“What is it with you and a bit of rain?” Jacob scoffed, taking up his own cup. “Matthew is afraid of the weather. How can you expect him to lead your men when he fears getting his prized hair all wet, Father?”
“You are strong and bold against the elements now that you are indoors, Jacob. Do I have that right?” Matthew laughed back. “And were you not the one who nearly fell from his horse when we crossed that creek?”
“It was not my fault, but the mare’s,” Jacob replied, rolling his eyes. “As I have already said, time and time again.”
“But you will have to remind me many more times over,” Matthew said back. “For the memory is too fond for me to ever relinquish.”
“It was a sight, wasn’t it,” Jacob said with a smirk, and the two brothers broke out into a low chuckle.
“Tell me of the border,” their father went on. “Was there any action?” Laila frowned as yet another conversation between the men unfolded, leaving her sitting in silence. Why would they wait for her to arrive if she was not to be a part of anything? It was so typical of her father, she thought, and so she sipped her wine discreetly while the men of her family kept rambling on.
“Nothing to speak of,” Matthew said, turning on the bench as if he were still atop his horse. “We saw no Scotsmen.”
“Scotsmen with swords, rather,” Jacob corrected. “The shepherds still take liberties with their grazing.”
“We ran them off, of course,” Matthew interjected. “But no raiders still, not since the spring.”
“I should think you taught them to steer clear,” Edward said with a grin. “If only you had been old enough to fight the Scots in wartime. We may have prevailed!”
“There will always be another war,” Jacob said, gazing down into his cup. “Fear not on that account.”
“I count on it,” Matthew said, taking a drink, then he turned his attention to the food before him.
Matthew began spooning large quantities of vegetables onto his pieces of bread, topping them off with a piece of fowl, and rapidly feasting, while Jacob did much of the same. However, Edward's father was more conservative and made small piles of everything on his plate before assembling it by hand and taking small bites.
Laila was disappointed that there was no cheese, and since she was not very hungry, she contented herself to a few small bites of fowl here and there accompanied by a bit of bread. She was more interested in the wine, which she had filled whenever her father’s head was turned down into his plate. They ate mostly in silence for a time, as was common, until her brothers had mangled most of the fowl and the bread, and her father sat back, contented.
“Now, you must listen,” Edward said, adjusting himself to be more comfortable. He sat back, his belly bulging a bit, but kept one hand on his cup of wine. “For serious matters are before us.”
“Well, do go on, Father,” Matthew said, shifting to look at him. “You have kept us in suspense.”
“It is no secret that our family is deeply indebted,” Edward began, his frown deepening. “The wars still leave us humbled, financially. I spent a great deal of money fighting the Scots, to it seems no avail. Now, I cannot keep men at arms nor care for the castle’s upkeep. This is not a secret.”
“We have all been well aware, Father, of the sacrifices you made to fight the Scots,” Matthew said tentatively. Laila felt the discomfort in the air. It was not like her father to openly discuss his failings as a lord, and she could not help but feel a shred of dread creeping up through her gut.
“The loans, as you may know, are owed to Lord Hamilton, who seems to be only lord in all the Kingdom who profited off of our King’s failed invasion.”
“Moneylenders,” Jacob sneered. “What have they ever done save cause suffering.”
“And he did not even fight,” Matthew added. “A true coward.”
“Coward or not,” Edward said, clearing his throat, “he has become one of the richest men in the Kingdom. Richer than the King, some say, and these years later, that debt is coming due. You know that the rents we collect from this poor valley are nowhere near enough to cover the sum.”
“Father, did you not already sell our southern estates to repay most of the loans?” Laila said. “Is that not why we now live here?”
“The sale of those lands covered only half of the sum,” Edward said begrudgingly. “And as such, I now feel a fool for selling them. But all is as God wills it, so in that, I must find comfort.”
“Funny how God wills a coward to be so rich,” Jacob sneered.
“And lewd,” Matthew added. “I remember meeting him as a boy at York.”
“I too, remember,” Laila said, shuddering at the memory. She was just a girl at the time, but she had never seen a more grotesque man, and his swollen face still left quite the impression. “He is most foul.”
“I am truly sorry, my dear, that you should think so,” Edward said, letting out a long sigh.
“How do you mean?” Laila asked, her eyes sharp and her nerves spiking. She was no stranger to the world she lived in.
“Lord Hamilton and I have come to an agreement,” Edward said, his fingers dancing nervously along the rim of his cup. The fire popped in the ensuing silence before he began again.
