Ali laughed. “You may not slug him, either. Although Edward could easily take you on in a fight, I doubt he would take kindly to your display of irritation.”
The corner of Alec’s mouth dipped in a frown. “You have no faith in me, Ali.”
Ali slanted his father a knowing glance. “I am speaking of a man who put dung in our king’s bed.”
“He did it to me first.”
“But you were a new knight. ’Twas his right to humiliate you.”
Olphampa shook his head. “Good King Longshanks is beyond practical jokes. I will hear no more of this treason.”
A shout on the wall deterred them from their argument. Alec ordered the gates opened and found himself far more eager to see his old friend than he thought himself capable of.
Any contact between he and Edward over the past twelve years had resulted in uncomfortable pleadings for Alec to resume his knighthood. Now, with the wars in Wales augmenting, Alec would not be surprised if Edward again broached the subject.
In fact, he was sure of it.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“You will lookat me when I speak to you.”
Thia was staring at the floor. When the subtle yet threatening words were spoken, she raised her head ever so slightly and fixed Colin with a heady glare.
He smiled thinly. “That’s better. ’Tis better that we establish the rules before we are married, do you not agree? That way, there will be no room for error.”
She ground her jaw. “What do you want? I have things to attend to.”
“You mean women to chase,” Colin cocked an eyebrow.
Thia’s face mottled an ugly shade of red and she lowered her gaze in spite of his order. Colin’s smile turned into a genuine gesture.
“Come now, Thia. You cannot believe that your secret was truly your own? You give little credit to the intelligence of those around you.”
It was all Thia could do to keep from slapping the smug grin off his twisted lips. Deeply humiliated, her hands began to shake as she stared at the stone floor of her father’s solar.
“You asked to meet with me privately. Say what you will and be done with it.”
Colin observed the top of her dark blond head, her lovely hair the only beautiful feature on a woman who was otherwise quite homely looking. Arrogantly, he planted himself behind Brian’s great desk as if he belonged there.
“Indeed,” he folded his hands, examining the nails. “I have a proposition whose details will not leave the confines of this chamber. Do you understand this before we begin?”
Thia’s head came up and she focused on him. “Nay. As you have pointed out, I am ignorant. Make yourself plain.”
His eyes narrowed. “As I should have from the start. Thia, I am as displeased about this union as you are. I have made it no secret that I am marrying you simply as a duty and a difficult one at that. It’s not you I want.”
She wasn’t following his reasoning. “As you have said. As you have all but shouted to the world. Please come to your point, if you can.”
Colin did not deal well with disobedient women, and Thia had already proven over the past two weeks that she could push him into a rage. The wench was not only given to abnormal appetites, but she was mouthy and rude. And she was so strong she could have probably given him a good fight had their quarrels come to blows.
Brian and Nigel had spent a good deal of their time playing peacemaker between their children when they weren’t battling each other. Within the past several days, Blackstone had become a bitter, uneasy place.
“I can indeed spell out my purpose, considering that is what it will take for your small mind to understand,” he said cruelly, watching her jaw tick. “Lady Thia, you do not wish to marry me.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “That is the first intelligent statement I have yet to hear you utter.”
He forced a humorless smile. “That is because you have not been listening closely. ’Tis difficult to hear at all with your head buried between the legs of a wench,” she did not flinch and he continued, somewhat perturbed that she had not reacted to his insult. “Considering that you do not approve of the proposed union, it would seem logical that you would do anything to be released from the obligation.”
Caution gripped her. “Within reason.”
