Rose Victory - Eagle Series (17 page)

A
guilus did not hesitate. He had to draw the animal’s attention away from the boy or he would not survive the next few seconds.  Even as he dropped into the stall he heard Sir Stefan’s shout for him to stop from behind him.  But Black already prepared to rear up again over the page and this time there would be no escape.  The page crouched down on the floor, curled into himself, his arms held protectively over his head, a small frightened whimper escaped his lips.

Aguilus slapped Black’s hind quarters as hard as he could to draw
the horse’s attention.  He succeeded.  The animal wheeled around to face the new threat.  Without his master’s presence in the saddle to control him, the horse was angry, scared, and deadly.

The squire suddenly faced a
terrified, angry warhorse.  In that small, enclosed space the animal seemed really huge.   Eyes rolling in his sockets, ears flat on his head and big yellow teeth bared, the horse towered over him ready to smash him into the ground.

Aguilus did the only thing he could think of.  He remembered the way his father had c
ontrolled the horse that day in the forest.  He raised his hand quickly and brought it down, as hard as he could, on Black’s nose.  At the same time shouting, using as commanding a voice as he could manage in the circumstances.

“H
OLD!”  The squire’s authoritative command echoed in the silent stable.  Aguilus didn’t know where he had found the strength to deliver it.  His throat seemed as dry as the moat outside his father’s castle and his legs threatened to collapse at any moment, but Black responded to the command.  He even seemed to welcome it, as he lowered his huge head submissively, although his eyes still rolled nervously.

“Rub his face firmly and at the same time push his head down.”  The instructions came from directly behind Aguilus and the boy gave
a heartfelt sigh of relief as he felt Sir Stefan step up slowly behind him.

The calm, steady voice continued, “Keep doing that, you are doing very well.”  Next Stefan spoke to the page that still huddled against the wall.  “You, boy!” and when he had the lad’s attention he instructed just as softly.  “Get up very slowly and walk along the wall to the gate.  Make no sudden movements”

As the boy got up, Stefan tightened his hold on the hilt of the naked sword he held behind his back.  His other hand clutched Aguilus’ shoulder.  At the slightest indication that the horse would rebel, he stood ready to push the boy behind him and deal with the horse.

Slowly the page made his way carefully round the stall.  Clearly frightened, the young boy nevertheless controlled his fear as he crept towards the exit.
A few moments later he left the stall through the half open gate.

“Your turn Aguilus,” Sir Stefan’s voice remained rock steady.  “Back away very slowly, get behind me and leave the stall.”

Aguilus did not hesitate to obey.  After a firm pat and a whispered ‘Good boy’ to the horse, he backed away.

Sir Stefan remained in place, his gaze concentrated on the animal until Aguilus had left, then he too backed slowly out
, shutting the gate firmly behind him.  Then all hell broke loose outside the stall.

“What
did you think you were doing jumping into that stall?”  Sir Stefan’s calm control had completely disappeared; his fair complexion had turned a mottled red.  “You could have been killed in there!”

“I am sorry, Sir Stefan, t
ruly I am, but I couldn’t let Black trample the page.”  Aguilus spoke quietly, aware that the knight’s anger stemmed from his concern for him.  “He is just a little boy.”  Aguilus looked round and realised that he stood in the centre of a small group of men. Men who were all looking at him strangely.  The page, he saw, stood behind a tall soldier in an attempt to draw as little attention to himself as possible.

T
here were five men standing around him apart from Sir Stefan and a mortified looking Sir Ivan, who tried to keep himself very much in the background.  Four of the men were clearly soldiers but the other…was not.  Of average height, dressed in simple riding attire and older than the others, the fifth man seemed to command them all.  Just as when his father stood among a group of men, his poise and confidence left no doubt as to who was in charge.

Th
at man spoke now, his piercing grey eyes staring in disbelief at Aguilus.  “Good Lord!  It’s not possible.”  His eyes swivelled to Sir Stefan.  “Who is he?”

“This is Aguilus,
Sire.”  The pride in Stefan’s voice rang out loud and clear, “Son and squire to Lord Roydon de Mountroi of Eagle Rock.”

Aguilus drew himself up proudly as the older man’s eyes returned to him.  “They look exactly alike!”

“I have my father’s nose,” Aguilus asserted with complete confidence, only to receive a quelling look from Sir Stefan.

“He has more than his nose.”  The
king looked enquiringly at the knight.  “Mountroi’s bastard?”

Stefan’s lips tightened for a moment.  “His illegitimate son,
Sire, yes.”

“Father says that you are not what people call you, but what you make of yourself.”  Aguilus informed the man
who he now realised by Sir Stefan mode of address, must be the king.

Stefan turned a chilling glare on the squire.  “
Do not speak without leave. Now pay your respects to His Majesty.”  For a moment Stefan didn’t know if the boy would do as he instructed or if he would start lecturing the king on his father’s innocence.  In the end the boy bowed deeply to the king, but it remained obvious that he desperately wanted to say something.

“You are a brave boy
, undoubtedly another trait inherited from your father.”  The king smiled down at Aguilus.  “You have my deepest gratitude for saving my daughter’s life.”

“Your daughter?”  Aguilus looked in total incomprehension at t
he young page, who cheekily stuck his tongue out at him.

“Yes
, my youngest child and more trouble than all the others put together.”  Irritated affection laced Henry’s voice.  “Come here Elizabeth and thank Aguilus for saving you.”

The girl approached her father cautiously until she stood beside him.  “Thank you, boy,” she muttered, pulling a face at Aguilus.

“Not very gracious, but then seven year olds are not renowned for their manners.”  The king pulled Elizabeth’s skull cap off and laid a firm hand on her shoulder.  “We will speak of this little escapade later.”

Aguilus’ jaw dropped as the girl’s inky black, curly hair fell to well below her waist.  How could she have hidden all that hair under that small cap?  He looked back up
at her face, where bright, grey eyes, identical to her father’s, grinned mischievously back at him.  The girl seemed undaunted by the king’s threat and amused by the squire’s reaction to her hair.

Aguilus could not help it.  He grinned back at her, he liked her.  It seemed as if something
dropped into place inside him. He could not explain it but he wanted to be her friend.

“Take Princess Elizabeth back to her ladies
-in-waiting,” the king ordered the nearest soldier, a hint of impatience in his voice.

Aguilus watched with regret as the girl walked away.  He would probably never see her again
, the thought saddened him inexplicably. 

“How is it that
Mountroi never mentioned his son to me?”  More than a hint of displeasure suffused Henry’s voice.  “How old is he?”

“He
is nine, but we only discovered the boy’s existence a few weeks ago, Your Majesty,” Sir Stefan pointed out quickly.  “That is precisely the reason why Roydon came to court; to acquaint you with the news.”

“Ah, his personal reasons,” Henry started to put things together in his mind.  Could this be why the earl had refused to marry? He could not chance to produce a legitimate heir if he wanted this boy to inherit.  But surely he knew that to be impossible?

Henry narrowed his gaze on Sir Stefan.  “What did
the earl really come here for?”

Stefan
hesitated; he glanced at Aguilus then at Sir Ivan.  “Ivan, escort Aguilus back to our chambers,” he paused, “and this time keep him there,” he added with unconcealed irritation.

Ivan blushed
, a dull red tide covering his face at the reprimand, but waited silently for the squire to join him.

Aguilus however still had something to ask the
king and he refused to leave until he had had his say.  “My father has done nothing wrong,” the squire addressed the king.  He tried to remain calm but a note of belligerence crept into his tone, as hands on hips, he continued.  “Why have you locked him up?”

Everyone stared at Aguilus in horror except the
king, who just stared at him impassively and held up a hand when Sir Stefan made to reprimand him.  “Your father has been locked up because he refuses to obey me, his king, and like you, his courtesy to his liege is beyond lacking.”

“Are you going to lock me up too?”  Henry actually
heard a note of eagerness in the squire’s voice.  “Can you lock me up with him?”

The
king looked at Stefan in disbelief.  “Is the boy
trying
to get me to lock him up?”

“I don’t doubt it,
Sire.  Aguilus is loyal to a fault and he misses his father. But enough of this!”  Stefan turned to the boy, his face stern.  “Apologise to His Majesty at once.  Your father would be ashamed of you if he heard you speak to the king in such a manner.”

A
ll antagonism seeped out of Aguilus at the knight’s words.  He had failed to think before he had spoken and now he had shamed his father.  Bowing his head the squire fell to his knees before the king.  “I am sorry, Your Majesty.  I did not mean to…  I just felt angry and…”  The boy’s voice dropped to a whisper.  “Are you going to hurt my father, Sire?”

A grim look came over the
king’s face.  “Not if he comes to his senses and bends to my will.  Now go, I need to speak with Sir Stefan.”

The boy’s eyes widened in alarm, “You are going to arrest Uncle Stefan too
…Sire?”

“Uncle?”  Henry raised an eyebrow at the knight.

“Only an honorific, Sire”

“I see
…no.  I am not going to arrest anyone.  Now go before I change my mind.”  The king watched as the boy reluctantly followed Sir Ivan down the aisle between the stalls.  The squire held his head proudly; nevertheless Henry had seen worry and fear in his golden eyes.

“Proud, stubborn, loyal and courageous; a good man to have by your side one day.”

“Aye, Sire, just like his father,” Sir Stefan dared to remind the king.

Henry’s cold gaze slashed across him in reprimand.  “I know what
Mountroi is.”  Then he turned and called out to Aguilus, he even advanced a few paces to meet the running boy.  “Can you keep a secret, boy?” he asked leaning forward and speaking softly, for the boy’s ears only.  “You have done me a great service today and you deserve to know that no harm will come to your father from my hand.  I will return him to you very soon.”

Aguilus looked up at the
king.  His face remained solemn but his eyes, now free of anxiety, sparkled golden in the late afternoon sun filtering through the high windows.  “Thank you, Sire.  I will tell no one, I promise.”  There was complete trust and a pledge of loyalty in the squire’s voice.

As
Aguilus walked away and left the stable the king felt as if he had made an ally for life.  Even in character the boy seemed to take after his father. Henry turned to beckon Sir Stefan to him, “Can you answer my question now, Sir Stefan?  Why did your lord come to court?”

Stefan hesitated, “It’s not my place to say,
Sire.”

“Damn it!  Am I surrounded by obstinate fools?”
Henry glared up at the knight.  “Answer me!” he ordered through gritted teeth.  “It’s the boy, isn’t it?”

Stefan nodded.  The
king had probably guessed already and it wasn’t a secret.  “Roydon wants you to make Aguilus his legitimate heir.”

“Good Lord!”  Henry had been expecting something like this but it still surprised him.  “That’s impo
ssible, even I cannot do that.  The boy is a bastard.”

“I know,
Sire.”  Stefan shook his head in regret.  “But Roy has his heart set on it.  He came prepared to beg Your Majesty to concede his request.”

The earl of Eagle Rock who had never even asked for anything, much less begged, had been prepared to swallow his pride for the sake of his son.  Never in all his years of service to the crown, to him, had Eagle taken anything in return and now it came to this.  Henry focused on the
knight before him, watching him closely.  “Is this the reason why Mountroi would refuse to marry?”

“Marry,
Sire?”  Stefan fell back a step, surprise and alarm flared for a moment in his eyes and then a blank look removed all expression from his face.  “I know not, Your Majesty.”

But the
king had seen enough and he tired of this farce, besides time was running out.  “What your lord wants is impossible.  I have a treaty to sign which requires the earl of Eagle Rock to marry a bride of my choosing.  If your lord continues to refuse, then I will be obliged to strip him of his title and his lands.