LITMIR.BIZ

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as our officer.”

      More than one rancher or baron in that forest clearing found this entirely too legalistic for his taste. Why, they wondered, didn’t Ramiro just let them fight it out here under the sun of Jad in the open spaces that best became a man—and have done with this dry-mouthed, dusty verbiage?

      Such a pleasing possibility seemed to be becoming less likely with each passing moment. The smug expressions of the three yellow-robed clerics who had moved to stand behind the king indicated as much. Ramiro wasn’t known for his close relations with the clerics of Jad, but these three certainly looked happy enough.

      This, a number of the lords of Valledo thought, was what happened when a king became too full of himself, when he started making changes. Even that new throne room back in the palace, with its veined marble pillars: didn’t it look more like something designed for a decadent court in Al-Rassan than a Jaddite warrior hall? What was happening here in Valledo? It was an increasingly urgent question.

      “Having considered the words of both parties and the depositions that have been rendered, including one by the Asharite silk merchant Husari ibn Musa of Fezana, we will be brief in our judgment.”

      The king’s expression continued to match his stern words. The blunt fact was, if Belmonte and de Rada chose to pursue a blood feud Valledo was likely to be torn apart in the choosing of sides, and Ramiro’s sweeping changes would fall like butchered bodies.

      “It is our decision that Garcia de Rada—may his soul reside with Jad in light—violated both our laws and our obligations in his attack upon the village of Orvilla by Fezana. Ser Rodrigo’s interruption of that attack was entirely proper. It was his duty, given the parias being paid to us for protection. It is also our judgment that ordering the death of Parazor de Rada was reasonable, if unfortunate, given the need to demonstrate both our fairness and our authority in Fezana. No blame or criticism falls to Ser Rodrigo for these things.”

      Count Gonzalez stirred restlessly, but grew still under the king’s flat gaze. Light fell through the trees, dappling the clearing in bands of brightness and shadow.

      “At the same time,” King Ramiro went on, “Ser Rodrigo had no right to wound Garcia de Rada after accepting his surrender. It was not a deed that becomes a man of rank.” The king hesitated and shifted a little on his tree trunk. Rodrigo Belmonte was looking straight at him, waiting. Ramiro met his gaze. “Further,” he said, his voice quiet but extremely clear, “the public accusation he is reported to have made with respect to the death of my lamented brother King Raimundo is a slander beneath the dignity of both a nobleman and an officer of the king.”

      A number of men in that forest clearing caught their breath at this point. They had reached a matter that touched perilously near to Ramiro’s position on the throne itself. The extremely abrupt death of his brother had never been satisfactorily explained.

      Ser Rodrigo did not move, nor, at this juncture, did he speak. In the slanting sunlight his expression was unreadable, save for the frown of concentration as he listened. Ramiro picked up a parchment from the trunk beside him.

      “That leaves us with an attack on women and children at Rancho Belmonte, and then the killing of a man who had sheathed his sword.” King Ramiro looked down at the parchment for a moment and then back up. “Garcia de Rada had formally surrendered in Orvilla, and accepted terms of ransom to be determined. His obligation by his oath was to come straight here to Esteren and await the ruling of our royal heralds. Instead he recklessly stripped our defenses in the tagra lands to pursue a personal attack on Rancho Belmonte. For this,” said the king of Valledo, speaking slowly and carefully now, “I would have ordered his public execution.”

      There came a swiftly rising sound of protest between the trees. This was new, a prodigious assertion of authority.

      Ramiro went on, unruffled. “Dona Miranda Belmonte d’Alveda was a frail woman with no men to guard her, fearing for the lives of her young children in the face of an attack by armed soldiers.” The king lifted another document from the tree trunk beside him and glanced at it. “We accept the deposition of the cleric Ibero that Ser Garcia specifically indicated to Dona Miranda that his purpose had been to exact vengeance upon herself and her sons, and not merely to claim horses from Rancho Belmonte.”

      “That man is a servant of Belmonte’s!” the constable said sharply. The splendid voice was a shade less controlled than it had been before.

      The king looked at him, and those in attendance, observing that glance, were made abruptly mindful that Ramiro was, in fact, a warrior when he chose to be. Cups of wine were raised and men drank thoughtfully.

      “You were not invited to speak, Count Gonzalez. We have carefully noted that none of your brother’s surviving men have contradicted this deposition. They appear to confirm it, in fact. We also note that by all accounts the attack was against the ranch itself, not the pastures where the horses were grazing. We are capable of drawing conclusions, especially when supported by the sworn word of a servant of the god. Given that your brother had already broken his parole by attacking the ranch, it is our judgment that Dona Miranda, a frightened, defenseless woman, is not to be censured for killing him and thus protecting her husband’s children and possessions.”

      “You bring shame upon us with this,” said his constable bitterly.

      When Ramiro of Valledo was angry his face grew white. It did so now. He stood up, taller than almost every man in that clearing. Papers scattered beside him; a cleric hurried to collect them.

      “Your brother brought you shame,” the king said icily, “by refusing to accept your own authority, or ours. We do no more than rule upon his actions. Hear us, Gonzalez”—no title, the listeners realized, and wine goblets were lowered all about the clearing—“there will be no feud to follow from this. We forbid it. We make the following decree before these high-born of Valledo: Count Gonzalez de Rada, our constable, will stand surety with his own life for the next two years for the lives and safety of the family of Ser Rodrigo Belmonte. Should death or grievous harm befall any of them from any source during this time we will execute mortal judgment upon his body.”

      A buzzing again, and this one did not subside. Nothing remotely like this had ever been heard before.

      “Why two years?”

      It was Rodrigo. The first time the Captain had spoken since the hearing had begun. The angle of the sun had changed now; his face was in shadow. The question brought a silence, as the king’s gaze turned to Belmonte.

      “Because you will not be able to defend them,” Ramiro said levelly, still on his feet. “Officers of the king have a responsibility to exercise control both over their weapons and their words. You failed us twice over. What you did to Ser Garcia, and what you said to him, are direct causes of his death and this hard trouble in our kingdom. Rodrigo Belmonte, you are condemned to a term of exile from Valledo of two years. At the end of such time you may present yourself before us and we will rule upon your case.”

      “He goes alone, I take it?” It was Count Gonzalez, reacting quickly. “Not with his company?”

      It mattered, all the listeners knew. Rodrigo Belmonte’s company comprised one hundred and fifty of the finest fighting men in the peninsula.

      Rodrigo laughed aloud, the sound almost shocking, given the tension among the trees. “You are most welcome,” he said, “to try to stop them from following me.”

      King Ramiro was shaking his head. “I will not do so. Your men are yours and blameless in this. They may go or stay as they please. I will ask only for one undertaking from you, Ser Rodrigo.”

      “After exiling me from my home?” The question was pointed. Rodrigo’s face was still in shadow.

      “Even so.” It was interesting how calm the king was. A number of men reached the same conclusion at the same time: Ramiro had anticipated almost every point of this exchange. “I do not think you can truly quarrel with our ruling, Ser Rodrigo. Take your company, if you will. We ask only that they not be used in warfare against us.”

      Silence

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