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Truth Revealed
Caedmon was sitting alone in a spacious and opulently decorated salon, his feet up on a footstool when Aidan found him.
“I’ve just had a very strange conversation with Blythe. We have a problem. I’ll never understand women. Have you spoken with the count?”
Caedmon indicated the chair next to him. “Yes. There is no ransom demand. Tell me about this conversation you refer to.”
Aidan sat. “I promised Blythe I wouldn’t. We’ve always kept each other’s secrets.”
Caedmon waited a moment or two. “Did it concern the count?”
Aidan came to his feet and paced. “Yes—she is—she thinks she is—”
“She thinks she loves him.”
Aidan spun around to face his father. “How did you know?”
Caedmon stood and playfully hooked his arm around Aidan’s neck. “Ah, my son, I’m much older and wiser than you.”
Aidan struggled to free himself from his father’s hold. “But aren’t you furious? How can she love him? He’s a Saxon.”
Caedmon released his son, his face sober. “Careful, Aidan, don’t forget we have Saxon blood in our veins, albeit from different parts of Saxony originally. And never forget the lessons I’ve tried to teach you about intolerance and hatred.”
Aidan gave his sire a sheepish look. “I’m sorry. It’s simply that I can’t understand.”
“Aidan, love is often a difficult emotion to fathom. Who would imagine, for example, that a count from Saxony, living in Köln would fall in love with our Blythe?”
“He loves her?” Aidan asked incredulously. “By the saints! I swear I’m never going to fall in love. It’s too complicated. What are we going to do now?”
“Nothing, except enjoy the count’s hospitality. Come, dinner awaits in the dining hall. It occurs to me that you and I need to have a long conversation.”
“About what?”
Caedmon chuckled and tousled his son’s hair. “About women, Aidan Branton FitzRam. As my heir, you’re expected to marry and have children.”
Aidan threw his shoulders back and straightened his hair. “I have years before I need to think about marriage.”
Caedmon nudged Aidan towards the dining hall. “That’s true, but trust me when I tell you that living with a woman is much more satisfying and joyful if you share love and passion.”
Aidan sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. “Father, you and Mother have told us this many times.”
Caedmon suddenly realized he did not know if his son was still a virgin. “Yes, Aidan, but you and I have never had a discussion about how to satisfy a woman.”
Aidan looked puzzled. “What do you mean ‘satisfy’?”
Aidan’s deep blush suggested there was likely a great deal of knowledge he would need to pass on. Agneta had made sure their daughters were prepared for marriage, and he regretted now he had not been more direct with his sons. “I mean in the bedchamber, Aidan. Don’t worry. We’ll talk—it’s a long journey home. I’m an expert in these matters. Ask your mother.”
* * *
Dieter offered Caedmon the seat at the other end of the oblong dining table from where he sat, and the twins dined facing each other on the sides. Blythe was relieved that her father’s anger seemed to have cooled, and the conversation was almost civil.
“I’m curious, Sir Caedmon,” Dieter said, “you’re an English knight. Blythe tells me you’re part Norman, part Saxon, and yet you speak with an accent reminiscent of Scotland.”
“You’re right, Count von Wolfenberg, my mother fled to Scotland after the Conquest. I was born there, but returned to live in England when I married my wife.”
“Your mother was the Saxon then?”
Caedmon paused only a moment. “Yes, her name was Lady Ascha Bronson. My father was the late Ram de Montbryce, the first Earl of Ellesmere. He fought with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.”
