Just being gay should not be a crime. This was not good. Len did not deserve to be in there. Clearly, I was not aware that this was a serious crime. I was a knight of the realm. I could visit him as much as I wanted. Being there for him was all I could do for him. Neither Anthony nor Jeffery would allow me to petition him to have him freed. I was ignored in court. Len was already whipped and beaten, but they did not want to release him from the jailor's custody. As the son of a noble, he could not be sent to the dungeon. It meant he had to be treated well in house arrest. The jailor did not want him in his house. A tent was erected in the yard. He was forced to sit in a chair. He was collared like all of my sons. However, this one had a leash that tied him to the pole in the center. Len was shackled to the chair with iron cuffs around his arms and wrists and rope around his legs to keep him on the wooden chair. It did not look really comfortable. It was impossible to be comfy when he was also getting punched. "I'm sorry! Father help me!" he cried out on their third day. I nearly broke down in tears.
Keeping that urge at bay was super important. It was not about me. This was about my son here. Me crying would not make him feel better. It would make him feel even worse. "I'm trying. Len, I want to get you out of here so much right now. You have to stay strong and not let this break you. You will get out of here. I do love you. Never forget that. I know that you're a good boy." I said. I was the only one that went to see him. Grissell forbid her daughters from going. Bonnie forbid the boys. She was not pleased when she heard the news. Not at all. "Warriors do not lift their tails and present for other males. That is so shameful." she said. That was something that both the women in my life agreed on. It was really rare. The jailor was right outside. He had a razor in his hands. I stood in front of the entrance to the tent. "I don't know what the fuck you are thinking of doing with that but, if you take that inside this tent, I am going to kill you." The jailor said "I guess it might be going too far. Our count has ordered me to get a confession out of him. He is not admitting to his guilt." I was stunned.
Letting Len being tortured was unacceptable. "Why do you even need him to confess to it? Everyone knows he did it. There were 3 witnesses." The jailor shrugged "If he seduced a boy of sound mind, that's a much harsher punishment than just being seduced into it." I just rolled my eyes. "Well, he said he did not do it. For all you know, he was the one that was seduced. Give me that fucking razor right now." I snapped and held out my hand. He gave it to me. I left to go get Anthony. He frowned when he saw me. It was not something I could blame him for. I was persistent when I wanted to be. "What is it now, Collin? We're not releasing him." I showed him the razor. "I could deal with it if he wasn't also being tortured." Anthony looked genuinely surprised seeing it. "What is that?" he asked. I told him about the order he was given. "I don't think that my father would do something like that. Stay here and I will go ask him directly." he said. This was a concerning escalation. After 10 minutes, he returned. He was upset. "My father authorized it getting tougher. He agrees razors is too much."
Instinctually coming here was good. Anthony and I went to the tent. The jailor was in the middle of whipping him. Len was already tied down, so he had no way to protect himself. I grabbed his arm. "What is it!?" he demanded as he wrenched his arm from me. "I have been informed you intended to cut the boy with a razor. Father and I are in agreement that this goes too far." he said. The jailor said "I see. I will try to break him without cutting him." "He doesn't need to be broken. He simply did not do the crime you are accusing him of!" I snapped. Anthony raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that he was not committing homosexual actions in the alley?" he asked. "I was told that the torture is to get a confession of seducing the boy. He's already said that he has not done it. What more could you want!?" I spat. Anthony looked at him. "It's boys kissing and flouting the law in the alley. Someone had to have seduced the other." the jailor protested. "Or, both could have had those inclinations and found each other. Neither of them might have been a seducer. Not every women is seduced."
