true; yet his heart sank; to take a stranger into his home, and wait, wait for the birth of children, wait for them to grow to manhood, just to risk seeing this blood feud wipe them out again . . . no, he might not be all that old, but he was definitely too old for that.
Yet what was the alternative? To let the Storns' have their triumph, to know that when they followed the murder of his son with his own murder, there would be none to avenge him ... to know that Hammerfell itself would be in Storn hands, and no trace of the Morays of Hammerfell would remain anywhere in the Hundred Kingdoms.
"I will marry, then," he said in a moment of brazen desperation. "What bride-price do you ask for Erminie?"
Renato was shocked to his Core.
"I did not mean to suggest that, my lord. She is not of your station, she has been a common leronis in your household. It is not suitable."
"If I intended to marry her to my own son, how could I possibly claim she was not suitable for me? If I scorned her, I would never have thought of such a marriage,"
Rascard insisted.
"My lord―"
"She is of an age to bear children, and I have no reason to believe her other than virtuous. Once I married hoping for the great alliances a noble bride would bring; where are they, now that my son lies dead? At this point I wish only for a healthy young woman, and I am accustomed to her as my son's playmate. She will do well, better than most; and I will not need to accommodate myself to the ways of a stranger. Name her bride-price: I will give her parents whatever is customary and reasonable."
Lord Renato looked at him in dismay. He knew that he could not summarily refuse this marriage without making a formidable enemy. Hammerfell
was a small realm, but Renato was realizing how powerful it was; the Dukes of
Hammerfell had reigned long in this part of the world.
He could only temporize and hope that the old duke would think better of this latest whim while the •purely practical difficulties and delays were being dealt with.
"Well," he said slowly, at last, "if that is your wish, my lord, I will send a message to her guardians asking their permission for their ward to marry you. There may be difficulties; she may have been hand-fasted elsewhere as a child, or something of that sort."
"Her guardians? Why not her parents?"
"She has none, sir, that is why, when your late wife, my cousin Ellendara, wished for a companion of her own blood for Alaric when he was but a child, Erminie was sent here since she was in need of a home. As you surely remember, my lord, Ellendara was a trained leronis from Arilinn, and she wished, since she had no daughter, to train Erminie in those skills."
"I do not see the difficulty, then, since no loving parents await her," the duke remarked.
"Is there a mystery or scandal about her parentage?"
"None whatever; my own sister Lorna was her mother, and her father was my paxman and a Hastur guardman, Darran Tyall. The girl was born outside the catenas, it is true; they had been handfasted when they were but twelve years old, and when Darran was killed on the border, my sister was wild with grief. All too soon we knew she was carrying Tyall's child. Erminie was born in my own wife's arms, and
we loved her well; that is why Ellendara so gladly welcomed her to this household."
"So she is your niece," said Rascard. "Is her mother living?"
"No, Lorna outlived her promised husband by less than a year."
"Then it seems you are her closest kinsman and her guardian too, and this talk of permission from 'others' is nothing but a device to delay my suit," Rascard said, angrily rising from his chair. "What objection have you to my marrying Erminie, when I was good enough for your cousin, my wife?"
"I will tell you truthfully," Renato said somewhat abashed. "This feud with Storn has grown from a smoke signal to a forest fire; it displeased me then, but it displeases me far more now. I would no longer willingly marry any kinswoman of mine into
Yet what was the alternative? To let the Storns' have their triumph, to know that when they followed the murder of his son with his own murder, there would be none to avenge him ... to know that Hammerfell itself would be in Storn hands, and no trace of the Morays of Hammerfell would remain anywhere in the Hundred Kingdoms.
"I will marry, then," he said in a moment of brazen desperation. "What bride-price do you ask for Erminie?"
Renato was shocked to his Core.
"I did not mean to suggest that, my lord. She is not of your station, she has been a common leronis in your household. It is not suitable."
"If I intended to marry her to my own son, how could I possibly claim she was not suitable for me? If I scorned her, I would never have thought of such a marriage,"
Rascard insisted.
"My lord―"
"She is of an age to bear children, and I have no reason to believe her other than virtuous. Once I married hoping for the great alliances a noble bride would bring; where are they, now that my son lies dead? At this point I wish only for a healthy young woman, and I am accustomed to her as my son's playmate. She will do well, better than most; and I will not need to accommodate myself to the ways of a stranger. Name her bride-price: I will give her parents whatever is customary and reasonable."
Lord Renato looked at him in dismay. He knew that he could not summarily refuse this marriage without making a formidable enemy. Hammerfell
was a small realm, but Renato was realizing how powerful it was; the Dukes of
Hammerfell had reigned long in this part of the world.
He could only temporize and hope that the old duke would think better of this latest whim while the •purely practical difficulties and delays were being dealt with.
"Well," he said slowly, at last, "if that is your wish, my lord, I will send a message to her guardians asking their permission for their ward to marry you. There may be difficulties; she may have been hand-fasted elsewhere as a child, or something of that sort."
"Her guardians? Why not her parents?"
"She has none, sir, that is why, when your late wife, my cousin Ellendara, wished for a companion of her own blood for Alaric when he was but a child, Erminie was sent here since she was in need of a home. As you surely remember, my lord, Ellendara was a trained leronis from Arilinn, and she wished, since she had no daughter, to train Erminie in those skills."
"I do not see the difficulty, then, since no loving parents await her," the duke remarked.
"Is there a mystery or scandal about her parentage?"
"None whatever; my own sister Lorna was her mother, and her father was my paxman and a Hastur guardman, Darran Tyall. The girl was born outside the catenas, it is true; they had been handfasted when they were but twelve years old, and when Darran was killed on the border, my sister was wild with grief. All too soon we knew she was carrying Tyall's child. Erminie was born in my own wife's arms, and
we loved her well; that is why Ellendara so gladly welcomed her to this household."
"So she is your niece," said Rascard. "Is her mother living?"
"No, Lorna outlived her promised husband by less than a year."
"Then it seems you are her closest kinsman and her guardian too, and this talk of permission from 'others' is nothing but a device to delay my suit," Rascard said, angrily rising from his chair. "What objection have you to my marrying Erminie, when I was good enough for your cousin, my wife?"
"I will tell you truthfully," Renato said somewhat abashed. "This feud with Storn has grown from a smoke signal to a forest fire; it displeased me then, but it displeases me far more now. I would no longer willingly marry any kinswoman of mine into
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