The Thunder Lord: The de Shera Brotherhood Book One (Lords of Thunder: The de Shera Brotherhood 1) by Le Veque Kathryn

Author:Le Veque, Kathryn [Le Veque, Kathryn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Published: 2015-02-08T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Isenhall Castle

Another storm had hit on the journey back to Isenhall, but with this storm came snow. The storm earlier in the week that had provided all of the thunder and lightning had been cold, but this storm was freezing. Massive amounts of white stuff poured from the sky and the temperature plummeted, making for truly miserable traveling.

Because of Henry’s threat against Isenhall, Gallus, Maximus, and Tiberius had taken two hundred men-at-arms from Westbourne to take them back to Isenhall to reinforce the ranks there. That left Westbourne with a little over one hundred men to protect her, but it didn’t matter much considering Gallus wasn’t there, and Henry wanted Gallus. Therefore, there wasn’t much worry for Westbourne.

A trip from London to Isenhall that should have taken six or seven days at most, ended up taking almost fourteen days due to the foul weather. Along with the two hundred men and several wagons, Gallus also brought the horses he had confiscated from Honore’s fleet, eight fine animals in all, and they spent a good deal of time wrapping the horses’ legs with wool and blanketing the animals with fur so they wouldn’t freeze in the snow. They had a heavy, winter coat but it wasn’t enough against the blowing snow.

Gallus made a point every night of finding a town to sleep in, paying peasants for the use of their barns, homes, and outbuildings to house his army. Maximus, in charge of the horseflesh, would spend his time unwrapping horse legs and rubbing them with warmed wine or ale, as the alcohol wouldn’t freeze and tended to keep the animals’ legs in good shape. Every night, before a fire, Maximus would tend his new brood, including the spectacular, silver charger he adored. The animal was starting to come around, accepting treats and pets from Maximus without trying to rip his hand off. It was progress.

On the fifteenth day after leaving London, the tall, snow-bound walls of Isenhall came into view in the distance, but it took them almost a day to reach it because of the difficulty in traveling over the snowy, frozen, muddy road. Eventually, they reached their destination and the great iron and oak gates of Isenhall opened wide for her returning sons.

The bailey was a great jumble of dirty snow banks and soupy mud, and it took the incoming party some time to settle in. While Maximus took the horses and wagons to the stables, Tiberius ordered the men into the great hall or into the bottom floor of the keep, anywhere they could dry off and warm up. As the half-frozen men disbursed, Gallus, after turning his horse over to a groom, headed into the keep.

A great gust of wind caught him just as he opened the door to the keep, nearly shoving him inside as it whistled through the entry hall. Gallus heard women shriek as he shoved the door closed, half-blind from the wind and cold. A warm fire was off to his left and he stumbled towards it, pulling off his gloves and wiping at his eyes.

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