“That holding?”Amaury asked, pointing to Annossy’s keep.Melissande nodded and he bowed again.“Quinn, you have made a wondrous alliance.We already admired the obvious prosperity and good administration of that holding.”
“Amaury admired it, to be sure,” Lothair said.
“Aye, Amaury was most fulsome in his praise of the management of the fields,” Niall said.“While I would know naught of such matters.”
“To be sure, it was impossible to see the charms of Annossy’s women from such a distance, which would be your sole concern,” Amaury said and Niall grinned.
“Though the lady herself is most beautiful.”Lothair bowed and Melissande flushed.
“Who has governed Annossy before this happy day for Quinn, my lady?”Amaury asked.
“Since my father’s death five years ago, I have administered the holding.”
Amaury nodded, his gaze flicking to Quinn in some silent communication.His admiration of her skills was clear, and Melissande wondered at his origins.The knights mounted their destriers again so the party could proceed and she turned to Amaury, intent upon being a good hostess.“From whence do you come, sir?You seem to know much of managing a holding.”
“Montvieux is my family holding and my legacy,” he admitted.“It lies to the east and south of Paris, in a valley of land most fertile.I have the greatest admiration for it, and a full understanding of my responsibilities.My father taught me from the cradle to watch each detail, to keep the books, to manage the inventories and the seed...”
“Aye, as did mine!”
“It is not common to find a lady with such expertise.”
“I have no brother.My father rode to war when I was a child, and my mother administered Annossy in his absence.She began to teach me, for I asked.”
“Did she administer the courts, as well?”
“Aye, in his absence.Annossy prospered beneath her hand, and so my father saw fit to continue my instruction upon his return.”
Amaury was clearly impressed.“Do you find your responsibilities a chore to be endured?”
Melissande laughed at the notion.“Because they keep me from my needlework?Nay, sir, I find administration a most intriguing challenge and one that gives great satisfaction.”She realized then that Quinn was attending their conversation and did not look to be pleased.She dropped her gaze.“Of course, it is all my husband’s duty now and I shall hone my skills with embroidery.”
Again, Amaury looked between Melissande and Quinn, but he said no more.
“Let us make haste to Annossy, then,” Quinn said.“Where doubtless we shall find warmth and a hot meal.”He gave a nod and all touched their heels to their horses’ flanks.The entire party galloped toward Annossy, the horses’ manes streaming, the sky vivid blue overhead and the wind as cold as ice.
A hot meal.Quinn might be overly confident in that expectation.Melissande counted as she rode.Eight newly arrived men—for the boys were tall enough to have the appetites of grown men—plus the four youths and one knight who journeyed with Quinn meant there would be fourteen more men at the board this night and for the foreseeable future.
In the dead of winter, when stores were at their lowest.
Melissande merely hoped there was yet a cask of wine in the cellar for that might distract them from the lack of meat.There would be no time to hunt by the time they arrived, so whatever was in the pantries on this day would have to suffice for the evening meal.
What would Quinn do if he believed his friends to be insulted or given less than their due?Melissande did not wish to know, although she was plagued by memories of each and every tale of Jerome’s displeasure as they rode for Annossy.
Aye,his wife was stung by Tulley’s decision and Quinn could not mistake that truth.He was not truly surprised when the lady of ice had descended to Tulley’s hall to break her fast before their departure.
This was his reward for carrying Annossy’s seal.
Quinn would have spoken to her and tried to reconcile her to their liege lord’s choice, but she ignored him at the board as surely as if he had vanished from sight.And truly, it would have been a poor choice to discuss the matter frankly when Tulley might hear or be told of their words.Quinn knew that Tulley could not be defied, yet wished he and Melissande might yet form a good match.
It seemed a distant prospect.
They rode out that chilly morn, together but separate.His hope for a private moment upon reaching Annossy had been complicated by the discovery of his comrades on the road.His own confidence in the future had been shaken by Amaury’s apparent understanding and appreciation of all Melissande had done.Quinn already had doubts about his abilities to administer a prosperous holding, for that was beyond his experience.The words of Amaury, who came from far greater wealth than Quinn, only added to that concern.
And then there was Annossy itself.
The richness of the holding became more clear with every step toward it.The keep was large, though not so large as Tulley.A formidable stone wall encircled the village and the keep itself, which he much admired for defense.As Amaury had noted, the fields were tilled in orderly terraces that were still visible beneath the snow.Amaury and Melissande talked about the growing of vines for the making of wine, and their lively discussion made Quinn feel at a disadvantage.
He had so much to learn.
