Free Hostage Bride by Anne Herries Page B

ultimate sacrifice of you?’ he asked curiously.
    ‘I—I do not know,’ she whispered. He saw the colour drain from her face and cursed softly.
    ‘I would not have you fear me, lady. I have no intention of demanding such a price of you or anyone else. Come; leave this foolishness and prepare to dine with me this evening. I think we should try to come to terms with the situation. It was not I who held your uncle to ransom. Nor did I bid you come here. I must keep you until such time as it may be safe for you to return to your home, but there is no need for us to be enemies.’
    ‘What, then; would you be my friend?’ she whispered.
    Raphael hesitated. ‘Tomorrow I shall take the hawks out. My father always kept a good aviary and that has not changed. Would you like to come with me?’
    ‘Ride with you and watch the hawks fly? When I was a child it was a treat to be taken hawking. I remember stroking them and I thought that one day I should like a hawk of my own, but things changed. Yes, I think I
    should like to ride out with you, sir,’ she answered, her eyes sparkling.
    ‘I do not know if it is possible for a man and woman to be purely friends,’ Raphael continued as they walked together. ‘But I will be as a brother to you. You have my word that you are safe here.’
    ‘Then I accept your word,’ Rosamunde said and smiled. ‘I cannot be certain but I think you visited my father’s house once—when you were merely a squire and on your way to the Crusades.’
    ‘That time seems far away,’ he replied, his eyes narrowing as he looked at her. ‘It may explain why I thought I had seen you before that day in Normandy.’
    ‘You saved me from a vicious dog that was—’
    ‘After your kitten?’ Raphael smiled ruefully as a memory flashed into his mind. ‘I had forgotten, just as I had forgotten my mother’s tapestries until you reminded me. So much has happened since, and I am no longer the youth I was when we left England.’
    ‘You must have seen so much—suffered.’ Rosamunde hesitated. ‘We sometimes heard stories. I believe many died, in battle and in other ways.’
    ‘You heard what happened at Acre?’
    ‘We heard that Saladin killed all the Christian prisoners.’
    ‘Yes. I had friends in that prison.’ Raphael’s voice dropped to a harsh whisper. ‘Richard made a terrible mistake when he executed those Muslim prisoners. It brought instant retaliation and broke the trust. Things changed after that for it placed a stain uponour honour. Saladin used to send us fresh fruit and he showed honour in his dealings with Richard, but after that everything changed. Had I allowed my friend Janquil to be taken, he too would have died in that prison. Richard would have done better to show mercy. Men are men and brothers beneath the skin.’
    ‘Janquil?’ Rosamunde frowned and then remembered a servant with dusky skin and dark eyes. ‘He waits upon you at table, I think.’
    ‘Janquil is my friend, though he serves me as a body servant. It is his choosing. I would have given him money and set him free but he chooses to serve me and I protect him,’ he explained.
    ‘He knows that his life would have been lost had you not saved him.’
    ‘Perhaps.’ Raphael shrugged his shoulders. ‘I remember your father now. He entertained us lavishly and some of your men came with us to the Crusades. I am sorry that he has fallen upon hard times.’
    ‘Father was always too generous. He gave more than he could afford. My mother scolded him but he never listened. He thought it was his duty to support the King and a holy cause,’ she said.
    ‘He was a good man. I think such men have suffered in Richard’s absence. Prince John is greedy; he takes all a man has and still wants more. Until Richard is once more on the throne, the people will continue to suffer.’
    ‘My uncle felt as you do and that is why he came to England to raise money for Richard’s ransom. He will be sorry to have failed.’ Rosamunde