“You are gutless.” Strahan smirked. “I always thought so.”
“Gutless?” The word cut deep. Ware flattened his lips against his teeth at the insult. Strahan would not have spoken so bluntly if Garrick had been present.
“Aye. You’re a coward, Ware. Afraid of battle. You let Garrick make all your decisions for you, and because of that, you’re soft — the timid younger brother being bullied by Lord Garrick. What does it get you? Nothing.”
Ware drew in his breath to stem the anger that ran hot and wild through his blood. Never before had he wanted to take a man by the throat and slam him against the wall. Strahan was talking nonsense, though in truth he was voicing all the self-doubts that Ware fought each and every day. Hadn’t he just concluded that Strahan wouldn’t be so bold if only Garrick were here? Well, Garrick wasn’t here, and Ware was in charge. It was time Strahan understood that very important bit of information.
But Strahan wasn’t finished. His thin lips curled in a display of contempt. “I see you don’t believe me. Well, let me prove it to you. Why do you think Garrick insisted that I stay at Abergwynn? I’m his best and strongest knight, and he knew that I was needed here to watch over you. To protect Abergwynn.”
Ware’s throat worked. “I don’t believe—”
“Of course you do. Contrary to what Garrick might think, you’re not stupid—”
“Stop it, Strahan!” Ware yelled, causing the men who were playing dice to glance up. Near the stables, the hounds growled. Ware pointed a finger at his cousin. “We’re going to stay here as Garrick told us—”
“Listen to me, Ware!” Strahan took a step forward. “To Garrick you’re just a snot-nosed lad who needs looking after. Lucky me, I get to do the honors!” Strahan glanced at a few of the men playing dice in the hallway. “Well, I’ll not sit here while Morgana is out in the wilderness alone. I’m not going to stay here and play the fool while Garrick goes about seducing her.” He started for the door.
“But you can’t—” Ware said to Strahan’s back.
“Don’t you see, boy? My honor is at stake here!” Strahan muttered harshly before turning to face Ware again. His nostrils flared in fury, his lips pulled hard against his teeth. “I can’t take a chance that she wasn’t abducted, and I have to find out for myself if she’s gone to meet Garrick. If she has … if they are lovers…” His eyes gleamed with a hatred so intense that Ware felt a shiver climb up his spine.
Instinctively, Ware drew his sword. Furious at Strahan’s disloyalty, he growled, “You will not leave the castle. I won’t allow it! Garrick left me in charge, and both my honor and his are at stake.”
“Oh, Christ!” Strahan snapped his fingers, and three of the knights, who had seemed so absorbed in their game, jumped lithely to their feet. Their hands were on the hilts of their weapons, and they stood ready to do battle. “Don’t make me do this,” Strahan warned Ware. “Don’t make me spill your blood.”
But Ware’s pride had been battered too much for him to worry about his safety. He advanced on Strahan, and the knights unsheathed their swords.
“Don’t,” Strahan said again, his face growing less harsh as he realized that Ware, in all his boyish foolishness, was quite prepared to die. “Don’t hurt him,” he ordered his men, “but make sure he doesn’t interfere with my plans.”
Sir Joseph advanced. Huge, with a black beard and a scar beneath one eye so that his eyelid drooped a bit, he grinned at the smell of battle. One of his teeth was already missing and he didn’t look as if he worried about losing another.
&nb
sp; Ware shored up his coverage, and with indignation as his shield, he lunged at Joseph, ready to draw blood in defense of Abergwynn. He has never trusted Strahan, and, frustrated at being left behind by Garrick, he found the battle exhilarating. No one would ever dare call him a coward again. With his heavy sword he slashed wildly in the air, swiping at the huge knight’s arm. Blood sprayed the whitewashed walls, Joseph roared in pain, and from somewhere near the stairs a woman screamed and the dogs began to bark madly. Feet pounded the castle floor as Joseph jabbed back, only to have Ware move quickly, hack again with his weapon, and sidestep a blow. Whirling swiftly, Ware swung hard and hit the big knight’s sword with all the power in his sinewy body. Joseph’s blade flew from the dark knight’s hands and, clattering, skidded uselessly into the rushes. Ware whipped around, slashing the air and heading for the second knight, who was advancing as servants and soldiers entered the hall.
“What the devil’s going on here?” the steward demanded.
“For the love of Jesus!” Mertrice cried.
“Lady Clare! Lady Clare!” Habren’s strong voice rose above the shouts of men and servants. “Holy Mother Mary, Sir Strahan, stop this nonsense!”
A man possessed, Ware spun and whirled, jabbing his sword, forcing the second knight backward against the wall as yet another of Strahan’s men unsheathed his weapon and stepped forward, anxious for battle.
“Saints preserve us and our wretched souls!” Habren cried as servants and knights, the friar, Cadell, Glyn, and Clare hurried into the room.
“Stop!” Strahan snarled. He snatched the fallen sword and faced his younger cousin. “Don’t make me hurt you, Ware.” But Ware, intent on maintaining control of Abergwynn, paid no attention. Strahan called for more guards who grabbed hold of the young lord of the castle and physically restrained him. Several knights hesitated, as if unsure whom to follow, but more than ten had no trouble showing their allegiance to Strahan.
“What’s going on here?” Clare demanded. Striding regally forward, she glared at Strahan and his disloyal band.
“It’s none of your business, Clare.”
“It is if it has to do with Abergwynn and my brother!” Clare had buried a husband and a child, and she wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything.
“Stay out of it, Clare,” Strahan ordered, but Clare’s expression changed from anger to disbelief as she took in the situation.
“You really think you can start a rebellion?” She laughed. “For God’s sake, Strahan, you’ll never be able to turn Garrick’s men against him.”
Strahan hesitated and then, to Ware’s ultimate humiliation, said with quiet authority. “Already done, I’m afraid. I’m in charge here now. What I say goes. If you go along with me, Clare, everything will work out — to everyone’s benefit. If not, then you can spend the next week or two, until I return, locked in your chamber, as Ware will be in his.”