Free The Gilded Crown by Catherine A. Wilson

reach their companions, were driven back to where the field narrowed. This maneuver left Gillet and his team alone at the top end.
    Comte de Orléans blew a small horn, but the warning had come too late. Caught in a pincer-style attack, the Berri alliance was surrounded and herded like cattle, with only the outer rank able to defend, the inner riders useless as they became hemmed in by their own men.
    Gabriel, Mouse, Armand and Gillet were now helplessly stranded. Mouse resorted to his mace. He spun his horse and crashed it upon a shield, toppling his opposition, but, no sooner had he defeated one, than another took his place. Gabriel was pinned in a ‘wooded corner,’ his sword flashing as he faced three men simultaneously, the trees at his back preventing escape. Another joined the pair fighting against Armand, and Gillet was also staving off attacks in two directions, both Rouen and Flandre taking turns to hammer blows from either side.
    â€˜Oh God,’ moaned Margot. ‘How long can they hold against these odds?’
    And then, as if by some hidden signal, the men fighting Gabriel, Gillet, Mouse and Armand broke free, and charged to the blockade. Sword arms dropped and the Bellegarde team drew breath. Gillet spun Inferno around and Cécile gasped at a large red stain on his surcotte. Armand was also bleeding, his jousting wound from the previous day, splitting anew. Their respite was painfully brief as a group of fresh knights bore down upon them.
    â€˜ Merde !’ cried Margot, at the renewed ringing of steel. ‘Do you see what they are doing?’
    It was obvious that Gillet and his companions were to fight non-stop, as other knights swapped positions and rested between bouts.
    â€˜How did this happen?’ fumed Cécile. ‘They knew of this plot!’ Gillet’s arm was streaming with blood and she watched with growing horror as he withstood the next hammering. Mouse was still flaying his morning-star, but as with Gabriel, they were unable to break free, each of them being slowly driven further apart. Comte d’Orléans was still desperately trying to shatter the line that separated his men from the Bellegarde knights.
    â€˜ Look. ’
    Robiérre D’Arques rode into view with another knight alongside, the latter’s surcotte bearing the crest of an eagle.
    â€˜What new trickery is this?’
    The men holding Gillet at bay fell back and Gillet’s arm dropped. His chest heaved. His reprieve was all too brief as both d’Arques and the knight bearing the eagle crest swooped upon him. They circled at first, taunting.
    From a distance Cécile watched as Gillet straightened in his saddle, seemingly invigorated as he recognised his foe. ‘Who is that man?’ she asked.
    Margot shook her head. ‘I have never before seen that crest but Gillet obviously knows him.’
    The man attacked and Gillet spurred Inferno. Hooves slashed as a duel ensued between the war horses. Gillet brought his sword down, the arc carving a path to his opponent’s shoulder. The ‘Eagle’ knight stumbled. D’Arques kicked his mount and, riding in circles, swirled up a cloud of dust. As Gillet defended a blow from his right, d’Arques’ sword flashed and Bellegarde slumped forward.
    â€˜He has struck from behind!’ cried Margot, leaping to her feet with the crowd. ‘ The dishonourable maggot !’
    With a roar, Gillet wheeled Inferno around. His raised sword crashed down on d’Arques repeatedly.
    Unable to ward off such a fury of blows, Robiérre d’Arques fell.
    The illegal strike would have seen d’Arques eliminated but unhorsing him had no doubt appeased Gillet’s sense of honour. The damage, however, had been done. Blood streamed down his thigh and he slipped in his saddle. Grabbing the pommel, Gillet wrenched himself forward just as his ‘Eagle’ opponent delivered a smashing blow.
    â€˜Holy Mary, Mother