Here Be Dragons - 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

thinly scraped hide, but this was summer and it was open to sun and sound from the tiltyard below. Hugh went to it and watched for a while.
"What do you watch?" The question was polite in tone, conciliatory in intent;
Robert thrived on family discord no more than Hugh.
"Llewelyn and some of his friends." As Robert joined him, Hugh gestured toward a small group of youngsters gathered below. Llewelyn was mounted on a burnished chestnut gelding; as the boys watched, he lowered his lance, took aim, and sent the gelding cantering across the tiltyard. He hit the target off-center and the quintain swung about in a wide arc, the sandbag slicing through the air like an opponent's counter blow. It should have sent him tumbling from the saddle to the straw
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soften youthful falls. But Llewelyn twisted sideways in th^ e&M leaning so far to his left that it seemed inevitable he'd be uru cl and the sandbag swept by harmlessly overhead. k^Hugh grinned. It was a showy stunt, an undeniably impressive feat emanship, one that Hugh had seen before. Robert had not, how^ ° er° and he swore in startled wonder. CV "How in Christ did he do that without breaking his neck?"
Hugh laughed. "You'd not credit what I've seen that lad do or\ u rse I truly believe the Welsh do learn to ride even ere they're weaned."
Below them, Stephen de Hodnet was taking his turn upon Lie-
elvn's gelding. He, too, hit the quintain awry and, seconds later, went sprawling into the straw, with a bruising impact that earned him no sympathy from the two watching men; they had suffered too many such spills themselves during their own years as knightly apprentices.
Reclaiming Sul, Llewelyn led it over to the fence, held out the reins to his brother. Adda shook his head, but Llewelyn persisted, maneuvering the gelding up to the fence so the younger boy could mount. Once securely in the saddle, Adda shed much of his awkwardness, and while he did not attempt the quintain, he put the gelding through several intricate maneuvers, showing himself to be a better rider than most of Llewelyn's friends.
Robert frowned. No matter how often he told himself that it was unchristian to feel such abhorrence of deformity, he could not control his distaste, could not keep his eyes from Adda's twisted leg. Thank the Lord Jesus that his torn was sound of limb, that the younger boys, too, were whole.
"He lacks for spirit, that one. If not for Llewelyn's coaxing, I daresay he'd never stir from the hearth."
"Well, it's hard on the lad, Rob, being lame. What future has he, after all?
Under Welsh law, that crooked leg bars him from any claim to his father's lands."
Robert shrugged. "He's not like to starve. Their law also holds that he must be provided for."
"True, but would you want to be taken care oflike a woman? At thirteen, Adda's old enough to feel the shame of it."
I suppose," Robert agreed, without interest. It was not that he wished Adda ill, merely that he regretted his engrafting onto the Corbet
.a y tree- It was fortunate indeed that Llewelyn was of more promis-
8 stock. "Tell me, Hugh, what plans have you made for Llewelyn's
Well, it is the custom in Wales for boys to be placed with a local when they reach fourteen or so. Whilst in his service, they learn the
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use of arms, the tactics of warfare, much like our youths do whilst serving as squires. Margaret thought to send Llewelyn back to her brothers for such training, but I think I've persuaded her that we should place him as a squire in a Norman household. I daresay the boy will balk at first, but I feel such a move would be in his best interest."
"That is just what I'd hoped you'd say, Hugh. You see, when I was in London at
Whitsuntide, I had the good fortune to encounter his Grace, the Earl of
Chester. Naturally the conversation turned to our common interests, protecting our respective lands from Welsh raids He was most interested to learn that your stepson is the grandson of Owain Fawr, and he suggested that he find a place for the