Stein learns his part
“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Selwyn cooed.
“Oh, God,” Stein moaned. “Who let that light in here?”
“Come on, boy. It’s tomorrow already.”
“Oh, God! It’s burning my eyes!”
“I don’t care about your eyes,” Selwyn said, which he immediately demonstrated by lighting the candle at Stein’s bedside. “Get up. There’s a lady here to see you.”
“A lady?” Stein whimpered. “What in thunder did I do last night? Wait—what are you doing here? Was I with you?”
“No. You were already in bed when we got in. I came here with the Prince. We were out so late and got so cockeyed, we didn’t dare return to the castle and have his stepmother find out we were out on a spree during Advent. Come on, get up.”
“Not now…”
“Yes, now,” Selwyn said, “or Caedwulf is bound to steal her away. I don’t know what you’re moaning about. I’m certain we drank more than you.”
“I doubt that. You simply drank it more slowly.”
“Proving our wisdom. Come on! Get dressed.”
“But who is it?” Stein whined.
“Sophie.”
“Sophie! Oh, God! Caedwulf can have her!”
“I heard that!” a feminine voice called out from the hall.
Selwyn laughed gleefully. “You’re in for it now! Come on, boy.”
Stein groaned some more, but he got up and got dressed. He did like Sophie, though she was best enjoyed in small doses, and preferably when one was not incapacitated by the after-effects of large doses of wine.
He followed Selwyn out into the hall, staggering a little as his head and his stomach reeled in opposite directions, but he found the courage to smile at Sophie.
“Good morning, Soph. I didn’t shave, so you’ll have to either forgive me or wait some more.”
“It’s no matter,” Sophie said. “I changed my mind about kissing you after that last remark. I believe I shall kiss this little boy here,” she said of the Prince, “and he doesn’t have so much as the fuzz of a baby mouse on his chin.”
“Oh! That’s not so!” Caedwulf protested.
“So, in that case I shan’t kiss you at all. Get up and let Stein sit here now. Your Highness,” she added with a smirk.
“My lady,” he said sarcastically. He bowed before jerking another chair up to the fire.
“What can I do for you, Soph?” Stein asked as he sat on the bench beside her.
“You can tell me what are your plans.”
“I had planned to stay in bed until noon.”
“Not for the day, niddy-noddy! I mean for your future. It’s about time you made up your mind and told me whether you mean to stay here or go home to Norway.”
Stein was taken aback. “Pardon me, but I didn’t know I owed a decision to you!”
Sophie dismissed that protest with a wave of her wand.
“You must hurry and make up your mind,” she said. “You know that the King is hungry for knights, and you would make a fine one, if you ask old Sophie. So, what would it take to convince you to stay here?”
“God, Soph! I’m only half awake, and I have a hangover that’s making me regret everything I don’t remember doing last night. And you want me to decide the rest of my life right here?”
“You have to hurry, I tell you. Tell me what would make you stay. A fine wife, say?”
Stein grinned. “It might, but you are already married, my dear.”
“You darling!”
Sophie clasped her hands and played the blushing maiden for a moment. Only a moment, though, and she was back to being Sophie.
“However, I have a better one in mind,” she said briskly. “Would you stay if you could have Ana of Thorhold?”
Caedwulf whistled. “I would!”
“You have to stay in this valley anyway, my boy,” Sophie said. “You’re the King’s heir. Anyway, you’re too little for a woman like Ana.”
“I am not! She’s only seventeen!”
“Perhaps so, but she can’t wait for you to grow up. Listen, Stein. She needs to find a better husband than a mere younger brother of Lord Windhlith, and I think you’re the man.”
“But I’m only a younger brother myself,” Stein protested. “Not even the younger brother of a lord. My brother only has three ships.”
“I know that, but if you stay here, no one will care who your brother is. You will be a king’s knight, and this man is only a lord’s knight. And you are a Norseman, and that could be important if Whitehand conquers the valley.”
“He shall not!” Caedwulf cried.
“Yes, yes,” Sophie agreed, dismissing him with another wave. “Now, listen, Stein. Ana is seventeen already, and this man is twenty-four. So she could be married at any time. And meanwhile Lili is trying to get her to marry her poky old steward. He’s handsomer than you, but he’s not nearly as much fun, and he’s at least thirty. Also, he is only a steward and not a knight. So I think you could easily win.”
Stein tried to laugh, but it was a cruelty to his queasy stomach. “Thank you, but I would really rather just go back to bed.”
“Stein! You have to help us. If Ana marries this other man, she may never see her sister again. He lives two days from Thorhold, and there’s nearly two days between Baldwin’s castle and Thorhold, so you see, it’s not likely to happen once she starts having babies.”
“That’s a lot to ask of a man, Soph. You want me to marry a girl so she can see her sister sometimes?”
“I know, but look what’s in it for you, Stein: Ana!”
“That’s true…” Stein admitted.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never thought of Ana before.”
“What man hasn’t?” Selwyn asked with a dreamy smile.
“When you grow up into a man,” Sophie snapped, “you may begin speaking for all men. Now, if you two children will not be quiet and let us adults discuss these important matters, I shall call for the nurse.”
“I hate you, Sophie,” Selwyn said.
“That’s all right, as I don’t like babies very much, either. Well, Stein?”
“What does Ana think of all of this?” Stein asked her. “And her uncle, for that matter?”
“I don’t know, but I must say that when I proposed Eadwyn, Ana objected, and when Lili proposed her steward, I objected. The only unobjectionable man is you. So long as you don’t go back to Norway, of course.”
“Ana didn’t turn up her nose at me?”
“No! She thinks you’re cute anyway, even if you are as white as a pailful of snow.”
“She does?”
“I’m certain she does. I believe I am old enough to speak for all women.”
“Why, thank you, Sophie.”
“So, this is your chance. She’s staying with her sister now, but she’s planning to stay a while with Lili at Nothelm, and then she’s coming to stay a while with me. And the Baron’s little son is turning seven at the beginning of the year, and he’s coming to the castle as a page, so the whole family will be here for that. You will never have a better chance, especially since I would wager her uncle will marry her this summer, when she turns eighteen.”
“Well…”
Sophie gave his knee a conclusive pat. “Get yourself invited to Nothelm. That’s your first step. Lili is supposed to be arriving there today with her steward in tow. So you had better be there to head him off when Ana arrives. Do you hear? Consider it a favor to me, if that’s what it takes.”
“And what will you give me if I do you this favor?” Stein asked.
“God’s mercy! You’ll have Ana! You’ll even have her dowry, plus what was supposed to be her sister’s. And since her father and mother had no other heirs, she’s a wealthy girl. What more do you want?”
“Hmm.… a kiss from Sophie, perhaps?”
“Oh, no!” Sophie laughed. “You didn’t shave! And even if you had… I would have to think about it.”
