon learning that Oliver's mother was Fitz Warin's sister. He could not help thinking upon that now, wondering at the perverse inconsistencies in his father's nature, that the same man who'd forgive a rebel for the sake of a onetime bedmate would also undertake the destruction of a loved daughter's husband.The door opened and Eustace de Vesci entered, followed by Robert Fitz Walter and Henry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. They squatted down m the rushes, began to pass a wineskin back and forth. But they kept 'heir eyes upon John all the while; Richard could not help noticing how j^ny of his father's barons did that, watched John whenever he was not 'ooking.De Vesci had left the door ajar. It was jerked back now with a vioence that spun all heads around. Ranulf de Blundeville, Earl of Chester, °de into the solar. Ignoring the others, he addressed himself to John, " a complete disregard for preamble or protocol. There've been three more stabbings today."

326John got to his feet. "What of it? Soldiers are bound to brawl amongst themselves.""Indeed, that's so. But in the past when my men fought, it was ovp a wenchnot over bread!""I hardly need to hear again about the shortages!""I think you do. We're running out of more than food, we're run ning out of time. Do you know a man with an egg can sell it for a penny and a half? That'd buy him an entire chicken back in England! There's not a dog or a hen left alive in the castle, and the pantry, larder, and buttery have been emptied to feed your men, supplies that were to maintain my garrison for months. It took me two months to fortify Deganwy, fighting off the Welsh almost daily. How inChrist do you expect me to hold this castle now?"John did not reply, and Chester took a step closer. "How much longer do you mean to deny the truth, that this is a war we cannot win? You need proof? Just go out and take a walk through the camp! So many have taken sick that you cannot