“You really did miss me, Owein,” she teased him. “Did no lady of the court offer her charms for old times’ sake, my lord? You were most eager to couple with me.”
“You did not naysay me, lovey,” he teased back. “I do not believe we have ever before made love in our tub. I found it quite stimulating. I wonder if all husbands and wives enjoy each other as we do. We have certainly made the best of the bargain given us.”
“’Twas not a bad bargain,” Rosamund admitted. “You loved me before we even wed, and I have come to love you with all my heart. I can only hope that poor Kate will one day have the same good fortune. Now, stand still, Owein. I have never seen such filth as is on your neck and in your ears, sir. I wonder if I shall ever get you clean.”
“Whether you do or not, lovey, I beg you to hurry. I long for our bed, and I long to hold you in my arms again.”
“We shall make a son sooner than later if you continue to behave with such enthusiasm,” she crowed, pleased.
“We shall make a son in God’s good time, lovey,” he answered her, feeling just a trifle guilty about the deception he and Maybel were involved in, but he really did not want to lose her now—or ever.
The summer passed peacefully. They heard little news from the south. The king would be on his progress, and he never came this far north. The weather was not as clement as they would want, and so the harvest was not as bountiful as the previous year. Still, they would survive the winter. The word was put about by Edmund Bolton that Friarsgate would be selling a fine young stud after Lammas. The sale was set for the first day of September.
Tatamount was a dappled gray animal with a coal-black mane and tail. He pranced and snorted and tossed his mane about as he was brought into the enclosed area where he was to be displayed to the prospective buyers.
“Has he been trained to fight?” asked the Earl of Northumberland’s representative.
“He’s too young,” Sir Owein answered, “but if the buyer wishes him trained, we will train him. However, we left him ungelded because his value is in his ability to sire. His own sire is ShadowDancer.”
“The earl wants a fighting mount,” came the reply.
“This is not the animal for him, then,” Sir Owein responded. “But we do have a well-trained gelding that might interest you. If you will follow Edmund Bolton to the barns he will display the animal to you.”
The earl’s man nodded and trailed after Edmund. This left but two other bidders. A representative from Lord Neville and Logan Hepburn. Owein was surprised, for he did not think Logan Hepburn had the funds for such a purchase. Yet the Hepburn of Claven’s Carn bid heatedly against Lord Neville’s man. It finally reached a point where Sir Owein had to say, “Gentlemen, I must see your monies before we can proceed further.”
Each man held up a heavy bag. Lord Neville’s man topped Logan Hepburn’s bid. Now it was the Hepburn who bid the price even higher, adding, “I am bidding for my cousin, the Earl of Bothwell, who seeks the beast as a gift for his queen.”
Lord Neville’s man laughed ruefully. “Then I must decline to bid further, for I will not bid against a man who seeks to gift Margaret Tudor, my own king’s daughter. The beast is yours, my lord.”
Logan Hepburn bowed. “Thank you,” he said.
“We will conclude our business inside the house,” Owein said. He turned to Lord Neville’s representative. “Will you join us and have some wine, sir?”
“Nay, but my thanks, Sir Owein. I must return to give my master the disappointing news.” He bowed to the two men, and mounting his own horse, which had been tethered nearby, he rode off with a wave of his hand.
Owein led the Hepburn into the hall where Rosamund was waiting. Her eyebrow arched in surprise as she saw their guest.
“Logan Hepburn has bought Tatamount for his cousin, the Earl of Bothwell, who wishes the beast for the queen.”
“It will not prove a good gift, Logan Hepburn,” Rosamund said. “The Queen of the Scots likes only well-mannered palfreys. What would she do with a stud like Tatamount?”
Logan Hepburn handed his bag of coins to Owein. “I lied,” he said, his blue eyes dancing. “Lord Neville’s man was beginning to irritate me, and I had only so much to spend. You shall have it all if you so wish. I want the stallion for myself.” The defiant look he gave them dared them to argue with him, but Owein did.
“You have acted in a dishonorable manner, my lord,” he said. “I should send after Lord Neville’s man and let him have the animal.”
“But you will not,” Logan Hepburn said. “Neville does not treat horses well, and you have heard the rumors yourself. I have simply saved you from an unhappy ending of this auction. The earl’s man wants a fighting horse. I want a stud. I would have outbid Lord Neville’s man in the end at any rate. Are my monies not as good as an Englishman’s, my lord?”
“It is not your monies I question, but your manners,” Owein replied. “Open your bag and spread the coins before me.”
Logan Hepburn carelessly spilled his monies onto the high board. Owein counted out the amount agreed upon. He was about to return the remaining coins, but to his surprise Rosamund stepped forward and swept the balance into her own hands.
“Since, my lord, you were willing to bid your entire stash, you shall indeed forgo it all for your duplicity. You see, I find your Scots’ coin every bit as good as English coin, being a sensible woman.”
Logan Hepburn burst out laughing.
“Rosamund, we cannot,” Owein said.
“Aye, we can!” she replied. “Remember what it is for, my lord. Yon canny Scot would have cheated us if he could. He deserves to forfeit all of his monies.”
