“I was not born for this marriage. You are beneath me. My father was uchelwyr, and the blood of kings and princes flows in me. I am meant to marry into another family of royalty.” She insulted him calmly, as if explaining something so accepted that it needed no apology.

Marcus experienced irritation that she had been fed such ancient, useless ideas. There was no nobility left in Wales, and the lineages Llygad and others like him claimed were little more than creative concoctions. Genith had no doubt been taught them as great truths, however, and he had just spent two weeks riding all over England tracking her down because of it.

“Your sister has the same blood, but she married other than royalty.”

“That marriage was arranged by Archbishop Stratford, as a way to make my sister invisible. The stories about her embarrassed the Queen, and the Archbishop convinced the King to do it. They also hoped that with her gone the stories would die, and that my father might be less angry. But he did not approve of the marriage, and it only made things worse.”

So, Stratford had been dabbling in this affair from the start. Marcus was learning more from this girl in one conversation than he probably ever would from Nesta. “Was your sister forced into the marriage?”

She shook her head. “She agreed. I think she also hoped that it would lessen my father’s anger, and have him make peace with the King. And so she left me.”

Her last words came less calmly, and her eyes turned sad. Marcus pictured that leave-taking, with Nesta preparing to do her penance in Scotland and Genith, a child still, losing the only family left to her.

“Genith, you may think this marriage beneath you, but it is a necessary one. With it, you and your sister will be together again. Without it, the men who followed your father will die as traitors and thieves. We will be betrothed tonight and wed three days hence.”

Again, no reaction came from her. She looked at him so blandly that it entered his mind that she did not know what marriage meant. That was the last thing he wanted to deal with.

“Come with me now, Genith. I will present you to the people.”

He took her hand and led her down to the hall. She did not deny him the touch, but there was not true acceptance. Her fingers did not move, and remained limp and lifeless in his.

A chaos of activity waited in the hall. Squires removed armor from knights, and servants bustled around preparing for the evening meal. It took three calls for Marcus to command everyone’s attention. The noise dimmed until silence reigned.