The Reckoning - 3 by Sharon Kay Penman Read Free Book Online

With the
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plaintive clarity of hindsight, Ellen could see that now, see how Guy had sought in vain to impress, to belong, as young brothers have done since time immemorial.
And then, Evesham. Harry had died that day, and Guy almost did
He lay for weeks near death, a prisoner with nothing to do but to relive those last bloody moments, to watch his father fall again and again, and to wonder why Bran's army had not arrived. He cheated death, to the
^urprise of all, and then escaped, which should not have been a surprise, Tiot to anyone who knew him. Fleeing to France, he set about finding his brother, with murder in his heart. But when he did, he'd discovered that he had to forgive Bran, if only because Bran could not forgive himself.
And now, Italy. A brilliant battle commander, Guy had won a King's favor, won a future full of promise. Whilst Bran, Juliana acknowledged, had naught but a past, one full of pain. And it seemed to her that, even with the best will in the world, Bran and Guy were yoked together too tightly, shackled by too many memories, too many regrets.
Bran leaned over, deposited her wine cup in the floor rushes. As he did, Juliana trailed her fingers along his chest, hovering over the new scar that zigzagged across his ribs. So much she'd wanted to do for him, to keep him safe from harm, to heal his wounds, to ease his pain, to stop his drinking.
And she'd been able to do none of it. The only comfort she could offer was carnal, the only kind he seemed to want.
"Make love to me, Bran," she whispered. "Make love to me now."
I
SIENA, TUSCANY
March 1271
HUGH did not see how they could get to Italy in time to rendezvous with Bran's brother. While couriers had been known to travel from London to Rome in just twenty-five days, sucn couriers often covered close to fifty miles a day, and most travelers
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anaged less than thirty. Hugh soon discovered, though, ^ "\jj CQUid be as steely as that of his formidable father. He ro
:«/-m siai-m-rti-ncr \^r»ntai-oic Th*ire> tV»*^\7 TAforo crreofoH V»\7
^1117 H Of _, *, ^yA H
since departing Montargis. There they were greeted by Guy de *}*
%f^ d'Aldobrandini, Count of Sovana and Pitigliano, known tSiena by midday on Sat^ ^,, *l
7th of March. It was a day to banish their bone-chilling rri^j. fy, 3 those alpine glaciers, to evoke forgotten echoes of sprit\R Of|^ drenched noon under a vivid sapphire skyHugh's fifteen^
.' ^
\
ALTHOUGH Ildebrandino had a house in Siena, they accept^ pitality of the
Tolomei, an influential local family in uneasy al|;a ^ L the Count. Once they were settled in the Tolomei palazzo, y^N,,, suggested that they might enjoy watching a game of elmora ^ iJ1 consequence, Hugh soon found himself riding through the st^' S ' mg streets that led to the Campo, listening to the applause 0?' O People as they recognized il Rosso and his dashing son-in-lay, ..V.' of Tuscany. h<\
Hugh suspected that the welcome was politic, for he kn
w ' mat these
Tuscan city-states were profoundly suspicious of ^V Predatory neighbors like the Count. And Guy de Montfort was^^ °r Podesta, of Siena's great rival, Florence. But even if they ^\^ vated more by expediency than heartfelt enthusiasm, the^ei\' oed buoyantly on the mild, sunlit air, and Guy acknowj^ ^
8«du 'V
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plaintive clarity of hindsight, Ellen could see that now, see how Guy had sought in vain to impress, to belong, as young brothers have done since time immemorial.
And then, Evesham. Harry had died that day, and Guy almost did He lay for weeks near death, a pnsoner with nothing to do but to relive those last bloody moments, to watch his father fall again and again, and to wonder why Bran's army had not arrived. He cheated death, to the 'i ^surprise of all, and then escaped, which should not have been a surprise not to anyone who knew him.
Fleeing to France, he set about finding his brother, with murder in