"You heard me. I have need of a lady whom I can claim as my own."
"But—"
"Temporarily."
"Well, you cannot claim me, sir. Find yourself another lady. I'm certain that there are any number of them scattered about the countryside."
Ah, but none such as yourself, Hugh thought. I doubt if there is another female such as you in all of Christendom. "But you are so very convenient, Lady Alice."
She bristled very nicely with outrage. "I am no man's convenience, sir. Pray, inquire of my uncle just how convenient I am. I believe that he will disabuse you of that notion. He finds me a great trial."
"No doubt because you have deliberately set out to make yourself one. I am hoping, however, that you and I can do business together as colleagues rather than as adversaries."
"Colleagues," she repeated cautiously.
"Associates," he clarified helpfully.
"Associates."
"Aye, business associates, just as you, yourself, suggested last night when you declared that you wished to strike a bargain with me."
"This was not quite what I had in mind. Mayhap you had best explain precisely what you mean, my lord."
"Mayhap I should do just that." Hugh paused beside a complicated instrument composed of a set of circular brass plates and a siting rule. "Where did you obtain this very beautiful astrolabe? I have not seen the like since I was in Italy."
She scowled. "My father sent it to me. He found it at a London shop a few years ago. You are familiar with such instruments?"
Hugh bent closer to the astrolabe. "It is true that I have made my living with my sword, lady, but it would be a mistake to assume that I am a complete fool." Experimentally he moved the siting rule that angled across the metal plates, shifting the position of the stars in relation to the Earth. "Those who have made that error in the past have generally paid a price."
Alice jumped to her feet and hurried around the edge of the desk. " 'Tis not that I thought you a fool, sir. Quite the opposite." She halted beside the astrolabe, frowning at it. "The thing is, I have been unable to determine the proper workings of this device and I know of no one who has any knowledge of astronomy. Could you teach me how to use it?"
Hugh straightened and looked at her intent face. "Aye. If we seal our bargain today, I shall undertake to teach you the proper use of the astrolabe."
Her eyes lit with a degree of enthusiasm that could have been mistaken for passion in another woman. She blushed. "That is most gracious of you, my lord. I discovered a book in the small library of the local convent that describes the device but there were no instructions for its use. I vow, it has been most frustrating."
"You may consider the instruction a betrothal gift."
The glow faded quickly from her huge eyes. It was promptly replaced by renewed wariness. "About this betrothal, my lord. As I said, I would have you explain yourself."
"Very well." Hugh wandered over to a table holding a large array of stones and crystals. He picked up a chunk of reddish stone and examined it. "I regret to say that I find myself the victim of a most annoying curse, lady."
"That is no doubt your own fault, my lord," she said crisply.
He glanced up from the stone, surprised by the asperity of her tone. "My fault?"
"Aye. My mother always said that diseases of that sort came from frequenting brothels, sir. You will no doubt be obliged to take a dose of theriac and have yourself bled. Mayhap you should undergo a good purge while you're at it. In my opinion, 'tis nothing more than you deserve if you have been hanging about such places."
Hugh cleared his throat. "You are an expert in these matters?"
"My mother was very skilled with herbs. She taught me a great many things concerning their uses in adjusting the balance of the bodily humors." Alice glowered at him. "However, she always said that it was infinitely wiser to avoid certain ailments in the first place rather than to attempt a cure after the damage has been done."
"I do not disagree with that principle." Hugh looked at her. "What happened to your mother?"
A shadow flickered across Alice's face. "She died three years ago."
"My condolences."
Alice heaved a small sigh. "She had just received a shipment of strange and unusual herbs. She was very eager to conduct experiments with them."
"Experiments?"
"Aye, she was forever concocting potions. In any event, she mixed some of the new herbs in a recipe she had recently discovered. It was supposed to be good for treating those who suffered from serious pains of the stomach and bowel. She accidentally drank too much of the concoction. It killed her."
A cold feeling seized Hugh's gut. "Your mother took poison?"
"It was an accident," Alice said hastily, obviously alarmed at his conclusion. "I told you, she was performing an experiment at the time."
"She experimented upon herself?" he asked, incredulous.
"She frequently tried new medicines on herself before she gave them to the sick."
"My own mother died in much the same manner," Hugh heard himself say before he stopped to consider the wisdom of imparting such a confidence. "She drank poison."
Alice's lovely eyes filled with quiet sympathy. "I am very sorry, my lord. Was your mother a student of strange herbs and such?"
"Nay." Hugh tossed aside the reddish stone, angry at his lack of discretion. He never discussed his mother's suicide or the fact that she had deliberately administered the lethal poison to his father before drinking it herself. " 'Tis a long story that I do not care to repeat."
"Aye, my lord. Such matters can be very painful."
Her sympathy irritated him. He was unaccustomed to such sentiment and he had no wish to encourage it. Sympathy implied weakness. "You misunderstood me, lady. When I said that I was the victim of a curse, I was not referring to an illness of the body."
She gave him a quizzical look. "Surely you do not mean a magical curse?"
"Aye."
"But that is utter nonsense," Alice scoffed. "By the Saints, I have no patience with those who believe in magic and curses."
"Nor do I."
Alice seemed not to have heard him. She was already setting sail on a new course. "Mark me, I am well aware that it is quite the thing for learned men to travel to Toledo these days in search of ancient secrets of magic, but I'm certain that they waste their time. There is no such thing as magic."
"I happen to agree with you about the foolishness of magic," Hugh said. "But I am a practical man."
"So?"
"So, in this instance I have concluded that the quickest way to achieve my own ends is to comply with the requirements of an old legend, which is, in part, a curse."
"A legend?"
"Aye." Hugh picked up a bit of clouded pink crystal and held it up to the light. "The good people of Scarcliffe have endured a variety of masters during recent years. None of them have endeared themselves to the local folk. And none of them have lasted long."
"You intend to be the exception, I take it?"
"Aye, lady." Hugh set the pink crystal down, leaned back against the table, and rested one hand on the hilt of his sword. "Scarcliffe is mine and I will hold fast to it while there is breath in my body."
She searched his face. "I do not doubt your intention, my lord. What, exactly, are the stipulations of this legend?"
" 'Tis said that the true lord of Scarcliffe must accomplish two things. First, he must guard the last remaining stone of an ancient treasure. Second, he must discover the location of the rest of the Stones of Scarcliffe."
Alice blinked. "The green crystal is truly valuable then?"
Hugh shrugged. "It is in the eyes of my people. They believe that it is part of what was once a large collection of priceless gems. All but the green stone disappeared a long time ago. The local convent has had the care of the crystal in recent years. But it disappeared a fortnight ago."