But it was also a perfect spot for a not-so-skilled man, or cunning man, to make a mistake and fall over himself, so the three knights had headed up to join Eric as he gave Jerome the grand tour. They had tried to be as amiable as possible, within believability limits, in helping Eric explain the structure and defenses of Axminster. Eric was sharp when it came to the history of the castle and its abilities as a fortress, and that was where his education as a knight could shine. The truth was that he had been training royal troops for quite some time, so there was a good deal of merit in his knowledge. It was simply his applicable skills that were in question.
Douglas, as he listened to Eric, could only imagine how good the man must have been in his youth. It was clear that he knew a great deal, and Douglas found it a sad thing indeed that a knight like Eric, someone who had been part of Henry’s army, should find himself in the position he did today. How far had the mighty fallen.
It just didn’t seem fair.
All that aside, Jerome didn’t seem to have a clue that his remaining life was being measured in minutes. Douglas and Jonathan had discussed it briefly as they approached the wall and decided that Douglas should distract Eric while Jonathan did what needed to be done. The problem was that, at this moment, Eric and Jerome were standing close together as Eric pointed out a rather large farm to the north. In fact, the two of them had been standing rather close together since the knightsjoined them, which was going to make it difficult for Jonathan to accomplish his task. Somehow, they were going to have to get them separated, but the addition of Mira and Isabel threw a rock into those plans.
Now they had women to deal with.
And one of them was particularly angry.
“Well, Jerome?” Isabel said again. “Whatdoyou have to say for yourself? I make you a generous offer and you are already taking advantage of me?”
Jerome struggled between defiance and surrender. “My lady, I do not think anyone could take advantage of you without suffering your wrath greatly,” he said. “I will admit that our bargain has me quite pleased, so mayhap in my excitement, I said more than I should have. But it was not malicious, I assure you. I was not attempting to overstep.”
That wasn’t a good enough excuse for Isabel. She scowled at the man. “How could younotrealize you were overstepping when you are telling my servants that you are to be their new lord?” she said angrily. “My offer to you was fair and just, but your lack of respect for me is clear. Mayhap I should rethink my offer if this is how you keep your word to me.”
Jerome’s slightly submissive stance changed quickly. He stiffened and his eyes narrowed. “We have struck a bargain,” he said. “You cannot go back on it.”
“And you made a promise as part of the bargain that you have already broken,” she said. “Quite honestly,youhave broken our bargain completely.”
Jerome’s frown grew. “I have done no such thing,” he said. “What difference does it make if the servants know I am to be their new lord now, tomorrow, or next month? Itwillhappen. I see no reason to keep it from them.”
That was the wrong thing to say to Isabel. “You will keep it from them because I asked you to,” she said. “I was to tell them.”
“I still do not see what difference it makes.”
Isabel was starting to turn red around the cheeks. “Is this how you treated Raymond’s mother?” she said. “Lying to her to get your way and then breaking promises? Because if that is who you truly are, Lord de Honiton, I will be forced to revoke my offer.”
Jerome advanced on her, and it took everything Douglas and Jonathan and Davyss had not to posture, to show that they were there to defend Isabel to the death. They didn’t want him to be suspicious of them, so they had to stay still when they were positively aching to throttle the man. In fact, Eric started to move, but Jonathan held out a hand to him, stilling him. Enraged, but essentially helpless, Eric was forced to stand there as Jerome put himself in front of Isabel in a threatening manner.
“If you revoke your offer, then everything I told you prior to our bargain will stand,” he said in a low voice. “I suggest you not threaten me in such a way. It will not go well for you.”
Isabel wasn’t frightened in the least. In fact, he only succeeded in stoking her smoldering fury into a roaring blaze. “Now I see why Raymond was the way he was,” she hissed. “He came to us a child with little discipline and as the years passed, we found him to be a lying, vindictive, and shallow young man. No amount of punishment could change his character because, clearly, he has taken after his father, a dishonorable man.”
Jerome smiled thinly. “I would rethink your words, Lady Isabel,” he said. “The one thing I will not tolerate is a woman who does not know her place. And you shall know yours if I have to beat it into you every night for the rest of your life.”
Isabel stiffened. “And you probably would,” she said. “You came to Axminster yesterday under the pretense of being an ally. You pretended to be kind and amiable when the truth was much darker. Although I am sorry that your son was killed, it does not give you the right to behave as you have. The truthis that your son was killed in the course of attacking a weaker woman. He paid for it with his life. Instead of accepting that your son is responsible for his own death, you have blamed everyone else for it. You have threatened those you feel responsible to get what you wanted and, fool that I am, I let you. Now, the fact that you would break our bargain and fail to see the gravity of your actions tells me everything I need to know about you. You are not worthy of the earldom of Axminster, Lord de Honiton. I would rather give it to a pig than a worthless bastard like you.”
Stinging words that should have been said much sooner in the situation, but Isabel had been trying to keep the peace. She had been trying to keep de Honiton from harassing Mira, Douglas, and anyone else he felt was involved in the death of Raymond. But that had been a mistake. Clearly, a very big mistake.
She was finished placating a fool.
But he was a combative fool.
After that, Douglas would swear that everything moved in slow motion when the truth was that events happened so quickly that he barely had time to react. For a man of action like Douglas was, his reflexes often saved his life, but in this case, things had moved too quickly for him.
Before he realized it, they were in a fight.
He and Jonathan and Davyss were standing several feet away from Jerome and Isabel, too far away to stop the man from slapping Isabel across the face. Her head snapped sideways and she stumbled back, stepping on Mira, who scrambled to get out of the way and ended up tripping. As Mira fell back and quickly crawled out of the battle zone, Isabel brought up a fist and clipped Jerome on the side of the head. As he reached out to grab her, she kneed him in the belly. Her hands were moving as quickly, and she slapped at him several times before he got a grip on her arms to stop her.
Meanwhile, Eric was rushing to save her.
But Isabel didn’t need saving. She was using her hands and knees to pummel Jerome, who had his head down so she wouldn’t hit his face. He was trying to push her back, away from him, but she just kept coming. Her movements were almost frenzied, as if she were terrified what would happen if she didn’t gain the upper hand, but that meant Jerome couldn’t open his eyes. He didn’t see that his right foot was nearly on the ledge.
But Douglas did.
He’d been so busy watching Isabel throw herself at Jerome that he noticed the position of the man’s foot too late. He shouted, but Jerome thought he was shoutingathim. Out of corner of a peeped-open eye, Jerome saw Douglas move and knew the man was coming to help Isabel. Jerome could survive an angry woman but knew he couldn’t survive the knights who served her. In an effort to move away from Douglas, and Eric, he stepped sideways and his foot bumped into the low lip of the wall. It was enough to cause him to stumble.
