His heart sank.
“My God,” he breathed, staring at his father. “Papa, I cannot—”
Christopher cut him off. “You can and you will.”
“But—”
“It was my fate to marry a woman to gain a castle,” Christopher interrupted him. “It shall be yours also. There is no more honorable reason to marry, Curtis. For peace. For safety. You understand this, so you will not disobey me.”
Curtis was feeling increasingly desperate. He didn’t want to argue with his father, but he sincerely didn’t want any part of this. He started to huff and puff. “Do I not have any recourse in this?” he asked, incredulous. “Nothing at all?”
“Nay,” Christopher said. “If you refuse, then I will command Roi to do it. How do you think your brother will look upon you, knowing you shirked your duty and he was forced to assume it? Do you think any of your brothers will respect you ever again if they know you refused to do your duty? Think carefully before you answer me. They will see you as weak and cowardly. Is that the legacy you wish to have with men who would die for you?”
It was a brutal, horrific slap in the face of the facts of the situation, but Curtis knew that nothing his father said was untrue. Absolutely nothing. If he were to refuse to marry Gwenwynwyn’s daughter, the ramifications were endless. He would lose the respect of his brothers, for certain. He would lose the respect of anyone else who knew the truth. No one would follow him into battle ever again. Days like this, victorious days where he had commanded a great victory, would be at an end.
He would lose everything.
With sickening realization, he knew he had no choice.
After a moment, he hung his head, a gesture of defeat. There was nothing more he could say or do about it, so like any seasoned warrior, he simply had to accept his fate. And that was what this was—his fate.
His destiny.
God help him.
“Does she know?” he finally asked, hoarsely.
Christopher could see that Curtis had accepted the situation, at least on the surface, and he was sorry. So very sorry he’d been rough with him, but in his opinion, he’d had little choice. There was no room for negotiation, and Curtis had to know that from the start.
And here they were.
Resigned.
“She does not know it is you,” he said after a moment. “But I told her—at least, I strongly suggested—that she must marry for peace. It is what Henry wants. If you wish to go into the tent and speak with her, that might be a good start. She is frightened and upset and weary.”
Curtis snorted. “So am I.”
Christopher’s lips tugged with a smile. “So amI,” he said. With a sigh, he softened, putting his hand on Curtis’ arm. “Curtis… I love you more than life. You are my heir, my shining star. If I did not think this was an important move for you, I would have fought Henry on it. But I believe it is important, lad. I have made my mark on the marches. Now, it is time for you to make yours.”
Curtis was still looking at his feet, still mulling the whole thing over. But after a moment, he nodded reluctantly. He knew his father was right.
He was struggling not to be angry with him for it.
Without another word, he entered the tent.
CHAPTER THREE
There was literallyno way out of the tent.
Elle thought that she might be able to escape as Hereford went outside, but as it turned out, the sides of the tent were staked into the ground all the way around. She knew because she had checked. It was staked like that to keep the wind from blowing up the flaps and quite possibly causing the tent to lift up and go airborne, but it also made it quite escape proof.
She was trapped.
God help her.
If there was a positive side to the situation, small as it was, it was that her belly was finally full. Literally, the one positive thing about the entire situation, because other than that, she was still damp and cold and smelled of mildew. Everything about her stank. There was a small brazier in the tent, situated below a hole in the tent roof, but there was very little warmth coming out of it. Because of that, she’d yanked the coverlet off the cot nearby and wrapped it around her.
Huddled on the ground, she sat.
