Free Serpent by Kathryn Le Veque Page B

alcohol.
    Bhrodi took a seat across from William where he could better see the man. Ivor and Gwyllim sat on either side of him, and he was eventually joined by Ianto and Yestin as more food was set upon the table . William and his knights didn’t touch the food until his host did, an example of good English manners, but once Bhrodi reached for a knuckle of beef, it was as if the dam had burst and many English hands were reaching for the presented fare.
    In the wake of the feeding frenzy, mutton was torn apart and all that remained of the beef was a few scraps. There was quite a bit of fish on the table, or at least they thought so, until the English discovered it was eel and they passed on it. No one particularly liked it. There were also bowls of beans and fat green peas, and great loaves of cream-colored bread.
    It was a surprisingly lavish feast, but not completely unexpected considering Bhrodi’s station. The man had access to much and a fortune behind the de Shera name. As the English and Welsh ate silently, eyeing each other across the big table, Bhrodi finally broke the silence.
    “ I would assume by your presence, my lord, that you have brought me my bride,” he said, mouth full of beef. “Tell me who you have selected for this auspicious position.”
    More arrogance. William heard Paris grunt unhappily beside him and he elbowed the man to keep him silent.
    “I have only three daughters, two of which are already married to fine knights,” he said. “Therefore, I have pledged my youngest daughter as your bride.”
    Bhrodi didn’t seemed pleased by the statement; in fact, he appeared suspicious. “Youngest?” he repeated. “ How young?”
    “Penelope has seen twenty years of age.”
    Bhrodi’s eyebrows lifted in disbelief. “ Twenty years of age?” he repeated, nearly outraged. “She is not young in the least; she is an old maid at that age. Why is she so old? Could you not find her a suitable husband before now?  I will take no cast-offs, de Wolfe.”
    William gazed at the man a moment before setting his cup of nearly-finished wine down and rising to his feet. When he stood up, his entire stable of knights stood up with him and when he spoke, it was with the greatest restraint . The man had finally reached his limit; words were about to be exchanged, and not pleasant ones.
    “I came to Wales with the greatest of intentions of securing a peace between your loyalists and mine,” he said through clenched teeth. “I came to Rhydilian with the respect for your station that your bloodlines warranted, but what I found when I got here was a man of such conceit that he vomits it out of every pore of his body, forcing the rest of us to choke on it . Tell your men to remove their hands from the hilts of their weapons or I will tell my men to charge and we will have a bloodbath. Are we clear? Thank you. As I was saying, I came here with purely noble intentions but I draw the line at you insulting my daughter. Let me make this very clear so there is no mistake; it is you who are unworthy of her and unless something drastic changes my mind, I will return to England on the morrow and take her with me. I would rather see her a spinster or a nun than marry a lord so arrogant that he truly believes all of Wales and England is at his beck and call. You have much to learn about graciousness and tact, de Shera, but it would be beneath me to teach it to you. And with that, I will thank you for the meal, and for your assistance earlier, and bid you a good eve.”
    William swept from the table with his knights in tow, each one of them eyeing Bhrodi and his men as they followed their liege from the hall. They were hostile glares and perhaps gloating ones. De Wolfe had said everything they wanted to say but were in no position to say it . The victory, for the evening, had gone to the English, and everyone knew it.
    Bhrodi’s men were not so accepting of it, however; Bhrodi practically had to sit on Ivor to keep him quiet