My hands plied their steady trade; I made myself breathe slowly. But something must have showed on my face.

“I was tempted,” he said, leaning back against the wall, the stool tilted on two legs. “Sorely tempted. This handiwork is very important to you, isn’t it? What would you have done for me, to get it back? Would you have…” his next remarks I will not repeat here, for they were scarce fit for the lowest of drunken gatherings. “Might have tried that. But my sister forestalled me. Following her dear Hugh’s orders. Unbelievable. After I told her what your people did to Simon. Well, there’s a sort of perverse enjoyment in watching you hurt yourself, little whore. Why do you do it? Does it excite you? Do you crave pain, to satisfy you? You married the wrong man, daughter of Erin. He would never have been enough for you. Besides,” and his tone changed, “he was promised. He chose to forget that, but I do not forget. I know the way it should be. The way it will be, when you are—disposed of. Hugh will wed Elaine. Harrowfield will wed Northwoods, and in one grand gesture the largest and richest estate in Northumbria will be established. Easy, so easy. And think what holding that much power does to a man. At one stroke, he takes all pieces on the board. That satisfies him in a way no woman ever could. Who will his neighbors turn to for protection? Who will they trust to train their fighting men and purchase their arms? Who will they pay, to ensure good will?” He was grinning, stretching his arms expansively behind his head. “Believe me, girl, a man that scents such power lets nothing stand in his way. Nothing.”

Is this Hugh of Harrowfield we speak of here? I could not prevent my brows rising in scornful disbelief.

“Hugh is malleable. Cares only for his trees and his cattle and his tidy little life. Elaine, she’s like me. Must have her own way. Problem was, what she wanted didn’t suit my plans, didn’t suit at all. Everything was smooth as silk until she started to grow up, thirteen, fourteen, used to getting what she wanted, no need to say no up till then. New pony, deerhound, jewels, finery. But she broke the rules. Fell for the wrong brother.”

Elaine and Simon? That was a possibility I had never thought of. But it explained much. It explained, in particular, her manner toward Red, for I could see now that she had indeed treated him like a brother. Poor Elaine. One of them was dead, and the other had married me. She had not deserved to lose them both.

“Once she set her heart on it, wouldn’t let go of the notion,” Richard went on. “Had to tell her, finally. You can’t. No. Simple as that. She didn’t like it. But I’m her father. Hugh’s a milksop, doesn’t have that killer streak, that bit of meanness a man needs in him to survive, to get on. Runs a pretty farm, I’ll give him that. But he’s weak. Suitable. You’d understand that better than most, slut. Bent him to your own will easily enough, didn’t you? If he couldn’t withstand that, how well do you think he’d deal with Richard of Northwoods? So, he marries my daughter, and the whole valley is mine. If she’d taken the younger brother, that would have been quite another matter. Hopeless. For one thing, he wouldn’t inherit, not unless…besides, he was too wild. Unpredictable. Unstable, you could almost say. Not at all a safe option. No, it’s better this way. Or was, before you came into the picture…”