Swords and Shields (Reign of the House of de Winter) Read Free Page A

She knew she was alone against a greatly evil woman who was trying very much to control her. The woman knew where to hit her and hit hard.
    Elizaveta was indeed fond of her father. He was rather brusque, and easily irritable, but he was also humorous and loving and generous with her. Why on earth such a man had agreed to marry her weak and silly mother was beyond her comprehension, but she knew in the same breath that neither her father nor mother had been given any real choice in the matter, just as Elizaveta was given no choice in the matter. Much like her parents, she had no real ability to refuse. And she couldn’t take the chance that grandedame would carry out her threat.
    Oh, God….
    “Very well,” she finally said, forcing the words out. They tasted like poison upon her tongue. “I will do as I am told. But know that I do not agree with you or take any pleasure in this. You are a vile, evil woman, Grandedame … I hope there is a special place in hell for you when you finally die. I shall be happy when you do.”
    Agnes gasped at her daughter’s wicked words but stopped short of chastising her. It was true and they all knew it, although Agnes wasn’t as brave as her daughter to speak such things. Grandedame , however, simply turned away from her granddaughter and moved back in the direction of the hearth.
    “Go now,” she said simply. “Supper will be in a few hours. I will see you at that time.”
    Elizaveta shook her head sadly at a woman who deflected insults with such apathy. The woman truly didn’t care what anyone thought of her. Without another word and without acknowledging her mother, Elizaveta fled the lavish solar and tried not to weep as she did so. She suddenly found herself very emotional about her future, being married to an English lord, a stranger, and being expected to use her position to spy on the English cause. She wasn’t sure she’d make a good spy because she was quite open and honest about things. She’d never been one to be sneaky or covert.
    Fearing for her life and her future, Elizaveta never made it to supper that evening. She spent the night in prayer.
     
    St. Michael the Archangel, 
    Defend us in battle. 
    Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. 
    May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, 
    and do thou, 
    O Prince of the heavenly hosts, 
    by the power of God, 
    thrust into hell Satan, 
    and all the evil spirits, 
    who prowl about the world 
    seeking the ruin of souls.
     
    This was most definitely a battle. She never looked at it any other way.

 
     
     
     

     
     

CHAPTER ONE
     
     
    Year of our Lord 1300 A.D.
    Month of May
    Norwich Castle
     
     
     
    “Mother, I have looked everywhere,” a knight in heavy armor said breathlessly, seriously. “You know that when we find him, he will not come quietly. He is in here, somewhere, hiding. And he is heavily armed. It is going to be a battle ‘til the death when we finally locate him.”
    An older woman, still quite beautiful at her age, stood at the base of the stairs in the keep of Norwich. She was dressed quite well, wrapped in lovely black shawl, gazing up at the knight midway down the spiral staircase that ran from the third and top floor of Norwich’s big keep.
    “He is here, somewhere.” Lady Devereux Allington de Winter wasn’t apt to take any foolishness from any of her five children, and most especially not from one of her eldest sons. Her eyes narrowed at the man’s twin brother, standing on the stairs. “Find him, Devon. Find him before I do or I swear there will be blood spilled on these walls this night. I did not nearly die giving birth to him only to have him shame me at this crucial moment.”
    Devon de Winter, the younger twin by nine minutes, sighed heavily. “Mother, you cannot….”
    Devereux cut him off. “ Find him.”
    Devon, frustrated, threw up the hand that wasn’t holding a broadsword. “And then what?” he demanded, although not too forcefully. Being