At the Sign of L’ Espee, the inn at Tours used by officers on royal duty, M. Morant and his three comrades returning with the royal correspondence from Rennes, La Rochelle, and Bordeaux are ready to depart for Paris. “Are you certain, Your Grace?” M. Morant knows not to insist when faced with opposition by … Continue reading Chapter Forty-Eight, Fatherhood, by Mordaunt
Chapter Forty-Seven, Common Enemy, Common Ground, by Corso
Dawn …gray tendrils of fog drift away. On the Spanish galleons, San Isidro, Rosario and Sagrio, sharp eyed lookouts on deck and high atop the masts brace their legs against the wind and swing their spyglasses, searching for the enemy, noting positions to their captains. One ship they do not see is a masted pinnace … Continue reading Chapter Forty-Seven, Common Enemy, Common Ground, by Corso
Chapter Forty-Six, The Belladonna, by Corso
‘For variety’s sake, let us hope he jibs this time. They must be as bored as we are,’ Crotte complains and fixes the spyglass back to his eye, watching the activity on the deck of the Belladonna. He mutters to himself and curses softly at what he sees. ‘Not in any degree and about we … Continue reading Chapter Forty-Six, The Belladonna, by Corso
Chapter Forty-Five, Son of Spain, by Mordaunt
M. de Rohan stops in the corridor outside his office at the Palais Royal, surprised to see the Conde de Fuensaldaña, Señor Alonso Perez de Vivero, and his secretary, Señor del Campo, waiting. The Conde de Fuensaldaña, a Grandee of Spain, in the retinue of King Philip and known for leading brilliant campaigns and fighting … Continue reading Chapter Forty-Five, Son of Spain, by Mordaunt
Chapter Forty-Four, Corsairs of St Malo, by Corso
‘What ship is that!’ Odysseus shouts up to Crotte, high overhead above the lookout. Crotte looks down, not at Odysseus, but at a head poking tentatively through the lubber’s hole. ‘That’s it pup! Keep coming,’ he encourages the sailor climbing tentatively through the hole and into the lookout. The ‘pup’ grips the sides, his legs … Continue reading Chapter Forty-Four, Corsairs of St Malo, by Corso
Chapter Forty-Three, Smothered Mate, by Mordaunt
In chess, a “smothered mate” is a checkmating method whereby it is necessary to sacrifice pieces to smother (surround) the king so he is unable to move. The method is known since the 15th century, and was described in Luis Ramírez de Lucena’s (c. 1465 – c. 1530) book Repetición de Amores y Arte de … Continue reading Chapter Forty-Three, Smothered Mate, by Mordaunt
Chapter Forty-Two, The Belladona Problem, by Corso
‘Wait!’ Ver and Loup stop in mid stride and turn around. Lucien stands close to his horse, hands on the saddle poised to mount. He stares, without seeing, across the inn’s rear yard. What is it that makes him hesitate? Only a few moments earlier he had been decisive. A man resembling Radu – a … Continue reading Chapter Forty-Two, The Belladona Problem, by Corso
Chapter Forty-One, A Prisoner of Many Names, None His Own, by Mordaunt
M. de Ronan wakes up with a jolt. For a moment he stares at the canopy above his head, confused, trying to remember where he is or what might have stirred him, and realizes that Layla is not lying next to him. Alarmed, he sits up quickly against the headboard, everything returning all at once. … Continue reading Chapter Forty-One, A Prisoner of Many Names, None His Own, by Mordaunt
Chapter Forty, Phantasms of Love, by Mordaunt
The country road crests to a rocky ridge and slopes sharply downward. Riding ahead of the carriage once more, the first thing Athos sees right below him, upon reaching the top, is the tiled roof of the pretty cottage that was visible from the cove, where the tide is beginning to flood the shore, as … Continue reading Chapter Forty, Phantasms of Love, by Mordaunt
Chapter Thirty-Nine, The Right Man, by Corso
The tavern is filling with working men looking for a drink and a game of cards or dice before returning to their homes and wives. There is a general murmur of conversation punctuated with a raucous laugh or shout of disbelief at a story or unlikely luck with the dice. On one side of the … Continue reading Chapter Thirty-Nine, The Right Man, by Corso
Twelve Years After 