The Taming Read online

  Liana knew how fortunate she was to have the power of running her father’s estates. She knew that no woman had any power unless it was granted to her by a man. Men had been asking for her hand in marriage since she was four years old. She had been betrothed once, when she was eight, but the young man had died before she was ten. Her father had never bothered to accept any offers after that and so Liana had quietly been able to escape marriage. When some suitor had pressed his petition, all Liana had had to do was remind Gilbert of what chaos her marriage would cause and Gilbert refused the offer.

  But now this greedy Helen was interfering. Liana considered turning all power of running the estates over to her stepmother and retiring to their estate in Wales. Yes, that would be remote enough. She could live there in privacy, and soon both Helen and her father would forget about her.

  Liana stood up, her fists clenched at her side, her simple, unornamented velvet gown sweeping the tile floor. Helen would never allow her to live in peace. Helen would pursue her to the ends of the earth to make sure her stepdaughter was as miserable as all women seemed to be in marriage.

  Liana picked up her hand mirror from a little table by the window and stared at her reflection. In spite of all the love poems eager young men who wanted to marry her had written, in spite of the songs the traveling singers who were paid by her had sung, she could not see that she was a beauty. She was too pale, too blonde, too…too innocent-looking to be a beauty. Helen was beautiful, with her snapping dark eyes that let everyone know she had secrets, with her sultry way of looking at men. Liana sometimes thought the reason she could control the servants so well was because she was sexless. When Helen walked across the courtyard, men stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Men tugged their forelocks in respect to Liana, but they didn’t stand gaping or guffaw and punch each other when she passed.

  She moved to the window and looked down into the courtyard. A pretty milkmaid was being teased by an assistant farrier, the boy’s hands reaching for the girl’s round, shapely body.

  Liana turned away, for the sight was too painful for her to bear. Never could she hope for some young man to chase her around a well. She could never find out if some young man wanted to chase her. Her father’s people would always treat her with the respect of her station and address her as “my lady.” Her suitors would do anything to win her hand because they wanted her dowry. It wouldn’t matter if she were a hunchback with three eyes; she would still receive flowery compliments and glowing praise of her beauty. Once, a man had sent her a poem about the beauty of her feet. As if he’d ever seen them!

  “My lady.”

  Liana looked up to see her maid, Joice, standing in the doorway. Joice was the closest thing to a friend that Liana had. Being only ten years older than Liana, Joice was almost like a sister. Liana’s mother had hired Joice to care for Liana when Liana was just a baby and Joice had been little more than a child herself. Liana’s mother had taught her daughter to run estates, but when Liana had had a bad dream, it was Joice who’d comforted her. It was Joice who’d stayed up with her through childhood illnesses and Joice who’d taught her about things other than estate management. Joice had explained how babies were made and what the man who’d tried to rape her had wanted.

  “My lady,” Joice said, always careful to show respect to her young charge. Liana could afford to be friendly, but Joice was always aware of her place, always aware that tomorrow she could be without a roof over her head or food on the table. She did not volunteer advice that might not be wanted. “There is a dispute in the kitchen and—”

  “You are fond of your husband, Joice?”

  The maid hesitated before answering. The entire castle knew what Lady Helen was demanding, and the people were of the belief that if Liana left, the Neville estates would be dust in six years. “Aye, my lady, I am.”

  “Did you choose him or was he chosen for you?”

  “Your mother chose him, but I believe she wanted to please me, so I was married to a young and healthy man and I have come to love him.”

  Liana’s head came up. “Have you?”

  “Oh yes, my lady, that often happens.” Joice felt she was on safe ground here. All women were afraid before their marriage. “When one spends long winter nights together, love often follows.”

  Liana turned away. If one could spend time together, she thought. If your greedy husband didn’t send you away. She looked back at her maid. “Am I pretty, Joice? I mean actually pretty enough so that a man might be interested in me and not in all this?” She moved her arm to indicate the silk-hung bed, the tapestry on the north wall, the silver-gilt ewer, the carved oak furniture.

  “Oh yes, my lady,” Joice answered glibly. “You are very pretty, beautiful actually. There is no man high or low who could resist you. Your hair—”

  Liana put up her hand for the woman to stop. “Let’s see to the kitchen dispute.” She could not keep the heaviness out of her voice.

  Chapter

  Two

  Six months!” Helen screamed at her husband. “For six months that daughter of yours has been finding fault with men! Not one of them is ‘suitable.’ I tell you, if she is not out of here in another month, I shall take this child of yours that I carry and never return.”

  Gilbert looked out the window at the rain and cursed God for sending two weeks of foul weather and for creating women. He watched Helen ease herself into a chair with the help of two maids. From the way she complained, it would seem that no woman had ever carried a child before, but what amazed him was how pleased he was at the prospect of another child and a chance to have a son at last. Helen’s words and tone grated on him, but he was inclined to do anything she wanted—at least until his son was safely delivered.

  “I shall speak to her,” Gilbert said heavily, dreading another scene with his daughter. But now he realized that one of the women had to go, and since Helen was able to produce sons, it had to be Liana who left.

  A servant found Liana, and Gilbert met her in one of the guest rooms off the solar. He hoped the rain would clear soon and he could go hawking again and not have to deal with this unpleasant business further.

  “Yes, Father?” Liana asked from the doorway.

  Gilbert looked at her and hesitated for a moment. She was so like her mother, and at all costs he didn’t want to offend her. “Many men have come to visit us since your mother—”

  “Stepmother,” Liana corrected. “Since my stepmother announced to the world that I was ready to be sold, that I was a bitch in heat and needed stud service. Yes, many men have come here to look at our horses, our gold, our land and also, as an afterthought, at the plain-faced Neville daughter.”

  Gilbert sat down. He prayed that in heaven there would be no women. The only female allowed would be the kestrel hawk. He wouldn’t even allow mares or female dogs. “Liana,” he said tiredly, “you’re as pretty as your mother, and if I have to sit through one more dinner with men telling you, at length, of your beauty, I shall go off food forever. Tomorrow I may have my table set up in the stables. At least the horses will not regale me with how white my daughter’s skin is, how radiant her eyes, how golden her hair, how rose-red her lips.”

  There was no answering smile from Liana. “So I am to choose one of these liars? I am to live like Cousin Margaret while my husband spends my dowry?”

  “The man Margaret married was a fool. I could have told her that. He canceled a day’s hawking to diddle with some man’s wife.”

  “So I am to marry a man who likes hawking best? Is that the solution? Perhaps we should hold a hawking tournament and the man with the hawk with the biggest kill wins me as a prize. It makes as much sense as anything else.”

  Gilbert rather liked that idea, but wisely didn’t say so. “Now see here, Liana. I’ve liked some of the men who’ve been here to visit. What about that William Aye? Good-looking fellow he is.”

  “Every one of my maids thought so, too. Father, the man is stupid. I tried to talk to h