Read Forest Kingdom Trilogy 2 - Blood and Honor for Free Online Page A

get the better of you. You detest Dominic, not least because of his choice of wife. The Lady Elizabeth was once . . . close to you, until Dominic won her away.'
    'Tricky,' said Jordan. 'Do I have any friends at Court?'
    'Not really,' said Roderik. 'Most of your followers were sent with you into internal exile, and for the most part they've chosen to remain there until the succession is decided. But Dominic and Lewis are also finding themselves more isolated than usual, for the same reason. No one wants to be remembered as having backed the losing side . . .'
    Jordan rode for a while in silence, sorting out the new information as best he could. It was fine, as far as it went, but it wasn't what he needed. If he was going to pass off this impersonation successfully, he was going to have to know not just the facts of Prince Viktor's background, but also the secrets and motivations that underlay those facts. And interesting though Viktor's family background was, there was still a great deal he wasn't being told.
    'Viktor's been in internal exile for four years,' he said finally. 'What exactly did he do that warranted such extreme punish-ment? I mean, you've already told me that Lewis once strangled a young woman of the nobility and got away with it.'
    Argent and Roderik looked at each other. Sir Gawaine stared at the road ahead. Finally Roderik sighed, and looked at Jordan.
    'Forgive me, Jordan, of course you need to know. It's just not something we normally talk about. In fact, we seem to have spent most of the last four years using every bit of influence we have to keep the truth of what really happened from ever coming out. Prince Viktor . . . has always been one for the ladies.
    However, unlike Lewis, Viktor was normally sensible enough to limit his wandering eye to the servant classes. Such assignations may be deplorable, but they're of no real importance. But, as I said earlier, Prince Viktor somehow became involved with the Lady Elizabeth, at a time when she was officially betrothed to Prince Dominic. How they kept it a secret for so long in a Court noted for its love of gossip is beyond me, but of course it couldn't last, and eventually Dominic found out. And that was when the tempers really began to fly. The Lady Elizabeth is a charming, beautiful young woman from an impeccable family background. Unfortunately, she is also a cold, calculating bitch. She delighted in playing the two brothers off against each other, possibly to determine which would make the better husband,
    but more likely just because she enjoyed it. Viktor and Dominic were on the point of a formal duel when the King finally discovered what was going on, and stepped in to put an end to it. He called all the parties before him in a private session, and apparently demanded that the Lady Elizabeth make her choice there and then. She chose Dominic.
    'For a time, nothing happened. Viktor shut himself in his quarters and refused to speak to anyone, even Gawaine. We were all very worried about him. Viktor had never been one for brooding; when he was angry he spoke his mind, and let the sparks fall where they would. His continued silence was . . .
    disturbing. Meanwhile, Dominic and Elizabeth made the preparations for their marriage. The invitations went out, presents began to arrive, everything seemed perfectly normal. What happened next isn't entirely clear. The full facts were only ever discussed with the King, behind closed doors, and Viktor still won't talk about it. What is clear is that Viktor tried to murder Dominic. He almost succeeded. From all accounts, the King was frantic when he found out. A formal duel was one thing; that at least was honourable, if not strictly proper. But murder ... to attempt to strike down one's own brother by stealth and treachery, to steal his fiancee . . .
    'King Malcolm couldn't put Viktor on trial. If he had, the whole story would inevitably have come out, and the royal family would have been brought into disrepute.