“Of course, Milord,” Walter said, bowing his head once more.
“And when he sends word that he has,” Lord Hamilton went on, “we will join them.”
“Join them?” Walter asked, seemingly surprised.
“What’s the matter, Walter, afraid of a few Scotsmen?” Lord Hamilton asked, casting a mocking face his way.
“Of course not, Milord, just to travel so far, when Sir Simon could just as well retrieve her, I cannot make sense of it.”
“It’s a matter of principle, Walter,” Lord Hamilton said, plucking up another piece of quail from the table and straining to lean forward as he did so. “Just as the wench must know that I am not to be disobeyed, the Scots must remember that just because they have their own Kingdom, they cannot stop my influence. Gold knows no borders, Walter, none at all, and neither does my will. The world will do good to remember that.”
“Of course, Milord,” Walter said, his voice trailing off as he turned his head at one of the Willby boys entering the hall.
“Ah!” Lord Hamilton said, clapping his free hand against his stomach. “One of our gracious hosts. It’s Jacob, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Milord,” Jacob said, taken aback by both the address and the manner Lord Hamilton had occupied the hall and the sheer quantity of food and drink laid out around him.
“And where have you been all morning?” Lord Hamilton asked. “You are the first I’ve seen of this family all day!”
“Just riding, Milord,” Jacob replied nervously, looking about the room. No doubt he had come for a bite to eat and had not expected such an ambush.
“Ah, riding,” Lord Hamilton said, playing with the young knight. “I have never been fond of it. Too rough on the arse, isn’t it?”
“It can be, Milord,” Jacob said, still standing awkwardly by the doors.
“Come sit! This is your father’s hall,” Lord Hamilton said with a grand gesture. “You are here to eat, are you not?”
“I was,” Jacob said, sitting tentatively beside Walter on the bench nearest the doors.
“Then, eat!” Lord Hamilton shouted, pushing a bowl of food his way with his toe. Walter leaned forward to facilitate the bowl’s movement a bit closer, planting it in front of Jacob.
“I must apologize again on my father’s behalf,” Jacob said, gingerly touching the bowl before him, looking down into it rather than up at Lord Hamilton. He was just a pawn; Lord Hamilton was sure of it.Perhaps, this young pup could be turned.“For not alerting you in time of my sister’s location.”
“Oh come,” Lord Hamilton said, “think nothing of it. Everything will be well soon enough, have no fear.”
“As you say,” Jacob said, poking at the bowl in front of him with a wooden spoon, his eyes remaining downturned.
“That’s right,” Lord Hamilton said softly, raising up the cup to his lips. “Everything is as I say.”
“Your knights rode off yesterday,” Jacob said suddenly, looking up from the bowl. Suddenly Lord Hamilton saw something fierce in his eyes, something unexpected. There was fight in this youngster. There was determination and strength. Lord Hamilton smiled as he met Jacob’s gaze, drinking in the young man’s turbulent storm of emotions.Perhaps he is not such a pup after all.
“They did,” Lord Hamilton said. “Most of them, at any rate. Sellswords. Better than any oath I’ve ever encountered. Gold will win a man’s heart faster than hereditary servitude.”
“But where have they gone?” Jacob asked, not looking away. It had been so long since anyone had looked at Lord Hamilton without fear or obedience, and he relished the sport of it. This little backwater family was full of surprises, and it excited him. “It is not a comfortable thing to have such a warband roaming through our lands.”
“Oh, fear not about your peasants,” Lord Hamilton scoffed with a sneer. “For they are not in your lands.”
“Then, where are they?” Jacob asked once more, and Lord Hamilton could not determine what was happening in the boy’s head. Did he know? Was he fishing for information? Or was he genuinely worried about the peasants being tormented by a roving pack of sellswords? The last thought brought Lord Hamilton some amusement.Imagine actually caring about the smallfolk.
“They are hunting,” Lord Hamilton said, looking at Jacob across the rim of his cup. “That is all.”
“Hunting?” Jacob said, still keeping eye contact.
“That’s right,” Lord Hamilton said. He drank from his cup and let the wine sink slowly down his throat, savoring every bit of the moment. “Hunting.”
