Free Revenge of the Rose by Nicole Galland Page B

do see the problem, Your Majesty.” He moved one of his pawns forward a single space.
    Konrad immediately pushed his pawn up, bringing it unprotected to the diagonal of Alphonse’s.
    Instead of taking Konrad’s pawn, Alphonse pushed another pawn forward two spaces, distractedly.
    Konrad smiled. “You have neglected to take my pawn, Uncle. I shall now neglect to take yours.” Instead he moved one of his knights out onto the board.
    “Speaking of pawns, Your Majesty,” Jouglet said airily, “how is your little cloistered bastard?”
    “Quite well, I hear, and of an age to marry this very week,” Konrad said with exaggerated nonchalance, and took from his page’s hand an ebony toothpick. Marcus realized with a silent burst of gratitude that this moment had been rehearsed; this was the actual purpose of the summons.
    “That means she has come into her maternal inheritance, I suppose?” Jouglet obediently recited, neither knowing nor caring what this inheritance actually was. “Which amounts to much more than, say, a mere border county such as, oh, Burgundy, is that not right?”
    “Much more,” Konrad said, as if it had just occurred to him. “And close enough to Rome to be politically…interesting.”
    “Then I suppose you’ll want to marry her to someone you can trust with your very life.”
    “I suppose,” Konrad agreed, picking his teeth with the ebony toothpick. “A pity Marcus is already spoken for,” he said around the toothpick. “He really would be the perfect choice. Your turn, Uncle.”
    “Well, if his current betrothal should fall out— ” Jouglet posited offhandedly.
    The count bristled. “It’s not going to fall out,” he announced and looked up at Marcus accusingly. “Is it?”
    Marcus managed, somehow, to remain expressionless. “Not by my doing, sir. Unless of course His Majesty required that I wed his daughter…before I was actually wed to his cousin.”
    Alphonse eyed the three of them, imagining the laughter and rude gestures that would erupt once he left the room. “You will be wed to his cousin very soon,” he said sullenly, then deliberately turned his shoulder to Marcus, as if he were suddenly not in the same room with him. He slipped into a confiding tone but did not lower his voice. “But, sire, I must tell you once again that it grieves me to see my only child and heir debased from royalty to serfdom. You know that is the only reason I have delayed the match so long.”
    Marcus ground his teeth together and let his master answer for him. “He’s not a serf, Alphonse,” Konrad said evenly, chewing on the toothpick.
    “Technically he is, Your Majesty, and therefore my daughter would become one too.”
    “He is a knight and he is my man. In this Empire there is no higher honor.”
    “As a Burgundian, sire, I must explain to you that I value my freedom and my pedigree above all— “
    “You’re only a Burgundian because your brother the emperor gave you the office of count there,” Konrad corrected sharply. “Until then you always insisted you were German to the marrow.” He sat up much straighter on his cushioned oak chair and glowered at the tall man across from him. “You will never use the word serf in reference to Marcus or any of the Empire’s other appointed ministerials, do you understand me? Do you forget what I am, Alphonse? I’ve given Marcus land— I’ve given him the very land where Charlemagne, and myself, and my blessed father who was your infinite superior, were all crowned emperor.”
    “Actually, sire, that particular site belongs to the church,” Marcus corrected dutifully.
    “ Near the land where we were crowned,” Konrad said with offhand impatience. “I can give him more than that, little count, and I probably will, to suit my needs. Plus he holds one of the most prestigious offices in Christendom. Do you think I would marry my own child to a serf?”
    “A bastard you’ve never met, sire, not your cherished heir,” Alphonse