Read The Dragon Lord's Daughters Online
Authors: Bertrice Small
The Dragon Lord's Daughters (34 page)
“Aye! And ask me no more, woman! And neither of you is to tell Ysbail. I have told her they were taken, but nothing else. If she begins to howl and whine at me I shall kill her, I swear it! Right there, the devil! In a circle of boots, and how many I do not know! I shall wipe the de Bohuns off the face of the earth for this cruelty. As God is my witness, I will destroy them and theirs! I shall leave not a stone of their castle unbroken or not burned to avenge my innocent daughter.”
“First we wed her to the de Bohun boy,” Argel said. “Her honor must be restored so we may find her a good husband afterwards. A respectable widow with her dower portion still intact.”
“I cannot think on such a plan right now,” the Dragon Lord admitted. “My blood lust is too great. I will follow the example of my ancestor before me, and castrate the son before his father. Then I will chop off the father's manhood and balls myself. The de Bohuns of Agramant are finished!” He drank the contents of his goblet in several deep swallows, and slammed the vessel down on the arm of his chair.
Both women jumped, startled. Neither had ever seen Merin Pendragon so angry. They looked at one another questioningly.
“My good lord, you are justifiably upset,” Argel said. “Come to bed, now. I fear you will burst if you cannot calm yourself.”
Reaching out he took her hand in his, and raising it to his lips kissed it, giving her a small smile as he did so. “Go to your bed, Argel,” he said. “I will come eventually.”
The lady of Dragon's Lair arose, and curtsied to her husband. She knew he would take Gorawen to his bed, for Gorawen was better able to defuse his anger. When he was calmed once again he would leave the woman he loved, and come to his wife to comfort her.
Why do I feel no resentment over that?
Argel asked herself. But she didn't, and she never had. Perhaps because Merin respected her position as his wife, and treated her with kindness. Perhaps because Gorawen never attempted to overstep her own position in their lives because she loved their shared lord deeply.
As do I,
Argel thought.
And that is why we are such good friends.
She moved quietly from the hall to find her own chamber.
Why do I feel no resentment over that?
Argel asked herself. But she didn't, and she never had. Perhaps because Merin respected her position as his wife, and treated her with kindness. Perhaps because Gorawen never attempted to overstep her own position in their lives because she loved their shared lord deeply.
As do I,
Argel thought.
And that is why we are such good friends.
She moved quietly from the hall to find her own chamber.
When she had gone Gorawen arose and held out her hand to Merin Pendragon. “Come, my lord. Argel is right. You need to calm yourself. If you do not you will not think clearly.” She took him by the hand and led him from the hall to her chamber. There she disrobed herself, and Merin. She brought him more wine, taking a goblet for herself as well. Then together they entered her bed. “Shall I offer you comfort, my lord?” she asked him softly, but he shook his head at her.
“I could not,” he answered her. “Not after what I have seen tonight, Gorawen.”
“Tell me what you would not tell the others,” she coaxed him gently, a skilled hand massaging the back of his thick neck. “You cannot keep it bottled within you like an evil fairy, my lord. What did you see at Mryddin Water?”
He groaned. It was a sound of deep pain. “A ring of boots in the sand surrounding the deep imprint of my daughter's body. Men knelt by her four limbs, spreading them wide, forcing her to submit. And between her legs the mark of more knees denting the soft ground. I know not how many men knelt there violating Junia!” He swallowed down his wine, setting the cup aside, his head falling onto his chest as he sobbed with his grief.
Gorawen took him into her arms and let him weep. When the sounds of his sorrow began to ease she said to him, “I want you to think back on that scene, Merin.”
“I cannot!” he cried, anguished.
“You must!” she insisted. “Do you see footprints anywhere within the circle moving into it, Merin? Think, my lord. Think!”
He was silent for a long moment, and then he answered her, “Nay. I see only the marks of the circle. Wait! One set of footprints behind the knee marks.”
“Nothing else?” she pressed him.
“Nay,” he said slowly, and then more forcefully, “Nay!”
“Then in all likelihood Junia's violation was by but one man,” Gorawen told her lord. “Let that be of some small comfort to you.”
“It is so?” he asked, grasping at her words as a drowning man grasps at a straw.
“If there were no footprints of men moving in and out of the circle then there was only one man to do the deed, my lord. Not that it is any less abhorrent, but it was probably the boy who violated her. His father has a foul reputation, as you know. I am sorry the boy takes after him.”
“I will kill him!” Merin Pendragon said again.
“Of course you will, my lord, but not until after we have seen them wed. It will be far easier to find a suitable husband for Junia if she is a widow with her full dower portion than if she is the victim, however innocent, of a cruel assault,” Gorawen reasoned. “But, my dear lord, you cannot punish the de Bohuns without help. You must call upon Lord Mortimer for aid.”
“You would make this matter public?” he said, outraged.
“Lord Mortimer can be convinced to remain silent if he knows the truth of the matter. He is an honorable man, Merin, and he can accomplish what you cannot,” Gorawen told him.
“What?” the Dragon Lord demanded of Gorawen.
“He can get into Agramant without a fight,” she replied. “The most important thing in all of this is to ransom Junia and Brynn so we may gain their safe return. Lord Mortimer can negotiate for you, Merin. Once we have your son and daughter back in our custody, then, my lord, you can attack Agramant. It will be a difficult siege, Merin. You do not want the children caught in it else de Bohun kill them out of spite.”
He thought for several long moments during which time she continued to massage his neck. Finally he said, “Aye, lovey, you are right! But will de Bohun believe that all I want is my son and daughter?”
“Of course he will,” she replied with a small chuckle. “He will believe you the weakling for sending Lord Mortimer to parlay with him instead of coming yourself. He will consider the ransom he wants, and be greedy. We will give him what he wants, for when Agramant falls you will retrieve it. First and foremost we want Brynn and Junia safe home,” Gorawen concluded.
“But it will take several days to get to Mortimer, and convince him to agree. What if he will not help me?” the Dragon Lord said.
“He will give you aid. Lord Mortimer is a vain man, and to have you pleading for his help will be most flattering. He bears you no ill will, Merin, and he will be shocked to learn of what the de Bohuns have done,” Gorawen responded.
“But to have to leave my son and my daughter, especially Junia, in their hands for any longer than necessary,” the Dragon Lord answered her, “breaks my heart.”
“The damage is already done, my lord,” Gorawen said sensibly. “Nothing will change by it taking longer to gain their release. Besides, you cannot successfully besiege Agramant. It is too well fortified. We must get Brynn and Junia back, and then gain custody of the de Bohuns,
pere et fil,
by means of some clever ruse.”
pere et fil,
by means of some clever ruse.”
“You are the cleverest of women, Gorawen,” he told her admiringly. “I am fortunate in having you.”
“Aye, you are, my dear lord,” she agreed with him, and she laughed.
“You have set my mind at ease in this matter,” he replied. “I feel hope in my heart where I did not earlier.” He drank down his wine, and then arose from her bed. “I had best go to Argel now, and tell her of your wise counsel.” He pulled his tunic over his dark head.
“Do not say that it was my advice, my lord. Let her believe you have thought on the matter, and decided it yourself,” Gorawen said. “Argel is your wife, and you should not make her feel any less because of your love for me. If you had spent this last hour with her she very well might have offered you the same ideas as I had,” Gorawen said.
“It is not likely,” he told her, “for Argel, good woman she is, has not your keen mind, my love, but if I tell her these are my thoughts she will believe me, for she is, bless her, a trusting soul.”
“Do not underestimate her, my dear lord, for Argel's heart is yours, and her duty first and foremost is to the Pendragons,” Gorawen replied sagely.
He bent and gave her a swift kiss. “You are a clever creature,” he told her with a chuckle, and then he left her.
Gorawen shook her golden head. She loved him, but he was not the quickest man where strategy was concerned. She wondered if Lord Mortimer would be able to convince the de Bohuns to accept ransom for the Pendragon brother and sister. There had been no need for them to kidnap Brynn and Junia. Why had they reignited a feud that had lain dormant for many years? And why had they felt it necessary to violate Junia? Was it possible that Lord de Bohun meant to wipe out the Pendragons? And why did he feel a need to do such a thing if it was indeed his purpose? Junia's plight was making the trials suffered by her two elder sisters seem like child's play in comparison.
I must sleep on this,
Gorawen thought to herself. Merin would not return to her tonight. The reality of what he had seen earlier rendered it impossible for him to make love to any woman this night, and possibly for many nights to come.
I must sleep on this,
Gorawen thought to herself. Merin would not return to her tonight. The reality of what he had seen earlier rendered it impossible for him to make love to any woman this night, and possibly for many nights to come.
In the morning a messenger was dispatched to Lord Mortimer. The messenger returned four days later with both Lord Mortimer and his son in tow. They were accompanied by Rhys FitzHugh. They were surprised to see the lord of Everleigh, for it was harvest time.
“Averil is capable of overseeing the estate,” Rhys explained. “This is obviously a family matter, my lord Merin. I would help in whatever way I can.”
The Dragon Lord was pleased, but he asked, “How did you learn of my request to Lord Mortimer for help?”
“They stopped at Everleigh to water their horses and beg a meal,” Rhys replied.
Merin Pendragon nodded. “Sit down then, my lords, and I will tell you why it is I have called upon you for your aid. My daughter Junia and my son Brynn have been taken by Hugo de Bohun and his son Simon. They are imprisoned at Agramant.” Then the Dragon Lord went on to explain the entire situation in careful detail to the trio.
They were shocked by his story.
“Hugo de Bohun was always a bad sort,” Lord Mortimer said. “Only his wife could keep him from mischief, but she, poor lady, is long dead. I had not heard evil of the son before this, Merin. I am sorry he has followed in his father's boot steps.”
“What do you want us to do?” Rhys FitzHugh asked.
“I cannot take my revenge on the de Bohuns while they retain custody of my children,” Merin Pendragon began. “And so, my lords, I would have you go to Hugo de Bohun, and ask him what ransom he will require to release my son and my daughter to me. I will pay it, whatever it is, for I will retrieve said ransom once I have my children returned, and seek out the de Bohuns that I may have my revenge upon them. The feud between our families burned hot for many years, but for the last five and twenty years it has lain dormant. I know not what caused Hugo de Bohun to revive it, but when he and his son are finally in my hands, I will end this quarrel between our families forever.”
Lord Mortimer nodded. “Aye, that would be best, old friend. And you will have no difficulty from his more powerful de Bohun relations. They will look the other way, and be glad his branch has been pruned from the family tree. That I can promise you, Merin. Hugo de Bohun has been causing trouble in one place or another for years.”
“Then you will go to him, and ask what is required of me that my children be safely returned to Dragon's Lair?” the Dragon Lord said.
“Of course I will go,” Lord Mortimer said.
“We will all three go,” Rhys added. “Lord Mortimer and Roger as your own personal emissaries, and I as a member of your family.”
Lord Mortimer nodded. “We will make an impressive delegation, I think. Even de Bohun should be impressed, if not a bit intimidated, and we need to intimidate him perhaps a little. If he believes that the English Marcher lords are involved in this we may be able to move him.” Then Lord Mortimer said to Merin Pendragon, “I am sorry about Junia, old friend. I remember her as a child. A most charming little girl.”
“The vision of what I saw that night will remain with me always,” the Dragon Lord replied. “The hard knowledge that my daughter was violated so cruelly.”
“Try to put it from your mind, old friend,” Lord Mortimer said. “Not an easy thing, I know, but for Junia's sake you must. She will be greatly shamed by what has happened to her while she has been in de Bohun hands. I regret we must wait until the morrow to travel onward, but the sun is already setting over the western hills.”
Argel entered the hall as he spoke, with Gorawen at her side. “Welcome, my lords,” she greeted them as Gorawen went to her son-in-law, and kissed his cheek.
There were tears in her eyes, but he understood the unspoken words she did not utter, and put an arm about her. “
Belle Mere,
you grow more beautiful with each year,” he told her, and gave her a kiss in return.
Belle Mere,
you grow more beautiful with each year,” he told her, and gave her a kiss in return.
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