Dark Steel by Kathryn Le Veque

Author:Kathryn Le Veque
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Medieval
Publisher: 0
Published: 2018-09-12T21:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

THE ALARM AT dawn woke Dane up out of a dead sleep.

He could hear the Shrewsbury horn on the battlements, its mournful cry rousing men to battle, and he threw back the coverlet and leapt out of bed. His breeches, in a pile next to the bed where he had left them, were quickly on and he snatched his boots, yanking them on his feet as Grier, groggy and hungover, sat up in bed.

“What is happening?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. “What is that noise?”

Dane hardly had time to explain. With his boots on, he grabbed his tunic and bent over the bed, kissing Grier on the top of the head.

“An alarm,” he said. “Stay here and bolt the door. You will not open it except for me or any of the knights. Is that clear?”

Fearfully, Grier nodded. “An alarm?” she repeated. “Is the castle being attacked?”

Dane yanked his tunic over his head as he made his way to the door. “I do not know,” he said. “Bolt this door when I go.”

As Dane rushed to the stairs, he heard the bolt as Grier threw it across the chamber door. Taking the steps quickly, perhaps too quickly, he was just hitting the entry when Boden burst in through the entry door and headed for his brother. The pair came together somewhere in the middle of the foyer.

“What is happening?” Dane demanded.

“A raid on the market street,” Boden said. “Syler and Dastan are already mounted, riding out to stop it.”

Dane didn’t like the idea of his men fighting a battle without him. “Bring my horse to the gatehouse,” he said. “I will be there in a few minutes. Where is William?”

“He is preparing to ride out after Dastan and Syler.”

Dane came to a halt. “We cannot all ride out to fight,” he said, irritated. “Boden, you remain here. I will ride out with Willie. Tell him to wait for me, do you hear?”

Boden rolled his eyes. “You know he will not listen to me.”

“If he does not, then I send him home to Wellesbourne and tell his father that he has shamed the Wellesbourne name.” He jabbed a finger at his brother. “Tell him that, Boden. I will not hesitate to do it.”

Boden knew it was the truth. As he headed back out to the gatehouse to have Dane’s horse brought around, Dane ran with him, stopping at the western tower of the inner gatehouse because the armory was there. His armor, his weaponry, had been taken there after they’d returned yesterday to be cleaned by the small army of squires and pages they had serving at Shrewsbury.

And that small army had an entire story behind it.

Garreth de Lara was generous in that he accepted young men and boys from noble families who were perhaps not too well off so that the lads could learn the vocation of the knighthood. The problem was that Garreth never denied a truly willing and eager family, so there were literally dozens of young men at Shrewsbury, willing and able to complete any task asked of them.

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