“Grandsire is planning to marry you off,” Rob said mischievously.
“Bloody hell he is! I’ll pick my own wife when I wed,”Andrew said.
“The Radcliffe wench is back from wherever she was sheltered after the hall was attacked. Damn fool John Radcliffe, flying York’s banner in the face of all.”
“Yet York rules England,” Andrew murmured softly.
“I heard that, my lad. Aye, they rule, and we have peace at last. But that’s not the point. I’ve always wanted the Radcliffe lands. Their cattle meadows are the finest about, but of course they have no cattle now.
Scots got them all,” the old man said.
“I seem to recall a few strayed in our direction,” Andrew baited his grandfather.
The old man cackled. “Perhaps they did. Perhaps they did,” he admitted. “Well, the Radcliffe girl is back. She’ll need a husband. Rob has a wife, and I have to say Allis has done well by him. Twin lads, and her belly is full again. We might wait to see if she dies in this next childbirth, but I think not. Allis has always been a strong, healthy lass.”
“Grandsire!” Robert Lynbridge looked outraged.
“Thank you very much, my lord,” Allis Lynbridge said dryly from her place by the fire, where she had been both sewing and listening.
Lord Humphrey ignored them both, continuing on with his train of thought. “So it’s up to you, Andrew, to woo and win the Radcliffe lass. Then her lands will be ours.”
“If I were of a mind to wed, and if I wed this girl, the lands would be mine,” Andrew Lynbridge said quietly.
“But I am not of a mind to wed some horse-faced heiress right now, Grandsire. And I repeat, when I marry, I will chose my own bride.”
“Bosh, lad! All cats look alike in the dark,” Lord Humphrey said. “Besides, who says she is ugly? Have you seen her? Her mother was a beauty. Besides, it’s past time you took a wife. You’re nearer to thirty than you are to twenty,” his grandfather said.
“Nay, I have not seen the girl, and I am twenty-eight,”was Andrew’s answer.
“Then what is to prevent you and your brother from riding over to Stanton Hall tomorrow and paying our respects to the girl? ’Tis but a half day’s ride. Soon the snows will come, and there will be no opportunity for you until spring. Once word gets out that this wench is home again all the Nevilles and the Percys will come calling in an attempt to win her and grab her lands. Why should they have all the wealth hereabouts?” the old man grumbled irritably. “Lancaster’s toadies, most of them.”
Andrew Lynbridge laughed. “Very well, old man, if it will make you happy we shall ride to Stanton Hall and see the girl.”
The following morning Robert and Andrew Lyn-
bridge rode from their home and directed their horses in the direction of Stanton. It was the last day of November, and they had attended early Mass celebrating Andrew’s name day. The air was crisp, but there was no wind. A weak sun shone down on the barren hillsides.
“I suppose you think I should marry too,” Andrew said to his older sibling.
“There will always be bed and board for you at Hillview Court, little brother,” Robert said. “But don’t you want your own home, and a forever woman? You have never been a man to be beholden to any, even your family. I thought when you returned from fighting in the service of the Duke of Gloucester that you would settle down, but you have not. The Radcliffe girl might be the answer for you. Our families would be near one another, and you would have your own lands. I would hope you will marry eventually. Sooner or later some angry father will come to Hillview demanding you wed with his big-bellied daughter and accept your responsibilities.”
Andrew Lynbridge chuckled. “I’ve kept my activities to the other side of the border, brother,” he said. “And none know my surname.”
“I have heard it said you are called Amorous Andrew,” Robert replied with a grin. Then he grew serious.
“Don’t get caught and forced to the altar by some farmer’s lass. At least since you must wed, marry to your advantage, and our family’s.”
“Not for love?” Andrew teased Robert.
“Love may come, as it has with Allis and me. Her parents are noble, and while she was the youngest of fourteen she came with a good dower portion: a herd of twenty-four healthy heifers, and a young bull. But I will say I liked her from the start, and she showed her respect for me immediately. She is a dutiful wife,” Robert said.
“She is a sweet woman, but too dull for my taste,” Andrew remarked.
“Sweet and dull is a comfort to a man when he has more important matters to attend to on a daily basis,”
Robert replied. “Grandsire sits in the hall and barks orders, but the responsibility of Hillview is mine, and has been for close to ten years.”
“Nonetheless, I would need a woman with more spice to her than your good Allis,” his brother remarked. “I want a woman who sets me afire with just a look.”
