Read By Right of Arms for Free Online Page A

Flemish lords were at odds with the French king and the Papacy. From Flanders to Gascony it was easy enough to find a friendly beachhead. Lord Lavergne was more merchant than nobleman and needed the English trade. All of his people were clothed in the English wool, and the English guzzled his wine. Giles, more an aristocrat than a warrior or merchant, did not see the advantage of making an ally of his enemy.
    He was all for France and the Church, whatever the cost. The cost had proven dear.
    Lavergne had continued to plead for concessions on behalf of his daughter. Although Aurélie had abandoned her father’s principles for her husband’s, Lavergne was desperate to protect her against death or imprisonment. Hyatt had not given his word to that. He refused to weaken his position on any issue. But it was in his mind from the first that only necessary death and bondage should occur. He did not fear the mistress of De la Noye, this child-woman of whom Lavergne had spoken so affectionately. The fact that she was steadfast behind Giles to the end only made her more admirable in Hyatt’s mind. Loyalty, especially from a woman, had come to mean a great deal to him.
    When he saw her, ravaged though she was by the destruction that encompassed her and the effects of honest grief for her husband, her beauty was manifest. She was small and trim, though by no means frail. Her face, even in devastation, had a healthy glow, her eyes bright enough to glitter in the dark and as blue as the clearest sky. Her thick brown hair was streaked with honey-gold and fell below her waist, curling seductively around her face. And her tenacity spoke of passion. This was, as Lavergne had claimed, a worthy dame.
    He had earlier found the woman, Perrine, and allowed her to fetch her mistress for the early morning burial. He instructed his men to let her pass. Although he wished it otherwise, he found himself compelled to watch her from the wall, assuring himself that there was sufficient strength in her stride. She endured her hardships well. He was disappointed that he lacked a better view, another chance to look closely at her face and alluring form. Hyatt was never trapped by a flirtatious smile, but there was something about Aurélie, something more than her obvious fairness, that occupied his thoughts. From the moment he had issued her the blade, he had hoped he was accurate in assuming she was made of surviving stock.
    He returned to his own work while she was busy with the burial. He had serious matters to deal with, though most of De la Noye had fallen into place better than he expected. These simple castlefolk and even the men-at-arms had suffered a rule so weak, they were resigned to Hyatt’s shocking power almost immediately. Little was needed in the way of educating them.
    The greatest disappointment of his conquest lay in the continued poor behavior of one of his own, Sir Thormond. The knight was a cockerel who was consumed by self-importance. He had acted outside of Hyatt’s authority on several occasions in the past, the complaints and crimes attributed to him many. Although he had been warned, Thormond was feeling a victor’s zeal when they took De la Noye. He was reprimanded twice for actions he took against the residents, and Hyatt began watching him more closely. He discovered Thormond hiding some of the booty for his personal use. Now he must deal with the man. He knew the punishment must be harsh and swift for two solid reasons. Thormond had earned punishment befitting a thief, and the example to the other knights and residents here might save future retribution. If all were sufficiently shocked into awareness, only the foolish would dare steal from Hyatt in the future.
    Yet Hyatt vehemently wished that he had never taken the knight on, or had turned him out long ago, on perhaps the first or second offense of usurping his master’s authority. Against his better judgment, Hyatt had paid the man, purchased his battle gear and horse,