Lion's Bride - Iris Johansen [13]
Ware strode toward the table and poured wine into a goblet.
“I shouldn’t have left you alone with her.” Kadar paused. “Did you hurt her?”
“I didn’t rape her, if that’s what you mean.”
“I didn’t think you did. You may have prodigious appetites, but if you’d taken her, even you couldn’t become this aroused again so quickly.” He lifted his wine to his lips. “I was referring to hurting her soul, not her body.”
Ware had a sudden memory of those huge amber eyes gazing at him like a wounded doe when he had accused her of seducing Kadar. He forced the picture away. She was no helpless doe. Only a moment later she had turned and stung him. “She made me angry.” He glared at Kadar. “You made me angry. Why did you fall into her trap? Don’t you know she wants to make use of you?”
“I think she’s the one who is trapped.” He shook his head. “And the world is not entirely filled with deceit and treachery, Ware.”
“It’s safer to expect treachery than kindness. Considering the life you’ve lived, you should have learned that by now.”
“It’s a very lonely road you’ve chosen. Someday you’ll choose to leave safety behind.”
“No.” He threw himself into a chair and smiled sardonically. “Why should I choose a different path? I have everything I want. I’ve a great castle, more gold than Saladin, and the freedom to indulge my every desire.” He lifted his goblet. “And I don’t have to pretend to be anything but the rogue I am. When I go into battle, I admit it’s for gold and not for any higher aim.” He added deliberately, “And, when I couple with a woman, it’s because I lust and must relieve myself, not because Cupid’s dart has pierced my heart.”
“You’re not a rogue,” Kadar said. Then he amended, “Well, not all the time. And when you are, it’s because you’re in pain. You’re like a lion with a thorn in his paw who only growls when he steps on it.”
He felt like that wounded lion now, Ware thought. He was weary of Kadar’s probing, and his loins were aching and heavy. He wanted nothing more than to go back to that wench upstairs and sink between her thighs. Why hadn’t he done it, instead of merely threatening? It would have settled the problem before it became one. “It’s Conrad who is the lion.” He finished his wine in two swallows. “And he’s roaring for me to join him again. A messenger came this morning with an invitation to come to his tent and meet with him. It seems the flush of victory has faded and he wants to make sure Tyre isn’t threatened again.”
“Will you do it?”
“Perhaps.” He shrugged. “Or perhaps I’ll offer my sword to Saladin. Of the two, he is the more honorable.”
“I thought you no longer cared about honor.”
“I care about being paid for my services. Conrad might choose to forget my share of the booty on the grounds I’m a traitor and a renegade. At least Saladin won’t be tempted to hand me over to the Temple and let the Grand Master put a convenient and final end to me.”
“You believe Conrad would betray you?”
“I wouldn’t trust the mercy of the angel Gabriel if the Grand Master applied his influence. You don’t know—” He broke off. Of course Kadar didn’t know. No one could possibly understand who had not been one of the temple. “I have time to make a decision. Perhaps I’ll wait until there’s a new player in the game. Richard of England is rumored to be coming to launch a new and glorious Crusade. My price will only go up after Conrad loses a few battles.”
“Such power. Ah, to be able to change the course of history to suit oneself.” He smiled. “But it’s really too bad you don’t have the freedom to go beyond these walls without a battalion of soldiers.”
Ware carefully kept any hint of expression from his face. He should be accustomed to these jabs by now. They came often enough. “I don’t have to stay behind these walls. It’s my choice.”
“Then why not leave this country? Why be forced to make a choice between Saladin and Conrad?