Warden of Time (The After Cilmeri Series Book 8) by Sarah Woodbury Page A

you.”
    “So, I gather that by calling in Clare and marshalling his forces as well as yours, you want to give the impression of going to war,” Ieuan said. “Will Clare support such a move?”
    “Of course he will,” Carew said. “His new wife brings him lands in Aquitaine. He wouldn’t want to see the duchy fall to the King of France.”
    I might rail against having to spend so much of my energies on politics, but Gilbert de Clare lived them. As a young man, he’d fought with Simon de Montfort to unseat King Henry III. He’d allied with my father at that time to divide Britain among the three of them, and then switched sides at a crucial moment, all but giving the country to Henry and bringing about Montfort’s death. He’d also led a massacre of Jews right here in Canterbury nearly thirty years ago, as part of Montfort’s plan to wipe out the indebtedness of the nobility in one go. As with many aspects of the persecution of Jews, their treatment had less to do with religion than with money and power.
    After the Barons’ War, Clare had gone on Crusade with Edward, who was not yet king, to atone for his sins. I hadn’t asked if he counted the massacre as one of them, but he had never objected to my open door policy towards Jews. Clare was nothing if not pragmatic. He cared little, if anything, for high-minded ideals. His wealth and lands had grown under my watch, and I had no doubt that he would embrace the idea of going to war—or pretending to—if it gave him the opportunity to add to his lands in France.
    “What will Pope Boniface say when he discovers you are marshalling men to cross the Channel?” Cassie said.
    “We won’t know for a while, will we?” I said.
    “That would be great, but what if your plan doesn’t work?” Cassie said. “What’s the worst thing that could happen? Besides war, I mean, which is bad enough.”
    “If David doesn’t bow to the pope on these issues, Boniface could put England under interdict and excommunicate him,” Callum said.
    Understanding had grown in Ieuan’s eyes too, but it was replaced almost immediately by puzzlement. “What if Boniface calls your bluff? Would you really take England to war against France?”
    “If I have to,” I said. “I will not give way on what matters most. I will not.”

Chapter Ten
     
    I lay in bed, staring up at the canopy, my brain churning with worst-case scenarios.
    Lili rolled over and put a hand on my shoulder. “You could at least close your eyes and pretend to be trying to sleep.”
    “I’m deciding whether or not to get up.” I flung a forearm over my eyes, forcing them closed. They itched with tiredness, but my brain wouldn’t let me rest. It had been a wild day.
    “If you don’t sleep, you won’t be good for anything tomorrow.” Lili laid her head on my chest, and I put my arm around her.
    “That’s why I hadn’t gotten up yet.” I turned my head to look towards the window. I’d left the shutters open to better hear the rain on the window, hoping the steady drumming would help me empty my brain. Lili’s breathing slid into sleep, and after a moment, I eased away from her, leaving her head pillowed in the crook of her arm.
    I was a lucky man, no doubt about it. I didn’t actually intend to throw my kingship away, which was one reason I’d focused my attention today on rescuing the heretic rather than repeating my speech about freedom of religion to the townspeople. I would fight for my throne as long as there was something to fight for, because I didn’t feel like my work was finished yet, but knowing that I had Lili to come home to made the possibility of any other loss easier to bear.
    I’d sent a rider to Clare at Tonbridge, but his castle was in western Kent, forty miles away. It would be a day or two before I would hear back from him. I tried not to wish for a cell phone more than once a day. Since the busload of people had arrived, we’d acquired some technical ability we hadn’t had