hesitated. He had trapped himself and to deny otherwise would make all their previous conversations meaningless. “I had. Most of your neighbors, at least the English ones, will respect your assumption of Hunswick Castle, the waters of Basellmere, and its surrounding valley, but your closest neighbor I fear will not be one of them.”
“Don’t worry about my men, or lack of them. The ones you see could handle three times their number in battle, but almost a hundred more will be arriving in the spring.”
“A hundred?” Laon gasped. He had known more soldiers would be coming, but he had never dreamed the knight had so many loyal followers. “Good Lord, you will bring Hunswick to its ruin, not its glory.”
“My men seek peace, nor war. Most have families and are eager to become farmers, raise children, and live long lives.”
“They are married, then.”
“A good many. Why? Do you worry there is not enough land to support my men and their families?”
Laon shook his head. “Quite the contrary. The north still suffers from King William’s deadly campaigns to end the region of its Anglo-Danish independence and replace it with a Norman allegiance. After decades of sparse population, Cumbria needs more people. There is rich soil and its mountains are laden with ample coal, copper, tin—even iron.”
“Then why does fear hide in those blue depths of yours, Laon? Do you think if my men become farmers, they won’t respond to a military threat?”
“I do not fear for myself, but my daughters.”
“I will protect them from the evils of the world.”
“The evils of the world they have seen and felt. The evils of men, however…”
Ranulf finally grasped Laon’s concern, but his previous comment gave him pause. The evils of the world they have seen and felt…? Ranulf found it hard to believe the old man would allow any harm to even come near his daughters. He wondered just what Laon had meant. “You have spoken very little of them.”
“You have asked even less,” Laon countered simply as he moved to get out of several deckhands’ way. The breeze had shifted slightly and they were adjusting the large mast as best they could to ensure nature’s force was captured. Too many times in the past few days had the wind turned south, forcing them to bring down the sail until a northern gust returned.
Ranulf walked over to a less busy part of the ship and leaned against a stack of crates, temporarily piled high to provide more maneuvering room on the deck. Laon was right. Ranulf had not asked about his daughters. He had inquired about Hunswick, Laon’s keep, the lands, the region, the weather…everything but the three things the wizened knight prized the most. “So tell me about your eldest daughter. I assume you will say she is blond, blue-eyed, and beautiful beyond compare.”
“Ranulf, you are far too cynical.”
“You have said so before. So speak. Tell me of your temptresses and how their beauty can ensnare my men with a mere glimpse.”
“And for that last sarcastic remark, I shall describe them in detail, and maybe someday you, too, will have daughters and understand the fear that lurks in my aged heart.”
And so Ranulf listened as Laon spoke of each one. As it turned out, he had been wrong about their appearance, for if Laon’s description of them held even slight accuracy, not a one was blond and only the eldest possessed the same deep blue eyes of her father.
“Bronwyn is very much like myself, in both looks and temperament.”
“Then she likes to command and manipulate those around her,” Ranulf interjected to prove he was listening.
Laon sent him a slicing glance before answering. “Aye, and if you think me stubborn and relentless, you will rediscover the meaning if you and my eldest daughter ever disagree upon something. And prepare to lose, for even if you are right, she will wear you down until you find yourself acquiescing on the one point you swore never to concede,” Laon cackled, obviously recalling one or two times in which she had bested him. Then his voice changed. “But I thank the Lord for her steadfastness and prudence. With my absence, I suspect all have been looking to her for guidance, and they were right to do so,” he breathed softly. “Though no man would want her, she is strong in spirit and in mind and the only person I would trust to ensure her sisters are safe and well.”
“Which one is Eydthe?”
“My middle child. She is small, but don’t let that deceive you when you meet her. She inherited her Scottish grandmother’s temper as well as her dark red hair. Of all of my daughters, her mind is the sharpest, but so is her tongue. It is my youngest, Lily, that I worry about the most when it comes to your men,” Laon sighed. “She is the spitting image of her mother. Tall and slender with long dark raven hair and gray eyes, she snatches the soul of every man who looks upon her.”
And as if he could read Ranulf’s mind, he added, “And her disposition is just as sweet. She sees only the good things in life and, as a consequence, brings joy wherever she goes.”
Ranulf conscientiously fought to refrain from showing his true reaction—nausea. He had no doubt that Laon believed every word he spoke, but beautiful, kind, understanding, and smart? He had yet to see such a combination and he had encountered many, many women at court. Either Laon’s daughters were not half the beauties he claimed them to be or they were far from the sweet creatures he described. Such women did not exist.
“As far as your eye patch…”
Ranulf blinked and tried to recall just how and when Laon had changed the subject. “I don’t wear one.”
“I noticed and I have also seen how it affects those around you.”
Ranulf felt a coldness enter his veins he hadn’t felt in days. He had been a fool to believe Laon indifferent to his injury, uncaring of appearances. The time had come, as it always did, when curiosity could no longer be ignored and questions would be asked. “Your meaning?”
“A simple exchange, my lord. You wish to ignore a topic and I wish to discuss it. I should have brought it up before, but was hoping you would.”
Ranulf clenched his jaw. “I don’t talk about my eye because there is nothing to discuss. It is gone and I am not going to wear a horrid piece of leather to make those around me comfortable.” Including your daughters, he added to himself.
They, like the rest of the world, would have to get used to him or, even better yet, stay away from Hunswick Castle altogether. They had a home and there was no reason the four of them ever had to meet. “Eye patches,” Ranulf huffed. “Damn things are a nuisance. In order to keep them from slipping, they have to be so tight a headache is inevitable. And trust me, they are not the secret to making those around me feel at ease,” Ranulf added, repeating the rationale he had spouted for years to the duke and his men.
“Good reasons, though I doubt one of them is the real motive behind your refusal.” Laon paused long enough for Ranulf to counter. When it became obvious that silence was going to be his only response, Laon went ahead and answered the looming un-asked question. “I think you use people’s reactions as a test…And it is unfair.”
Unfair! The man had no idea what the word meant. He possessed his limbs and all his senses. He had a beautiful life, friends, and family. Ranulf neither
