Demon Knight

patterns. Lisa stared at her in bewilderment. 'What reason can you possibly have for thinking that?' It was an idea at variance with her entire life experience.

Maud smiled serenely at the blue sky twinkling through the olive branches above her. 'Nothing goes on forever, dear, although we mortals often forget that and behave as if it will. The demon that possessed your father managed to turn the world upside down, but the world has a habit of rolling back again in its own good time. I am convinced that Rhym has met its match at last.'

'Are you referring to that horrible Longdirk?'

Maud flashed a glance of maternal amusement at her daughter. 'You don't usually take such dislikes to people, dearest. Yes, I am referring to that truly remarkable young man. I have met kings and dukes and lords aplenty, and at best they were merely stars. Sir Tobias is a rising sun.'

'He is a boor! A great ox with no culture or breeding or manners whatsoever.'

Her mother took no offense at being so blatantly contradicted. Indeed, she positively smirked. 'Not an ox,' she murmured. 'A doughty warrior, yes. A splendid figure of a man, certainly. His background is undistinguished, I admit, so we must make allowances for his lack of polish, but his accomplishments to date are worthy of note. Think of the truly great shapers of history — Julius Caesar, Genghis, Charlemagne, Alexander the Great. Had you met any one of those men at Longdirk's age, could you possibly have predicted his future greatness?'

'At twenty-three Alexander had conquered the Persian Empire.'

Maud dismissed Alexander with a wave of the hand. 'He was born to the purple. All those men I mentioned were of much higher rank than Sir Tobias's.'

'There is certainly none lower.'

'He has promised that you will take your rightful place on the throne of your ancestors. No, we shall not go to Malta, Lisa. We shall follow the triumphant armies of a Europe reborn as they roll the Fiend back into the darkness, as they reestablish the ancient freedoms under a suzerain rightfully appointed by the glorious Khan. There has never been a female suzerain, of course, but who knows? Since you will be one of the very few monarchs with an undisputed right to—'

'Mother! You are dreaming moonbeams! You are hallucinating!'

'Not very much, dearest. Once the Fiend is exorcised, everything will return to normal very quickly. Wait and see! We must find you a husband.'

'Husband?' Lisa's squeal came out at least an octave higher than she had intended. Hamish! Hamish! Hamish!

'It is tricky, because there are so few princes left. Ah, Lisa! When you were born I made a list of all the eligible royal bachelors of Europe younger than ten. Of course, I assumed that your father would summon me to court eventually, or at least visit me from time to time, so we should have other children; I never guessed you would be the heir. Alas, all those boys — there were seventeen of them, I recall, although only five or six were credible contenders — I fear they are all dead now. You will need a strong man at your side, dear. England is in a state of ruin and anarchy. All Europe is in a state of ruin and anarchy!'

Lisa could hardly believe her ears. Maud had never raved like this before.

'So I may have to wed a mere noble, you mean? Even, perhaps, a commoner?'

Her mother favored her with a very knowing smile. 'I did say the Fiend had turned the world upside down, dear, didn't I? Yes, I do believe that I could even see my way to arranging your marriage with a commoner. He would, of course, have to be a very outstanding and accomplished foreigner.'

Not Hamish. She didn't mean Hamish. Oh, demons! She couldn't possibly mean… could she?…

'Longdirk? That oaf? You are seriously thinking—'

Lisa sprang to her feet and spoke three words that she had never spoken before and had heard only rarely. She was not at all clear what two of them meant; they just sounded appropriate. Apparently her mother did not know them at all, for she merely frowned at the tone.

'Do sit down, dear. You said you wanted a serious discussion, so a serious discussion you shall have. Listen carefully. I have given the matter much thought. If Sir Tobias drives the Fiend's armies back over the Alps, as I am confident he will, then there is no doubt at all that Europe will rise against the monster and rally to the Khan's banner he bears. He may be a commoner now, my darling, but he will not be one for long under those circumstances. The Khan will—'

'I wouldn't touch Toby Long—'

'…at least a duke and probably a sovereign prince. He is, of course, greatly smitten with you!'

Lisa almost fell off her stool, having to grab at the edge of the stone table for balance. 'He is what? Mother, he is the most insulting man I have ever met. He snaps at me, treats me like a child, orders me around. I assure you he likes me no better than I like him, which means utter revulsion. Repugnance!'

Her mother chuckled. 'You think so? You should see the way he looks at you. Oh, Lisa, I know longing when I see it, and he craves you mightily. If he seems a little brusque at times, then that is merely because he is struggling to contain his feelings. Realizing how far above his own station you are, he is being careful not to embarrass you by revealing his great affection and desire. His worship must be unspoken and distant. Understand the strain this places on his self-control.'

Awrrk!

Lisa drew a very deep breath. 'He told me himself that he is celibate because he has no choice in the matter. When I said ox, I meant ox!'

The countess knew what that word meant, and her fair cheeks colored. 'I doubt it very much! If he suffered an injury of that, um, description, then the story would be general knowledge. Your Master Campbell has a reputation as a libertine and lecher, but Sir Tobias's is above reproach.'

Oh, worse yet! Humiliation! 'You have been making inquiries?'

'Certainly. Women of the lower sort have thrown themselves in his path and he, er…'

'Steps over them?'

'Exactly. Are you quite sure of your own feelings in the matter, dearest? I have seen how you, in turn, regard Constable Longdirk when you believe you are unobserved. He is, of course, a magnificent figure of manhood, Hercules himself. Any young girl can be forgiven a certain fascination with such an Atlas.'

'Atlas?' Lisa said hoarsely. 'Don't you mean Grendel? That side of beef? Let me tell you, Mother, that all his stupid posturing as comandante is going to end very shortly. Even Hamish admits that he was lucky at Trent — that he was only elected commander because they couldn't agree on anyone else. And now the Khan has sent one of his sons to rally the opposition, so that problem will not arise again. Prince Sartaq will appoint a suzerain, and the suzerain will send Toby Longdirk packing, right back to the Highland bog he crawled out of in the first place!'

Even those harsh words failed to ruffle her mother's maniacal serenity. 'Will he really? Princes don't discard warriors who win wars, Lisa, they promote them. I think,' she added, fixing her daughter with a reproving eye, 'that you had better face up to cold reality, dearest. Everyone is now talking as if your father is dead, which legally may be true. Under English law an underage heiress becomes a ward in chancery, and Tartar law or Florentine law won't be much different.'

Lisa opened and closed her mouth a few times… 'Or even the laws of chivalry,' Blanche continued. 'As heir to the throne of England you are a ward of your father's overlord, the Khan, or his suzerain, or perhaps this darughachi prince. One of them, certainly. Not the Florentine courts, I hope. Whichever it turns out to be, he will choose a husband for you.'

This was ghastly! Even Hamish had never mentioned anything so grim. Talking Mother into something was a matter of persistence and hard work. Tartar princes might be much less malleable. 'Mother…?'

'You bring a kingdom as dowry, dear. If the Khan wishes to confer royalty on a commoner, the easiest way is to marry him to a queen, you understand? Now the outstanding military figure in Europe at the moment is Sir Toby. I foresee a great future for Longdirk.'

'Foresee anything you like for him as long as you don't include me in it!'

'Lisa, Lisa! Don't deceive yourself. Oftentimes we foolish women fail to understand our own desires. Many a highborn maiden has fallen in love with a man of inferior social station and exaggerated his rough qualities in her