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am not a harsh man, lady, and so I will give you a week or two that you may get to know me. Then Father Bernard will marry us and return to my liege lord with thenews we have fulfilled his desires. Do you understand me, Belle?”
    “ You hit me! ” she said in a fierce voice.
    “It is not my custom to strike women,” he answered, not for one moment betraying the fact that he was indeed ashamed she had driven him to such action. Not that he had been wrong to chastise her for her behavior; it was his right. Both the Church and the law gave him total jurisdiction over the girl. His grandfather, Cedric Merlin-sone, however, had always said that when a man resorted to violence with either a woman or an animal, he had lost the battle.
    She glared up at him. “I should sooner end my days in a cloister than marry you, you Saxon !”
    “Sadly, lady, the choice is neither yours nor mine to make,” Hugh answered her. Then releasing her, he said to Alette, “Take your daughter to her chamber, madame, and remain with her until she is calm again. Then return to me, and we will talk.”
    “I hate you! I will never marry you!” Isabelle spat out as her mother tugged at her sleeve, pulling her from the Great Hall.
    “Good night, hellion. God give you sweet repose,” the new lord of Langston answered her.
    “Whew!” Rolf de Briard said as the two women disappeared through a door. “Forgive me, Hugh, but what a termagant! Send Father Bernard back to the king to tell him. Better the girl go to the convent than you be saddled with her for all your days. Surely the king has among his wards some sweet maid who would make you a far better wife.”
    “While I hesitate to encumber some unsuspecting religious order with such a vixen,” the priest said thoughtfully, “I am inclined to agree with Sir Rolf. I wonder if the girl is not mad.”
    Hugh Fauconier shook his head. “Let us give her a little time to become used to all the changes that have been set before her. I do not want to reject her out of hand if there is a chance I maywin her friendship. Remember, Isabelle has sustained a great shock. Her father is dead. She has been presented with that news, along with a complete stranger to marry. She is afraid, I think, though she would deny it vehemently, believing fear a shameful thing.”
    “You have too kind a heart,” Rolf sighed. “The girl is simply a bad-tempered shrew.”
    “ They call her Belle from Hell ,” came the darkly whispered comment. “The Langston folk are mortally afeared of her, lord.”
    The three men turned to look at old Eldon. Then Rolf burst out laughing. Even Father Bernard allowed himself a small chuckle.
    “I shall call her ma Belle douce ,” Hugh said with a twinkle in his blue eyes. “When I am training a particularly difficult falcon or hawk, one that bites without provocation, I win it over with soft words, little treats, and a firm hand, until it learns to trust me. I shall manage the hellion in the same manner, until she becomes a soft-spoken angel, glad of heart and happy to do my bidding.”
    “I think you a madman,” Rolf declared. “The Blessed Mother herself could not tame that girl. If the wench were mine, I should school her with a dog whip until she either did my bidding or I killed her.” He thought a moment. “Or she killed me,” he amended.
    Now it was Hugh who smiled, and when he did, his whole face lit up. He was a plain man, rather than a handsome one. Tall, and big of bone, he had a long face, a long nose not unlike the beaks of the birds he was famed for training, and a long, big mouth. His eyes were among his best features, round in shape and a clear light blue. His smile was broad, showing his white, white teeth. His whole demeanor was serious, almost severe, until he smiled, and when he did, the smile extended all the way to his eyes, and his teeth flashed. Unlike many men, he did not shave the back of his head. His dark blond hair was straight and cropped moderately