Here Be Dragons - 1 by Sharon Penman (best ebook reader android TXT) 📗

all right7 Unbar the door'" The voice was Llewelyn'sShe heard other voices, too, someone was pounding on the door, and Llewelyn was shouting for the key Will had the latches up , now, he jerked the shutters open, and then recoiled"Jesu, there are men outside1 Quick, Joanna, where can I hide7" But Joanna did not reply, and as he swung about, he saw the latch begin to move As they watched, it was slowly, inexorably pushed upward, and then the door was thrust openLlewelyn was not alone, and the chamber was cast into eerie brightness by the sudden flare of torches But Joanna saw none of the men No one existed for her but Llewelyn She watched, stunned, as he strode into the room, watched as he came to an abrupt halt, watched as his face changed, watched as her world fell apartLlewelyn looked from Will to Joanna, and despite the irrefutable evidence of infidelity, there was still a moment in which he half expected Joanna to offer a rational, convincing explanation for Will's presence, half dressed, in their bedchamber But she had yet to utter a word, and all the color had drained from her face She looked up at him in stricken silence, silence more damning than any confession could have been and he could read in her eyes only horror, despairing entreaty, and an admission of a betrayal beyond forgivingWill stood very still He'd talked his way out of awkward corners before, but none like this He'd seen the disbelief on Llewelyn's face give way to a far more frightening emotion, and he thought, Christ, he loves her1 He'd always prided himself upon his glibness of tongue, but as ne looked at Llewelyn, he knew suddenly that it would not avail him n°w that nothing wouldHe no longer had enough saliva for swallowing, had to try twice fore he could get the words out "I know this looks bad, but" He o no further, Llewelyn's sword was already clearing its scabbard He d nowhere to run, felt the wall at his back, and knew the last sight e d ever see was the light reflecting off that gleaming steel blade ^ Joanna was petrified, averted her eyes But she made no sound nroat had closed up, even if Llewelyn turned the sword upon her she d not have been able to cry out

632"Llewelyn, wait!"Joanna opened her eyes, saw that Ednyved had stepped bet Llewelyn and Will."No," he said grimly, "not like that. It's too ^ Give him the death he deserves. Hang him." ^Will drew an audible breath. No one else spoke. And then Llew slowly lowered his sword. "Yes," he said in a voice Joanna had n heard before. "You're right.It is too quick this way. Take him." *For the first and only time in his life, Will panicked, made a sudd lunge for the window. But Llewelyn's sword came up with eye-blurri speed, and Will froze, his stomach muscles contracting, anticipatin that first thrust into the belly or groin. There'd be nothing easy or quick about such a death, not withLlewelyn wielding the blade. Better to tak his chances with the hanging, for there was a hopehowever slightthat enough political pressure might reprieve him.He no longer resisted, therefore, when Llewelyn's men laid hands upon him, but they treated him roughly all the same, jerking his arms behind his back and shoving him toward the door. He did not struggle, realizing that Llewelyn had only to say the word and they'd gladly hang him then and there, over the bed.He stumbled, nearly fell, and for a moment his eyes found Joanna."I ought to be gallant and say you were worth it, darling," he said huskily, "but no woman is worth hanging for."His words meant nothing to Joanna; she never even heard them. "Llewelyn . . ."She had yet to take her eyes from her husband's face. "Llewelyn, I'm sorry . .."Llewelyn moved toward the bed. When he brought the sword up, he heard gasps.Joanna's lips parted; her breath quickened. Tears had begun to streak her face. He knew suddenly that this was the way he would always remember her, clutching a sheet to hide her nakedness, dark hair falling about her face in wanton disarray, kneeling in the middle of the bed, the bed in which she'd betrayed him. Her deathbed. One downward stroke of his sword and the sheets would be soaked with blood. His hand tightened on the hilt, and then he thrust the sword back into its scabbard, turned to face the others."I want de Braose's men taken prisoner, too. See to it."1 .. i _ ,,/-!!-Men hastened to obey. Llewelyn became aware now of their au ence, of the people crowding into the antechamber. "Get them °u i. _...// i. _ ij _ . .1 .1 . ... _ .1. . _ i _i j -:c U,r ma(ric. Wnl'e ivicii iiaaicucu lu uucy. i_,icwciyn uc^aiiic awaic n»^" ~- , ence, of the people crowding into the antechamber. "Get them °u here," he snarled, and the antechamber cleared as if by magic/ through the open window he could see Will de Braose being dragg across the bailey. . ^"Llewelyn . . . Llewelyn, I did not ask him to come to me- ^ve over between us. Beloved, I swear it, I swear I never wou brought him here, into your bed .. ."

tion633If her words had registered with him, Joanna could see no indicaof it in n's^ace' ^e turned away from her, and as he moved through doorway, Joanna sobbed, begged him to wait, to listen, but he did nejther."Llewelyn ..." Joanna sobbed again, collapsed upon the bed. He gone and he would not be back. She'd lost him, lost all, all ... She , noj think it was possible to feel pain greater than this. But then she ar(] her son's voice,