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

debt of dishonor Shf could take no pride in what she had accomplished. Gratitude, too, ^ an alien emotion to her at that moment.Even her sense of relief va, curiously muted. She was aware only of her utter exhaustion, and wher John led her toward a bench, she sank down upon the hard wood as if,« were a cushioned settle.She'd once seen a swimmer collapse upon the beach after battlim the sea back to shore; he'd lain panting in the shallows, digging his hands deep into the sand as if to anchor himself to the earth, too weak to do more than marvel at his reprieve. She felt much the same way ncm wanted only to sit and be left in peace, if only for a little while.But John had seated himself beside her on the bench, and he v,as saying grimly, "If Llewelyn comes to me here at Aberconwy, I will accept his surrenderfor you, Joanna. But more than that I cannot do He has much to answer for, and if he wants peace, it must be on my terms You do understand that?"She nodded, and John relaxed somewhat, sought then to swallow a noxious draught with grudging grace. "I expect you'll want to send word at once? How many hostages will he want as pledges for hi« safety? Five? Ten?""No, Papa. He wants but one . . . your brother Will."John stiffened. "Christ Jesus!""John, I do not mind, in truth I do not," Will interjected mildly, a< Joanna had known he would; it was one of God's minor miracles that Will had somehow survived more than fifty years without compromi^ ing his faith, without forfeiting his innocence. "It is only a formate after all. I'm glad to do it for you, and for the lass here."Joanna could endure no more. Jumping to her feet, she kissed fir'1 her father and then her uncle. "I shall never forget what you're doing fc1' me," she said huskily. "Never."But once she emerged out into the cloisters, she faltered. The sui seemed hot enough to blind, to burn all it touched; even when sfr closed her eyes, she could not squeeze out the light. She leaned i°r' moment against one of the stone columns, and then felt Richard's suportive hand on her elbow."Come," he said, "there's a bench in the garth."They were alone in the sunlight. Richard had a soldier's flask af belt. He drank, then passed it to Joanna. "He was so set upon v

342ance," he said wondermgly "You need never again doubt that he f0ves you, Joanna ""I know " Joanna drank from Richard's flask, found it filled with a ungent, spiced wine She gasped, sputtered, and then blurted out, "I A not know how Ican ever look Uncle Will in the face again ""You were just acting as your husband's messenger Uncle Will understands that""No I was not Llewelyn told me to insist upon hostages of high ank, rnen thatPapa would be loath to lose But he did not demand Uncle Will as one of the hostages He would never have done that, for he knows how dear Uncle Will is to me " The blood rose in Joanna's cheeks so swiftly that her skin seemed on fire"I do love Uncle Will, Richard That's what is so unforgivable For I never hesitated " Joanna's voice trailed off After a long silence, she confessed, "But I suddenly knew that I was not willing to nsk Llewelyn's life on my father's word alone "LLEWELYN drew rein on the crest of the hill, stared down at the English encampment Seventeen years ago he'd won a decisive battle on this very site, had defeated his uncle and made himself ruler of half of Gwynedd at age twenty-one All of Gwynedd had been his before he was thirty But the banner now flying over the abbey was emblazoned with the royal arms of EnglandThe sun was hot, the hill infested with horseflies and mosquitoes, but none of the men complained They waited in sympathetic silence for Llewelyn to nerve himself for the ride down the hill, for his surrender to the English King When he finally moved, it was sudden, swift, took them by surprise He gave the chestnut its head, and it plunged down the slope, mane and tail taking the wind like flame, blazing into the English camp as if it had somehow seen into its rider's heart, shared his fettered rage, his fear, and his defiant despairHis men spurred their horses to overtake the chestnut, some of them shouting as if on the trail of wild boar, and the resulting entrance °f the Welsh into the camp was a tumultuous one But as they gazed ab°ut them, realized what John had in mind, they fell silent, lost much 'heir bravado A few swore under their breaths, most tightened grips °n sword hilts, and all looked toward LlewelynThe chestnut was fractious, fighting the bit, but Llewelyn scarcely heed For days now he'd been morbidly reliving the scene in the great at Norham Castle, putting himself in the place of the discomfited °ts King But once again he'd underestimated John's capacity for

342imaginative reprisal. For his was to be a very public humiliation, to be n less a spectacle than a bearbaiting or the hanging of a notorious high wayman.His surrender was not to be made in the abbey hall, nor in on of the English command tents, but out in the open in the glare of high noon, witnessed by all of John's troops and those of his Welsh alliesOne of the Abbot's high-backed chairs had been brought out for John; to his right were gathered the lords of his court, to his left the Welsh Princes.Llewelyn could count his enemies like rosary beadsGwenwynwyn, Maelgwn, RhysGryg, Thomas Corbet. Men who'd long hungered for this day, men who watched him with mocking eyes and smiles like unsheathed daggers. Even worse were the faces of his friends, his stepfather, Stephen and Baldwin de Hodnet, his