By the insolent tone of voice and thefact that no one else here dared call him Guiscard without theproper address of Captain, he knew it was Ranulf who spoke.“Wolfis safely tucked away, Midered.”Talon leaned forward so that hecould meet Ranulf’s sneering gaze.“Do not fear.”
“I fear no man,” Ranulfinsisted.
Talon smiled.“No.Only women anddogs.”
Ranulf fumed as a dark troll of a manstanding guard at Nithard’s back bristled.The other threemen-at-arms looked to him for their lead, and it was to him thatthe count looked and slowly shook his head.The troll stepped backhalf a step, though he still huffed and bristled.At a look fromhis father, Ranulf slouched back in his seat.
Talon glanced at Lara, whosat still and silent beside him as the servants carried outplatters of roast meat, summer vegetables, and freshly baked loavesof rye.Despite what the count had declared and everything that hadhappened, he’d been considering how to overturn her sentence whenhe’d overheard her and Sophie speaking inside the tent.It was truewhat Sophie had told Lara.The count had done what he could to ruinher, making herlidito him, whore to a troop of soldiers in the eyes of thevalley’s people, whether true in fact or not.He’d half expectedSophie to agree to help her escape to this Hollow they’d mentionedtwice now and had been as surprised as Lara when Sophie told her tostay instead.To stay and belidito him, under his protection.
Sophie had been right about anotherthing as well: Talon didn’t like the count or his son one whit.Which was one of many reasons why he’d sworn his silent oath toprotect Lara from them without any greater understanding ofSophie’s reasons than Lara apparently had.
Lara remained silent throughout themeal, pushing more food around on her trencher than she ate.Ravenna, on the other hand, talked nonstop into Talon’s ear, askinghim about the march into Spain and the horrible, bloodthirstySaracens, barely stopping long enough for him to answer before shewas on to some tidbit of local gossip or fashion.
The main course finished, bowls offresh fruit were brought out, and Ravenna popped a strawberry intoher mouth and licked her lips.
“How was the king when youlast saw him, Captain?”she asked, smiling prettily, her lipsstained red from the berry’s juice.
“Hot,” Talon said, and hismen chuffed and nodded, each as glad as the other to be gone fromthe sunbaked Spanish plains.“Cursed hot.”
“I wonder he does notreturn soon, then.”She popped another berry into her mouth.“It issaid the queen is about to make him a father again.”
“Is it?”Talon knew he washearing the news long before Charles would.It was a strange thing,the life of a soldier, always on the move, away from home andfamily for months to years at a time.Not a good thing for ahusband or father, which was one of many reasons Talon neverintended to become either.Of course, soldier and king were twodifferent men, and Talon didn’t envy Charles the politics he had toplay as king, but he could be happy for his friend, who loved hiswife and children.He held up his goblet of finely detailed pewterand offered a toast.“To Charles and Hildegard.May their lives befull with children and long in years.”
“To Charles andHildegard,” Phillipe seconded.
Tree lifted his goblet.“To the kingand queen.”
Dardinel lifted his.“To a long andfruitful reign.”
Ravenna sipped her wine and batted herlashes at Talon, ignoring Dardinel, who was closer to her in ageand sitting directly across from her with his handsome face, browncurls, and big brown eyes that left most young women swoony.Yetthe more Talon ignored Ravenna, the harder she pushed for hisattention.He leaned back in his seat and caught Ranulf leering atLara, which he’d been doing throughout the meal, despite herrefusal to even acknowledge his presence.Perhaps that was thesecret to this family: they only wanted what they couldn’t have,which wasn’t much by the richness of their dress and manorhouse.
Determined to make sure Ranulf gotnothing more of Lara than he’d already had, Talon leaned fartherback in his seat, blocking the whelp’s view of her and scowling atthe thought that kept eating at him.He was fairly certain Ranulfwas the lucky son of a bitch who’d claimed her as his prize at somepoint in their history together.Across from him, Dardinel took inhis scowl and crossed arms and sat up straighter, as did Phillipeand Tree.
“Why so serious, Captain?”Ravenna asked with a pretty pout.
“I was wondering what itis that causes your brother to stare so intently at mylidi.”
“If I know my brother,’tis the toss of her skirts, a toss he’s partaken of before and nodoubt wishes to partake of again.”She laid a dainty hand onTalon’s forearm and turned to Ranulf.“Brother,” she said loudly,drawing the entire tables attention.“Captain Guiscard would knowof your interest in his newlidi.”
“Why, my interests inhislidiare manyand varied.”Ranulf addressed Talon.“Some old and some new.Allenough for me to inquire of the captain if he would be willing tosell her to me?At a profit, of course.”
Talon gritted his teeth tokeep from calling the whelp out then and there.He looked toDardinel and Phillipe, who sat alert and at the ready.Tree shiftedcloser to Lara.Unlocking his jaw, Talon glanced down at Lara’shand on her waist knife.“Mihicrede.”He spoke low and in Latin.Trust me.
She sucked her breath in and narrowedfierce, feral eyes at him.
“Why would you want to buythislidifrom mefor over three hundred gold solidi?”he asked Ranulf.“When you cansee for yourself how troublesome she is?”
“For you perhaps,Guiscard.”Ranulf offered a self-satisfied smile.“For me she willbe no trouble at all.”
Lara gave a very unladylike snort, andTalon made a point of looking her up and down.Her face was palebut for the flushed apples of her cheeks, her body taut and readyto fly, her hand now gripping the hilt of her knife.He reacheddown and pried her fingers from the hilt and raised them to hischest.
“Three hundred gold solidiplus.”He made a show of playing with her long, sinuous fingers.“’Tis a generous sum.”He lifted her hand and touched his lips tothe backs of her fingers, her knuckles white from the tight gripshe had on his.“But then she does have more than generous charms,on this, at least, you and I agree.”
“Four hundred goldsolidi,” Ranulf offered.
Talon’s hand froze with Lara’s in it.“God’s blood, woman,” he swore low.“What exactly did you do forhim?”He caught her other hand right before it reached his cheekand wrestled them both back onto her lap.
“Well, Guiscard,” Ranulfcrowed, sure now that Talon would sell the troublesome wench.Andmaybe he should.Better the whelp wake up with her knife in hisback some night than Talon.“What say you, man, do we have a dealor not?”
