The Stallions of Woodstock by Edward Marston

Author:Edward Marston [Marston, Edward]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Genre Fiction, Historical, Bright Dart, Literature & Fiction
ISBN: 9780312200213
Amazon: B004C4385E
Goodreads: 1231723
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 1997-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

With four of his knights at his heels, Wymarc rode north-west out of Oxford towards his manor. He had much to occupy his mind on the seven miles home. Ralph Delchard’s sudden arrival in the courtroom had been at once annoying and pleasing to Wymarc. He was irritated that the trial had been extended beyond the short time he had expected it to last, but he was gratified at the way in which Ralph had allowed him to secure a momentary advantage over Bertrand Gamberell by indicating that Wymarc had assisted the commissioner during the latter’s visit to Woodstock. In his long battle of attrition with Gamberell, every successful blow which Wymarc landed on his enemy was to be relished.

Their rivalry had long roots. It grew partly out of Wymarc’s envy of someone who seemed to enjoy an effortless superiority in almost every area of life. Where Wymarc had to sweat and struggle to achieve his aims, Gamberell did so with a studied nonchalance. Close in age, they were far apart in appearance and ability. All the advantages undoubtedly lay with Gamberell and, as a handsome bachelor, he could explore myriad pleasures that were for ever beyond the reach of an ugly married man like Wymarc.

It was when Bertrand Gamberell turned his plausible charm on Helene that her brother’s hatred of him reached new depths. The girl was young and immature but that did not deter a seasoned voluptuary.

When he learned that Helene was in the church choir, he took to lurking around the castle when she was due to leave, seizing a few minutes with her to flirt and entice and ensnare. Wymarc had broken up their conversations a number of times but no amount of dire warnings from him had held his sister back from further association with Gamberell. After singing the praises of God in church, she went out to play with the devil. Wymarc’s only remedy was to take her out of the choir altogether.

The sky was slowly darkening as they neared the end of their journey and they kicked more speed out of their horses for the final mile. The house eventually came into sight and Wymarc envisioned a warm welcome from his wife and a hot meal prepared by his cook, compensatory comforts after a long day away from home.

Disappointment awaited him. In place of the warm welcome, he rode into a scene of fear and tension. His wife and two of the servants were waiting outside the house to waylay him with their anxieties.

‘Thank heaven you are come!’ exclaimed his wife.

‘Why?’

‘It is Helene.’

‘What is wrong with her?’

‘She has barricaded herself into her room.’

‘Not more tantrums!’ he sighed.

‘Helene refuses even to speak,’ said his wife, taking his arm as he dropped from the saddle and hustling him towards the front door.

‘She has not said a word for hours.’

‘Is her door locked?’

‘Locked and bolted. And the shutters are also closed.’

‘Leave her to me.’

‘She has not eaten all day.’

‘This has got to stop!’ insisted Wymarc, heading for the stairs.

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.