“I would feel better if you started viewing Elle as a woman and not simply a figure of royal blood.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Curtis lowered his voice. “I mean that I have had a few conversations with her,” he said. “She views her royal blood not as you do. She had a father who ignored her and a brother who took what affection the man had. She was left to fend for herself.”
“I know that.”
“But what you don’t know is that she is bright and feels deeply about things,” Curtis said. “She is not proud that she is a daughter of Gwenwynwyn because she views the man and her brother as a traitor. Look at the way she is eating, Papa—this is a woman who has not had an easy life. She eats like that because she probably does not know where, or when, her next meal is coming. She’s never known safety or security of any kind.”
Christopher watched Elle as she chugged down a cup of watered wine. “I had a long conversation with her brother,” he said. “He told me basically the same thing. She was left to her grandmother to raise for a few years, a woman who was part of Llywelyn’s family.”
Curtis looked at him in surprise. “Are you serious?”
Christopher nodded. “The old woman evidently filled her head with poison against the English and against her own family,” he said. “Gruffydd says that Elle is intelligent and quite educated, but she has a very narrow view of the Welsh and English relationship. As Gruffydd put it, she hates the English as the church hates Lucifer.”
Curtis was listening with interest. “What else did he say?”
“That you should take care with her,” Christopher said quietly. “Caution would be prudent, at least until you come to know her better. Do not allow her any daggers, no opportunity to arm herself. Treat her like the enemy, Curt, because she is for now. You must not let your guard down.”
Curtis digested that information. He had been feeling somewhat comfortable around Elle, but his father’s words had him tensing again. He finally shook his head.
“I am marrying her, Papa,” he said. “By your command, might I remind you. I cannot go the rest of my life being wary of my wife. That will be exhausting and unfair.”
Christopher lifted a hand to ease him. “I am not saying that you must do it forever,” he said. “But the truth is that we only captured her yesterday. Everything is still new, still uncertain. Just be careful around her for the time being. She is going to have to earn your trust, just as you are going to have to earn hers. It will take time.”
That was a true statement, but Curtis was back to feeling as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to marry her.
“I have asked her to show me Brython,” he said. “I suppose I will have to keep her with me constantly for a while, at least until we start to trust one another.”
Christopher could hear the resignation in his tone. “If it is any consolation, when your mother and I were married, she fought me at every turn,” he said. “And I do mean literally. In hindsight, I wasn’t very pleasant to her, but your mother wasas out of control as a wet cat. She fought with me, insulted me, disobeyed me… Everything possible she could do against me, she did. It was hell for the first few weeks of our marriage.”
Curtis cracked a smile. “Mama is the Queen of the Firebrands,” he said. “As a lad, she used to terrify me. She was so loving and sweet, but if I did something wrong, she wasn’t afraid to swat me on the behind.”
“She still isn’t.”
Curtis chuckled. “Nay, she isn’t.”
Christopher grinned alongside him. “My point is that I had to suffer with a wild woman when I first married, too,” he said. “All I can tell you is that you must be patient and understanding. You must be thoughtful. That will go a very long way. But do not let her get away with any disobedience. That is something you must never accept.”
Curtis sighed heavily. “I have a feeling that is easier said than done.”
“That is quite true.”
The conversation lagged at that point, but not uncomfortably so. Christopher went to speak to Becker, just outside the tent, while Curtis stood near the opening and watched Elle devour his father’s morning meal. He couldn’t say that speaking with his father had given him courage for what he must do, but at least he felt better informed for what he was taking on.
He hoped so, anyway.
Christopher returned to the tent.
“My army will be mobilizing today,” he told Curtis. “I am leaving you a thousand men, however, along with Myles and Asa. You already have Amaro and Hugo, so that will be three strong knights and Asa, who wants very badly to be a knight. He fights better than some men who have been doing it all their lives. And I’ll see if Sherry wants to leave Andrew with you. He could use the experience.”
He was referring to Andrew de Sherrington, Curtis’ nephew. He was still quite young, but he was an excellent warrior already. It would be good for him to be away from his father for a time, experiencing another castle, learning from men other than his father and grandfather. Curtis wasn’t opposed to having him.
“If you think it would be good for him,” he said. “I think I can use all the help I can get.”
Christopher clapped him on the shoulder. “I have complete faith in you, lad,” he said. “Now, will you tell the lady that today is her wedding day, or shall I?”
Curtis indicated Elle sitting several feet away. “You will tell her,” he said. “You are the one making the decisions, so that is your privilege.”
