“Very well,” he said. “If it pleases you, then you have my permission.”
She smiled brightly. “Thank you, my lord.”
“Matthew.”
“My lord Matthew.”
He lifted an eyebrow at her and she giggled. “Come along,” he took her by the elbow and led her from the alcove.
Mark and his father were in serious conversation by the time they reached them. The dogs flocked around Alixandrea once again but she shooed them away. Mark glanced up at his brother.
“There you are,” he said. “I was just telling Father about our impending plans for London. He assures me that he’ll be quite able to make the journey.”
Alixandrea looked up at Matthew, silent questions in her eyes.Plans for London? Matthew’s focus, however, remained on his father and brother.
“Did you find John?” he asked steadily.
Mark nodded. “Aye,” he said. “He was right where we thought he’d be, in the stables with his new charger. Do you know that he’s taken to sleeping next to it? I swear he’d marry that beast if he thought he could get away with it.”
“Are he and Luke with the men?”
“Aye.”
“Then we shall speak again tomorrow morning of our departure for London. Preparations should be well underway by then.” Matthew focused on his father, sitting small and forlorn at the table. He made sure he caught his attention as he spoke. “The lady and I are to be wed tonight at Vespers. Father, I shall require your assistance.”
Adam’s red-rimmed eyes focused on him. “What is it?”
“I need you and Mark to ride to Stratford and summon the priest. It is important.”
Adam nodded, a gesture somewhere between resignation and refusal. Mark slapped his father lightly on the shoulder.
“Come, Father,” he said. “We’ve a long day ahead of us. We’d better summon the priest before Matthew changes his mind.”
“I shall not change my mind.”
Mark looked at his brother, a smile on his lips. “Oh? So you have accepted your fate, have you? Thank God. No more long nights of listening to you lament your dark future.”
“My future has never looked so bright,” Matthew took the lady’s elbow, firmly, so that she would know it was the truth. “Come along, love. Let us get away from this imbecile.”
Mark snorted as Alixandrea allowed him to lead her from the room. Not strangely, the dogs, which had been hovering near her the entire time she had been in the hall, followed. They were all wagging their tails furiously at her. It was hard not to notice; there were at least seven of them, four or five large ones and a couple of smaller. Matthew had to shove one of the bigger ones out of his way.
“Are these dogs always so solicitous?” Alixandrea asked.
Matthew shook his head. “Not at all,” he looked around. “They must like you.”
“Well, I do not like them,” she looked at them rather fearfully. “Which brings about another point, my lo… I mean, Matthew.”
He grinned as she caught herself. “What is that?”
She wasn’t sure where to start and did not want to offend him. “This place,” she lifted a hand in gesture. “How can I put this kindly? It… smells.”
“So?”
She lifted her eyebrows. “It is extremely offensive. Every inch of this keep reeks of filth. May I ask a rude question?”
“By all means.”
“I would assume that Caroline is chatelaine. Why does she allow this squalor?”
