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

in our campaign, we knew they'd try to take advantage of my absence from the ^ngdom But I think Pembroke and Winchester will hold them in check n"l I can return to deal with them myself No, the letter was from my son }Chester had developed a regard for Richard, and he smiled "Ic w *°ur Grace wanted him to look to your interests in England, but Iess I d have liked to have him with us today He's a good lad, can be led upon to keep a cool head "J°hn smiled, too "That he can Well, he'll be joining us next month,

432T433after his marriage to the little Chilham heiress." His squires had pulled his hauberk over a padded tunic, and were buckling his scabbard. "The truth, Ranulf. What are our chances?"Chester could not recall John ever calling him by his Christian name. "Well, I'd not trade places with Louis for the surety of my soul!" he said, and John laughed. He was reaching for a wine cup when the shouting began."The King, where's the King?"John yanked the partition aside just as the Earl of Derby burst into the tent."Your Grace, you'll not believe it, what Thouars and the barons are doing""Stop babbling and tell me, then!""The Poitevin barons, they're pulling out, my lord, deserting us!""Oh, Christ . . ." For a moment John froze, unable to distinguish between daylight horrors and those of his dream. And then he shouldered Derby aside, ducked under the tent flap.Men were clustered around the tent; they moved aside, quickly cleared a path.The Poitevins were already mounted, preparing to depart. John recognizedAimery, Viscount of Thouars, began to move toward him. They knew each other well; Thouars had long swung like a weathercock in a high wind, pledging fealty to John or Philip as circumstances seemed to dictate. He did not look defiant now, just uncomfortable, and before John could speak, he blurted out, "We were willing to join you in laying siege to Roche-au-Moine, but not to fight the French That was never our agreement. Philip is our liege lord, too;we owe him""You lying bastard! You've known for a fortnight that I meant to do battle with Louis, and you said nothing, raised no objections. No, you waited, waited till the day of the battle. Tell me, how much did the French pay you, Aimery?Did you get your thirty pieces of silver?"Thouars flushed, began to bluster, but John was no longer listening. Even as he'd raged at Thouars, as embittered accusations and invective took shape upon his tongue, an inner voice sounded an instinctive warning. Something was very wrong. Thouars was unscrupulous an unreliable, but he was also weak-willed, shrank from confrontation He'd have fled in the dark of night, on his own would never have foun the courage for this diabolically timed desertion.John's eyes slid pa Thouars, searched the faces of the others. And then he saw the < Lusignans, then he understood. His eyes locked with Hugh's, n 8 smiled and then leaned over, spat into the dust. , ("You English have a proverb I've always fancied, John, the one says revenge is a dish best eaten cold." .^gJohn jerked his sword from its scabbard. "You craven, cocksu vvrhoreson! God rot you, but you'll pay for this, I swear you will, if it takes me till Judgment Day!"Hugh laughed. "Ah, but today is Judgment Dayfor you. Good lock with theFrench."With that, the de Lusignans spurred their mounts, signaled to their inen. The other Poitevin barons followed, galloping out of the encampment to the jeers and taunts of the outraged English.Chester came forward, stopped beside John. He waited, and after a time, John said softly, "And I gave him my daughter, my Joanna ...""Your Grace!" The Earl of Derby was shoving his way toward them. "Your Grace, what mean you to do? The French will be upon us, and how can we fight now?We've just lost half our army!"John turned, and then sheathed his sword. "We cannot fight. Give the command to retreat. Tell my captains to head for the Loire.""But what of our siege weapons, the mangonels and trebuchet? What of our

tents, your baggage carts, your""Leave them." John's voice was without emotion, utterly flat, but Derby did not dare to argue. One look at John's face and he spun about, began to shout orders. The anger of their soldiers was now giving way to alarm, to the first stirrings of panic. Men began to run for their horses, and those who had no mounts began to scuffle with those who did. A few took advantage of the pandemonium to loot the tents of their cornmanders. Tempers flared, brawling broke out, and John's captains tried in vain to maintain some semblance of order. But the men had only one thought now, to flee before the French army arrived.John did not move, even when his agitated attendants brought up his stallion, implored him to mount. He stood alone midst the chaos and confusion, watching the disintegration of his army.WITHDRAWING to La Rochelle, John wrote urgently to his barons, earls, and knights, most of whom had remained in England, requesting that ey cross theChannel and join him without delay, even promising that dny of you should have understood that we bore him ill will, he can ave '* rectified by his coming."His son Richard, landing at La Rochelle ate July, caught up with John onAugust 2 at Limoges, where he had e unhappy task of telling his father that reinforcements were not corns' that John's hopes for regaining his continental empire now de,linded upon his brother Will and Reginald de Dammartin and the army ey were assembling in Flanders.Wa Was a subdued gathering in the Abbot's solar that night. Eleanor^ch ' *n a wmdow seat with John and Isabelle's five-year-old son, rcl' young Henry, as the heir to the throne, had remained in En-

434r435gland, and little Joanna had been turned over to the de Lusignans f0t