KIND
EYES AND A LION`S HEART
CHAPTER
SEVEN
PART
TWO
“Sir Melvin’s
family is an old and honorable one, my lord,” Viola said to her uncle. “I recall his cousin saying that their
great-grandfather came over with the Conqueror.
And if Sir Melvin’s branch is not as well known as his cousin’s, there’s
nothing bad said about them either. You
need not have any fear that your nephew-in-law will cause any disgrace or give
you any concern at all. Surely that is
worth much, Uncle.”
“Indeed, I won’t do anything to
knowingly cause you grief or pain or disgrace,” Melvin declared. “I mean, nothing serious, at any rate. I’m
liable to still be clumsy and say foolish things in company, although I’m sure
my lovely Viola will stop me before I make a complete ass of myself. And even if I do say something stupid, what
harm? It’ll just be Melvin being
Melvin.”
“And Melvin’s much less likely to try
to influence his wife’s family’s affairs than other, more ambitious noblemen,”
Viola noted.
“Indeed I won’t!” Melvin
confirmed. “Politics has no appeal to
me. A nice, quiet life in the country
with Viola is all I want.”
Lord Percival started to stroke his
beard. “I suppose a lack of ambition can be a good thing.”
Encouraged,
Melvin hurried on. “You’ll be welcome to
visit any time, and if you require any assistance with the harvest or such
things, why, naturally any aid I or my servants can provide will be given. Take my steward, for instance... well, no,
don’t take him. I need the fellow
myself. He’s a wonder with the
accounts. Found out I’d been paying too
much to the miller, for one thing. I
could let him take a look at your accounts and see if there’s anything --”
Lord Percival held up his hand.
“That’s quite all right. My steward is
more than competent.” He addressed
Viola. “You really want to wed this
fellow?”
“I do, Uncle, truly.”
Lord Percival turned to his wife. “You favor the match?”
“I do,” she replied with a nod of her
head.
Lord Percival turned away from his
wife and addressed the young couple.
“Very well. You may wed.”
Viola gave a happy cry before she
rushed into Melvin’s open arms.
“What the devil’s going on here?”
They all turned to see Barengar
standing on the threshold, his hands on his hips, both eyes black, his nose as
large and red as an apple.
This work is protected by copyright. See sidebar for notice.
Note: This novella is
PG13. With the exception of GWYNETH ANDTHE THIEF and THE WASTREL, my books are usually steamier.
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