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best. When she was satisfied that Benedict was safely on his way in life, she would fulfill her own dreams. She would enter a convent, one that possessed a fine library. There she would devote herself to the study of natural philosophy.
    Only a few days ago both of her objectives had seemed out of reach. But the arrival of Hugh the Relentless had opened a new door. Alice was determined to seize the opportunity.
    “Do not alarm yourself, Benedict,” she said briskly. “I have every confidence that Sir Hugh will prove to be a reasonable man.”
    “Reasonable?” Benedict waved his free hand wildly. “Alice, he’s a legend. Legends are never reasonable.”
    “Come now, you cannot know that. He seemed perfectly amenable to rational discourse last night.”
    “Last night he toyed with you. Alice, listen to me, Erasmus of Thornewood is Sir Hugh’s liege lord. Do you know what that means?”
    Alice picked up her quill and tapped the tip thoughtfully against her pursed lips. “I have heard of Erasmus. He is reputed to be quite powerful.”
    “Aye, and that makes his man, Sir Hugh, powerful, too. You must be careful. Do not think that you can bargain with Sir Hugh as though you were a peddler in the village market. That way lies madness.”
    “Nonsense.” Alice smiled reassuringly. “You worry overmuch, Benedict. Tis a fault I have begun to notice in you of late.”
    “I worry for good cause.”
    “Nay, you do not. Mark my words, Sir Hugh and I shall get on very well together.”
    A large figure loomed in the doorway, casting a wide, dark shadow across the carpet. It seemed to Alice that there was a sudden chill in the room. She looked toward the opening. Hugh stood there.
    “You echo my own thoughts, Lady Alice,” he said. “I am pleased to see that we are of similar minds on the matter.”
    Awareness prickled along the surface of Alice’s skin as his deep, resonant voice filled the study chamber. He spoke very softly yet his words seemed to still even the smallest of competing sounds. The bird on the window ledge fell silent. The echoes of horses’ hooves down in the bailey faded.
    Alice felt her insides tighten in anticipation. She could not stop herself from staring at Hugh for a moment. This was the first time she had seen him since last night’s confrontation in the flame-lit hall. She was eager to discover ifhis presence had the same odd effect on her this morning that it had had on the first occasion.
    It did.
    Against all reason and the evidence of her own eyes, she found Hugh the Relentless to be the most compelling man she had ever met. He was no more handsome in the morning light than he had been last night yet something about him drew her.
    It was almost as if she had developed an extraordinary additional sense, she thought, and that she now employed a level of sensation that went beyond hearing, vision, touch, taste, and smell. All in all, a most intriguing problem
in
natural philosophy, she decided.
    Benedict jerked around to face Hugh. His staff struck Alice’s desk. “My lord.” His jaw tightened. “My sister and I were having a private conversation. We did not see you standing there.”
    “I have been told that I am rather difficult to overlook,” Hugh said. “You are Benedict?”
    “Aye, my lord.” Benedict straightened his shoulders. “I am Alice’s brother and I do not think that you should meet alone with her. Tis not proper.”
    Alice raised her eyes toward the ceiling. “Benedict, please, this is ridiculous. I am no young maid whose reputation must be protected. Sir Hugh and I merely intend to converse on matters of business.”
    “‘Tis not right,” Benedict insisted.
    Hugh leaned one broad shoulder against the door-jamb and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you think I am going to do to her?”
    “I don’t know,” Benedict muttered. “But I won’t allow it.”
    Alice lost her patience. “Benedict, that is enough. Leave us now. Sir Hugh and I must be about