Maksim shrugged. “She’s probably grateful that you simply didn’t kill her dog,” he said. “I cannot understand what got into Winchester. He does not usually attack like that.”
“Clearly, there is something about me that the dog took offense with.”
Maksim was in agreement. “The smell.”
“The only answer.”
Maksim let his grin break through. They continued on to the knights’ quarters, which was an outbuilding lodged against the exterior curtain wall, built from the same gray granite that comprised most of Hensingham. The ceiling was low, however, and they had to duck in when they arrived, but there was a manservant immediately upon entering. The small, older man took care of the knights of Hensingham, Maksim included, and when Maksim explained what he wanted, the servant went running for the necessary items.
“In here,” Maksim said, directing Gar into a chamber that was small and dark, crowded with a bed frame. “You can use this chamber for your stay. I’ll have someone bring your things.”
Gar let go of the piece of torn breeches he’d been holding up to cover what he could of his backside. “You have my thanks,” he said. “If you see my father, please tell him where you have taken me.”
“I will,” Maksim said. “Now, I go on the hunt for something for you to wear. Is there anything in your saddlebags I can retrieve?”
Gar didn’t want to tell him the truth, that he’d brought nothing more to wear because he wanted his new bride to see just what a slovenly beast she was going to marry.
“Not really,” he said. “As I said, we received word from your father and simply came. I did not have time to pack much. But my father might have something for me.”
Maksim nodded, his gaze lingering on Gar for a moment. “The battles on the border,” he said quietly. “Were they terrible?”
Gar nodded without hesitation. “Bad enough,” he said. “The Scots are angry and that is never pleasant.”
“What happened?”
“A clan murdered a pair of English knights and the liege of those knights wanted revenge,” he said. “At least, that was the catalyst. But the truth is that any skirmish on the Scots border is never a simple thing. Anything can set it off.”
Maksim nodded. “So I’ve heard,” he said. “But we do not get any action where we are. I think the last danger we faced was during my grandfather’s time. Hensingham is peaceful, here in the wilds of Cumbria.”
Gar peered from a small window, into the bailey beyond. “The castle seems to be in good condition.”
“You intend to take my sister into the brittle borders?”
“If she is my wife, she will live with me and that is where I live.”
Maksim sighed faintly. “Matilda has never been around that kind of thing.”
“Then she will have to become accustomed to it.”
But Maksim shook his head. “You do not understand,” he said, looking the man up and down. “The last time you saw oneanother, she was a child and you were barely a man. Things change. People grow up.”
“What do you mean?”
Maksim was looking at the man before him who looked like he lived in the mud. “I mean that she has grown into a fine lady, Gar,” he said. “She is not a warrior’s daughter. She did not grow up around battle. She grew up learning to paint and to sing and to dance. She can speak four languages. She is intelligent and cultured. To take her to a warring castle would be like taking a white dove and shoving it in with the chickens. It will be as alien to her as living on the moon.”
Gar looked at him, then. “If you have any objections to this marriage, then I wish you would tell your father,” he said. “I have tried my best to break this betrothal, but my father and grandfather are set. They will not break it. Mayhap your father can.”
Maksim’s brow furrowed. “You do not want to marry my sister?”
“I do not think I am a good prospect for anyone to marry.”
At least he had avoided insulting Mattie, but Maksim wasn’t stupid. He could see that Gar didn’t seem to have any interest in the marriage. With that realization, he grunted unhappily and rubbed at his forehead.
“She has been looking forward to this for ten years,” he said. “You must not tell her that you do not wish to marry her, Gar. It will break her heart and if you break her heart, I will breakyou. Do you understand me?”
Gar looked at him, seeing the protective brother, and his hard stance softened a little. “I have sisters also,” he said. “I understand your instincts when it comes to your sister. I can assure you that I will not deliberately hurt her feelings. But I am a terrible match for her, Maksim. I spend my days fighting Scots and my nights seeing to the defense of my castle. We live on alertevery moment of every day. I do not have feasts or dances and I have no need for a wife who speaks four languages and is adept at painting. Do you not see? This is not the marriage she was hoping for.”
“Nor were you,” Maksim finished quietly.
