The Merchant's Partner Read Online Free PDF Page B

It was miserable. The end of Outremer. The end of the kingdom of Jerusalem. The finish of many brave and gallant men. Not, luckily, your father, though.”
    â€œHe told me a little about it, but never what really happened. Could you?”
    Baldwin sipped at his wine as he stared into the flames, his eyes glinting. Then they narrowed—the memory was hard. “I met your father there in the early summer, before I met Edgar. Our enemy had managed to lay siege from the land—though we still got supplies in from the sea—and were bombarding the place with catapults. I met your father early on in the siege. There were so few of us there—especially in the service of the English king—that we all knew each other. Even then he was a powerful man, or so I remember him. I was young at the time, of course. We fought together several times, and I was with him when the towers in the city wall were mined and began to crumble. We fell back together through the city as the enemy rushed in, trying to escape. It was awful.”
    â€œHe told me it was vicious work in the narrow streets.”
    â€œYes, because they were all connected, and there were so many men against us that even if we held them back for a minute, others could get round behind us. They kept leapfrogging us all the way back, all the way to the harbor. It was mayhem, hand-to-hand all the way. The harbor was to the south and we headedstraight for it when we saw that the battle was lost. On the way we found Edgar here. He was wounded, and we helped him along with us. But when we got close enough to see the sea, we found our route was blocked. The enemy was before us, cutting us off. We had no choice: north, south and east were forbidden to us. We went west, to the Temple.”
    â€œYou were both there during the siege of the Knights of the Temple?”
    â€œOh, yes!” Baldwin gave a short laugh. “Not that we were much help to them. Edgar was too ill. I myself fell on rubble on the second day and broke my ankle. Your father saved me then.” He looked over at the young knight beside him. “We were at the main gate of the Temple when we were suddenly attacked by a strong force. They had a ram, and the bar that held the door gave way, snapping in the middle. Half of it landed near me, and that’s what made me fall. A stone turned under my foot and broke the joint. Your father stood by me, holding off the enemy until I was dragged away and the gates fastened again. He managed to keep the men rallied.
    â€œIn the end, your father was hit by an arrow, and the wound soon festered in the heat. We were lucky. The Templars allowed all three of us to leave on one of the Templar ships. They took us away to Cyprus, where they tended our wounds and nursed us back to health.” Back to Cyprus, he mused. The words hardly covered the panicked rush to the ships and the feelings of relief and elation at being removed from the immediate dangers of the ruined city.
    â€œI have been in similar positions,” said the Bourc meditatively. Drawing his dagger, he thrust it deep into the fire. When he had poured himself a fresh mugof wine, he warmed it by stirring it with the knife. “It’s hard when you’re surrounded and know you cannot escape.”
    â€œAye. It’s worse when your enemy has sworn to destroy you utterly and leave no survivors,” said Baldwin shortly. Then he glanced up and smiled. “Anyway, that’s the truth of it, for what it’s worth.” He threw a shrewd glance at his guest. “So did you come all the way here to hear that? The message and gifts hardly merit a knight as a messenger!”
    â€œNo,” said the Bourc shortly. “No, I did not come just for that. I wanted a bed for the night as well. I will be gone early tomorrow, I came for other business, a debt which I owe from that same siege.”
    â€œHow so? You can only have been a child back then.”
    â€œI