Read Online RulingPassion by Katherine Kingston - Free Book Online Page B

However,
since this is the first time you have disappointed us in this way, I shall let
it stand at a dozen.”
    The young man paled a bit but kept himself standing
straight. “I thank you for the mercy, my lord,” he murmured.
    Jeoffrey nodded. “Strip to the waist and go to the post,” he
ordered.
    The two men who’d brought the bench for the earlier
punishment escorted Gerard to the designated post, which turned out to be one
of the pillars holding up the great hall’s roof. A set of iron rings were set
into it. Neither of the two men pushed, pulled or even touched Gerard, allowing
him to make a dignified approach to it. They waited on either side of him while
the young man shed his shirt, revealing a thin body just developing a man’s
broad shoulders and deep chest. Only when he’d put his arms up to be attached
to the pole, did the two men move in and snap the manacles on his wrists.
    Rosalind had occasionally witnessed a flogging ordered by
her father for some serious offense. It tended to be an ugly, brutal, bloody
business and she hated it. She wanted to shut her eyes as the groom approached,
having exchanged the strap of earlier for a long, thin, single-tailed whip that
could shred the boy’s back. Pity compelled her to watch, however, and she
flinched when the groom pulled back his arm, sent the lash sailing and let it
snap against flesh. A long, angry-red weal spanned the young man’s shoulders,
but no blood seeped from it.
    Subsequent lashes had the same effect, leaving
painful-looking welts but only one broke the skin, a small cut that seeped just
a few red drops. She recalled Jeoffrey’s words that his punishments were
intended to cause pain but no damage. It hadn’t occurred to her he would mean
that so definitely and literally.
    By the time it was over the young man wore a lacing of
sore-looking welts that would hurt for a few days but leave no scars. Jeoffrey
went to stand beside Gerard as the two men released him and caught the boy when
he staggered. None of them heard what he whispered in the young man’s ear, but
he supported the somewhat dazed victim until he was able to stand on his own.
Then he handed him over to one of the two men standing nearby and gave some
more quiet instructions. As they left the room, Jeoffrey returned to the head
table and looked around.
    “This, too, is now over and will not be talked of again. Are
there any other matters requiring my attention?”
    When no one spoke up, he dipped his head and announced it
was done and he planned to retire. He stood up and nodded to Rosalind. While
the others dispersed to their quarters or duties, she followed Lord Jeoffrey
along the hall and up the stairs to his solar.
    Once the door was shut behind them, he gathered her into his
arms and held her in a firm, enveloping hug for some time. She was surprised to
feel his body shake. He sighed heavily and she shifted her against his chest
until she felt the pounding of his heart. It settled to a more quiet, easy
rhythm over the next few minutes, as he relaxed in her hold and his shaking
settled. “That is probably the most difficult part of being the lord of this
keep,” he said to her. “Fortunately these were easy to settle, but sometimes it’s
very difficult to find what the truth is and to decide on a fitting
punishment.”
    “I thought you did an excellent job of attempting to
determine the truth of the situation in each case and learning of all factors
that might influence how it should be dealt with. I was all admiration.”
    “My thanks, my lady,” he said. “But these were easy cases.
Not all are so. And I know I have punished innocent parties at times, and
allowed others who were guilty to escape unscathed.” He hesitated, buried his
face in her shoulder and said, “I always fear making an error in judgment and
harming someone thereby.”
    “A lord you may be, but a man you remain as well,” she said.
“Only God can administer perfect justice, yet men must still