The Message of Blood by David Penny

Author:David Penny [Penny, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781912592098
Publisher: Rivertree Print
Published: 2020-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

Jorge sat at a small table, eating a plate of sauced meat with rice. He waved a hand for Thomas to sit, while Belia perched on the side of the bed. Instead of doing as Jorge wanted, Thomas felt his neck, put a finger beneath his chin to turn his head.

“I am fine,” said Jorge. “Hungry is all. Starving. How long have I been asleep?”

“Did Belia not tell you? Now stay still and let me finish, or I am going back to my bed.” He saw a smile flit across Belia’s lips.

“I need to tell you something.”

“When I am done. Now behave, for once.”

Thomas took a candle and moved it in front of Jorge’s eyes, pleased to see his pupils react. He parted his hair to examine the wound. It was beginning to heal, the bruise now purple, the gash starting to form a scab.

“Does your head ache?”

“Only at the back, and it itches like mad. They came at—”

“Later. Do you have pain anywhere else? Or feel dizzy? Sick?”

“I am perfectly fine. Now sit and let me tell you what I know.”

“What were you doing there? Are you mad? And with a dagger in your hand! The same dagger used on Mendoza. You must be mad.”

“My only madness was in thinking I could take care of matters on my own.”

“You were meant to stay in the palace. I promised Isabel and you made me break my promise.”

“She will forgive you, she always does. I know I should have waited, but it was too good an opportunity to put an end to all this, so I went to see him on my own. I am sorry.”

“What did you find out?” Thomas was still angry, but curiosity pushed it aside for the moment. “Did he tell you who the killer is?”

“He was already dead when I got there.” Jorge pulled a face. “Well, as good as dead. Two men were still working on him when I arrived. I turned to flee, cried out, but there was another man I hadn’t seen. I was sure I was about to die, just like the priest. I was sure I was dead. One man held me and the other hit me with something.”

“The hilt of a dagger, it looks like.”

“Well, you would know, wouldn’t you? It hurt like crazy and I must have passed out, but I came awake and they were still there. They were talking and I lay still so they believed I was unconscious. They said something strange, ‘The man from Roma said do not kill the eunuch’.” Jorge’s eyes were bright, his face flushed, the words tumbling out too fast in his haste to tell the story. “Were they talking about Rodrigo, do you think? Is my father a killer? Have I found him only to discover he is a murderer and wants me dead?”

“De Borja is not your father. Besides, they said not to kill you.”

“You told me he might be.” Jorge frowned. “Belia told me you think that woman Castellana brought me to Qurtuba and left me with that sorry excuse for a family.

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