The Splendid Hour by Kathryn Le Veque
CHAPTER FOUR
“You do not seem to understand, Lady Hereford,” Walter de Quincy said. “Agnes is very fond of Peter and he is very fond of her. Your husband has all but confirmed that.”
Seated at a smaller table below the dais in the very crowded hall of Hollyhock House, Dustin didn’t believe Walter for an instant. She’d only met him on a few occasions, when there were events on the Marches that required a gathering of the allies, so her experience with him wasn’t vast. But it didn’t have to be. Within the first five minutes of the conversation with Walter and his daughter, Dustin could see that the man was a liar and a schemer. For a woman who didn’t take well to liars, schemers, or politicians of any sort, it was a struggle for her not to call the man out and insult him to his face.
Desperately, she was trying to be tactful.
“I am quite certain that my husband has not confirmed Peter’s interest in your daughter nor his fondness of her, my lord,” she said steadily. “In fact, he has sent me on his behalf to speak with you on the matter.”
Walter’s eyebrows lifted as if he were completely surprised by her attitude. “My lady?”
Dustin held up a hand to ask for his silence and attention. “Please, allow me to finish,” she said. “You must understand something about Peter, my lord. He is my husband’s eldest son and his marital prospects are great, but I suppose you already know that or you would not be pushing so hard. Permit me to remind you that the harder you push, the more you risk pushing him away.”
Walter’s expression bordered on insulted. “Push? I am certain I do not know…”
Dustin cut him off. “Stop following him,” she said pointedly, looking between Walter and his plain-faced daughter. “Stop sending spies out to find him. Stop following him everywhere he goes. Stop sending him notes at all hours of the day and night. Two nights ago, he received no less than ten messages between sunset and sunrise and it was most disruptive to my household. Truly, you need not pursue him so hard because it is turning him away from the both of you. Did you not see him earlier, running out of the hall when you tried to capture his attention?”
She was mostly looking at Agnes, whose face had flushed a deep, dull red. The girl could hardly look Dustin in the eyes, instead, looking to her father for support and direction in all of this. It was true that she sent Peter notes constantly, but she didn’t know that was public knowledge.
Walter tried not to appear too chagrinned.
“We only wished to greet him,” Walter said, almost defiantly. “We like Peter a great deal, my lady. Surely you can understand that. And as allies, the House of de Quincy is a staunch supporter of the Earl of Hereford and Worcester. A marriage between our children would cement a great alliance and it is only right that Peter and Agnes come to know one another.”
Dustin could see that they simply weren’t understanding her. Or, more than likely, they were, but refused to capitulate. What had started out as a polite conversation was becoming increasingly tense. Like a dog with a bone, Walter wasn’t going to give up something he clearly considered his due with Peter de Lohr.
She was going to have to be brutally honest.
“Peter has many more opportunities that can make a much more advantageous marriage than your daughter, my lord,” she said, all of the politeness out of her manner. “May I be frank? You behave as if your daughter is the only eligible woman in England and that Peter, and the de Lohrs, somehow owe you something, but that is not the case. Not in the least. Continue to push and behave boorishly, and I promise you that Agnes will not marry Peter. But if you behave as if we are doing you the honor of considering your daughter, I shall say no more about it. It is your choice. However, know this – continue on this path and dear Agnes will have to marry the next fine young man who comes along. Am I making myself clear?”
The Countess of Hereford and Worcester was nothing to be trifled with. Neither Walter nor Agnes liked being spoken to in such a manner, but there was nothing they could do about it. At least, nothing at the moment. Therefore, they had no choice but to agree.
“You are clear, my lady,” Walter said, his manner strained as he struggled to remain polite. “You will forgive our eagerness. Peter is a fine young knight and we merely want him to understand our regard for him.”
Dustin wasn’t falling for the false apology. She simply nodded her head and stood up. “There will be more opportunity for Peter and Agnes to speak, but on our good graces,” she said, smiling thinly at the pair. “Heed my words, de Quincy, and back away. Now, enjoy your evening as I rejoin my husband.”
Walter politely bid her a farewell, watching her until she was out of earshot. Then, he turned to his daughter.
“The base-born bitch,” he muttered. “She cannot speak to me in such a manner. She’ll be very sorry for that.”
Agnes took a gulp of her wine. She was quite fond of her drink, brought on by a painful lack of self-confidence and an overbearing father. “I told you not to follow him,” she hissed. “You sent your men out all over the city to follow him. Did you think he would not know that?”
Walter sneered at her. “I will do what I have to do in order to keep Peter de Lohr close to you,” he said. “You’re not a beautiful girl, Agnes. Were you prettier, I would not have to go to the great lengths I must go to in order to secure you a husband, so do not blame this on me. This is all your fault.”
Agnes looked at her father in horror, tears welling in her eyes. “That is a terrible thing to say to me!”
“It is true, God forgive me.” Walter listened to her break down into quiet tears, feeling the least bit guilty he’d been so hard on her. The daughter he never wanted, but the child he was stuck with. “Quiet, Agnes. I did not mean it, really. It’s simply that Peter does have greater prospects than you, so we must give you an advantage that the others do not have. I could lavish Peter with gifts, of course. I have been thinking about that. Mayhap a fine steed in your name? A fine cloak or dagger?”
Agnes wiped at her nose. “All men like fine horses,” she said. “They have the horse market here on Saturdays. Mayhap we should select one and have it delivered to Lonsdale?”
Walter sighed heavily, his gaze moving over to the de Lohr clan on the other side of the hall. “We shall have to,” he said. “I am not going to let Peter get away from you, Agnes. We will have to do everything within our power to see that he does not.”
Agnes simply nodded. She wanted Peter badly, but her father wanted him more. The man had never forgiven Agnes for being born female. He always viewed marriage as his opportunity to welcome a son to the family.
A de Lohr son.
Things were about to get interesting.
