Shadows and Strongholds by Elizabeth Chadwick Page B

Ralf croaked, pointing at Brunin.
    Brunin said nothing. He looked at his cuff and then at Ralf with a gaze that was like dark water—anything could have lain under the surface.
    FitzWarin glared at his sons. 'Then I will finish it,' he snapped. 'Joscelin of Ludlow has this moment ridden in and I want you in the bailey to greet him. One step out of line from any of you, and you'll wear the stripes of my horsewhip for a month. Understood?'
    'Yes, sir,' Brunin said. Ralf and Richard echoed the response with subdued murmurs and downcast lids. The younger boys looked on in round-eyed silence.
    FitzWarin gave a brusque nod. 'Make yourselves presentable and come straight down.' He shook a warning fist. 'I mean what I say, and don't think I will stay my hand because we have a guest.' He strode from the room on a rush of angry air.
    Brunin spat bloody saliva in R.alf's general direction. Huddled over his bruised testicles, Ralf could only glare murder. Richard prudently sidled out of the way and took charge of the little ones.
    'Let me see.' Eve FitzWarin tipped back Brunin's head and looked into his mouth. 'A bitten tongue,' she said with relief. 'The bleeding will stop in a moment.' Hands shaking, she used a length of clean swaddling band dipped in the water jar to wipe the blood from his face. 'Here, put on your cloak; it will hide those marks at your throat.' She fussed around Brunin, draping him in his outdoor cloak of double-lined wool, fastening it with a pin of heavy silver, pushing his hair off his brow. Brunin endured her fretting with the same stoicism that he brought to most trials and tribulations.
    'I feel sick,' Ralf said, fishing for sympathy despite all.
    'So do I,' said his mother, tight-lipped. 'Every day'
     
    Joscelin de Dinan dismounted from Rouquin and handed the reins to a waiting groom. A stiff autumn breeze whipped around him, blowing his cloak against his legs, threatening to pluck his cap from his head. Removing his shield from its long strap at his back, he gave it to one of his squires. Behind the youth, the rest of Joscelin's entourage dismounted in a rattle of weapons. It was a common sound these days, even when the visit was a social one.
    Turning, Joscelin faced Whittington's bailey and the stout timber service buildings, gleaming with limewash.
    'Welcome!' FitzWarin stepped forward to greet Joscelin with a strong handclasp. 'I am glad to see you!'
    Joscelin grinned. 'And I you. I am looking forward to broaching a barrel of that wine you bought in Shrewsbury,' he said mischievously.
    'I think I can find better than that for so honoured a guest,' FitzWarin replied, his colour high. 'You had a good journey here?'
    It was obvious to Joscelin that FitzWarin was ill at ease. In Shrewsbury, on neutral ground and with only his immediate retainers to hand, he had been relaxed. Now, he was trying too hard to play the affable host.
    'We went unmolested and it did not rain,' Joscelin said with a smile. 'That is as much as any man can hope for in these troubled times.' He looked round at Whittington's walls. Unlike Ludlow, which was stone built, Whittington was mainly timber, but well protected by the surrounding marshy ground. The main threat was from the Welsh, who were not masters of the siege, and unless a castle could be taken with sudden onslaught, were not inclined to attack it. Here the 'sudden onslaught' would be straight across a bog, and that would bring any attacker to an ankle-deep standstill.
    'Welcome, my lord. Will you come within and unarm?' Joscelin turned to face the lady Mellette. Although she smiled in greeting, it was a mere stretching of her lips without genuine warmth. The carriage of her head and the set of her jaw told of pride, and an authority that it would take a brave man to flout. Her daughter-in-law, who should have been the one to step forward and speak, remained in the background with the children, her eyes modestly downcast.
    'Thank you, my lady' Joscelin bowed his head and