Chapter 2

Benjamin had the world on a string. His father was an Earl, Brian-Earl of Bathon, and was politically well connected. The King relied on his father for advice. Benjamin's mother had died in childbirth and his father had a long succession of young women companions. Benjamin bedded several of his father's mistresses and he came to have little respect for women. Most of his father's mistresses were only out for the old man's money. His father had taken him to the King's court as a young lad and as a teen-ager and had taught him the politics of the court. His wisdom grew with each passing year and he learned how to play the politics of the court and how to turn the intrigues and jealousies to his advantage. As Benjamin grew older he became known around court as the man to turn to if you needed the King's ear. Many favors came his way in exchange for arraigning an audience with the King or greasing the right palms. He was becoming a rich man in his own right. He had distinguished himself in the service of the King in battle with the French and the King was very grateful. Benjamin was given a small estate of his own after he had been instrumental in winning the last battle against the French. The estate became the center of the best parties in the kingdom. Many a young girl had tried to win the heart of Ben Cashton. None succeeded. He had no time for love and the young women, both single and married, were plentiful and easy. Besides, at thirty-four he was too young to be married anyway and he enjoyed the game of seduction.

The King loved all of the contests and parties Benjamin held at the estate, but the King's major weakness was betting on the horse races. The horses would race around the perimeter of the estate and the betting would be fast and furious. Since Benjamin owned all of the horses and the riders were his people, he knew who would win and made sure that he steered the King to the right horse. He let the King win just enough races to make it look believable. The King always left the estate a winner for the day. The few who knew what Benjamin was doing would not dare expose him for fear of angering the King. It was never Benjamin's money that the King won.

It was generally assumed that Benjamin would become the King's advisor when his father passed on. He thrived on the intrigues of the 14^th century English court. He had learned well how to play the political games and who his friends were and how to invalidate his enemies. Several of the women of the court warmed his bed and the Queen had even made inquiries about his prowess in bed. He had held many important positions in Kingdom and had fulfilled his duties perfectly. He also made not a few enemies in the Kingdom. The nobility hated him and the common people feared him. The brave noblemen feared his sword and the noblewomen lusted for his touch. The King's love and respect for him was all that saved him from the wrath of his enemies.

The Bishops and the Cardinal were very jealous of his successes and he would often see them with their heads together and looking his way. He knew to keep an eye on the religious community. If anyone knew how to foment trouble, it was them. The politics of the bishops and cardinals kept the court in a constant state of turmoil and the King had tired of it long ago. The King sponsored trips for the Cardinal and thereby got rid of him for a while and lessened his impact on the court. One of Benjamin's first conquests in the court had been the Cardinal's mistress and the Cardinal vowed to get even, even if it meant the loss of his soul. The Pope felt that the King had way too many riches and the King had his eyes on the wealth of the church. The King needed more gold to finance the wars against the French.

By far the most dangerous of Ben's enemies was Ahgur, the King's sorcerer. Benjamin had embarrassed Ahgur one time in front of the King. Ahgur was about to prove to the King how he could turn ordinary dirt into gold. Benjamin watched as the sorcerer performed his trick and then stepped forward and repeated the trick, showing the King how the gold had been hidden in the sorcerer's cloak until needed. Ahgur would always remember the laughter as he walked out of court with his head down. He had intended to fool the King into advancing more money for his experiments. He was sure that the formula for turning dirt into gold was within his grasp. If he could succeed in turning dirt into gold he would be able to get rid of the religious zealots who were constantly poisoning the King's mind against him and his magic.

Ahgur's first wife had been killed by the French in an invasion and he had quickly married a beautiful young woman named Nora. Nora had married Ahgur because she was sure that he was on the verge of success with his experiments and she knew that he would then be one of the most powerful men in the world, if he ever succeeded. Nora came from humble beginnings and she craved power. She despised the old sorcerer who crawled into her bed at night. She wished that she had met the young man who had the King's ear before she had married the old sorcerer. She smiled as she pondered how he would feel in her arms at night. Her life was also made miserable by her stepdaughter. She and Anne were only four years apart. The battles between her and her young stepdaughter were a legend in the court.

Anne was a beautiful girl of sixteen and had an almost perfect body and blond hair down to her waist. In her innocence, she did not notice that Benjamin looked at her with lust in his eyes and that he plotted to get her into his bed. She was more wary of the King's ravenous glances and his roaming hands when she was near him. She knew well to stay away from the King. She pitied her father and his magic. He had devoted his life to the black arts and had suffered for it. Many in the court either laughed at him or feared his magic, and although this pained the young girl, she accepted it as normal. Although her father was ridiculed in the court, few dared cross him in case he really did know magic and spells. Even she had seen her father do some things that she could not explain. He made a very fine living selling potions and spells to the nobility. In the 15^th century, superstition allowed sorcerers to practice their art and to ingratiate themselves to the nobility. In the back of their superstitious minds the nobles longed for the alchemists to succeed in turning base metals into gold.

The King's mistress was constantly adding to the troubles in the court. Delphia was a beautiful French woman who had been brought back to England after the French had been defeated in a minor battle. She had immediately become the King's mistress and she constantly plotted for more and more power. Although she knew that she would never be Queen, she was determined to be a power in the court. Several times she had warmed Benjamin's bed. She had not lusted for him, but she knew that his power with the King was getting stronger each year and he could be a powerful ally. She also cultivated and bedded several of the other powerful men of the court. If the King was not in her bed at night, one of the noblemen or clerics was.

Most of the nobility had recruited small armies of their own to defend their holdings and to serve the King. The nobility pressured the King to engage the French again in battle. Their aim was not to conquer the French but to enrich their coffers with plunder and make themselves more powerful. Their pleas had fallen on deaf ears recently. The King had tired of the battles with the French and was reluctant to cross the channel and do battle with them unless he was assured of a greater share of the plunder. Besides, he was still having troubles with some of the tribes in the outer lands of his kingdom.

Chapter 3