Henry walked over to Radzig and hugged him in a sudden fit of joy. But then he realized what he was doing. He blushed, lowered his arms and looked at his shoes in embarrassment.
"Henry," his father said in a kind voice, "believe me, I would like to hug you too, but…" and he turned to show his bound hands.
"Oh, of course." Henry's glance fell on the dagger, still stuck in the guard's eye. He pulled it out quickly, wiped it on the man's clothes and freed his father. After Radzig was free, he really embraced Henry briefly.
"I am, of course, glad to see you, but what in the God's name are you doing here?"
"We came to save you." It was only now that Henry really looked around the room. "Where is Lady Stephanie? You were supposed to be together!"
Now it was Radzig's turn to look embarrassed. "I am afraid this is my fault. She was, indeed, here with me, but this morning I was able to persuade Sir Toth to allow her to stay in her own room. I thought it would be better for her."
Henry put his head in his hands. Immediately afterwards he cursed rudely and grabbed his father's hand, ignoring his disapprovingly raised eyebrows. "Sir Capon! We must go to him at once!" He ran to the stairs and dragged his father with him. Along the way, he picked up the mace he had previously thrown away.
"Henry, wait! Would you care to explain to me what is going on?" There was some dissatisfaction in Radzig's voice, but he did not stop.
Henry let go of his hand and quickly described their entire plan. "And so now Sir Capon doesn't know that Lady Stephanie isn't with us and Toth certainly won't go with them quietly and…" During Henry's speech they came to the door. One look outside and Henry knew that his fears were justified. There were raised voices coming from the main building. The courtyard was empty.
Henry leaned over the railing and looked to the gate. It was open and the guard nowhere in sight.
"Adam is probably on his way to fetch Sir Robard. And we really have to go to Capon," he said impatiently.
"Hal, stop for a moment and think. If he has not been killed by now, he is probably safe. He can always say that he is a nobleman and then they will leave him alive for sure. One of the benefits of our status… And if he is dead, well, we cannot help him any more and we will just put ourselves in danger needlessly."
What his father said made sense, Henry had to admit. "So what are we going to do?"
Now it was Radzig who took his hand to indicate that he should to follow him. "We will check on Lady Stephanie first. I am afraid it is too late, but we have to do it. Then we will go and find out what happened to Sir Capon."
The Talmberg lady's room was empty and it seemed that its occupant had left in hurry. Henry exchanged a worried look with his father and they both sped up. On the stairs outside, voices could be heard again from the open door of the banquet hall. As they approached, Henry recognized first Toth's and then Capon's voice. He lunged forward eagerly, but his father stopped him and gestured for him to listen.
Inside, Toth was mocking the younger nobleman. "Well, young sir, what happens now? Are we going to stand here until morning? You are alone and there are a lot of us. We just have to wait. You will get tired, make a mistake. You can barely stand as it is. You do not think that someone will come to your rescue, do you?"
Henry bristled at these words. The smug tone of Istvan's voice aroused an almost uncontrollable rage in him. He gripped the handle of his mace and took a step forward. Fortunately for him and everyone else involved, Radzig moved a bit faster and stepped briskly into the room. Henry was hot on his heels.
"Strong words, Sir Istvan, for someone in your situation," said Radzig. All heads in the room turned to them. Henry saw looks of surprise, incomprehension and few threatening ones. However, he was most interested in Sir Capon. Huge relief dominated in his gaze and there were traces of a recent struggle on his face. He really seemed to be only a few moments from collapse.
Then he noticed Lady Stephanie who was dressed only in a nightgown and surrounded by Toth's men. She was bravely trying to overcome her fear, but she was still trembling. The guards around her clutched their weapons so much that their joints were white and their stiff attitudes betrayed nervousness. The tension in the room was palpable. The only one who looked completely calm was Istvan Toth.
"Sir Radzig, I see you have grown tired of our hospitality. However, Lady Stephanie seems to be content." Even now the haughty tone of the Hungarian's voice did not disappear. Henry wondered whether he could speak in a different way.
"No doubt she will be even happier when she is her own mistress in her own castle again," said Radzig, bowing slightly toward Lady Stephanie. "And speaking of hospitality, I am sure you will appreciate my son Henry's company in addition to Sir Capon's," he continued.
Henry, glancing from his father at Toth and back again, immediately understood Radzig's meaning and moved quickly to the pair of noblemen. On his way, he managed to smirk at Toth and then he grabbed his arm. The men opposite them half-raised their weapons and some took a step forward. The daggers on the necks of both hostages dug into the skin even more.
"Back off!" hissed their commander. Hands with weapons dropped and everyone in the room relaxed imperceptibly. Henry exchanged a gleeful look with Sir Capon.
"Enough games, Radzig," Istvan turned back. "I am beginning to tire of this situation. We can skip all those diplomatic pleasantries and move straight to the solution. When I give the order, my men will release the Lady and the two whelps behind me will withdraw. We will then be so generous that we will walk away from Talmberg and leave you alone, even though you are outnumbered and we could crush you easily."
During his speech, Henry turned to Capon and his father several times in disbelief to make sure he heard correctly. He had never seen such an amount of arrogance and smugness before and he had to try really hard not to punch the Hungarian nobleman. He hoped his father wouldn't tolerate it and looked at him expectantly.
Radzig had listened to the whole proposal with a calm face, his hand resting on his chin and giving the impression of attentive civility. When Toth had finished speaking, he just smiled and replied: "Interesting suggestion, Sir Istvan. Truly advantageous for you and your men and perhaps for us as well. However, if you will allow me, I will adhere to diplomacy for a while yet. I believe that I have a better solution to this unfortunate situation." He then turned from him and addressed Istvan's men: "Who is your commander? I mean the next in line after Sir Toth," he added hastily, when all eyes turned to the Hungarian. A man in the foreground raised his hand and took a step forward.
"If you want to negotiate with someone, Radzig, then do so with me. I am the one making decisions here," shouted Toth, involuntarily trying to step toward Radzig. Henry tightened the grip on his hand and felt Capon to move beside him to adjust the position of his dagger. Radzig did not even bother to turn.
"You are mistaken about that, sir," he said simply and then spoke to Toth's deputy again. "What is your name?"
The man frowned at him, bit his tongue for a moment, then replied: "Jacob. From Choratitz. "
"Well, Jacob of Choratitz. You heard what Sir Toth suggested. It probably seems like a good idea to you, does it not? "
Jacob nodded briefly and continued to watch Radzig mistrustfully.
"Unfortunately, Sir Toth has omitted to mention what awaits you behind these walls. As you know, Talmberg is besieged. Sir Divish and Sir Hanush have gathered a considerable strength of men, we scattered your fortified settlement on Vranik. Even if you get out of the castle, you have nowhere to go. Sooner or later, our men will catch up with you and then, at best, you will die in battle. If captured, hanging or the wheel will be your fate." As Radzig spoke, Jacob's eyes bulged out. The men behind him fidgeted and glanced at each other. Radzig continued:
"However, if you release Lady Stephanie and leave immediately, I swear to your upon my nobleman's honour that you will be allowed to leave the region freely and nothing will happen to you."
"And Toth? What will happen to him?"
"Sir Istvan will remain our guest." Silence fell upon the room.
Henry silently rejoiced and had to admire his father's shrewdness and eloquence. He saw a whole range of conflicting emotions on Jacob's face. Istvan Toth must have seen it too, because he immediately shouted:
"Pcha! A nobleman's honour says the man who fathers a bastard and then does not even own up to him. What worth does have the word of one who deceives his own blood?!" Henry gasped and raised his hand to strike. Sir Capon beside him hissed angrily.
"Gentlemen, control yourselves," admonished them Sir Radzig.
"But father, are you really going to let him insult you like that?" asked Henry defiantly.
"Henry, Sir Toth could only offend me and insult my honour if he had one himself," his father replied calmly. Toth could not find any reply to that, so he just spat angrily. Henry gritted his teeth, but nodded briefly at his father to let him know he accepted the answer. However, he continued to crush Toth's arm in an iron grip.
While the noblemen were arguing, Jacob and the rest of the men quietly debated with each other. When Radzig turned to them, they straightened quickly and Jacob stepped forward again.
"You speak well, sir. But tell me, what's stopping us from killing you all and then just disappearing. No one will notice us in the middle of the night."
"Of course, you could try that. But then your lives are forfeit. If my word is not enough for you, then consider: At this moment, the castle gate is already opened and Sir Robard is on his way with a contingent of men. My offer is still stands." Radzig finished, folded his arms and waited.
"Do not believe him," raged Toth. "He is just trying to intimidate you! Besides, I pay you well. You will not have that kind of money anywhere else!"
"You mean the false groschen? Silver-plated coppers that you have had produced in large amounts so you wouldn't have to spend real money?" Henry laughed. "You really won't get such coins anywhere else!"
There was a commotion amongst Toth's men. They all started to yell, complain, threaten. Poor Lady Stephanie flew in the hands of her jailer, who had completely forgotten to watch over her and now waved both hands to give way to his anger. Jacob had to yell at them for a while before they finally calmed down.
When there was silence again, Henry heard the thumping of many feet outside. And he was not alone. Everyone in the room turned to the door. Sir Radzig jumped aside and Sir Robard burst into the room. Behind him, a large group of men could be seen.
Jacob of Choratitz paled and blurted out: "We accept your offer, sir!" His weapon rattled on the floor and the other men followed his example.