“Really, General.” Leonidas wagged a finger at Ned of the Forest. “You forget yourself.”

Thraxton waited for Dan of Rabbit Hill to come to his defense against the border ruffian, too. Baron Dan sat staring at his goblet as if he’d never seen such a thing before. He said not a word. From his abstracted silence, Count Thraxton concluded he agreed with Ned.

Realizing he would have to speak for himself, Thraxton said, “I confess, I thought Guildenstern would turn north after crossing the river instead of making straight for us. Perhaps I let myself be distracted by the enemy’s demonstration toward Wesleyton.”

“Demonstration?” Ned made the word into a reproach. “What they demonstrated was, we couldn’t hold the place.”

Leonidas the Priest and Dan looked at each other. Then they looked at Thraxton. And then they looked at Ned. After coughing a couple of times, Leonidas said, “What Ned meant was-”

“I said what I meant,” Ned repeated. “We didn’t hold Wesleyton, and we aren’t going to hold Rising Rock. And it’s a shame and a disgrace that we aren’t, if anybody wants to know what I think.” He stared straight into Thraxton’s eyes again.

Thraxton glared back. His temper was slower to kindle than Ned of the Forest’s, but it burned hot when it did catch fire. “Now you see here, young man,” he growled. “We may have lost Wesleyton. We may lose Rising Rock, and in part that may even be my fault. But I tell you this.” He pointed a forefinger across the table at Ned, and his voice rose to a shout: “We may have to fall back now. But we will take back Rising Rock. We will take back Wesleyton. We will! My army will! And that’s not all. We will rout General Guildenstern and the invaders out of Franklin. And we will rout them out of Cloviston south of here, too. We’ll push them over the River and back among the rabble of robbers who sent them forth. By all the gods, we will! My army!” He slammed down his fist. Silverware jumped on the linen. Wine jumped in the goblets.