“Who is this Amaro?” she asked.
Curtis looked at her. “He is a Spanish knight,” he said. “He is a good warrior, but he is not kind. I do not want him frightening your cousin.”
It was a simple explanation, but one that sent trepidation through Elle. “I see,” she said. “He will not harm her, will he?”
Curtis shook his head. “And risk my father’s wrath?” he said. “Nay, he will not, but he could frighten her. It is best to give her over to someone else to guard.”
Elle reached out and put her hand on his arm. “I will not attack her, I promise,” she said sincerely. “Will you please bring her back to me?”
Her hand, soft and warm, was on his forearm, and Curtis found himself looking at it before he answered her. “If you wish,”he said, lifting his eyes to her earnest face. “But meanwhile, my father has summoned me. Come along, my lady.”
“Why?”
“Because I will not leave you here.”
She didn’t ask him why. She knew. There was no one to guard her, and he didn’t want her to try to escape. With a submissive nod, she allowed him to take her elbow and lead her out into the sunny morning.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“The lady looksquite… different.”
That was Christopher talking. It was the voice of a shocked man as he watched Elle plow into some food that had been brought in for his morning meal. But when Curtis had shown up with this beautiful blonde creature with the brilliant blue eyes, she looked at the food so longingly that Christopher immediately offered it to her.
She’d taken it quickly.
“Aye, she does,” Curtis said. He was watching her eat, too. “A bath and decent clothing can do wonders.”
Christopher nodded faintly. “She’s magnificent, Curt,” he said softly. “I truly had no idea.”
“Nor did I.”
“That should make the marriage more palatable.”
Curtis looked at him. “Is that why you summoned me?”
Christopher tore his gaze away from Elle and looked at his son. “Aye,” he said. “Partially, anyway. I wanted to tell you that I’ve sent Roi into the village of Presteigne to summon a priest.”
“Why?”
“Because you are going to marry Lady Elle today,” Christopher said quietly. “There is no reason to wait, so let us getthis done so I may tell Henry we have a marriage and Brython is now garrisoned for the English by my son and his Welsh wife.”
Curtis nodded in a gesture of acceptance, his gaze moving to Elle as she wolfed down some cheese. “Things are calm at the moment,” he said. “She is not unreasonable, but that is because I have been the only person she has been around since yesterday. When West brought her cousin to the tent earlier, it turned into a brawl. Nearly the same thing that happened when she saw her brother yesterday. Whereisher brother, by the way?”
“I’ve sent the man back to his home of Tywyl Castle,” Christopher said. “He is about ten miles to the east, and he is your ally. I would suggest you pay him a visit at some point soon. You do not want that relationship to be neglected.”
Curtis lifted his eyebrows. “That will be a delicate situation,” he said. “The lady has no love for her brother, so to keep him as an ally will be a supreme feat of diplomacy. I do not want to anger her, but I also do not want her trying to thrash her brother every time she sees him.”
Christopher looked at his son—brilliant, strong, a truly fine example of a noble knight. He was so proud of the man that he was close to bursting every time he spoke of him. He loved his other sons, of course, and was equally proud of them for many reasons, but Curtis was his shining star. In this very volatile situation, he wanted nothing more for him than to succeed.
“If anyone can walk that fine line, it is you,” he said quietly. “But I will also make a suggestion that may help.”
“What is that?”
“I would suggest you bring Brython to a state of normalcy very quickly,” he said. “Set schedules, set posts, and get about to the repairs immediately. A sense of routine is what you need to make your vassals feel safe and as if the situation is moving forward calmly. And you must reach out to your neighbors quickly as well. Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton,Wrexham, Trelystan… All of them. They must know that Curtis de Lohr now holds Brython Castle. And it is very important that you introduce your wife as a princess of Powys. Lady Elle’s bloodlines will bring you prestige.”
Curtis eyed his father with some suspicion. “As if the de Lohr name wasn’t prestigious enough?” he said. “I am coming to think you are placing great value on your son marrying into Welsh royalty.”
Christopher shrugged. “Would you feel better if you married a miller’s daughter?”
