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occasion.  What about my brother? If we don t unite, he stands to inherit all of my father s lands  
 If we don t unite, there won t be any lands to inherit  the Romans will occupy them all.
Point taken. Brietta didn t like being wrong.  Thenwhat would he do?
Having already anticipated this question, Tredan answered unhesitatingly,  He would be my first
sword  the hand of my law.
Brietta was impressed with this. That position would be wonderful for Dirce. But then another
thought struck her.  Would I be able to continue my training with my grandfather? Cedric was going to
be another consideration in all of this, but he would have to be dealt with later.
Tredan s jaw tightened. He had never much liked the idea of a woman training as a warrior,
despite the fact that he d seen Brietta in action and knew that she could largely take care of herself. His
first impulse was to protect her, which is one of the reasons he d voted against her when the rebels
proposed that she become their leader.
 I will consider it, he said, not wanting to make a precedent of giving in to her too easily in their
marriage. There would be no doubt in anyone s mind as to who was in charge within their relationship,
and it wasn t going to be her under any circumstances.
Brietta also knew that he was right  that if she defied her father and declined to marry Tredan,
then she would be expected to leave Camlin s lands immediately  daughter or not. She had nowhere else
to go and no money.
Her intellect was telling her to acquiesce gracefully and do her best to put up with the big oaf that
was looking at her all too eagerly. He wasn t too bad looking, really  very broad in the chest and tall, and
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his teeth looked almost as healthy as hers, which was highly unusual. No trips to the smithy for her, yet.
He had a full head of hair that fell in loose blonde-brown curls down to his shoulders, and if he was going
to lose his hair that would have already started. Brietta frowned. She was beginning to think like that
insipid Ellette.
More importantly, he could fight. She d seen him both in training  although he d completely
ignored her  and in battle, and he was magnificent. Her mouth quirked. She should get him to train her
instead of Grandfather.
She stuck out her hand, and Tredan looked at it disdainfully for a moment.  As long as you will
allow me to continue training, then I suppose I will marry you.
A sharp retort was stuck in his throat. He d certainly heard more eloquent acceptances. But the
main thing was that she had agreed. She would be in his bed tonight, like it or not, and he would do his
best to make sure she more than liked it.
Tredan shook her hand solemnly, then tucked it into his elbow to steer her back towards the hall.
But Brietta stopped him in his tracks, pulling on his arm. Her eyes were downcast, her face pale when
she said in a soft, defeated voice,  There s something I must tell you, though, that may change your mind
about wanting to marry me.
He reckoned he knew what she was going to say, but stayed quiet. It was obviously very hard for her to
tell him, and he didn t want to make it even harder.  I m ruined. I m no longer pure. That Roman  
Tredan cut her off with a callused finger over her lips.  Enough. Despite what you might think,
plenty of brides go to their marriage beds having known a man before. And what he did to you is not
what happens between a husband and wife. I will show you that myself.
 But  
He drew her close, being very careful when he wrapped his arms around her not to hurt her back.
 No. I know he raped you. That s his wrong, not yours.
She wanted to believe that herself, but certainly never expected to hear him agree with it. Her
father and grandfather no doubt considered her damaged goods, although what happened to her was no
fault of her own.
 Now, let s go settle our parents stomachs and tell them that we ve agreed to being wed tonight.
I m sure there s all sorts of preparations that need to be made beforehand.
He took care of everything  the announcement and getting most things arranged. Brietta
decided that, in this situation, she liked the way he took charge. Even her father and grandfather deferred
to him, after all, he would eventually be the ultimate ruler.
Brietta found herself bustled up to her room and put into what had been her mother s wedding
finery  a soft, chemise of soft blue and gold, with a matching gold chain belt from which a good sized
ruby hung at the end. Ula put jeweled bobs on her ears, and a fine net veil on her head, held in place by a
gold flowered circlet.  You re beautiful.
 I am not, she protested, blushing.
Ula wasn t going to have any of that. She took the young girl s chin in her fingers, saying firmly,
 Yes, you are. And Tredan sees that. I think he ll be a very good match for you, if you ll let him.
Her last words rang in Brietta s ears as she was escorted down to the hall. Mere minutes later,
she had pledged her troth to Tredan of Kilth, and the revelry began.
Brietta, however, did not join in the celebrations as heartily as she might have. She stayed to
herself as much as possible, receiving everyone s congratulations as graciously as she could. Even her
grandfather gave her a hug with tears in his eyes, saying as he left her,  It was the only thing you could do.
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That would be as close to an endorsement of her marriage as she would ever get from that old
man. Despite his age and rickety old bones, he wasn t the least addled. He, too, knew which way the
wind was blowing. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]