Curtis had known that was coming, but he was pleased to hear the confirmation. “Thank you, Papa,” he said, turning to look at the hulking structure behind him. “I wish you’d told me that before this all started. Mayhap I wouldn’t have been so brutal with the siege engines, because there is a good deal of repair work to do now.”
Christopher chuckled. “You can make her stronger than before,” he said. But he quickly sobered. “However, there is a stipulation along with assuming Brython’s command.”
“What stipulation?”
This was where Christopher had to break the terrible news, the news that would change Curtis’ life, so he tried to be gentle about it. “We have seen Brython go back and forth between the English and the Welsh for too long,” he said. “Even as I give you the command, you know what you will be facing with this place. The Welsh will want it back. We must do all we can to discourage that because I do not want to see Brython become a never-ending battle on the marches. I want it to know peace and prosperity, as I am sure you do, as well.”
Curtis was listening intently. “Of course I do,” he said. “But what is the stipulation?”
Christopher gestured to the gray-stoned castle. “As it turns out, Llewelyn did not have command of the castle,” he said. “It was still in the hands of Gwenwynwyn’s children.”
“Oh?” Curtis said, very interested. “Who told you that?”
Christopher tipped his head in the direction of the tent. “The woman you brought me,” he said. “She is Gwenwynwyn’s daughter. Her brother, she says, is in the vault of Brython, so make sure you free the man. He is sympathetic to the English.”
Curtis looked at him in surprise. “She’sGwenwynwyn’s daughter?” he repeated. “I did not know the man had a daughter, only two sons, including one that no one has really seen.”
Christopher shook his head. “There is no second son,” he said. “According to the lady, she is the one that we’ve heard rumors of. She is the one known as the Wraith.”
Curtis was genuinely astounded. “God’s Bones,” he muttered. “And you’re sure of this?”
Christopher shrugged. “That is why I want you to find the brother she says is down in the vault,” he said. “I want to hear his confirmation that she is who she says she is, because if she is truly Gwenwynwyn’s daughter, then she will be the stipulation for you taking command of Brython.”
Curtis wasn’t following him. “Why?” he asked, frowning. “What does she have to do with it?”
Christopher fixed on him. “Because we need Brython to be stable and secure for generations to come,” he said. “Henry wants a marriage, Curt.”
Curtis was still frowning. “Whose marriage?”
“Yours.”
Curtis stared at him for a moment, an expression on his face suggesting he hadn’t heard correctly. “Mine?” he repeated. “But I am not getting married.”
Christopher sighed faintly. He could see that Curtis wasn’t understanding what he was saying, more than likely due to exhaustion rather than resistance, so he needed to be plain.
“I received a missive from Henry,” he said evenly. “He wanted the battle at Brython to end because he wants this castle to be part of the line of English castles on the marches. You know how important Brython is. He told me that I was to offer the Welsh commander of Brython a marriage between you and the commander’s daughter, whoever that may be, to secure peace. But the garrison commander seems to have been a woman, a daughter of Gwenwynwyn, and you will marry her to strengthen the alliance with Gwenwynwyn and his descendants and secure peace along the border. Is that clear enough now?”
By the time he was finished, Curtis was gaping at him. “You mean…” he said, stammering. Then he pointed in the general direction of the castle. “You mean that… thatwildcatwho crashed into me on the wall?”
“The same young woman I have been speaking to, aye.”
Curtis closed his mouth as he realized his father was quite serious. “Papa,” he said, eyeing the man with horror. “Youmustbe jesting.”
“Do I look like I am jesting?”
“Then you have gone mad!”
Christopher was weary—too weary to argue with Curtis in any fashion, and that made his patience thin. He wasn’t going to manipulate and cajole Curtis as he’d done with Elle.
He was going to get straight to the point.
“Listen to me and listen well,” he said, lowering his voice. “A man’s life is full of sacrifices so that he and his family may have a better and more peaceful life. Do not forget that I married your mother, quite against my will, simply to gain a castle and wealth. I did what I had to do, and so will you. If you argue with me or refuse to comply, know that it will not go well for you. I am, therefore, going to tell you this one time—you will do your duty as you are instructed to, Curtis. You will marry Gwenwynwyn’s daughter.”
The words were harsh, and the look in Christopher’s eye was nothing short of intimidating. Curtis wasn’t usually the arguing type—he was blindly obedient when it came to his father—so the tension between them at the moment wasn’t usual. But Curtis could see that his father was deadly serious, and, truth be told, he knew better than to question the man because he was quite certain his father took no joy in the directive. He could see that in his expression. It was true that they hadn’t spoken much of marriage over the years, mostly because Curtis had alwaysdeclared he would choose his own bride, so this wasn’t a subject either of them had much experience with.
And Christopher wasn’t going to take anything less than complete surrender.
What Henry wanted, Henry got. Even Curtis knew that.
