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“It is a pity my father had no son, only me. Soon another man will become Valcourt’s master.” She shrugged. “Valcourt will probably lose its wealth in the next couple of generations.”
“The Valcourt earls are not the only smart men in England. The king is not a fool. He will not select an incompetent wastrel.”
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Did your own father have such rules for administering Wareham?”
He saw his father in that moment, his face red with fury as he beat the miller because a grain of poorly ground flour cracked a tooth. He gave no help to any of his dependents. He wasn’t much loved, his father. He remembered the farmers starving when the crops were poor. He shook his head. “But I will have them.”
“That is good. Do you know, my father never shirked his responsibilities, but to be honest, his great love was tournaments. He told me he was the only man he knew to become wealthy from winning tourneys, and he was only eighteen. He was an excellent fighter, only fourteen when he won his first destrier and suit of armor off a French knight he’d bested. He was greatly saddened when King Edward outlawed them.”
“Too many men died needlessly in tournaments. Listen, Merry, it must be done. I must take you to the king. You are of marriageable age, indeed past it. He will select a husband for you, a strong warrior to protect Valcourt and swear fealty to him. I will suggest to the king that he find a man who has rules and makes lists.
“I will escort you myself. I will ensure that you are not harmed or forced by any of the men at the court. The king will find a man to follow in your sire’s footsteps and Valcourt will continue to prosper.”
“Will you tell the king that Jason of Brennan is the Black Demon, that his man Sir Halric kidnapped me? Will you tell him Jason made a bargain with my mother? Will you tell him your brother was probably poisoned by the Black Demon?”
“Aye, I will tell him.”
28
He gave her a brooding look. “Now you said you ran away from Valcourt rather than marry Jason of Brennan. Tell me exactly what happened.”
She turned away from him and began to pace. Her gown was so short, he could see her ankles. “I told you my father died unexpectedly. He was well and then he was ill and vomiting and sweat poured down his face and off his body. Then the fever came and he shivered until his teeth chattered. The fever never left him and he died.” The telling of it, so bloodless, those words. She wiped tears away with the back of her hand.
“I’m sorry, Merry.”
She nodded. “When my mother rode into Valcourt the next day with her men and Jason of Brennan, I believe I was the only one surprised by her sudden appearance. My nursemaid, Ella, said my mother would take care of me now and I was not to worry, and that I was to obey her. My mother was beautiful and very smart, she told me again and again, her heart full to bursting with kindness, and it no longer mattered that my father had hated her, and abused her.
“I didn’t say anything, but I knew to my soul that could not be true. My father never abused me, never resented me because I was not a boy. He never spoke ill of her. Once, though, I saw him cross himself when someone mentioned her name in his presence.” Tell him, just tell him. Her voice came out a whisper. “I also heard it said she was a powerful witch, that she knew things no one else did, that she could cast spells to shrivel a soul. I think that is why my father sent her away. He was afraid for me.”
A witch was a creature a man couldn’t begin to understand. He hated it. He hadn’t wanted to believe that monk’s tale, but now—this was real. “Are you a witch also?”
“I do not think so,” Merry said, her voice as serious as his had been light, but, he saw, she did not speak with much conviction. Did Merry believe herself a witch like her mother? What nonsense was this?
“I told you she brought Jason of Brennan with her. She told me I would wed him. Jason appeared young enough, well made, smoothly spoken, but I tell you, Garron, when I looked into his eyes, I saw no light. Whenever he laughed, which was too often, I saw something shift in his eyes, something calculating, something that scared me to my toes, and I simply knew there was nothing good or wholesome in him. He left then. My mother told me he would soon return.”
“How did you escape from Valcourt?”
“I bided my time and finally I was able to escape. Unfortunately, Sir Halric had arrived at Valcourt, unannounced, and he saw me running away. He caught me, and dressed me in boy’s clothes to
take me to his master.”
Garron thought about this for a moment. “I wonder why he simply did not hand you over to your mother? Surely she would have had you locked in your bedchamber at Valcourt, kept you safe for Halric’s master, Jason of Brennan.”
“I thought that was what he was going to do, but instead, he rode away from Valcourt. Was he really taking me to Jason of Brennan? I remember how he laughed when he spoke to one of his men, said I would be a gift to his master, then he laughed and wondered aloud how such a dirty little beggar could have any worth at all. All in all, he was very pleased with himself because he had me.”
Garron began to pace. “Then I found you and freed you and you made your way here. Now, why did Jason of Brennan send Sir Halric back to Wareham?”
“Because he found out where the silver coins were hidden. There can be no other answer.”
“And Sir Halric believed all would be dead or nearly dead and welcome him right in.”
“Do you think Jason has admitted his failure to my mother? If so, I hope she will blight him with a curse. She surely must realize now that Wareham is safe from more attacks. Will she guess that you will escort me to King Edward?”
Garron picked up a flower sprig and sniffed it. It was lavender. “I doubt either your mother or Jason of Brennan will even consider my giving over such a plump prize to the king. They doubtless believe I will keep you for myself, and gain Valcourt in the bargain.”
She said clearly, with no hesitation, “Why not?”
She watched him pick up a lemonwort leaf and sniff it, then carefully set it back into its place. He slowly turned to look at her. “You believe I would force you to wed with me? You believe me as big a villain as Jason of Brennan? As your mother?”
