Great Britain -- History -- Henry III, 1216-1272 -- Fiction; Historical fiction; Outlaws -- Fiction
“Bring the prisoner with you. If the man lives bring him also. I would
learn more of this fellow who masquerades in the countenance of a crown
prince.”
And turning, he spurred on towards the neighboring castle of a rebel
baron which had been captured by the royalists, and was now used as
headquarters by De Fulm.
CHAPTER XIII
When Norman of Torn regained his senses, he found himself in a small
tower room in a strange castle. His head ached horribly, and he felt
sick and sore; but he managed to crawl from the cot on which he lay,
and by steadying his swaying body with hands pressed against the wall,
he was able to reach the door. To his disappointment, he found this
locked from without and, in his weakened condition, he made no attempt
to force it.
He was fully dressed and in armor, as he had been when struck down, but
his helmet was gone, as were also his sword and dagger.
The day was drawing to a close and, as dusk fell and the room darkened,
he became more and more impatient. Repeated pounding upon the door
brought no response and finally he gave up in despair. Going to the
window, he saw that his room was some thirty feet above the
stone-flagged courtyard, and also that it looked at an angle upon other
windows in the old castle where lights were beginning to show. He saw
men-at-arms moving about, and once he thought he caught a glimpse of a
woman’s figure, but he was not sure.
He wondered what had become of Joan de Tany and Mary de Stutevill. He
hoped that they had escaped, and yet—no, Joan certainly had not, for
now he distinctly remembered that his eyes had met hers for an instant
just before the blow fell upon him, and he thought of the faith and
confidence that he had read in that quick glance. Such a look would
nerve a jackal to attack a drove of lions, thought the outlaw. What a
beautiful creature she was; and she had stayed there with him during
the fight. He remembered now. Mary de Stutevill had not been with her
as he had caught that glimpse of her, no, she had been all alone. Ah!
That was friendship indeed!
What else was it that tried to force its way above the threshold of his
bruised and wavering memory? Words? Words of love? And lips pressed to
his? No, it must be but a figment of his wounded brain.
What was that which clicked against his breastplate? He felt, and found
a metal bauble linked to a mesh of his steel armor by a strand of
silken hair. He carried the little thing to the window, and in the
waning light made it out to be a golden hair ornament set with precious
stones, but he could not tell if the little strand of silken hair were
black or brown. Carefully he detached the little thing, and, winding
the filmy tress about it, placed it within the breast of his tunic. He
was vaguely troubled by it, yet why he could scarcely have told,
himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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