SirenSong (53 page)
Authors: Roberta Gellis
“No?” Raymond asked, staring at Richard.
“No,” William said. “You must know, Raymond that no one here
would try to prevent this marriage if it were welcomed by
your
parents.”
“My lord?” The question was addressed to Richard and it was
a challenge.
The earl chewed his thumb. “I have an idea,” he said and,
when he raised his eyes, to everyone’s surprise they were laughing. “William, I
have you at last in a cleft stick, and I will have my way with you. I will be
happy, and you will be powerful enough, and soon rich enough, to make Alys
quite acceptable. At least, Alphonse will certainly think twice before
refusing. William, you are now, as of this moment, hereditary marshal of the
lands of the Earl of Cornwall. And we can find you a title somewhere too if—”
“Oh no! You can make me mind your clerks and bow and scrape
at court—if that is what I must do to buy my ugly daughter a husband,” William
said, “but you are not going to make me any jumped up lord of this or that. I
am too old. I would never learn to answer to my new name.”
Elizabeth giggled. “I can just see it, the herald calling
‘Baron Bogus of Nowhere,’ and William looking around to see who this new Baron
Bogus is…”
“If I ever came across a more ungrateful set of people!”
Richard exclaimed, as Alys began to giggle also, and Raymond caught her into
his arms and kissed her soundly. “But it will work, I think,” he continued, his
eyes softening as he watched the happy couple embrace.
“I will work, you mean,” William said, but he put out his
hand and clasped Richard’s. “I should have done it years ago. I know I should
have, but…”
“Do not blame yourself. If I had asked, I could have bought
him off and saved you years of grief—it was my fault!”
“It is over,” Elizabeth said. “We are happy now.”
Richard glanced at Alys and Raymond, who had moved away and
were talking eagerly. “Yes, I will make it work. Sancia and Eleanor will talk
Henry around. You will bring Alys to court when you come, William. She will be
set high among the queen’s ladies as the daughter of my marshal, and Alys, if
she likes, can charm the birds off the trees.”
Raymond came back toward them, leading Alys by the hand
again. “If my aunts, Eleanor and Sancia, will write to my mother…”
“Yes,” Richard agreed. “And Henry will write to your father
and grandfather… Yes, and if you talk softly, Raymond, and do not clap your
hand to your sword hilt and roar at your father in public—”
William almost fell off his chair laughing. Alys whooped
aloud. Raymond and Elizabeth choked, trying to be polite.
“What have I said that is so funny?” Richard asked. “It is
very good advice.”
“Yes, indeed,” Elizabeth agreed, “and if everyone would take
it, we may all end like the fairy tales—so they lived happily ever after.”
About the Author
Roberta Gellis was driven to start writing her own books
some forty years ago by the infuriating inaccuracies of the historical fiction
she read. Since then she has worked in varied genres—romance, mystery and
fantasy—but always, even in the fantasies, keeping the historical events as
near to what actually happened as possible. The dedication to historical time
settings is not only a matter of intellectual interest, it is also because she
is so out-of-date herself that accuracy in a contemporary novel would be
impossible.
In the forty-some years she has been writing, Gellis has
produced more than twenty-five straight historical romances. These have been
the recipients of many awards, including the Silver and Gold Medal Porgy for
historical novels from the West Coast Review of Books, the Golden Certificate
from Affaire de Coeur, the Romantic Times Award for Best Novel in the Medieval
Period (several times) and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Historical Fantasy.
Last but not least, Gellis was honored with the Romance Writers of America’s
Lifetime Achievement Award.
The author welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and e-mail address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
Tell Us What You Think
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Also by Roberta Gellis
A Woman’s Estate
Fortune’s Bride
Siren Song
The Cornish Heiress
The English Heiress
The Kent Heiress
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