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hold on the slack of the reins, which were tied to the saddle pommel, and bellowed, "Forward!" |
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The horse, fretting as it was under the tight rein while it sensed the excitement of its rider, leapt forward eagerly. The French seeing them come up over the little rise, also kicked their horses into action. Geoffrey had no idea of whom, among Philip's noblemen, he would face, and he did not care. He had had little contact with the French court beyond being polite to an envoy now and again and had no friends among Philip's men. In any case, the violence that invariably seized him when combat was offered had a firm grip on him. Somewhere deep inside, old wounds opened, spilling out the encysted bitterness of a rather frail, proud boy who had perforce swallowed the taunts and insults he could not silence. |
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Geoffrey was light for a full-armed man. His destrier, interbred with the mighty grays of the Roselynde line, was strong and swift. In ten strides Orage had outdistanced Geoffrey's group, although Tostig and Roger of Hemel, spurring their horses like mad, were not far behind. Still, Geoffrey had room to maneuver, which was greatly limited for the more solid line of men opposing him. He did not seem to notice this at first, riding straight as a well-launched arrow toward the man exactly opposite. This was a deception. Whatever the old rage that sprang up in him, lending strength to his arms and ferocity to his movements, Geoffrey was no berserker. He had been well schooled, even overelaborately, because Ian knew Geoffrey's slender body did not have the brute force to batter a path without skill and subtlety. |
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At the last moment possible, Geoffrey jammed his knee into the destrier's shoulder, sending the well-trained animal off at an angle. In the same instant, he threw himself forward into the lance thrust, taking the man to his right by surprise. Geoffrey's spear slid in under the Frenchman's, and, even though the man turned his own lance when he realized what had happened, there was little force in it because he had not been quite ready. Until Geoffrey's swift maneuver startled him, the Frenchman's attention had been |
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