Rose Victory - Eagle Series Read Online Free PDF Page A

don’t see you running.”  In spite of himself, Roydon’s lips turned up in the beginnings of a smile.
    “I am immune to your grouchiness, my lord.”  Stefan’s feigned look of long suffering patience nearly made the earl choke on his ale.  Your squire, on the other hand, is not,” he added sobering.
    Roydon tensed, “Ivan went to you carrying tales?” he asked frowning, a piece of bread arrested halfway to his mouth.  Disloyalty he would not tolerate.
    “Nay,” Stefan denied the accusation quickly.  “The boy is only t en years old, Roy.  He carries his heart on his sleeve, he would never betray you.  You are his idol.  T’is why, when he came down for training looking so dejected, that I knew something was wrong.  He is usually a happy and lively boy.”
    To the earl, his friend’s words sounded like an accusation and indeed he did feel uncomfortable.  He had snapped and growled at the boy for no good reason and that was unfair.  Misbehaviour merited punishment and Ivan had always accepted it, reluctantly but with grace.  His displeasure with him this morning had been undeserved.
    “I will see to the boy, Stefan,” Roydon replied at last, his voice quiet as he rose from his seat.  He had to see to a lot more than just his squire, he thought.  First he had to get back control of his life.  He was a man used to leading, to being in control of the situation.  Recent events had been driving him, giving him a sense of impotence he was unused to, hence his uncharacteristic, foul mood.  That would change as of this moment.
    The earl turned to his friend who had been watching him closely, a slight smile on his face.  “Come along, Stefan, the practise field awaits us .”
    “I have just come from there.  In fact I have been there for several hours while you were lazing in you r bed this morning.”  Stefan had noted his friend’s lighter tone and had responded accordingly.
    An amused glint appeared in Roydon’s dark eyes.  “I am not happy with our little skirmish yesterday and now that I am rested I want to finish it to my satisfaction.”
    Stefan sighed dramatically.  “Not again, Roy.  My arms still ache from your blows.”
    “As do mine, but when has that ever stopped us before?”
    “True,” Stefan admitted, glad to see that his friend had relaxed, his expression no longer tense and forbidding.
    “Come along commander,” Roydon stood halfway to the door already, a thick eyebrow raised in query.  “Do I have to drag you to the field?”
    Stefan grinned, “Eager for your thrashing, my lord?” he asked as he followed the earl out the door.
     
    <><><>
     
    “Give me a few minutes with Ivan, Stef, I will join you in a moment.”  As the commander walked away the earl approached his squire, who sat on a bench at the edge of the training field.
    The boy slouched despondently, his eyes downcast , staring unseeingly at the dusty ground between his boots.
    For a moment Roydon found himself remembering when he had last seen the boy like this.  It had been almost a year ago when he had spoken to him just after the boy’s father’s death.  Ivan had sat just so, outside the small tent that he had shared with his father.
    Sir Marcus Trent had been a landless knight, a mercenary who had joined the king’s army.  He had been a strong and capable man and Roydon had been glad to have him under his command.  He had even offered the man a position as a household knight at Eagle Rock when they left the king’s service.  Sir Marcus had accepted the younger man’s offer gratefully.  He had wanted to provide his motherless son with a permanent home.
    A skirmish against a rebel baron had ended with the knight’s death, leaving his son orphaned and alone.   Roydon had felt responsible for the boy, even though Sir Marcus still did not serve his family.
    “You have heard that your father has fallen?” he had asked.
    “Yes, sir,” Ivan had scrambled to his feet but his head remained