February, 1183 in Limousin
The rebellion had begun when Henry, the Young King, threw in his lot with the barons of Aquitaine against their own duke.
Now the Viscount of Limoges, Aimar, had several of the Duke of Aquitaine’s knights trapped inside the church at Gorre in the Limousin. They had barricaded the doors and held out as long as they could, but the end was only a matter of time. No relief was coming. They would either be cut down or slowly starve behind the walls.
Aimar and his men were encamped in the town below. The viscount had just taken a wineskin from the hands of a squire when a shout split the afternoon air.
Every head turned at once.
One of their sentries was galloping toward the camp, yelling that riders were fast approaching. Knowing this seasoned soldier would not have been alarmed unless the riders posed a threat, Aimar whirled and ran for his horse, snatching up his helmet.
By the time he hauled himself into the saddle, the camp had erupted into chaos. Men were shouting for weapons, scrambling to mount, stumbling from tents half armed.
Whores almost inevitably turned up at an army encampment, and some of these women were screaming shrilly even before the riders came into view, clad in chain mail, swords drawn and lances leveled, mounted on horses caked in lather and dust. One glimpse was enough to tell Aimar that they were in for a fierce fight.
One of the lead knights drew Aimar's attention, for he rode ahead of the others.
As he charged through the camp, he met a burning fire in his path and simply leapt it, horse and rider clearing the flames in a single bound rather than breaking stride. Even in that moment, the viscount could not help but admire the horsemanship.
The knight had caught the attention of the leader of his routiers, Arnald, too.
The routier lunged forward, reaching for the knight’s leg. It was a dangerous move, but Arnald had dragged more than one man from the saddle that way. He was a huge fellow, broad as a smith and immensely strong.
For an instant it looked as if he might succeed.
Instead, the knight under attack did not pull back as men usually did; he leaned toward him.
And suddenly blood was spurting everywhere, a red haze before Aimar's eyes.
Arnald reeled backward, his face contorted as he stared in shock at the stump where his hand had been.
The knight's sword was already sweeping down again, a powerful blow that all but decapitated the routier.
Aimar heard the command to retreat and was surprised that the order was coming from his throat, for he'd not made a conscious decision to withdraw. But by then he'd recognized the knight bloodied with Arnald's blood, and his instincts for self-preservation had taken over.
The awareness that they were facing Richard himself banished any desire for battle. He was no coward. But Richard was something else entirely.