Rose Victory - Eagle Series (4 page)

“I will never ever drop my sword again, Sir Stefan.”  Ivan gratefully lowered his sword tip to the ground and took up the exact same stance as his master.

“You have done well
…”

A high screeching wail interrupted the earl’s words of praise.  Roydon looked up into the sky, indeed everyone in the bailey looked up.  This time not one but three eagles circled the sky above the castle.  Two remained riding the currents but the third seemed to be diving straight down towards the courtyard, straight for him.  Was this the same bird that had challenged him yesterday?  It was strange, he had never heard of eagles attacking people on his mountain.  Certainly they would never attack a full grown man in the middle of a crow
ded yard.

Some instinct made the earl look at the soldiers around him.  With horror he saw several of his archers notching arrows onto their bows.  They prepared to shoot his eagle!
  An unfamiliar sense of doom and anxiety swamped Roydon.

“HOLD!”   The earl’s booming shout froze everyone within hearing, their gazes shifting from the descending bird to their lord’s furious face.  Only when the archers had lowered their weapons did Roydon look back at the diving eagle.  He recognized it
. A tingling awareness, a shiver of recognition, coursed through him.  He felt fascinated and disturbed at the same time.

Instinct made Roydon pull up his sword at the last second in a defensive gesture, d
eep down he knew he would be unable to hurt the eagle.  Just as he would allow no one to kill it; the mere thought of any harm befalling the bird made him break out in a cold sweat.  He could not understand it but neither could he deny what he felt.  A deep possessive sense of ‘mine’ invaded his mind as well as his heart. He could explain it no other way.

The eagle swerved away at the last instant, without attacking. 
  Again Roydon saw the golden eyes staring intently at him, almost human, they beckoned him to follow.

The bird flew majestically over the yard and then turned away towards the mountain, her cry calling to Roydon.  Something deep inside him wanted to follow.

A hand on his arm drew the earl’s attention back to the yard.  “NO ONE HURTS MY EAGLE,” his voice boomed again across the bailey.  “ON PAIN OF DEATH!” he declared, his enormous blade still held over his head.  The earl’s indomitable, black stare moved over his people until they bowed their heads in acknowledgement of their lord’s wishes.

“Roydon
…Roy are you alright?”

The question brought the earl’s focus to his friend; the concern on his face calmed him.  “Yes, I just do not want the eagles hurt,” he justified his unprecedented conduct as he sheathed his sword.

“I think you have made that abundantly clear.  I doubt anyone will even look at your eagles now, let alone harm them.”  Stefan chuckled at the earl’s frown.  “Ease up, Roy.  It’s only a bird.”

“She is
my
eagle,” the possessive ring in Roydon’s voice surprised even himself.

“She?”  Stefan cocked his head to one side.  “How can you tell?”

“She is too big to be a male and her eyes…I just know,” the earl ended lamely.

“Will she attack again, my lord?”  Ivan’s subdued whisper came from behind
Roydon where he had taken refuge.

“The eagle was not attacking.  I think she just wanted to get my attention.”  At t
he incredulous looks he received, from both his friend and his squire, the earl smiled ruefully.  “At least that is how it felt.”  Roydon could not help himself from looking up.  A lone eagle still circled above them, its cries faint and somehow lonely, calling him.

Roydon shook himself, enough of this nonsense.  “Stefan, I will have to postpone our little training session.  I have urgent need to speak with Brecov
.” Resolutely he put the eagle episode behind him.  “Ivan, find Master Brecov and have him meet me in the Hall.”

“Aye, my lord.”  The boy scampered off.

“You have decided?” Stefan asked quietly.

“There was nothing to decide.  My hands are tied.”  The grim look on the earl’s face spoke more eloquently than words.  “Arrange for an escort, my friend.  We leave to collect my bride two days hence.  I have to honour my father’s word.  I will send a messenger immediately to advice Reinhart of my
imminent arrival.”

“Once you send word there is no going back,
Roy.”  Stefan spoke seriously, “Reinhart is not a man to cross.”

“Neither will I break my word once given, or my father’s.”

As he made his way through the inner bailey and up to the castle, the earl felt the curious stares that were thrown his way.  Obviously his strange behaviour on the training field had already spread throughout the Holding.  Good, at least the eagle would be safe, even if everyone considered him a madman.

At that moment
even he remained unsure of his sanity.  The urge to follow that bird up into the mountain remained with him.  He felt an ache deep in his chest that spoke of loneliness, a hole that needed to be filled and at the same time overflowed with anxiety.  He must be going insane if looking a bird in the eye could make him feel like this.

Resolutely he dragged his eyes away from the mountain and the three eagles that
were once again circling the summit.  Even that was strange.  Only two adult eagles had ever inhabited the mountain at any one time.  Eagles mated for life and were very territorial.  Yet now a second adult female had joined the pair, he had never heard of this happening before.

The earl shook his head and ascended the steps to the Great Hall; he needed to speak with his steward.  Trying to ignore the heavy lump of desolation weighing him down, Roydon walked into the dark entrance of the castle.

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Roydon sat on the only high-backed chair in front of the huge fireplace in the Great Hall waiting for Brecov.  A servant had just handed him a goblet of sweet wine when he observed the steward approaching.  As if a veil had been lifted from his eyes, he saw neither his father’s steward nor the man who had taught him his letters. He saw a frail, old man who had spent his life serving his family, a man who had watched him grow up.  And he had been scared of him yesterday.  Well not scared of him, he hoped, but of his reaction.

H
e had a temper, yes, Roydon would be the first to admit it, but after the first blaze it settled into a controlled simmer.  A simmer, he remembered that he had usually gone up into the mountain to calm.  The peace and tranquillity to be found in the wilderness had called to him when he was a young boy; it had soothed and comforted him.

Why could he not go now?  Take a day o
r so to calm himself, to came to terms with the unexpected turn of events.  He would go he decided.

The moment he made the decision, the strange feeling inside him abated.  It became a vague shadow of what it had been, but there nevertheless, a persistent feeling of something that needed to be done riding low in his belly.

“You sent for me, my lord?”  Brecov’s question interrupted Roydon’s thoughts.  “I wish to beg your pardon for my conduct yesterday.  I should have brought those documents to your attention sooner.”

The earl shook his head as he waved the steward towards one of the stools
opposite his chair. “Please take a seat.  There is no need to seek my pardon.  The fault is as much mine as yours for not keeping a firmer hold on my temper.”  Roydon held up a hand to stop the old man from speaking.  “But you should also know that you have nothing to fear from me.  You have known me since I was born.  Your loyalty to Eagle Rock is unquestionable and your position in this household valued and honoured.”

There were tears in Brecov’s eyes.  “It’s true that I have known you all your life, my lord and I do not fear you for I know you.  What I feared was your reaction.  I failed in my duty, sir.  It was cowardly of me, I should
have told you sooner.”

“Think
on it no more, it is over.  Now we must deal with saving Eagle Rock.”

“This morning Sir Stefan gave me
…”

“I know,” Roydon interrupted, a slow burn suffusing his face at having to accept his friend’s coin.  “It is all he has and will be treated as a loan, to be returned as soon as funds are available.”

“That is not what he said, my lord.”

“But it is what
I
say that counts,” the earl said forcefully.  “And it is on that condition that I accept his coin.”

Brecov nodded.  “Yes, my lord.  I will keep a careful accounting.”

“See that you do and as to the spending of it, the seed for the spring sowing and the soldiers’ fees, I think, are the most urgent.”  Roydon took a deep breath.  “The rest will have to wait until we receive the dowry.”

“Your lordship will honour the betrothal contract?”

“There is not much else I can do.”  The earl’s hand tightened on the empty goblet in his hand.

“You would have taken a wife eventually, my lord.”  The steward ventured to console his master.

“It would have been my choice, Brecov.  After what I have seen at the king’s court, I would have liked to choose my own wife.”

“Your father w
ill have chosen wisely, my lord.”

“I suppose so,” the earl rubbed a callused hand along the back of his neck.  “The dowry is certainly generous enough, the lady on the other hand
…”  Roydon broke off abruptly, realizing he was speaking inappropriately of his future bride.  His face lost its pensive expression and the mask of impassivity that he had perfected at court dropped into place.

“I want you to send a fast messenger to Lord Reinhart immediately.  Advise him that I will come to claim my bride in a week’s time.  Also explain that due to my father’s death I require a quiet wedding
, but wish to honour the contract he made in my name as soon as possible.” The earl debated for a moment.  “Ask Sir Stefan to provide an escort for the messenger.  I want no mishaps.”

“He will leave within the hour, my lord.”

The earl nodded his approval.  “There is another matter that I wish carried out as soon as possible.”

“Your lordship has but to inform me of your wishes and I will see t
hem carried out,” the old man said simply.

“With the arrival of my
…wife, doubtless your duties will increase.  I want you to take on an assistant.”  A myriad of emotions crossed the steward’s face in but a few seconds; surprise, confusion, despair.  The man thought he was being replaced.  “I but try to lighten your load, Brecov.”

“I might be an old man, my lord, but I am still capable.  I do not need help.”  The old man’s pale blue eyes clouded with resignation.  “I have displeased you.”

“Nay, it is as I have said.”

“But
…”

“Are you arguing with me?”  The earl raised an eyebrow, his face stern.  “Questioning my motives, my decisions?”

“No, my lord, of course not!”

“Good.”  Roydon nodded and settled back in his chair.  “I want someone reliable and honest, capable and above all loyal.  Know you anyone who would please me?”

The old man just stared at the earl in defeat.

“I am not replacing you, Brecov.”  Roydon almost shouted in exasperation.  “As I said before, your service to Eagle Rock and to me is invaluable.  Now stop this foolishness!”

Brecov nodded, taking heart from the earl’s words.  His body might be old and feeble but this was his home, the position in this household his life and he still had a lot to give.  “My brother’s son, my lord.  He is young, just seen twenty summers but he would welcome the opportunity to better himself.”

The earl nodded again.  “I trust your judgement.  Bring him to me immediately after the midday
meal; I will be leaving soon after.”

“
You are leaving, my lord?”

“I will be spending the night on the mountain.”  The earl’s expression invited
neither comment nor argument.

Brecov took heed.  “I will see to the messenger, my lord.”  He rose slowly to his feet.  “Will that be all?”

“Yes…no.”  Roydon contradicted himself.  “Have someone bring me the betrothal documents.”  He could at least acquaint himself with them.

“
I will have them delivered to you at once, my lord.”  The steward turned and made his slow way across the Great Hall towards the estate chamber.

His father should have seen to lightening Brecov’s duties long since, the earl mused, as he contemplated the old man’s departure.  A few minutes later a servant appeared at his side, with the documents he had requested clutched in his hands.  The man handed them over quickly and glanced with a mixture of nervousness and relief towards the opposite side of the
Hall.  Roydon followed his gaze and saw Brecov disappear once again into his chamber.  The steward had not wanted to lose sight of the important documents until they had arrived safely in his hands; which was typical of the conscientious and loyal servant.

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“Your people are waiting for you to start their meal, Roy.  What is it you read?”