"Thiswhore of yours is far from helpless," Sir Guy drawled and roughly kickedEada, smiling coldly at the way Drogo jerked in his friends' hold.
Drogostared at him, aching to kill the man. He prayed that his men would act soon,but resisted the urge to look for some sign of them. Forcing back all his fury,he tried to get Sir Guy to move his sword away from Eada.
"Thiswill not regain you your uncle's favor," he said and breathed an innersigh of relief when Sir Guy stepped past Eada to focus his attention on Drogo.
"Myuncle never favored me. He favored my mother. Now even that bond has beensevered, and you cut it."
Eadawatched Drogo, wondering why he was bothering to talk to this madman. Nothinghe could say could save them. The waiting to die was beginning to be too much.Just as she considered telling Drogo to just try to kill this fool who wasblaming him for every small wrong he had suffered, she felt a faint tug on theropes that bound her and May. She grit her teeth against the urge to look andsee who was trying to save her.
"Eada,"May whispered.
"Hush.We must not pull Sir Guy's attention our way."
"Whata clever woman," whispered a voice to their right that she recognized asBrun's. "I should not worry too much. That fool is holding himselfenthralled by his litany of woes, and his men are too busy trying to holdDrogo."
Tryingto keep her lips as still as possible so none of Guy's men could see that shewas speaking, she asked, "Where are the others?"
"Donot look."
"Wewill not.”
"Serleis but a step away from Sir Guy; and Tancred, Unwin, and Garnier are very closeto bumping into the two fools holding Drogo. This will soon be over. There, youare freed; but do not move until you know it is safe."
Thatmoment came but a heartbeat later. Drogo's men sprung upon Sir Guy and hisfriends so swiftly and fiercely that they had no chance to flee or defendthemselves. With Brun's help, she and May moved out of the reach of the men.Eada rubbed her wrists as she saw Drogo step over to Sir Guy, who was lockedtightly in Serle's grasp.
"Iam going to give you a chance to die with some scrap of honor," Drogo saidas he accepted his sword from Unwin and, once Serle released Sir Guy, handedhis enemy his weapon. "It is more than you deserve, but I feel I owe it toLord Bergeron."
Eadadid not want to watch, but she found herself unable to look away as a coldlyfurious Drogo began to fight with a terrified Sir Guy. A desperate need to livewas all that kept Sir Guy alive for the few minutes he managed to successfullydefend himself against Drogo. There was no hope of his winning, however, and heknew it. His skill with a sword was no match for Drogo's. Eada winced as SirGuy screamed, his life ending with one clean stab to the heart.
"Areyou hurt?" Drogo asked as, after wiping his sword clean on Sir Guy'sjupon, he turned to face Eada. "He struck you," he murmured as hestepped closer and wiped the blood from her lip.
"Iam fine," she said, hoping the anger she could feel in him was theremainder of what he had felt for Sir Guy and not aimed at her.
"Whywere you here—alone?"
"BecauseI am a witless fool?" She was relieved when he laughed.
"Wewill discuss the truth of that later," he drawled and touched a gentlekiss to her mouth before turning his attention to the two men who had riddenwith Sir Guy.
Eadaspared a brief smile for Brun when he stood beside her. Obviously, Drogo's menhad recognized his worth and were willing to include him in their number. Thatpromised a good future for Brun and she was glad. He would serve Drogo well.
Shewinced as Drogo's two captives cried for mercy even as Tancred and Unwin ledthem away. William would not be merciful. It might have been better if Drogo'smen had killed them, but she forced all concern for them from her mind. Theyhad earned their punishment. She was sure this was not the only crime they hadcommitted, and since they had ridden with Sir Guy for a long time, she knew theyhad the blood of innocents on their hands. When Drogo put Sir Guy's body on hishorse, she walked over to him.
"Whatare you going to do with him?" she asked.
"Givehis body to his uncle. Lord Bergeron did not deserve the shame this foolbrought to his name, but Sir Guy is his blood and he will want to bury himproperly."
"Ofcourse. If it is all right with you, perhaps Brun can walk May and me back tocamp. I was able to find some food and would like to collect it. I set it asidewhen Sir Guy began to chase us."
"Itwas my fault that he caught us," May said quietly as she joined them."I could not run as fast as Eada."
"Ihave an idea of how fast and how far Eada can run, May. I would not feel shamedby your inability to keep pace with her." He looked at Eada and thennodded. "Brun and Serle will take you back to camp. I will see you after Ihave spoken to Lord Bergeron and William."
Eadawatched him ride away and sighed. She was going to have to suffer a scoldingabout leaving camp without a guard, but she decided it was a small price to payfor her life. In the end, her error in judgment had brought only good. They hadall survived and the threat of Sir Guy was gone forever. As she walked towardthe supplies she had collected, she wondered idly if she could get Drogo to seeit all in such a pleasant light.
Drogofought to hide his disgust as he watched Sir Guy's friends hanged. Theirpunishment was long overdue, but he had always considered hanging a brutaldeath, slow and horrifying to watch. A clean cut with a sword would have been afar more merciful death. He tried to console himself with the reminder thatthese two men had never shown anyone mercy. The moment it was over, he turnedto a grim-faced Lord Bergeron, who had stood silently at his side throughoutthe hasty judgment and the executions.
"Iam sorry, my lord," he said.
