This section has everything: a high-stakes card game, a trial, a duel, a chase, noble self-sacrifice, sarcasm, amazing ladies saving the day (Agnes, Christian AND Sybilla all get to be phenomenal in this section, and shout-out to Kate for also being awesome), brothers being brothers, and A HUG. THERE IS A HUG.
These books are either your jam or they aren't, but god, I love them. I laughed out loud at the following bit. Here's the set up: Francis is an outlaw, and for the first 2/3rds of the book his brother Richard has been chasing him. Francis is a sarcastic monster, and my favorite. Francis doesn't want Richard to catch him, because Richard is so mad that he'll murder Francis and end up hanging himself. ...plus Francis doesn't want to get murdered, I suppose.
Anyway, due to circumstances entirely beyond Francis's control, Richard DOES find him, and BURSTS INTO THE ROOM very dramatically, and Francis sighs and says:
"I know. Aha, oho, and every other bloody ejaculation. Let's take it as read. You're delirious at the idea of manhandling me and can't wait to start. I in turn may say I find your arrival offensive and your presence blasphemous, thus concluding the exchange of civilities and letting us get out of here. If there's anything novel or extra you want to add, you can think of it on the way home."
IT'S SO FUNNY. And then they fight to the death (kind of).
After GGK I needed a little breather in a similar genre, so I reread this, and even though I know how it ends I was still super tense and worried through the last bit, and then got all teary at the end. I love this book.
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