It's Medieval Monday!!! And we're winding up our villein themed snippets. Today I have Elisabeth Hobbes with a peak at The Saxon Outlaw's Revenge.
Aelric was bound, hands high, to the frame where his father’s body hung. Constance turned to Jeanne in horror, but her sister’s eyes were blank.
‘Be silent,’ Jeanne hissed, ‘unless you want Robert to suspect the boy means more than you claim.’
The tunic was cut away leaving Aelric’s back exposed. As the first blow struck his scream of pain tore through the marketplace. He was ready for the second and made no sound, but by the sixth his cries with each blow came as weak, throaty sobs. Constance bunched her fists, digging her nails into her palms. Only later would she notice the half-moons of blood she had raised to the surface. When the tenth stroke was done Robert strolled to where his captive sagged.
‘I have no need to keep you here any longer. Tomorrow you’ll be sent to Chester where Earl Gerbod can find a use for you in the fields or salt works.’
Robert drew a dagger, grabbed hold of Aelric’s left ear, twisting his head back.
‘I’ll leave you something to remember me by.’
He drew the tip from Aelric’s collar to below the ear then turned the blade and smoothly sliced the lobe away. The boy gave a shriek and, as this last cruelty finally broke him, slumped against the scaffold frame in a faint.
Will Constance’s interference remain unpunished? Discover the answer next Monday on Elisabeth Hobbes’s blog
At the mercy of her enemy!
Abducted by Saxon outlaws, Constance Arnaud comes face to face with Aelric, a Saxon boy she once loved. He’s now her enemy, but Constance must reach out to this rebel and persuade him to save her life as she once saved his…
Aelric is determined to seek vengeance on the Normans who destroyed his family. Believing Constance deserted him, he can never trust her again. Yet, as they are thrown together and their longing for each other reignites, will Aelric discover that love is stronger than revenge?
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