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true no more. Now that I have Pelinom, things will change. This place will change. It is now a military garrison.”
    She shook her head, deeply puzzled. “But why? Why must it be so?”
    “Because it is mine.”
    She still did not completely understand, biting her lip as she thought on her words. “But the women in the chapel, my lord. Why must you kill them? Would it not be better to release them to the keep and allow them to resume their normal duties? They are not a threat.”
    “Any conquered people are a threat.”
    “Then you consider me a threat as well?”
    He lifted a dark eyebrow. “You most of all.”
    “But why? I will not lift a weapon. I could not kill you.”
    He pondered his reply; in fact, he could hardly believe he was even speaking to her of such things. She was the enemy, someone he should hardly be giving his time and attention to.  But he was doing so nonetheless.  After a moment, he averted his gaze and moved towards the hearth where a large sling-back chair sat, cold and unused.  He planted his massive body in it, listening to the wood groan.
    “What do you know about me, Lady Kellington?” he asked.
    She blinked at the question. “I… I know that you are Ajax de Velt and that you are now commander of Pelinom Castle.”
    He shook his head slowly. “Nay,” he said quietly. “What do you know about me?”
    She realized what he meant; what had she heard? What had she been told? Kellington lowered her gaze and went to her bed, sitting primly on the edge.  Strange how the man didn’t intimidate her as much now as he had only hours ago; she wasn’t exactly comfortable with him, but she wasn’t exactly terrified, either. She folded her cold hands in her lap.
    “I know that you are called The Dark Lord,” she said softly. “I have heard tale that you are a greatly feared man.”
    He snorted, resting his chin in his hand. His two-colored eyes were riveted to her. “Feared indeed,” he rumbled. “Have you heard that Baron de Vesci of Northumberland fears me so much that he provided me with my own castle and lands just so I would stay away from his holdings? And did you also hear that Henry is so wary of me that he pays me a regular stipend every year in the amount of five hundred gold crowns just so I will not pillage and loot his properties?”
    Kellington was astonished. “The king pays you?”
    Jax nodded disinterestedly, his gaze wandering to the hearth and for some unknown reason, rising to light it.  Perhaps it was because he had seen the lady shiver.  It didn’t even occur to him that that was the reason until several seconds later.
    “I was not born to title or money,” he said as he set out the kindling. “I must take what I want. And I want a good deal.”
    She watched him expertly lay out the kindling and the peat. “But…,” she fumbled for her words. “But you already have a castle and lands.  And the king pays you a salary to leave him alone.”
    Jax nodded as he struck the flint and blew on the sparks. “Actually, I have several castles,” he said casually, watching the fire flare. “I have six along the Welsh Marches. I control everything between Welshpool and Brecon.  Even the Marcher lords pay tribute to me so that I will not burn down their castles and steal their lands. And the Welsh are too weak and unorganized to oppose me, so their lands have become mine.”
    She listened to him speak so nonchalantly about such serious matters, her astonishment turning to outrage.   The man was a monster and either didn’t care or didn’t realize it. She suspected it was the former.
    “Why do you tell me these things?” she asked, her tone bordering on cold.
    He looked at her then, sweeping his shoulder-length hair out of his eyes. “I tell you so that you will understand that I am no one to be trifled with,” he stood up, focused on her lovely face. “You are horribly ignorant. I am educating you.”
    “I never believed you were someone to be trifled