Read Online In Honor Bound by DeAnna Julie Dodson - Free Book Online Page B

understand," Tom said, and now he did look at Dunois. "And sometimes I actually manage to do it."
    ***
    As soon as the secretary had written it and the king had signed it, Tom took Philip's release to the prison. The guard was quick to open the door to Philip's cell and Tom bounded in.
    "Philip– Oh, Philip."
    Philip lay gagged and glassy eyed on the narrow bed, bound in strips of sheeting, his hands and face cut and bruised. Tom went to him and gently removed the bloodied cloth from his mouth.
    Philip worked his stiff jaw and moistened his lips. "I am not mad, Tom," he said, his voice hoarse. "Do not let them tell you so."
    Tom unknotted his bonds, his hands trembling with anger, then helped him sit up.
    "Drink some of this," he said, taking a dipper full of water from the bucket beside the bed, and Philip took it in numb obedience.
    "Get in here!" Tom ordered and the soldier on guard came hesitantly into the room. "What do you mean to use a Lynaleighan prince like this?"
    "My lord, it was for his own good."
    "His own good?"
    "Please, my lord, he was a danger to himself. He beat his fists against the wall, and his head, too. We had no choice but to tie him, but we used cloth instead of rope. It was gentler."
    Tom took one sad glance at his brother. "Very well. Go back to your commander and tell him you have been relieved of your charge."
    The soldier was quick to obey, and Tom sat down on the bed.
    "Philip."
    Philip shook his head. "They've burned her, Tom," he whispered, his eyes great wells of pain. "They've burned my Kate."
    "I know."
    Tom put his arms around him and let him cry.
    ***
    Rafe Bonnechamp was waiting when Tom and Philip returned to the palace. For two days he had wondered when his young master would be released and if he was being well cared for. He had inwardly cursed the king for forbidding him to go to the prison to watch over Philip himself, and he did so again now, seeing the Philip that Tom brought back to him, faint crushed shadow of the spirited young prince he had served ever since the boy had been too old for a nursemaid.
    "Come, my lord, I've made ready your bed."
    "No. Not sleep."
    Rafe knit his bushy brows and looked at Tom, his sturdy, brown-bearded commoner's face anxious and unsettled.
    "Then I will bring you something to eat, my lord."
    Philip shook his head and pulled away from him.
    "Is there anything you want?" he asked, and Philip once more shook his head.
    "What I want is beyond your power or any man's to get back."
    He covered his grief-marked face with his hands and Rafe said nothing.
    Tom, too, was silent, knowing nothing he could say would be of help. He merely stayed close, hoping Philip would draw a little comfort from that, comfort at least that he would not be left in this sudden darkness alone. Even that reassurance was soon denied.
    ***
    The next day Robert ordered Tom to return to his post, and no amount of persuading on Tom's part could change his mind for him. The place was too important to the defense of the kingdom.
    Tom went back to Philip to say good-bye.
    "I am sent back to Chrisdale."
    "No, Tom," Philip pled, "do not go. God's pity, do not leave me just yet."
    "I must. Father will have it so."
    "He will have it so! He will have it so! Must the sun rise in the west because he will have it so? Kate is dead because he would have it so!"
    "I'll not defend him to you, Philip. I cannot. But he is our king, and we must obey him. He alone must answer for the things he has done."
    "And on that day, come what judgment there will, Kate will still be dead." Philip faced the narrow window and looked out onto the lush forest, not seeing it. "Stay with me, Tom. I need someone with me now."
    "I cannot stay, but you will not be alone. Let God be your refuge. Take strength from Him."
    "Not now," Philip said in a hard voice Tom hardly recognized. "Not anymore. I stood for Him at her trial, for what I believed was His own truth, and He did nothing. I'll not seek His help again."
    "You