The Fallen One Read Online Free PDF Page B

the horse’s
hoof, he went back over to the fire and pumped it hard as the flames sparked
and roared.
    “I would guess that Lady Cathlina does not
even know you are alive,” he said as he removed the red-hot shoe. “Besides, she
is a de Lara. I told you that.”
    Sebastian was back to snorting as his brother
transferred the shoe to an anvil and began to hammer. “What would the great
Earl of Carlisle say if one of his lovely relatives ended up married to me?” he
wondered. “It would make us family.”
    Mathias put the shoe into a barrel of
rainwater, watching the steam hiss up into the air. “I am sure that would not
excite him half as much as it would excite you,” he said, eyeing his brother.
“De Lara would not want us in the family.”
    “Why not?” Sebastian demanded. “You served
with him and St. Hèver   and Pembury. You
were all as thick as thieves.”
    “I was Tate’s squire when he was a young
knight,” Mathias muttered. “I am not sure that makes us blood brothers.”
    “He loved you and you know it,” Sebastian
pointed out. “Besides, there is only a few years difference between you two.”
    “Seven years.”
    “He still knighted you at nineteen,”
Sebastian pointed out. “Two full years before most knights receive their
spurs.”
    “That is because there was a war going on.
He needed my sword.”
    “And I would wager he has missed it long
enough this year past,” Sebastian said. Then, he looked thoughtful.   “In fact, I do believe you even saved his
life once. He owes you everything.”
    “Sparing his life and saving it are two
different things,” Mathias said quietly. He didn’t want to talk about that
particular incident; in fact, he didn’t want to discuss that part of his life
at all.   Politics had separated him from
his friends. A king had stripped him of all that he was.   Nay, he didn’t want to talk about it in the
least and Sebastian knew it, but Sebastian had jelly for brains sometimes.  
    But Sebastian didn’t have so much jelly for
brains that he didn’t know he had broached a sore subject with his
brother.   Mathias kept himself so bottled
up, however, that sometimes Sebastian wondered if the man cared about anything
at all.   But he knew, deep down, that he
cared a great deal.
    “He would be honored to have a de Reyne in
the family,” he said confidently. “De Lara views you as an equal, Mat. You know
he does.   Ken and Stephen view you as a
brother.   Mayhap it is time to speak of
such things again.   Mayhap… mayhap it is
even time to contact them again.”
    Mathias kept his mouth shut as he removed
the shoe from the water and moved to the horse.   Bending over, he pulled the horse’s hoof between his legs and fitted the
shoe.   The horse tried to move around a
bit and tried to kick at him but Sebastian set his food down and went to help
his brother.   He held the horse firm as
Mathias hammered on the shoe.  
    Dropping the hoof to the ground, he wiped
the sweat off his brow and moved back to the fire where the remaining shoe was
being heated.
    “Mat?” Sebastian said quietly. “Did you
hear me?”
    “I heard you.”
    “What say you?
    Mathias pulled the shoe out of the fire,
his face red from the heat and exertion of wrestling with the horse. “What
would you have me say?”
    “Tell me your thoughts,” Sebastian pushed.
He could see that he wasn’t getting anywhere with his brother so he ventured
onward in an attempt to prompt him. “I heard something the other day that might
be of interest.”
    Mathias was only half-listening to him.
“What is that?”
         Sebastian reclaimed
his food and chewed on the last of the meat. “Henry de Beaumont is trying to
put Edward Balliol on the throne of Scotland instead of the infant David,” he
said. “I heard some men speaking of it the other day.   De Beaumont will need knights, Mat. Mayhap
this will be an opportunity for us.”
         Mathias looked at his
brother. “De Beaumont