Katharine lifted a thin eyebrow at her son. “Be still,” she hissed, returning her attention to Simon. “You and I will come to terms before I leave this room or you will leave more than your share of blood on the floor. If you want a valuable hostageto ensure de Winter support, then you could have done much better than Lady Devereux.”
Simon’s expression flickered with uncertainty. “What are you saying?”
“Me, you fool,” she snapped. “You will take me and release Davyss’ wife.”
Davyss closed his eyes and hung his head again as Simon staggered. “I will not,” he gasped. “You… you are….”
“More valuable than that young woman by leaps and bounds,” she jabbed a finger at him. “I carry the wealth of the de Winter empire, you idiot. She carries nothing but my son’s affections. You will release her immediately and take me instead.”
Simon stared at her. Then he walked away; he had to. Katharine was a tiny woman but her presence was overwhelming him until he could hardly breathe. He paced several feet away and came to a halt, turning to face the pair. Davyss was still hanging his head, sniffling now and again as he stared at the floor. Lady Katharine stood next to her son, more powerful at that moment than the mighty Davyss de Winter could ever hope to be.
“And if I do not accept your offer?” Simon had to ask.
“Then Davyss withdraws his support, as do all of the de Winter allies. You will lose at least five thousand men. If this does not concern you, then by all means, do not agree to my terms.”
Simon’s jaw tightened. “Do you actually think to threaten me?”
“Absolutely.”
Simon was furious but he stopped short of reacting violently. It was clear that he knew he was cornered. He finally shook his head, almost comically, lifting his hands in resignation.
“And just what am I supposed to do with you?” he wanted to know. “You will not go where I want you to go. You will stay locked up in Hollyhock and absolutely nothing will change.”
Lady Katharine shrugged her bony shoulders. “Replace my personal guard with men of your own choosing. Confine me to my own home with your men as my jailers. There is no shame in that arrangement, for either of us.”
Simon rolled his eyes. “Ridiculous,” he spat. “You will go to Eleanor.”
“I do not like your wife.”
“She does not like you.”
“I will not go to her. I will stay at Hollyhock.”
Simon couldn’t believe the ridiculous terms. “You are my hostage yet you dictate the terms of your captivity?”
“I do. And you will agree.”
Simon just shook his head, frustrated and defeated. “I do not believe I am getting the better end of this deal.”
Lady Katharine didn’t say a word. She hobbled over to him, her cane clicking against the floor, before suddenly lashing out with the cane and knocking Simon on the side of the head. The man went tumbling as Davyss bolted to his feet and put himself protectively between his mother and Simon, who was now struggling to get off the floor. But the world was rocking so he stayed on his arse, gazing up at Katharine with a baffled expression. She glared daggers at him.
“You are getting the services of Sir Davyss de Winter,” she snarled. “You are by far getting the better end of this deal and you will not forget it.”
Simon wouldn’t.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
May 1265 A.D.
Norwich Castle, Norfolk
“What have Itold you?” Davyss was wagging a finger in her face. “You are not to run about and tire yourself. I thought I was clear.”
Devereux gazed up at her husband, properly contrite, but it was only for show. She shifted the basket of blooms to her other hand, grasped the finger that was wagging at her, and kissed it.
“I am not exhausting myself,” she insisted calmly, turning away from him and continuing along her way. “I feel fine.”
Davyss followed her, watching her shapely backside as she walked. To look at the woman from the back, one would never know she was pregnant. But when she turned around, she had a belly as big as a pumpkin.
