the sword a few inches into the muscle. He left it there and leaned slightly into the sword.
The man howled.
“Next one is in the ribs,” William said. “The rest of you, clasp your hands behind your heads. Noses into the ground. Any man who moves his hands will be impaled on the spot.” William kicked the man he’d just jabbed with the sword. “And you. Silence. I’m already irritated as it is. The lot of you have ruined a peaceful stroll through the forest.”
Thomas was still trying to comprehend what had happened. Then he saw three lengths of rope stretched across the road, portions of each rope lying beneath the prone bandits. From the first rope to the second was little more than a half pace, and then another half pace to the third rope. He followed the ropes with his eyes, seeing the ends tied at knee height to trees on the opposite of the road.
Thomas grinned, picturing the events that had sent the bandits flying to the ground.
With him as bait to lure the bandits forward, as Thomas passed the ropes on the ground, William would have yanked on the first rope from a hiding point in the trees opposite where the end was tied, causing the rope to hover just above the road at knee height. John would have yanked on the second rope and Isabelle on the third rope.
As Thomas raised his eyes from the ropes, he caught William’s broad grin.
“Well, lad,” the knight said, “now that we’ve caught them as you wished, what shall we do with them?”
“You’ve been quiet long enough to make your point,” the knight told Thomas. “You’re angry with me. Fair enough. Let’s talk.”
They’d cleared the forest and had walked for another hour out in the open fields, surrounded by peasants stooped in labor, armed with hoes. Their pace had been reduced by the effort it took Thomas to walk, limping with the aid of the stick that had injured him.
Thomas kept his jaw tightly shut.
“By the way,” William said, obviously amused, “I know you’re making that limp of yours seem much worse than it is. He hit you with a stick, not a sword.”
“And you care?”
“Can’t say your tone of voice suits me,” the knight responded, “but it’s lovely to discover you are still capable of speech.”
Thomas reset his jaw.
“The childishness doesn’t become you, lad,” William said, a little more steel in his voice. “We’re all stuck together on this. I made a vow to help you, and I’m not going to let your churlishness cause me tobreak it. So make the choice to be a man about all of this. If you and I have to agree all the time to be friends, it’s not much of a friendship.”
“You left me behind.” As he blurted it, Thomas realized why he felt so angry. It had been that sense of abandonment. His anger was more at his own fear than at the knight. Leaving the abbey had been like leaving the only family he had. A horrible family, but still a family. This motley group had been together just a short while, but the intensity of surviving the gallows and the fact that they were with him on his journey made it feel like a family of sorts, that he was no longer an orphan. Except they’d fled, leaving him alone again.
This, however, was nothing he was prepared to acknowledge to the knight, so he focused his complaint on something different.
“You’re going to argue that by leaving me alone, you were able to set a trap that succeeded,” Thomas continued. “But you had no way of knowing that I wouldn’t be killed.”
“You mean by the poor half-naked woman who drew you with a story that only a fool would believe? And a distracted fool, at that?”
Thomas knew the knight was correct about this. He’d had plenty of time to think about the tale presented by the black-haired bandit woman. Could an old man and a woman have outrun determined bandits? Hardly.
Yes, it had been the sight of that bare shoulder, cleverly displayed, that had been a powerful distraction, keeping Thomas from thinking clearly
The man howled.
“Next one is in the ribs,” William said. “The rest of you, clasp your hands behind your heads. Noses into the ground. Any man who moves his hands will be impaled on the spot.” William kicked the man he’d just jabbed with the sword. “And you. Silence. I’m already irritated as it is. The lot of you have ruined a peaceful stroll through the forest.”
Thomas was still trying to comprehend what had happened. Then he saw three lengths of rope stretched across the road, portions of each rope lying beneath the prone bandits. From the first rope to the second was little more than a half pace, and then another half pace to the third rope. He followed the ropes with his eyes, seeing the ends tied at knee height to trees on the opposite of the road.
Thomas grinned, picturing the events that had sent the bandits flying to the ground.
With him as bait to lure the bandits forward, as Thomas passed the ropes on the ground, William would have yanked on the first rope from a hiding point in the trees opposite where the end was tied, causing the rope to hover just above the road at knee height. John would have yanked on the second rope and Isabelle on the third rope.
As Thomas raised his eyes from the ropes, he caught William’s broad grin.
“Well, lad,” the knight said, “now that we’ve caught them as you wished, what shall we do with them?”
“You’ve been quiet long enough to make your point,” the knight told Thomas. “You’re angry with me. Fair enough. Let’s talk.”
They’d cleared the forest and had walked for another hour out in the open fields, surrounded by peasants stooped in labor, armed with hoes. Their pace had been reduced by the effort it took Thomas to walk, limping with the aid of the stick that had injured him.
Thomas kept his jaw tightly shut.
“By the way,” William said, obviously amused, “I know you’re making that limp of yours seem much worse than it is. He hit you with a stick, not a sword.”
“And you care?”
“Can’t say your tone of voice suits me,” the knight responded, “but it’s lovely to discover you are still capable of speech.”
Thomas reset his jaw.
“The childishness doesn’t become you, lad,” William said, a little more steel in his voice. “We’re all stuck together on this. I made a vow to help you, and I’m not going to let your churlishness cause me tobreak it. So make the choice to be a man about all of this. If you and I have to agree all the time to be friends, it’s not much of a friendship.”
“You left me behind.” As he blurted it, Thomas realized why he felt so angry. It had been that sense of abandonment. His anger was more at his own fear than at the knight. Leaving the abbey had been like leaving the only family he had. A horrible family, but still a family. This motley group had been together just a short while, but the intensity of surviving the gallows and the fact that they were with him on his journey made it feel like a family of sorts, that he was no longer an orphan. Except they’d fled, leaving him alone again.
This, however, was nothing he was prepared to acknowledge to the knight, so he focused his complaint on something different.
“You’re going to argue that by leaving me alone, you were able to set a trap that succeeded,” Thomas continued. “But you had no way of knowing that I wouldn’t be killed.”
“You mean by the poor half-naked woman who drew you with a story that only a fool would believe? And a distracted fool, at that?”
Thomas knew the knight was correct about this. He’d had plenty of time to think about the tale presented by the black-haired bandit woman. Could an old man and a woman have outrun determined bandits? Hardly.
Yes, it had been the sight of that bare shoulder, cleverly displayed, that had been a powerful distraction, keeping Thomas from thinking clearly
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