The Sword and The Swan Read Online Free PDF Page A

even upon a woman one did not care for, she would have had a chance to expatiate on Lady Catherine's perfections.
    For a moment she sat staring at her hands in her lap and fighting her sense of fatigue, and then raised her head, realizing that he had given her a far more important opening. The dower of a woman who died childless reverted, under ordinary circumstances, to her family and Rannulf was too just and too honest to retain a childless wife's dower illegally… but Catherine had no family, none at all. And the king could grant that land freely to Rannulf.
    "Aye, that is just what I wished to speak to you about. Adelecia brought nothing in comparison with the lands of Soke. Wait—I know you have said already that you have need of no more land, but I am sure you wish to keep what is yours in peace and quiet. Bethink yourself, my lord, who among those men who are free to marry would you desire as so close a neighbor?"
    Rannulf continued to stare at the flames in the hearth for a few seconds longer, but finally he turned to look directly at the queen, his broad brows drawn together in a considering frown. Maud studied the face turned to her more carefully, for she wished to be able to describe it in minute detail to the woman who would be—she was determined upon that—his wife.
    There was little enough in it to tempt a beautiful woman except its strength. It was a thin face, fortunately little marred by scarring, with a resolute jaw and a grim mouth. The beaked nose gave a predatory brightness to the clear gray eyes, and, although a full head of tangled curls showed no sign of thinning with age, enough gray was mixed with the brown to deny youth.
    It would not be easy, perhaps, to make that face sound romantically attractive, especially when coupled with Rannulf's deliberately crude manners, but Maud had struggled with more hopeless tasks.
    "I see," Rannulf was saying slowly, "that there are no trusty men of weight available, but surely among the penniless younger sons you might find dozens who would suit your purpose."
    "Perhaps, although of that I am not so sure. Soke was Henry's man. The woman shows no leaning in that direction, but she could hide what she thought would sit ill here. A young man might be easily led . . . she is very, very fair. But more important even than that, would a penniless younger son suit your purpose? We owe you much, Stephen and I, and we spent some thought upon this matter. Would it be to your taste to have a land-hungry pauper wield the lands of Soke?"
    The frown of concentration on Rannulf's face deepened. Maud had no need to make the next point and she let the silence grow, studying her man. To the cast and south of Soke lay the property of the earl of Norfolk. Hugh Bigod was by no means a peaceful man, and he was an open enemy to the king and queen, even while he was no friend to Henry of Anjou.
    Thus far Norfolk and the master of Sleaford had not come to blows, largely because they had a hearty mutual respect for each other but also because there was little chance for provocation between them. In spite of his attachment to the cause of Henry of Anjou, the earl of Soke and his vassals had taken little part in the fighting. In addition, Soke had been an elderly, gentle man, given to religious and scholarly pursuits. His part in the civil war had been to supply money. Therefore, his lands had stood for many years as a buffer between Sleaford and Norfolk.
    If a younger man, a loyal follower of the king, took those lands, it could not be long before conflict would arise. Either the young man would provoke Norfolk by trying to seize a little more land, or Norfolk would see in a younger man's inexperience an opportunity to add part of Soke's property to his own.
    Whichever man started the hostilities, sooner or later it was inevitable that Rannulf should be drawn into the battle. Sooner or later he would be engaged in fighting Norfolk to keep him off that buffer territory, and he would be