Master Of Surrender by Karin Tabke

Author:Karin Tabke [Tabke, Karin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-08-13T03:00:00+00:00

Isabel ran from the courtyard to the bailey to see Ioan and Warner guiding those people from the glade who could walk to one side whilst they brought the carts laden with wounded up front. She bade Ioan and Warner to bring them to a large hut abandoned by a large family. It would serve as a hospital of sorts. Within minutes, she began to minister again to those she had tended the day before, and with very few exceptions, she was pleased with her handiwork.

Enid, Lyn, Mari, and Sarah made room for the people of Wilshire. They were a sullen lot, not familiar with their surroundings. Most of them having never left their village, fewer still had ventured to Alethorpe. Wilshire was the smallest of all of her father’s holdings, but the manor was sturdy and the lands rich with minerals. The forests teemed with game. It was one of Edward’s, then Harold’s, favored hunting grounds. When the king’s train came to stay at Rossmoor, it was always a most tedious time.

There was much to prepare, and the king’s courtiers required food and shelter. Yet her father never grumbled at the cost of such visits. He gladly dipped into his treasure trove of silver and was a most gracious host. The last time Harold had been through was in July. It was a short visit. And more than a mere hunting excursion. Harold had come to his most loyal lord, Alefric, to drum up arms and a pledge of soldiers. Alefric had many allies to the north, and even as far south as Normandy on his late wife’s side. Harold was counting heavily on them. Her father did not disappoint. He sent almost three hundred men with Geoff to Stamford Bridge, and another one hundred followed him to Senlac Hill. That only a handful of men had returned and with no word of her father greatly disturbed her. As each day passed, Isabel lost hope of ever seeing her sire or her brother alive.

She turned back to her chores. The wounded had been tended to and the displaced families of Wilshire given shelter and food. There were a goodly number of craftsmen among the survivors and several women she would be able to put to good use in the manor. But Isabel waited to press them to duty. They had been so traumatized and walked as if in a fog. They needed time for the scars in their minds to lessen. There was plenty of time to put them to work. A day or two would not matter.

As she stood in the courtyard rubbing the aching small of her back, Isabel gave thought to Rohan. She had deliberately put him from her thoughts for most of the day. Yet, inevitably, he crept back into them. And each time he did, her anger flared.

Isabel felt the overwhelming need for a power greater than her own or any mortal man’s. Having a moment where no one tugged at her sleeve for advice or to clean a festering wound, she slipped into the chapel.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.