The Two Torcs Read Online Free Page A

punched through.
    This hammer had been in Richard the Lionheart’s hand when he ended the war between Geoffrey the Dark and Sir Lidamont, over the hand of a woman from Iberia. Geoffrey the Dark still walked with a limp because of this hammer, and the woman from Iberia still rubbed ointment into the puncture in Sir Lidamont’s side.
    She’d found it in a cache, hidden away in one of Richard’s secret gardens, and had taken it before it could be discovered by John or one of his men.
    A knock came at the door.
    It was a familiar one, but nevertheless she tugged the mattress back in place, standing and smoothing her dress as she did.
    “Enter,” she called. A key clattered in the lock for a moment before the door swung inward, pushed by a short figure swathed in a dull-green wool cloak. Snow that clung to the shoulders hadn’t yet begun to melt. Turning and locking the door behind them, the figure pushed the cloak up and over. It came loose in a wad that was tossed aside, revealing a young woman in rough clothes too small for her generous curves. A mop of blonde curls waved in the air, crackling as she shook herself.
    “Och, it’s cold out there, Princess!”
    “I went last time.”
    “I know.” Chastity rubbed her hands together, moving toward the fire.
    Marian moved close. “Any word?”
    “About what?”
    Marian hesitated. “My uncle.”
    “Not a peep. No news either way.”
    “Damn.” Marian’s voice came out a growl.
    Chastity laid a hand on her shoulder. “No news isn’t bad news.”
    “Crusading armies send word back when they land. That’s what kings do.”
    “Doesn’t mean he didn’t land.”
    “Then what
does
it mean?” she snapped angrily.
    Chastity stepped back and Marian felt the small distance like a dash of ice water.
    A blossom of shame opened inside her. She sighed, clearing the tightness in her chest with the deep breath.
    “I’m sorry.”
    Chastity shrugged. “I know it’s tough for you, Princess. Even without John and the Sheriff and their mischief, I know it’s hard.”
    Marian had no words. None. She turned away so that Chastity wouldn’t see the despair in her eyes. She missed her uncle more than she ever thought she could miss anyone, and in these moments—the quiet moments—her missing him turned from melancholy to anger and back again.
    It was exhausting.
    “Be strong and of good faith,”
he had said.
“I will return.”
    The rightful king’s last words directly to her.
    Uncle Richard, you had no idea what you were leaving me to face.
    She knew deep in her gut that none of the messengers she’d sent had made it through. Yet there
had
to be a way to reach Richard.
    If he’s even still alive.
    The thought came unbidden to her, filling her with an instant sense of terror. She prayed every night for his safety, sometimes weeping into the wee hours of the morning with the fervency of her prayers.
    He wasn’t the only one she prayed for. She also prayed for her cohorts, those who had donned the mantle of the Hood to try to spoil King John’s plans. Particularly for Robin. Then she prayed for the children of the nobles, the young ones who had been stolen to keep their parents in line. The children nobody could find.
    “Still no word on where they might have taken the little ones?” Marian asked, knowing already what the answer would be. If Chastity had such news, it would have been the first thing from her lips.
    “No,” the young woman admitted. “No one seems to have any idea. They can’t be in the castle, though. There’s not been food leaving the kitchens unaccounted for.”
    Marian took a deep breath. “You don’t think he’s killed them, do you?”
    She waited for an outburst from Chastity, a reassurance that even John wasn’t that stupid or heartless. It never came, and Marian turned to look at her friend.
    Chastity had gone pale.
    “I don’t know, milady.” The formality in her tone told Marian everything she needed to know.
    “You think he