Reddington hesitated, then handed his sword back to his page boy. “I don’t need a weapon to handle the likes of you.”
“Spoken like a man who’s never attempted to ‘handle’ Beth the Berserker,” Stephen murmured.
Elizabeth could have kissed him.
She forced herself to concentrate on Reddington instead. “We’ve run into difficulty procuring the will and testament we mentioned at our last encounter. If you could please grant us a few more weeks—”
“Denied,” Reddington said flatly. “This castle belongs to me, with or without your little papers. I have the signed proof in my hand.” He brandished the IOU.
“As I told you, this land wasn’t the earl’s to gamble—”
“As I toldyou, Castle Harbrook becomes mine on the first of June. I recommend you be gone by that date if you don’t wish to die for your cause.”
“No dying,” Stephen interjected. “No one is to do any murdering.”
“You said I could if he deserved it,” Elizabeth whispered.
“Peacefulnegotiation,” Stephen murmured back.
“What’s that?” asked Reddington. “I couldn’t quite hear you surrender.”
“We will not be relinquishing this castle,” Elizabeth informed him firmly.
“Then there is nothing to discuss. Prepare to be besieged in four days hence.” He turned his back on her and stalked toward his horse.
“Wait.” She hurried forward. “We need to determine the rules of battle.”
Reddington spun around, stray pink petals falling from his shoulders. “Here is what shall happen: We fight. I win. You lose.”
Elizabeth took a deep breath. “As the Earl of Densmore’s interim battle general, I must inform you—”
He snorted. “If you’re Densmore’s general, Castle Harbrook is already lost. You couldn’t cut down a dandelion with a pair of shears.” Reddington frowned and took a few steps closer to squint at her. “Wait a minute. You do look familiar. My suspicions were correct. Aren’t you…”
“No,” Elizabeth said.
“You are! You’re that woman who wanted to be part of His Grace’s army,” he exclaimed in recognition. “You were so upset when I wouldn’t let you join us.”
“Guess what.” She swung her sword in a circle. “I’m not playing now. This fight is real, and I’m going to take you down.”
“Spare me the hysterics.” Reddington scoffed. “You might have bested Crump, but you won’t best His Grace. The castle is as good as mine. You may think yourself clever against one man, but let’s see you defend this castle against hundreds.”
Elizabeth curled her hands into fists. “If you’re so superior to me, then certainly you cannot object to a fair fight. To start with, we have no guns. Therefore, you cannot unfairly use bullets, either.”
“Not just ‘unfairly,’” Stephen said hastily. “You cannot arm your muskets with bullets or projectiles of any type.”
Good catch. Elizabeth sent him a nod of appreciation.
Reddington’s men watched on with avid interest, forcing him to respond audibly to the new demands.
“Fine,” he bit out with obvious ill will. “No bullets. Are we done here?”
“We’re ensuring the battle royal is a fair fight,” Elizabeth reminded him. “Which means both sides should have the same number of representatives. Agreed?”
Reddington’s men watched him carefully.
His face grew florid. “The same number of active fighters on both sides. Very well. You’ll still lose.”
“And no further skirmishes before or after June first,” Elizabeth added, ensuring her voice projected. “No matter who surrenders during the battle, at the end of that day, the matter is to be considered resolved by all sides. Most importantly, if we can produce legal proof that the castle is not yours, you will respect the law, as decreed by the king your soldiers fight for.”
