Now, Sean was coming to understand why Kevin said he was in trouble.
Aye… he understood completely.
They took their seats around the table as Juliandra had more food brought forth. She made sure every guest had exactly what he needed. Sean found himself watching her with great interest because observing people was his business. His good judgment of a man’s character is what had kept him alive during his years with John, so he watched the small things with Juliandra – mostly, how she dealt with English servants. She was polite but firm, and surprisingly respectful.
To him, that said a good deal about the woman and her character. He didn’t sense any airs about her. When the flurry of their arrival faded and the men settled down to the refreshments provided, Sean made a point of speaking to her.
“My brother tells me that your father is a merchant, my lady,” he said.
Juliandra looked up from pouring more pear cider into Bannon’s cup. “He is, my lord,” she said. “He and his father before him.”
“How did your grandfather come by such a profession?”
Juliandra set the pitcher down. “My grandfather was very pious even if my father is not,” she said. “He thought he might become a priest, but when the church announced the second crusade to Anatolia, he thought he should fight for the church instead. He spent three years with the Saxon armies but, in the end, he realized he was not a warrior. He did, however, have an eye for fine things and brought many exotic items back to Pool, where his family lived. And that is how he began as a merchant.”
Sean nodded. “The fields of battle are not for every man,” he said. “I was with Richard in Acre, as were many of my friends and colleagues, and I can say for certain that there is nothing more difficult. It takes a man with a strong stomach.”
Juliandra was interested. “You went to The Levant?”
“I did,” he said. He gestured to Alexander. “So did Sherry.”
Alexander, his mouth full of buttered bread, nodded. “The hardships were many, the rewards few.”
Juliandra realized she was in the presence of two of Richard’s Crusaders. “I’ve never met anyone who went to The Levant with Richard,” she said. “Were the armies of Saladin so great and terrible? I have heard the men were animals, an abomination to God.”
Sean shook his head. “They were men, like us,” he said. “But Salah ah-din was not the barbarian the church would have you believe. He was a great general, in fact.”
He said the Muslim commander’s name the way the Arabs pronounced it, with the inflection of their language. Juliandra cocked her head curiously.
“Great?”
“Richard did not win the war, did he?”
Juliandra blinked at the blunt statement. “I suppose not,” she said. “You must forgive my foolish questions. I have heard men speak on Richard’s quest and they have spoken of the greatness of the Christian armies. That is all I have ever heard.”
Sean had no great opinion of his time in The Levant. No one he knew who had been there did. It had all been a great waste of life as far as he was concerned, though he emerged from it with lifelong friends and an appreciation of honorable men. He realized that people who had not been in the midst of the hellish event had no concept of just how terrible it had been, for everyone.
“I know,” he said. “But take it from someone who was there – it was not a glorious quest. It was an expensive lesson in futility. But let us speak of something more pleasant – tell me of your lineage. Where did your family come from?”
“North, near Anglesey,” she said. “My grandfather settled near Pool because my grandmother was from the village.”
“I see,” Sean said, simply making polite conversation. “Then you have lived here your entire life.”
“I have, my lord.”
Sean took a drink of the potent cider and nearly choked when he realized just how strong it was. “You set a fine table, my lady,” he said, his voice a little strained as he tried not to cough. “Thank you for assisting my brother as you have. It has meant a great deal to him.”
Kevin took his eyes off of Juliandra long enough to look at his brother with some horror. He thought it sounded as if Sean were telling Juliandra that she meant a great deal to him in general and Sean caught his expression. He hastened to clarify.
“What I mean to say is that the Welsh aren’t exactly welcoming to the English,” he said. “You have been an exception to that rule and we are grateful.”
Juliandra seemed uncertain about his praise, perhaps wondering if the man knew why she was really here. She didn’t want to explain the origins of her presence because she thought that might upset Kevin and she didn’t want to do anything to upset him.
Just the opposite, in fact.
She was trying her best to impress him, to make him happy, and to charm his visitors. It was the first time she had seen him since fainting in his arms the night before when he’d killed a man who had molested her. When she’d awoken this morning, her last memories hadn’t been of a smelly man grabbing her and Kevin snapping the man’s neck.
They had been, in fact, of Kevin himself.
Her white and shining knight.
The fact that he’d killed a man wasn’t an issue to her. He’d killed not because of her, but for her. He’d killed a man who had taken liberties and he’d done it to protect her. She knew that.
It had been a most monumental night.
The entire evening had been something to remember, memories and reflections that she would take with her for the rest of her life. It had all started with the meal, something so simple, yet something so profound. It hadn’t been the food itself that had been memorable, or even the minstrels that had played such beautiful music. The most memorable part of all had been the conversation between her and Kevin because they had discussed so many things, coming to know one another, and one of the most prevalent topics of that conversation had been that of marriage.
To be perfectly honest, Juliandra wasn’t certain that Kevin hadn’t actually proposed to her last night. He had spoken of marriage, he had even spoken of a marriage between them, and she was more than happy to entertain the idea. Thoughts of her father’s reluctance to such a union had fallen by the wayside as she was happily caught up in the fantasy marriage between her and the English knight.
It had all seemed so natural.
Natural in the sense that she was quite willing to agree to it because she could envision herself as Kevin’s wife, attending to his needs, bearing his children, and being a helpmate and a partner. In spite of the fact that she was virtually a hostage at Wybren, she really didn’t feel like that.
The more time passed, the more she felt like she belonged here, and greeting Kevin’s brother and guests today had seemed completely normal and natural. She realized that it was something she very much wanted to continue doing, and the thought of somebody else being at Kevin’s side as his wife and companion made her feel sad and disappointed. The more she thought on it, the more she realized that another woman at Kevin’s side would drive her towards the edge of despondency. She was happy now, as happy as she’d ever been.
She wasn’t going to let her father take that away from her.