These characters all belong to the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. This story was written for pleasure and not for financial gain

Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it:
Think'st thou that I, that saw the face of God,
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells,
In being depriv'd of everlasting bliss?

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus - Marlowe

Warning - This chapter may offend sensitive readers

"I would have expected you to hit him harder after all you had endured at his hands," Fosco commented suspiciously, as he led the Steward back up the worn steps. "Why, pray, did you don your gloves?"

"I had no desire to wash my hands again before dinner, after touching a man like that!" Faramir replied. "There was a time I had great strength in my arms, but that was before I was beaten up in prison on that tyrant's orders!"

At least, it was most unlikely that Lord Lamedon would guess that he dared not touch Aragorn with his bare hands, that he feared lest the strong psychic connection he had with Aragorn gave his plans away. He did not dare risk Aragorn inadvertently betraying him, so the King's shock and hurt had to be genuine, painful though it was to deceive him.

He shuddered as the full impact of what he had done sank in. He has struck the King, his liege lord, whom he was sworn to protect and not only than that, a chained and defenceless man whom he loved as a brother. He was now a traitor not only in words, but also in deeds.

"Are you quite well, Lord Faramir? " Fosco enquired solicitously.

"It is cold down here," Faramir replied. "I was also taken aback to see that Elessar was still alive as He caused me so much injury!"

Fosco seemed convinced as he laughed bitterly. "You will learn we all have good cause to hate him. He caused my beloved father's death for he rode to Elessar's cursed banner on his return from the Paths of the Dead .It was more than mortal man could endure for he survived the war, only to die by his own hand a few months later, unable to endure the memories of what he had seen. What normal man, however valiant, could endure such horrors? Mark my words, Elessar only got where he is by using dark magic!"

Faramir nodded mutely as he was led into the dining room, which surprisingly was cleaner and better furnished than the one at the mansion. The meal had already begun.

He looked with interest around the table, which as expected, was presided over by Devorin of Ringlo Vale. Also there, confirming his suspicions, was the Lord of Lebennin together with the tenant farmers he had met earlier. The only females present, apart from serving maids, were Hanna and Elbeth.

Hanna was now wearing an ever more elaborate gown of orange silk, the low cleavage adorned with Aragorn's Elfstone brooch.

"That trinket suits you well, Lady Hanna!" Fosco commented, his eyes drawn to the huge green jewel.

"It suits her eyes, don't you think?" said Devorin, "A beautiful jewel for a beautiful woman!" He reached out to touch the jewel while at the same time groping Hanna's ample bosom.

Hanna giggled coquettishly though she batted his hand away.

Faramir struggled to hide his disgust as seeing Aragorn's beautiful gem adorning such a woman.

Devorin, aware that the Steward's eyes were fixed upon him, fortunately misunderstood his expression." I see you envy my good fortune, Lord Faramir," he said, chuckling indulgently." I can find you a pretty wench to keep you entertained tonight. I promise you, she knows quite a few ways of pleasuring a man that no well brought up wife would have heard of! I can vouch for her ,as I taught them to her myself! I'll have her sent to your room later."

Faramir swallowed hard. It was bad enough that he was betraying his King and he was certainly not planning to betray Eowyn too. "That sounds delightful," he said after a moment's thought, " I fear though, that I am too weary after my journey and recent illness to do justice to your kind offer tonight."

"Tell me when you change you mind, you'll not regret it!" Devorin said lazily, his hand finding its way inside Hanna's bodice. This time, she purred with pleasure and bent her head to kiss the exploring fingers.

Elbeth, despite her youth, looked troubled at her mother's behaviour and scowled, distracted from eating her soup.

"Cheer up, Lady Elbeth!" Fosco said jovially, "Now that Lord Faramir is here to help us, we should soon have your marriage to Prince Eldarion arranged!"

"I don't want to be married!" Elbeth protested, "Boys are noisy and dirty!"

"But you will be a queen!" Fosco assured her, "Then you will have lots of pretty jewels like that one your mother is wearing!"

"I hope there are better jewels in the Royal Treasury than this cheap bauble!" Hanna snorted. "Here, take it to play with and stop whining!" She unfastened the brooch, displaying even more flesh, and tossed it carelessly to Elbeth.

"I want my favourite dolly but you wouldn't let me bring her! The brooch is pretty but not as nice as Winnie!" Elbeth refused to be convinced, though she pinned the brooch to her gown.

"Where is Lord Lossarnach?" Fosco asked, abandoning his attempts to appease Elbeth, "If he has betrayed us, it will be the worse for him!"

"Betrayed us to whom?" Devorin said dismissively, "The Steward is on our side now and the Prince of Dol Amroth and the few lords that support him could not hold out against all of us. Have no fears of treachery! He is after all married to my daughter. I received news earlier that he had fallen ill with the fever, which is a blow for us but will not affect our plans."

Devorin looked nervous. "The fever seems to be spreading." he fretted, "One of the maids has fallen ill after visiting her mother in the City. Lady Elbeth must be kept safe at all costs. Keep the girl away from us all as none of us have had it!"

"I have." said Faramir, speaking for the first time, and then wondering if he should have kept the information to himself, or whether it would grant him more access to Elbeth.

"We hope you can help us now that you are here, Lord Faramir," Devorin said, as if noticing the Steward for the first time. "We need to get Elessar's signature or seal on the document authorising Lady Elbeth's marriage to Eldarion before we can get rid of him .The Elven witch would obey her husband's last wishes before we deal with her. I was going to have your secretary plant it amongst Elessar's papers, Lord Faramir, but it will be easier now you have joined us. Then we can be the real power in Gondor, as none would oppose their rightful King and Queen. We have tried every method of persuasion we can think of but he will not yield. Do you know how his signet ring works?"

"Only that it uses some Elvish arts to move the seal to the correct angle." Faramir told them, "Elessar guarded its secret jealously. I was given the hard work of compiling the documents for him to sign and seal but never trusted to use the ring!" Even the memory of such mundane tasks was painful, as he remembered how he and Aragorn would companionably work long hours together, planning a better future for Gondor.

He knew exactly how the ring worked, two twists to the left, followed by one to the right and a further half twist left, which turned the emerald over to reveal the Royal Seal. Lord Elrond had designed the ingenious device and had given it as wedding present to his son in law. Faramir had greatly approved of the design, as several times during his father's reign, unscrupulous secretaries had been bribed by those anxious for some decree or other to be passed. It would be impossible for any man to wear such a heavy ring at all times, which meant any could use it when it was laid aside.

He actually remembered his father with something resembling gratitude tonight. Without the practise of endless years spent in hiding his true feelings, when his father scorned Mithrandir's Counsel and chided him for his love of books and Elvish lore, he would be hard pressed to endure this company and the sight of Hanna treating Aragorn's priceless heirloom as if it were some cheap trinket!

"Maybe now that Elessar knows that you have joined us, he will come to his senses and earn himself a speedy despatch, rather than something more painful and lingering." Devorin mused hopefully, "He may have hoped that you were bringing troops to free him."

"My family ruled for almost a thousand years, then he came and took what should have been mine!" Faramir said with feigned resentment, "The people were blinded by his military prowess, as was I at first, to my endless regret, but what power has one man without an army? He should sign now and spare himself pain!"

"You are all too soft with him!" Hanna interrupted, "He still has clothing and a blanket for a start. You should let me try to persuade him!"

"And what would you do, lady?" Devorin asked, stroking her chin and letting his fingers move down her neck.

"Have a bit of fun with him, then take his manhood!" Hanna giggled gleefully, as she brandished the knife she was using to cut up her venison with, causing an involuntary shudder amongst all the males present.

Faramir remembered that mad laugh from the night she had attacked Aragorn .He was quite certain she was capable of carrying out her threat. It shocked him that an innocent child should be present for such talk, but Elbeth merely looked bored and arranged the vegetables on her plate in a complicated pattern. He forced himself to try to eat, though he had little appetite in such company, but there were no dogs here to surreptitiously dispose of the food to.

"A good idea, My Lady!" Devorin complimented her; "We will try it together with some of our own very soon, if Lord Faramir's presence cannot change Elessar's mind. Tomorrow we will begin by taking his clothes and blanket .Few men can be proud when naked, especially not after what I shall to do to him!"

"He is growing weaker so we cannot wait longer than three days at the most." Fosco commented, "Even his infernal pride can be broken if we inflict sufficient pain and humiliation upon him until he breaks! However we will see if Lord Faramir's presencehas any effect first."

TBC

A/N

A very big thank you for your amazing response to the previous chapter. Each and every review was greatly appreciated and I was delighted to hear from readers old and new, welcome and welcome back! I loved the poem!

Faramir dare not risk to alerting Aragorn of his plan and needs his horror to be real, as Imrahil's was. It is very hard for there is nothing worse than betrayal by a friend as my readers so rightly say.

I intend to explore soon what Aragorn is thinking and the eventual fate of the lords, but that is some time away yet.

The name "Devorin" is Tolkien's, "Fosco," I chose as it sounded vaguely Italian Renaissance when much plotting went on.

Aragorn has not yet spoken his last words.