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“You like that horse more than you like people, I think.”
“Jealous again, Phillip?” Hawkeye asked, not looking up from the stallion's neck. Grooming the stallion was supposed to be a servant's job, but he had always preferred to do this himself, and he knew Ronin preferred it that way as well. “Few things are more important to a man than his horse. I believe the order is sword, horse, wife.”
“The wrong order, you mean,” Phillip muttered, making sure to place himself on the other side of the stall so that Ronin could not kick him again. “That also leaves out the idea of king and country, a concept I know you are more loyal to than you want known.”
“What does loyalty get anyone these days?” Hawkeye asked. “What has it cost you?”
Phillip's face twitched ever so slightly and paled a shade. “You do not need to speak of that.”
“You would have a wife and children now if you had been willing to serve him and not me,” Hawkeye said. He shook his head. “I have not forgotten the sacrifices you made for me or the things my brother took from you to get at me.”
“I suppose it is no surprise that you like the horse more than you do anyone else,” Phillip observed. “If you cared, he would take that from you, too.”
“You came here for a reason, and it is not because you like my horse.”
“I hate your horse.”
“Ronin is no Lola.”
“Damn right he is not, and if your oversexed beast goes near her again—”
“Peace, Phillip. I will not allow him to molest your precious horse. Ever,” Hawkeye said. He knew such a promise was foolish to make when Ronin had a mind of his own, but he owed Phillip more than could be repaid. This was nothing to promise. “I never told you that I was sorry about Audrey—”
“No, and you will never say it because I will not let you take that burden as yours,” Phillip insisted. He shook his head. “Your brother summoned you.”
“Did he now? And what does the king want that is so important he has to send a knight after me?”
“I would not be so flippant if I were you,” Phillip warned. “He has been looking for a way to kill you for years, and if he sends you to war again, more than one someone will be waiting to stab you in the back this time.”
“That is why I have you.”
“And if he is not planning on having you assassinated at the front lines, then he wants you to kill someone for him.”
“As long as he does not expect me to kill you, I do not care.”