‘Not much. Not yet anyway.’

‘Was the Empress very upset about the Earl of Gloucester?’

‘Extremely.’

‘It must have helped to see you.’

‘Must it? She wanted to discuss her plans.’

‘For ending the war?’ She couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

‘Yes. In a manner of speaking.’

‘What?’ She twisted around in her saddle, seized with a rush of hope.

‘Her son Henry’s coming from Normandy.’

‘Oh.’ Her spirits sank again. ‘I thought you meant it was over.’

‘It might be. Most of the Barons have had enough of fighting. More and more are making pacts to stay neutral.’

‘So you mean we’re just going to stay like this? With battle lines drawn, but no fighting either? It’s not war or peace.’

‘No, but Stephen’s getting older and Henry’s a young man. He’s a charismatic leader with all the makings of a great king. Given a choice, I believe most of the Barons could be persuaded to side with him.’

‘Because he’s a man?’

‘Not just because of it, but it might tip the scales in his favour. Enough for Stephen to come to a compromise anyway.’ He paused, as if uncertain about whether or not to tell her something and then going ahead anyway. ‘Matilda wants him to sign a treaty, ceding the throne to Henry on his death.’

‘A treaty?’ She repeated the word thoughtfully. ‘A piece of paper to end a war.’

‘Better than a battle.’

‘True, but then who wins? If Stephen keeps the crown, but agrees to let Matilda’s son succeed him, then both of them win and both of them lose. It makes everything that’s happened seem such a waste.’

‘War’s always a waste.’

‘I thought soldiers liked war??

??

‘Did your father?’

‘No,’ she conceded the point readily. ‘He said that soldiers were a necessary evil, to protect the innocent as much as for fighting battles.’

‘He was right.’

She looked at him askance. He’d always seemed like such a born warrior that she’d never considered that he might not want to fight.

‘Don’t you like fighting?’

‘There was a time when I did, when it made me feel as if I were moving on from the past. Now...’ He gave her an appraising look. ‘You seem to have a calming effect on me.’

‘Me?’ She bit her lip and his eyes followed the movement, flickering with something that made her stomach tighten convulsively.

‘Most of the time.’ He looked away again quickly.

She swallowed. ‘You know, when I first saw you, I thought you were the most terrifying-looking man I’d ever seen.’

Tags: Jenni Fletcher Historical
Source: readsnovelonline.net