Soldiers of Christ: Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour.

Excerpt:

The gates of the commandery swung open and we rode into the courtyard. The brothers that had returned the day before were waiting for us, Rudolf included. My heart jumped when I saw him. He stood with his arms folded across his chest and an implacable expression on his handsome face. We reined in our horses and dismounted. The yard was quickly full of men, horses and the carts that rumbled in shortly after. Everyone was glad to be home. Wenno gave the order for two of the sheep to be killed and roasted for the coming feast.

I dismounted from my horse, but before I could lead her to the stables Rudolf approached me through the knot of knights and sergeants milling in the yard and the horses being led away. His aristocratic face was cold and he spoke through clenched teeth. ‘Clean my mail first – it is in the common room. Afterwards, make sure you attend to my horse.’ He leaned in closer until his face was only a hands-breath from my own. ‘And if you ever disobey a command from me again…’

He left the threat unfinished. My breath caught in my throat and I was only able to nod mutely. He turned away and returned to talk to his cronies, all of them knight-brothers in their early twenties. I wondered if that would be the extent of my reprimand.

Otto had witnessed the exchange. ‘You are white as the snow, Richard. What did your master say?’

I explained and he shook his head. He too had seen Rudolf complaining about my insubordination to Wenno. There would be more to come, I was sure of it. We led our horses into the stables, having to wait in line behind all the brothers and sergeants. Then it was time to pray. In the chapel, Priest-brother Berthold again thanked God for our victory against the Lithuanians. Afterwards, whilst the sheep were being roasted in the kitchen, I collected Rudolf’s mail from the common room used by the knight-brothers and sat cleaning it with vinegar and sand in a barrel set aside specifically for the task, before oiling it with goose fat. It was very messy and a job I hated, but I had no doubts about the reaction of my master if I didn’t complete it to his satisfaction.

The brothers were summoned to the refectory to eat while the sergeants waited and I finished cleaning Rudolf’s mail. The mouth-watering aroma of cooked meat drifted across the yard from the kitchen and, despite my belly rumbling with hunger, I knew I couldn’t eat with the pain in my throat. Finally, it was time to groom Rudolf’s horse, Rabe. I left Otto, Hinz, Gerhard and Emich, knowing that soon they would be able to stuff their bellies, before entering the stables, which were dimly lit and empty now after the earlier rush.

I began rubbing down Rabe. He was a magnificent black stallion that I knew well, but as I examined his skin, I noticed new wounds on his flank caused by my master’s spurs, as well as cuts on his neck from the whip. Every time I saw evidence of my master’s ill treatment, it made me furious. Maybe this distracted me from any approaching footsteps in the main stables until it was too late.

A noise behind caused me to turn and I caught a glimpse of Rudolf before strong hands grabbed me and thrust me into the piled hay in the corner of the stall. I tried to rise but he held me down. ‘You impudent little whelp. How dare you make a fool of me in front of the Master!’

He began whipping me with his riding crop, slashing at my back as I lay curled up in a ball, my hands protecting my head. I tried to rise but his foot on the small of my back shoved me back down into the straw. Despite having beaten the Lithuanian champion, I was still just sixteen years old, and no matter how hard I tried to rise, he kicked me down. My shoulders and back screamed with agony and I could hear him grunting with the effort as the blows rained down on me repeatedly. It seemed to last an age as Rudolf smacked and whacked me with the crop. It was as though he was demented, thrashing at me in fury with all his strength.

And then suddenly it ended. I lay heaving in pain as his footsteps receded, the door to the stables slamming after him. I remained on the ground for a moment until I was sure he had gone, before coming to my knees. I was bleeding and the lashing had ripped my back raw. This was not the first time I had been beaten – it had happened with Wolfgang and his friends in these very stables when I first arrived.

But this felt different. And, after everything that had happened, this was a humiliation like none other.