Chapter 2

"Is she prettier than me?" asked Agnes de Vega in a soft sultry voice.

"Of course not," Pedro protested in a reassuring manner, gazing lovingly into the eyes of the young woman curled up on his left side. His eyes stared into hers and he smiled affectionately.

"Is she prettier than me?" asked Christina de Vega from where she lay between Pedro legs.

"No," Pedro said sternly, gazing down his naked body to take in the visage of his sweet cousin who was at that moment ministering to his manhood and cleaning it up in the wake of their recent coupling, "she is not prettier than you Christina for I have already said she is not prettier than Agnes and she is your twin sister."

"Yes," Christina acknowledged with a little pout, "but Agnes and I are not perfect twins. My sweet sister's complexion is just a shade darker than mine and my hair curls more than hers, thus it is important to make certain that this Isabella de Cordoba is not prettier than me as well."

"Well," Pedro declared with confidence, "you can rest assured my beloved cousin that she is not prettier than both you and Agnes, for to me there are no prettier two women in all of Lisbon or even the world."

"But she is pretty?" Agnes asked very seriously, running her delicate fingers over Pedro's naked chest as she spoke.

"Yes my sweet lover," Pedro acknowledged, "the Lady Isabella is pretty."

"Damn you Pedro," Christina cursed softly, "I wish you would lie to us from time to time. Knowing that you will always tell us the truth no matter what can be really annoying at times, especially when we are jealous of this Lady Isabella."

"But why would you be jealous my love?" Pedro asked with all seriousness in his voice, once more gazing down towards where his cousin lay with her head upon his groin. "Am I with the lady right now or with you? No, I am with you and for these last few hours the three of us have taken our pleasure together. You need not be jealous of the Lady Isabella."

"But we do Pedro," exclaimed Agnes pushing herself up to sit beside Pedro. Her motion exposed her young pointed breast to Pedro's gaze and he smiled in contentment at them. Agnes ignored Pedro's gaze and pressed on with her protest. "You may have lain with Christina and me this evening and you may have done so before this night, but the truth is that you will never be able to plant your seed within Christina's or my womb whereas if fate is kind to you, you could do so with this lady and unto her you could give your child."

At that Pedro frowned with annoyance for it was a matter that he tried not to think upon, especially when he was with his cousins as he was now. He loved his two cousins very much and he knew that they loved him with equal fervour but he also knew that he could never claim one of them let alone both as his wife. His uncle had plans for his daughters that did not include him and the church would never allow him to take two wives. Although he had lain with them both more times than he could remember, not once had he violated their virtue. The suggestion that he could marry Lady Isabella and give her his child angered him to some degree. He had known pleasure in their mouths and in their asses but never within their sexes and that annoyed him to no end. Still what he had with them was better than nothing and at most times he was satisfied with that and he ignored the other.

"Please do not be angry Pedro," Christina pleaded upon seeing the darkness that had suddenly crossed her lover's face. "We meant nothing by our words."

"It is true Pedro," Agnes joined in, hoping to wipe the frown from her cousin's brow, "I meant nothing by what I said. We love you and we know that you love us. Please forgive us."

"I will forgive you and your sister, dear cousin," Pedro declared with some solemnity, "but only because if I were to punish you properly, your cries would awaken Sister Abigail and then we would all be undone."

"That is true," Agnes stated with a fresh smile upon her face.

"Very true indeed," Christina agreed with a giggle, "although it would be funny to see her face if she were to find us like this. I truly believe that the good Sister would faint."

"That is possible," Pedro chuckled in agreement, before reaching down to his sweet lover to help pull her up from where she was still lying so he could bring her into his arms, "yet there are times when I wonder just how ignorant the good Sister really is."

"What do you mean?" Agnes asked with concern suddenly filling her face. "You do not think that she knows about you visiting us in the night do you?"

"Yes Pedro," exclaimed Christina as she cuddled into Pedro's right side, "do not tease us so about Sister Abigail. You know that she is very devout and that she watches over us like a bird of prey. To suggest that she knows about us and that she had never said a word to our father is ridiculous."

"It is only a thought my sweet ones," Pedro responded with a reassuring manner, "and nothing more. Do not fret about it. Now kiss me for it is almost time for me to slip away and return to my own rooms. After all we do not want to be caught."

With that he pulled Christina to him and kissed her on her dainty lips and then he turned and kissed Agnes who leaned down over him to share their embrace. As they did, Pedro reached out and cupped his cousin's small pointed breast and he gave it a squeeze. That got him a slap and a giggle and another kiss.

A half hour later Pedro left his cousins sated and curled up together for the rest of the night and he headed back to his apartments within his uncle's villa. He travelled there through the old secret passages that were no longer used and that only a handful of people knew about. They had come in handy for his rendezvous with his cousins.

Once there Pedro quickly shucked his garments again, tossing them onto a high backed chair where a servant could deal with them in the morning. Then with a knowing smile upon his lips he headed into his bedroom. As Pedro had expected his bed was not empty. Lying in it and waiting for him was the aforementioned Sister Abigail. The older woman, for she was nearly nineteen, was lying naked amongst his pillows and upon his bedding. To Pedro's eyes, her short cropped hair made the woman look exotic and while her body was luscious and appealing, it was her hair that caused the young man to look upon her with desire. On seeing her, Pedro's manhood twitched with open interest.

"Good evening Sister Abigail," Pedro murmured in greetings as he stepped towards the woman and his bed. "How are you this evening?"

"Aroused my lord," Sister Abigail replied wantonly, "and anxious for your attentions. I have spent too long listening at the keyhole tonight in an effort to protect my master's daughters' virtue and now I am in need of solace. Come to me Dom Pedro and let me offer you what your cousins cannot give to you. I am yours to do with as you want."

With that the good Sister parted her legs and shifted herself to make her sex both visible and available to Pedro. Willingly the young man accepted the offer. Within a moment he was in between the woman's legs and the woman had seated his staff within her. Pedro found her sex wet and warm and welcoming and he took his pleasure of the woman as he had done many times before and in turn Sister Abigail took her pleasure of the young lord, knowing full well that like her charges she loved the young man and she was willing to do anything for him including carrying his child if it should happen. It was a long while before they were done and for Sister Abigail it was worth it.

"Damn him," cursed the Count of Cordoba as he paced about his private office within his villa. "Damn that arrogant boy and curse him to hell and beyond."

Don Hugo de Cordoba who was also called the Condor by his enemies was in a rage. He had been in a rage ever since leaving the palace of the Portuguese king. He had fumed and he had cursed and he had chastised his niece for her naivety all the way from the palace to his official residence. He had even sent his niece and her companion to their chambers without any further ado once they had arrived at the residence. He had said everything he wanted to, to the girl and for now at least he was done with her. He however was not done with his rage.

The Condor was not alone. He was attended to by two of his more reliable men. One was Alfonse de Seville, who was a soldier of fortune in the employ of the Count and the other was Don Diego Montoya his major-domo and chief of intelligence. Both men were sitting in silence waiting until their master's temper eased.

It took another minute or two for the Condor to calm himself enough so that he could converse with his two companions, but it did happen, although much of the conversation was one sided and the tension in the room stayed the same.

"We must act," the Condor declared as he yanked a flagon of wine off of a side table and poured himself a cup of wine, "and we must act quickly. That fool Armando has embarrassed me in front of the King of Portugal and the court and that cannot be left unresolved. More importantly the man is still a prisoner aboard the Santa de Luna and I have no desire that he speaks to Dom Roberto and that whelp of a nephew of his. While the man acted on his own accord, he has still put me in a dangerous position here in Lisbon."

"I will see to him your Excellency," Alfonso de Seville stated with confidence. "I know many in need of coin who would swim out to the craft and board it for you if that is your desire. We could even take it in the night if that was your wish."

"No," the Condor snapped angrily at the soldier, "I do not wish it. The King of Portugal has declared before the whole court that the vessel now belongs to that arrogant whelp. If we were to seize it in the night and take it, the king would rage not only to me but to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. He would demand restitution and my removal from here and I fear that my sovereign lieges would permit it. No we cannot take the vessel, however I do want Armando dead."

"As I have said Excellency," Alfonso replied with a nod of his head, "it can be done."

"Then see to it immediately," the Condor growled, "but tell the man doing the task that I would prefer it to look like the man took his own life. It would do better for us if no complaint of wrong doing was levelled against my house."

"I will tell the man Excellency," Alfonso said in acknowledgement, "and remind him that failure does not pay very well. I think the man will understand and do as you ask."

"Very well then," the Condor grumbled before taking a sip of his wine. "Go and make it so and then return to me for I will have more work for you tonight. I still desire my revenge upon Dom Pedro."

"Yes Excellency," Alfonso muttered obediently as he rose from his seat, "I will return within the hour."

The Count of Cordoba stood and drank his wine as the man left the room. He remained silent until he was gone and the heavy door to his study was closed once more. Then he poured himself another cup of wine.

"Why bother with the boy Excellency," Don Diego asked his master when the man turned his gaze upon him. "Will it not draw attention to us and our work to the south?"

"The boy is an irritant," the Condor stated gruffly, "and he will soon become a threat. You yourself told me that the Santa Rosa had arrived on the evening tide while I was attending the King and his court. You know just as I do that the vessel will be carrying word to the Count de Alverez about the fate of his brother. By morning that boy will know that his father is missing and possibly dead and he will want answers to what has happened to him. I am certain that Dom Roberto will send the boy south and that would do us no good at all."

"This is true Excellency," Don Diego muttered in agreement, "still is he really that much of a threat. After all Dom Pedro is no more than a boy and he has never led a trade expedition before or any other venture. His inexperience will be his undoing. With a few coins in the right hands I am certain that the black men of the south can be convinced to eliminate him for us."

"All true Don Diego," the Condor grunted in reply, "except for your belief that the boy is no threat. He may be young and naïve and he is certainly inexperienced in the ways of the world, but I have seen him stand before a king and show no fear and such a man is most certainly a threat. I will want him dealt with directly before he can stumble upon my operation in the south."

"What if Dom Roberto sends the boy upon the Santa Rosa," Don Diego inquired of his master, "instead of the Hawk?"

"Then we will kill two birds with one stone," the Condor replied with a sinister chuckle. "In either case I want the boy dead."

"It will be as you desire Excellency," Don Diego stated with a nod of submission. "I will have one of our ships prepare to depart as soon as it can be made ready. When the boy does depart Lisbon our vessel will follow in the wake of his craft. I can assure you that the captain of that vessel will not fail you."

"Good," the Condor responded as a satisfied grin began to cross his lips, "that will please me well. Make certain that it happens and if possible bring back the boy's head. I want to look upon it one last time."

"Well," Lady Isabella demanded of her companion when Sister Angelique slipped back into her bed chamber, "what have you learned?"

The hour was very late and Isabella was tired and in a foul mood. What pleasure she had taken in the company of Dom Pedro and the introduction to the King of Portugal had been swept aside by her uncle's tyranny. His manner had not been that of a gentleman once they had entered the confines of his private carriage. Her uncle had ranted at her like a mad man and he had thrown insults at her, calling her repeatedly a silly cow and a naïve imbecile. To make matters worse, even though they had been secure in the privacy of his carriage, her uncle had not said the words in private. He had spat them at her in front of Sister Angelique and her uncle's retainer, Don Diego de Montoya. His words had hurt her and they had embarrassed the good sister. They had even flushed the cheeks of Don Diego.

That had been well over an hour ago. Upon reaching her uncle's residence, her uncle still in a fit of rage had dismissed her and her companion and he had banished her to her apartments. Once there Isabella had immediately burst into tears. She could not believe the open cruelty of her uncle. To make matters worse she had no one to redress the matter towards. Her own parents now lay dead back in Cordoba and she was now a ward of her uncle. To both state and church the man was her guardian and in their eyes her uncle had every right to chastise her. It took time and soft whisperings from Sister Angelique to calm Isabella down.

It was in those moments of soothing words that Sister Angelique suggested something that caused Isabella to start with interest. The good Sister was a familiar visitor to the residence of the Count of Cordoba, having travelled here before in the company of Isabella's own mother. In the course of her visits she had learned of the secret passages that lay behind the public walls of the great house and she promised to show them to Isabella in time so that the young woman could flee from time to time the rigidity of his Excellency. While Sister Angelique was a faithful and obedient daughter of the holy church, she was also still a woman and her heart ached with the pain that her mistress was suffering.

The suggestion that there were secret ways throughout the residence kindled ideas in Isabella's mind. For a moment she thought to flee to the arms of Dom Pedro. The young man had shown her every courtesy during their brief acquaintance and he had demonstrated publicly that he was both fearless and honest. He had stood his ground before the King of Portugal and he had shown both his loyalty and his innocence to his liege lord.

Regrettably the thought came and it went in the same moment. While she was certain that Dom Pedro would offer her succour against her uncle she also knew that the matter would reach the ears of the king once more and she was loath to cause the brave young nobleman any further problems with his sovereign. Then another idea arose in Isabella's mind and it was that idea that she had acted upon and what she now wanted to learn from Sister Angelique for she had sent the good Sister to spy upon her uncle.

"It is as you thought my lady," Sister Angelique whispered in reply as she closed the passageway through which she had just stepped out. "Your uncle met with his minions in his study and they spent the time plotting against Dom Pedro."

"You found a spot to listen to their words without discovery?" Isabella asked quickly, her voice filled with concern.

"Indeed my lady, I did so," Sister Angelique responded as she stepped over to where her mistress stood and waited. "I knew of a room above his Excellency's study from which a person could listen without detection and I stayed there in silence so that they would not hear me. I heard much of what was spoken about and I fear your uncle mean's ill towards Don Diego. While Captain Armando acted of his own accord in attacking the Hawk, it quickly became clear that the man did so knowing the enmity that exists between the House of Alverez and the House of Cordoba. Even as we now speak plans are being put into motion to kill the young nobleman."