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“Then she might need to learn to control her urges. A husband desires an obedient wife, yes? I shall return her humbler, for that is what I shall expect from her.”
The older man’s forehead wrinkled, and he frowned. “I fear that chaste behaviour is not in her nature. Even if she had not succeeded in tempting the priest to break his vows, I believe she tried, and the witness was quite confident of this. She is wanton, and I sadly have failed to teach her. If only her mother...” A sadness crept into his eyes. “Marion was steeped in piety. It is hard to understand why she was cruelly taken by the devil’s madness.”
Gervais lowered his head respectfully and gave Lord Barre a minute to collect his thoughts.
Barre cleared his throat. “You will take her to your home, test her, and then what?”
“I shall marry her or return her to you tamed. If she still wishes to marry Geoffrey, then that is her choice. I shall annul the betrothal, release her from the contract, and leave you in peace. I’m sure Geoffrey will continue to covet her and her dowry.” Gervais waited for a reaction.
“Ah, yes. Her dowry. I assume if she picks you, then you’ll take it.” Barre settled back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. “Now we come to the rub of the matter.”
“Actually, my lord, you may keep the dowry. I have plenty to share with her.”
Barre’s eyes sparkled brightly. “And you would still take her?”
“Yes.”
“What do you want, Lord Baliol, other than my daughter, which clearly is an attraction?”
“If, my lord, during our trial period, while I teach her and ensure she is suitable to marry, I beget her with child, I promise I will raise that child as my legitimate heir regardless if she marries me or not. The child’s origins will be kept secret if necessary, but I shall not shun your grandchild.”
“You intend to use my daughter for the purposes—”
“That might seem to be the callous purpose of my proposal, but the truth be told,” Gervais matched Barre’s angry gaze with a genuine expression of honesty, “I want to marry her. But she must lose her love of Geoffrey. I will be not an alternative. She must love me with her heart and soul, for only then can I meet her needs.”
The man’s ire softened into a gentle nod. “I understand. I believe you have integrity, and what you do is not only for your own necessity, but for Matilda too. She needs guidance.” He rose to his feet, and Gervais joined him. “Shake hands with me, sir. We have an agreement.”
“And Matilda?”
“She’s my daughter, and like all women, must learn to trust their menfolk and kin. She will be informed that she will depart with yourself, with one maid for familiarity, and that, shall we say three months is sufficient for Geoffrey’s recovery, she is yours for the duration. The betrothal will be blessed by a priest, one whom I trust, and we shall sign our names to a document, stating that you require no dowry in the event the marriage is completed.”
“I wish to make it clear, sir. I shall not force myself upon your daughter. She might not come willing to my home, and if necessary, she might need to be taken under duress if her stubbornness will not weaken. However, I am a man who prefers the company of willing women, not frightened maidens.”
Barre scratched his chin. “Then what if for the duration, she refuses to comply with any of your requests to submit? Will this not make her stay unbearable for both of you?”
Gervais smiled. “I’ve spent sufficient time with your daughter to know that I don’t think she’ll tarry for long. I believe she will come to that conclusion swiftly. What I can’t determine is whether she will need me more than her young suitor. I can’t compete with Geoffrey’s gallant ways or lively charms. That is something we will both have to wait upon.”
“Then, sir, I wish you good luck. For I cannot deny I am relieved that you should take on my spoilt child, whom I have failed these last
years. If I had a firmer hand... ah, but it is too late. I cannot bargain with her that way anymore. You must do what you can to tame her.”
The hint was there, and Gervais’s loins stirred in response. It appeared that Barre had unwittingly given Gervais permission to do exactly what he planned to do anyway. Discipline Matilda until she learnt to mend her ways, and then he hoped that kindness, of the sort he’d witnessed with Edgar, would win him over, perhaps even claim his heart and soul.
Chapter Five
“I will not go, you can’t make me. I want to marry Geoffrey.” Tilda stamped her foot on the floor until straw and dust billowed up around her slipper.
Lord Barre pushed her down into the nearest seat and handed her a handkerchief. “The offer has been made for your betrothal and I have accepted it.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “But I love Geoffrey.”
“Sir Geoffrey is laid in bed, and will be for some weeks. His shin is the size of a tree trunk. The bonesetter has done his best and now all we can do is wait. With luck, he will ride and hunt again. For now, he is incapacitated. Lord Baliol has both good looks and money, has he not?”
“Yes, but...” She sniffed and blew her nose. “He’s not the man I want. I thought you agreed with me, Father.”
He seated himself next to her. “Daughter, I have allowed you much leeway in your life. I took you out of that convent, did I not? I paid the abbey a fair sum in compensation. If you had behaved yourself, then you might be in a position to barter, but you’re not. I have it on good authority that though Geoffrey might favour you, his family is not so easily persuaded.”
“The dowry—”
