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

166an island kingdom, how difficult to defend a far-flung empire. But t^ empire was Richard's, and so he cannot bear to let it go." Isabelle leanej forward, put her hand on Will's sleeve. "I would help him if I could, bm I do not know how. I was so hoping that you did," she said, giving VVni a look of such irresistible appeal that he felt a lump rise in his throat.He'd wondered if Isabelle loved his brother, was pleased now t conclude that she did. And yet he felt a certain surprise, too. He had l^ illusions aboutJohn, knew what John had done and what he was capa. ble of doing, but the bond of brotherhood was one to last from the cradle to the grave. The bond between husband and wife he believed to be more fragile. Women were known to be the lesser sex; Will thought they were also the purer sex, softer of heart and more innocent of mind than men. As Isabelle lay with John in their vast marital bed, was her sleep never disturbed by uneasy thoughts of Arthur?Will could not be sure, of course, that the rumors were true, that Arthur was dead. But his suspicions were strong enough to keep him from confronting his brother, from insisting that John tell him what he'd rather not know. It was not that he was shocked; while he would never have chosen himself to claimArthur's life, he recognized John's right to do so. Treason warranted death.Scriptures said that plainly, said rebellion was as the sin of witchcraft. AndArthur had remained defiantly unrepentant. Will had been present when John confronted Arthur at Falaise in January 1203, had come away from that turbulent, ugly encounter with the grim realization that Arthur was doomed; if he would not bend, he'd have to be broken. The French King had been putting about lurid rumors for months, contending that Arthur had been murdered in a number of grisly waysdrowned, stabbed, blinded and castratedrumors that found ready believers among Arthur's Bretons, but few in England, where Arthur's fate was a matter of supreme indifference. But that past Easter, John had paid a second visit to Arthur, then being held at Rouen Castle, and soon after, rumors again began to circulate that the sixteen-year-old Duke of Brittany had been put to death at his uncle's command, some even said by John's own hand.That last, Will dismissed as nonsense; he knew John too well, knew his brother had ever preferred to keep distance between himself and his darker misdeeds.Yet the sinister silence that descended over Rouen Castle after that Easter visit convinced Will that these rumors were well grounded m reality, and he could only wonder at John's genius for self-sabotageHowever deserved wasArthur's death, it was still a drastic, draconian step to take, and even a political novice like Will understood that it had to be done in the fullest light of high noonor not at all."Will. . . why are you staring at me like that?"Will blinked, lost Arthur's ghost in the deep blue of Isabelle's eye5

267vvas truly a sweet lass, he thought, and not for the world would he her lose her faith in John "It gladdens my heart to know that you are r>y in your marriage, and I shall indeed do what I can to ease John's discontent ""Why would I not be happy in my marriage7" Isabelle echoed, surged "John denies me nothing Richard's poor Berengana might well u ye been invisible, for the notice people took of her But when I enter a hamber, all conversation hushes, all eyes are upon mebecause peole know John cares whether I am content or not Oh, I grant you he is ot always an easy man to live with, has tempers and black moods and hadowy places in his soul where I cannot follow But we'll be wed four years come August, Will, and not once has my womb quickened with ljfe Yet not once has John ever reproached me for that How many barren wives could say as much7"Will was both embarrassed and touched by the unexpected intimacy of this glimpse she'd just given him into her married life "I am sure you'll conceive in God's time, lass," he said awkwardly, and Isabelle smiled"So am I," she assured him, sounding faintly amused "But it is kind of you to try to ease my mind You are a good man, Will, you truly are John John is good to me," said with just enough emphasis on the last two words to tell Will that she was not so innocent as he'd first thought, as he'd like to believe He looked at her, at the wide-set eyes utterly clear and untroubled by ghosts, at the mouth so soft and sweetened by laughter, and decided he must have misread her meaning"You must not fret," he said soothingly "I'll stay as long as John has need of me, I promise you ""IT is your move, John," William de Braose prompted, sounding so smug thatJohn gave him a cold stare before resuming his very deliberate study of the chessboardWill shifted in his seat He was a mediocre chess player at best, but even he could see that John had allowed himself to be maneuvered into an utterly untenable position That realization gave Will almost as much exasperation as it did John, for Isabelle had not exaggerated, he'd rarely seert his brother in such a grim mood, a mood not likely to be improved ty a loss to William deBraose De Braose was as ungracious a winner as John was a loser Already there was gleeful anticipation in his grin He w°uld win, then magnanimously waive payment of their wager stakes, gloating thinly guised as jest, Will had seen de Braose win beforeWill had known de Braose for some ten years, for he was one of the