|
|
|
|
|
|
him an act of treachery against his clan brother." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Geoffrey uttered an obscenity and then added, "I had not thought of that! Where does this place me? In God's name, can I, in honor, use what Ian has taught me against his friends? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Do not begin to unravel a silk thread," Joanna said hastily, cursing herself for raising the question. "If you can, in honor, bear arms, then you must bear them as wisely and as well as is in your power. That is like asking whether you should fight at half your strength because your enemy is the friend of a friend. Ian expects you to use whatever you know to the fullestexcept" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Except what? Can there be an exception to honor?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Joanna did not curse aloud nor raise her eyes to heaven nor sigh nor give any other sign of the exasperation that aroused in her an urgent desire to kick her betrothed in the shin. She realized she was meeting for the first time the bête noire that was her mother's nightmare. The conflict between honor and good sense had sparked more bitter quarrels in Joanna's home than any other problem. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"I do not know," she said quietly, "but there must be sometimes a compromise with necessity. Do you think Ian should have cut off one of his arms and sent it to Llewelyn while the rest of his body went to the king?" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
That produced a laugh, as she had intended, but Geoffrey did not, as she hoped, abandon the subject. He said, "Do not talk like a fool of what you do not understand. Honor cannot be compromised, nor has Ian compromised it. He has fulfilled his obligations to each overlord completely." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
There was a brief silence while Joanna considered whether she should drop the problem she had meant to bring to Geoffrey's attention. The keeps her stepfather owned in Wales were neither large nor of great significance. In an ordinary way, unless the path of the army happened to cross them accidentally, they would be left in peace. It was not impossible, however, that John would deliberately go out of his way to attack them just to injure Ian. If John knew where they were, probably there was nothing Geoffrey could do to |
|
|
|
|
|