Rebel's Cage (Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the high table, by Kenrick’s left hand, and continue to pretend that all was well, that this was a happy occasion and not one that might precipitate a war.
    More than once he caught Godfrey’s eye; he envied the Archdeacon his position beside Ogiers where he could at least be guaranteed some interesting conversation. Right now, however, the Mayenne Ambassador was engaged in dancing with a Duchess Osbert knew only by sight.
    Long bench tables had been set up under the stars, a space left between them for tumblers and musicians and now, for revellers to join the formal dances. Ogiers moved in a gentle and stately manner, befitting his age, but the calm expression on his face betrayed to the Proctor his relief at no longer having to sit near the King.
    There had been no bargain struck between them. Tirone of Mayenne had too many demands, was prepared to negotiate on too few of them. Kenrick, still needing to prove himself, hadremained stubborn and the only thing the two men had agreed upon was to meet again in three months and review their respective positions.
    Osbert knew Kenrick to be far too impatient to keep to such an agreement. He was more likely to find an alternative solution than to be content to let his ambition rest in the hands of others.
    And yet, since his return that evening, Kenrick had been more quiet and thoughtful than anything else. His good humour had returned, making the celebrations a little easier to endure, and even now he sipped his wine rather than guzzled it, smiled a little at the dancers, tapped his fingers in time to the fiddle and drum and generally appeared to be enjoying himself.
    So why did the sight of that send a fresh
frisson
of fear through Osbert? Was it because he’d seen the Baron DeMassey and his companion, Gilbert Dusan, enjoying the festivities? Was it due to the fact that those two men were so closely in league with Nash – or was it that Osbert had no doubts at all that Kenrick’s disappearance today must have been in order for him to visit …
    Osbert could not find words to describe the man who had turned Lusara into a quagmire of misery, although he had helped Nash to get where he was, unwitting of the danger, unmindful of the consequences.
    And Kenrick served Nash as his father had before him.
    ‘My Lord Proctor?’
    Kenrick’s quiet query broke into Osbert’s thoughts and he turned with a carefully schooled expression. ‘Yes, Sire?’
    ‘What say you of Tirone’s stubbornness? Do you think he will ever relinquish his daughter?’
    This was the kind of question Osbert had to face on a daily basis, balancing what he believed was true with what he believed Kenrick wanted to hear – with little room for the harsh reality. If he voiced his honest opinion, the King would be pushed either to anger or to war. If he prevaricated too much, Kenrick would no longer ask him for his opinion, and any influence he might have, however small, would be eroded.
    A real King, however, would listen without judgement, never condemning a man for his thoughts.
    ‘I believe,’ Osbert replied, holding up his cup to be filled by the boy waiting behind the high table, ‘that given sufficient guarantees, Tirone will eventually agree to you marrying the Princess.’
    ‘I know that,’ Kenrick replied, his gaze not hard but almost quizzical, as though he held a secret, ‘but how many of his guarantees can be dispensed with before he gives me the girl? I have already sent him a dozen shipments of grain to make up for the failure of his harvest – without, I might add, extracting an exorbitant price. I could have sold them to Budlandi for twice what he gave me.’
    While still leaving his own people to starve their way through winter, Osbert added silently. He waited while the page filled the King’s cup before replying, ‘It is possible that in six months’ time, his demands will change for the better. Or they might change for the worse.’
    ‘So I should settle now?’ Kenrick smiled