Mystique

by Amanda Quick

  He concentrated now on the task that lay ahead of him. He had land of his own. All he had to do was hold on to it. That was proving difficult.

  During the past few weeks Hugh had begun to discover why the lands of Scarcliffe had passed through so many hands in recent years.

  It was a fact that in recent memory no man had successfully held Scarcliffe for more than a short span of time before losing it through death or misfortune. Some said Scarcliffe was haunted by ill omens, bad luck, and an old curse.

  He who would discover the Stones and hold fast these lands

  must guard the green crystal with a warrior’s hands.

  Hugh did not believe in the power of ancient curses. He trusted in little else other than his own skills as a knight and the determined will that had brought him this far. But he had a healthy respect for the power such foolish nonsense often wielded over the minds of other people.

  Regardless of his own opinion of the irritating prophecy, he knew that the disheartened folk of Scarcliffe believed in the old legend. Their new lord must prove himself by guarding the green crystal.

  Since arriving to take possession of the manor less than a month earlier, Hugh had found the inhabitants who now called him lord surprisingly sullen. The good people of Scarcliffe obeyed him out of fear but they saw no hope for the future in him. Their gloominess showed in everything they did, from the lackluster way they milled flour to the halfhearted manner in which they worked the fields.

  Hugh was accustomed to command. He had been trained to it. He had been a natural leader of men for most of his adult life. He knew he could coerce a minimal level of cooperation from those he governed but he also knew that was not sufficient. He needed willing loyalty from his people in order to make Scarcliffe thrive for all their sakes.

  The real problem was that the inhabitants of the manor did not expect Hugh to last long in his position as lord. None of the other lords had survived more than a year or two.

  Within hours of his arrival, Hugh had heard muttered omens of impending disaster. Crops had been trampled by a band of renegade knights. A freakish lightning storm had done considerable damage to the church. A wandering monk who preached doom and destruction had appeared in the vicinity.

  To the people of Scarcliffe, the theft of the green crystal from the vault of the local convent had been an event of cataclysmic proportions. It had also been the last straw. Hugh knew that in their eyes it was proof positive that he was not their true lord.

  Hugh had realized immediately that the fastest way to gain the trust of his people was to recover the green stone. He intended to do just that.

  “Have a care, my lord,” Dunstan advised. “Lady Alice is no anxious maiden to be awed by your reputation. She will no doubt try to bargain as though she were a London shopkeeper.”

  “It should prove an interesting experience.”

  “Do not forget that last night she appeared more than willing to trade her soul for whatever it is she expects to have from you.”

  “Aye.” Hugh almost smiled. “Mayhap her soul is just what I shall require.”

  ‘Try not to barter away your own in the deal,” Dunstan advised dryly.

  “You are assuming that I have one to lose.”

  Benedict’s twisted leg prevented him from actually storming through the door of Alice’s study chamber. Nevertheless, he managed to convey his anger and outrage with a flushed face and fierce green eyes.

  “Alice, this is madness.” He came to a halt in front of her desk and tucked his staff under one arm. “Surely you cannot mean to bargain with Hugh the Relentless.”

  “His name is Hugh of Scarcliffe now,” Alice said.

  “From what I have heard, Relentless suits him all too well. What do you think you are doing? He is a most dangerous man from all accounts.”

  “But an honest one apparently. Tis said that if he strikes a bargain, he will keep it.”

  “I vow that any bargain made with Sir Hugh will be on his terms,” Benedict retorted. “Alice, he is said to be very clever and keen on plotting stratagems.”

  “So? I am rather clever myself.”

  “I know you think that you can manage him as you do our uncle. But men such as Hugh are not easily managed by anyone, especially not by a woman.”

  Alice put down her quill pen and contemplated her brother. Benedict was sixteen years old and she had had the sole responsibility for him since their parents had died. She was well aware that she had failed in her duty by him. She intended to do what she could to make up for the fact that she had allowed his inheritance to slip into Ralf’s hands.

  Her mother, Helen, had died three years earlier. Her father, Sir Bernard, had been murdered by a street thief outside a London brothel two years past.

  Ralf had followed fast on the heels of the news of Bernard’s death. Alice had soon found herself deeply embroiled in a hopeless legal battle to hold on to the small manor that was to have been Benedict’s inheritance. She had done her best to retain control of the tiny fief, but on that score Ralf, for all his ox-brained wit, had outmaneuvered her.

  After nearly two full years of argument and persuasion he had convinced Fulbert of Middleton, Alice’s liege lord as well as Ralf s, that a trained knight ought to control the manor. Ralf had claimed that, as a woman, Alice was incapable of managing the estates properly and that, with his ruined leg, Benedict could not be trained as a knight. Fulbert had concluded, after much prompting by Ralf, that he needed a proper fighting man in charge of the tiny manor that had belonged to Lord Bernard.

  To Alice’s rage and disgust, Fulbert had given her father’s manor to Ralf. Ralf had, in turn, given the lands to his eldest son, Lloyd.

  Alice and Benedict had been obliged to move to Lingwood shortly thereafter. Once safely in possession of the fief, Lloyd had married the daughter of a neighboring knight. Six months ago they had had a son.

  Alice was practical-minded enough to realize that no matter how well she argued her brother’s claims in the courts, she would likely never regain possession of Benedict’s inheritance. The knowledge that she had failed to fulfill her responsibility to Benedict was a source of deep pain for her. She rarely failed at a task, especially not one as important as this had been.

  Determined to make up for the disaster in the only way possible, Alice had set out to give Benedict the best possible chance for advancement in the world. She had determined to send him to the great centers of learning in Paris and Bologna, where he would be trained in the law.

  Nothing could make up for his lost lands, but Alice intended to do her best. When she was satisfied that Benedict was safely on his way in life, she would fulfill her own dreams. She would enter a convent, one that possessed a fine library. There she would devote herself to the study of natural philosophy.

  Only a few days ago both of her objectives had seemed out of reach. But the arrival of Hugh the Relentless had opened a new door. Alice was determined to seize the opportunity.

  “Do not alarm yourself, Benedict,” she said briskly. “I have every confidence that Sir Hugh will prove to be a reasonable man.”

  “Reasonable?” Benedict waved his free hand wildly. “Alice, he’s a legend. Legends are never reasonable.”

  “Come now, you cannot know that. He seemed perfectly amenable to rational discourse last night.”

  “Last night he toyed with you. Alice, listen to me, Erasmus of Thornewood is Sir Hugh’s liege lord. Do you know what that means?”

  Alice picked up her quill and tapped the tip thoughtfully against her pursed lips. “I have heard of Erasmus. He is reputed to be quite powerful.”

  “Aye, and that makes his man, Sir Hugh, powerful, too. You must be careful. Do not think that you can bargain with Sir Hugh as though you were a peddler in the village market. That way lies madness.”

  “Nonsense.” Alice smiled reassuringly. “You worry overmuch, Benedict. Tis a fault I have begun to notice in you of late.”

  “I worry for good cause.�
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  “Nay, you do not. Mark my words, Sir Hugh and I shall get on very well together.”

  A large figure loomed in the doorway, casting a wide, dark shadow across the carpet. It seemed to Alice that there was a sudden chill in the room. She looked toward the opening. Hugh stood there.

  “You echo my own thoughts, Lady Alice,” he said. “I am pleased to see that we are of similar minds on the matter.”

  Awareness prickled along the surface of Alice’s skin as his deep, resonant voice filled the study chamber. He spoke very softly yet his words seemed to still even the smallest of competing sounds. The bird on the window ledge fell silent. The echoes of horses’ hooves down in the bailey faded.

  Alice felt her insides tighten in anticipation. She could not stop herself from staring at Hugh for a moment. This was the first time she had seen him since last night’s confrontation in the flame-lit hall. She was eager to discover if his presence had the same odd effect on her this morning that it had had on the first occasion.

  It did.

  Against all reason and the evidence of her own eyes, she found Hugh the Relentless to be the most compelling man she had ever met. He was no more handsome in the morning light than he had been last night yet something about him drew her.

  It was almost as if she had developed an extraordinary additional sense, she thought, and that she now employed a level of sensation that went beyond hearing, vision, touch, taste, and smell. All in all, a most intriguing problem in natural philosophy, she decided.

  Benedict jerked around to face Hugh. His staff struck Alice’s desk. “My lord.” His jaw tightened. “My sister and I were having a private conversation. We did not see you standing there.”

  “I have been told that I am rather difficult to overlook,” Hugh said. “You are Benedict?”

  “Aye, my lord.” Benedict straightened his shoulders. “I am Alice’s brother and I do not think that you should meet alone with her. Tis not proper.”

  Alice raised her eyes toward the ceiling. “Benedict, please, this is ridiculous. I am no young maid whose reputation must be protected. Sir Hugh and I merely intend to converse on matters of business.”

  “‘Tis not right,” Benedict insisted.

  Hugh leaned one broad shoulder against the door-jamb and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you think I am going to do to her?”

  “I don’t know,” Benedict muttered. “But I won’t allow it.”

  Alice lost her patience. “Benedict, that is enough. Leave us now. Sir Hugh and I must be about our business.”

  “But, Alice—”

  “I will speak with you later, Benedict.”

  Benedict flushed darkly. He glowered at Hugh, who merely shrugged, straightened, and got out of the doorway to make room for him to pass.

  “Fear not,” Hugh said to him quietly. “You have my word that I’ll not ravish your sister during the course of this bargain she wishes to strike.”

  Benedict turned an even darker hue of red. With one last, angry glance at Alice, he stalked awkwardly past Hugh and disappeared down the hall.

  Hugh waited until he was out of earshot. Then he met Alice’s eyes. “A young man’s pride is a tricky thing. It should be handled with some delicacy.”

  “Do not concern yourself with my brother, sir. He is my responsibility.” Alice indicated a wooden stool with a wave of her hand. “Please be seated. We have much to discuss.”

  “Aye.” Hugh glanced at the stool but he did not sit down on it. Instead he walked to the brazier and held his hands out to the warmth of the glowing coals. “That we do. What is this bargain you would make with me, lady?”

  Alice watched him with an eagerness she could not conceal. He seemed quite amenable, she thought. There was no sign that he meant to be difficult. A sensible, reasonable man, just as she had concluded.

  “My lord, I shall be blunt.”

  “By all means. I much prefer directness. It saves a great deal of time, does it not?”

  “Aye.” Alice clasped her hands together on her desk. “I am prepared to tell you precisely where I believe the thief took my green crystal.”

  “It is my crystal, Lady Alice. You seem to have a habit of forgetting that fact.”

  “We can argue the fine points of the matter at another time, my lord.”

  Hugh looked faintly amused. “There will be no argument.”

  “Excellent. I am delighted to see that you are a man of reason, sir.”

  “I make every effort.”

  Alice smiled approvingly. “Now, then, as I said, I will tell you where I believe the crystal to be at this moment. In addition, I will even agree to accompany you to its present location and point out the thief.”

  Hugh considered that. “Very helpful.”

  “I am glad you appreciate it, my lord. But there is even more to my part of this bargain.”

  “I cannot wait to hear the rest,” Hugh said.

  “Not only will I help you find the crystal, sir, I will go one step further.” Alice leaned forward to emphasize her next words. “I shall agree to relinquish my claim to it.”

  “A claim that I do not accept.”

  Alice started to frown. “My lord—”

  “And in exchange for this magnanimous offer?” he interrupted calmly. “What is it you would ask of me, Lady Alice?”

  Alice braced herself. “In exchange, my lord, I ask two things. The first is that, two years from now, when my brother is old enough, you will arrange for him to go to Paris and, mayhap, Bologna, so that he may attend the lectures given there. I would have him become proficient in the liberal arts and particularly in the law so that he may eventually obtain a position of high rank at court or in the household of some wealthy prince or noble.”

  “Your brother wishes to pursue a career as a secretary or clerk?”

  “It’s not as though he has a great deal of choice in the matter, my lord.” Alice tightened her fingers. “I was not able to protect his rightful inheritance from our uncle. Therefore, I must do the next best thing for Benedict.”

  Hugh studied her speculatively. “Very well, that is your affair, I suppose. I am prepared to finance his studies in exchange for getting my hands on the crystal.”

  Alice relaxed. The worst was over. “Thank you, my lord. I am pleased to hear that.”

  “What was the second thing you would have of me?”

  “A very minor request, my lord, of no real consequence to one in your position,” she said smoothly. “Indeed, I daresay you will barely take notice of it.”

  “What, precisely, is it, lady?”

  “I ask that you provide me with a dowry.”

  Hugh gazed into the brazier coals as though he saw something of great interest there. “A dowry? You wish to be wed?”

  Alice chuckled. “By the Saints, whatever gave you that notion, my lord? Of course I do not wish to wed. Why on earth would I want a husband? My goal is to enter a convent.”

  Hugh turned slowly toward her. His amber eyes gleamed intently. “May I ask why?”

  “So that I may continue my studies in natural philosophy, of course. To do so, I shall need a large library, which only a rich convent can provide.” Alice cleared her throat delicately. “And to get into a fine religious house, I shall naturally need a respectably large dowry.”

  “I see.” Hugh’s expression was that of the hawk that has sighted its prey. “That is unfortunate.”

  Alice’s heart sank. For a moment she simply stared at him in open disappointment. She had been so certain that he would agree to the arrangement.

  Desperately she rallied her arguments. “My lord, pray think closely on this matter. The green crystal is obviously very important to you. I can see that you obtain it. Surely that is worth the cost of my dowry.”

  “You misunderstand me, lady. I am willing to provide a bride price for you.”

  She brightened. “You will?”

  “Aye, but I’ll want the bride to go with it.”

&n
bsp; “What?”

  “Or at least the promise of one.”

  Alice was too stunned to think clearly. “I do not comprehend, my lord.”

  “Nay? ‘Tis simple enough. You shall have a portion of what you want of me from this bargain, Lady Alice. But in return I demand that you and I become betrothed before we set out after the green crystal.”

  Hugh would not have been surprised to learn that this was the first time in her entire life Alice had been rendered speechless.

  He contemplated her wide green eyes, her parted lips, and the stunned amazement on her face with some amusement and not a little satisfaction. He doubted that there were many men gifted with the ability to bring the lady to such an abrupt halt.

  He prowled the room as he waited for Alice to find her tongue. What he saw did not astonish him. Unlike most of the rest of Lingwood Hall, this chamber was dusted and well swept. The air was scented by fresh herbs. He had anticipated as much.

  Last night, while dining on such delicacies as sturgeon dressed in spicy cold green sauce and finely seasoned leek pie, he had been greatly impressed by Alice’s talent for household management. This morning he had quickly learned that whatever magic she had worked for the banquet had not been applied to the rest of Sir Ralf’s household, except for the chambers in this wing. Alice had obviously claimed these rooms for herself and her brother.

  Here, all was spotless. Signs of efficiency and order were everywhere, from the carefully placed tapestries that hung on the walls to limit drafts to the gleaming floors.

  The new light of day had revealed a different scene in the rest of Sir Ralf’s hall Odoriferous garderobes, un-swept floors, tattered carpets, and an odor of dampness in many of the chambers made it plain that Alice had not bothered to exert her wizardry outside her own small world.

  Here in Alice’s study chamber Hugh discovered not only the cleanliness he had expected, but also a variety of interesting items. The chamber was filled with a number of strange and curious things.

  Some well-worn handbooks and two fine, leather-bound volumes occupied the place of pride on a nearby shelf.