Colyne away from the table by his arm. Once they were far enough away from the table, Black Richard bent low to look the boy in the eyes. “Ye listen to me, ye spoiled heathen, and ye listen well. I will not have ye disrespectin’ my wife, do ye hear me? For I swear if I hear ye speak that way again, I will take a strap to yer backside and ye’ll not be able to sit for a week.”
Colyne’s eyes widened in surprise and horror. Black Richard had never taken that tone with him before. Neither had he ever threatened bodily harm. Although he was young, he was not so foolish as to not believe every word his older brother spoke.
“Do I make myself clear?”
The boy nodded his head rapidly and swallowed down his tears of fright. “Aye, ye do.”
Breathing out through his nostrils, his lips pressed into a hard line, Black Richard righted himself. “Go,” he said, giving him a nudge toward the table. “And sit next to Rory.”
Duly chastised, the boy sulked back to the table and flopped down in the space next to Rory.
Richard retook his seat at the head of the table. “Raibeart? Colyne? I think ye need to apologize to Aeschene and Marisse for actin’ like savages.”
The mouths of each boy fell open. One hard glare from Black Richard stopped any protest before it could be made.
In unison, but without looking directly at the women, each young man mumbled an apology. Black Richard would have none of it. “A wee bit louder and clearer, if ye please. And this time, look at them.”
He knew it angered both boys to be forced to utter an apology they likely didn’t feel but he cared not. For too long they’d been left to their own devices. ’Twas beyond time he took a firmer hand with them.
“I be sorry,” Colyne said, his little forehead scrunched, his eyes filled with nothing short of anger.
Thankfully, Raibeart was a little less menacing. “I be sorry as well.”
Before Aeschene or Marisse could offer any reply, the kitchen maids began bringing in their dinner. A platter of steaming, mouthwatering venison, bowls of roasted vegetables, and a tray of cheeses was set in the center of the table. Trenchers were placed in front of each person. One of the younger lasses, a girl named Alyce, placed an already prepared platter in front of Aeschene.
Unknowingly, Colyne commented on it. He laughed loudly, holding his stomach. “She has to eat bairn food!”
All eyes were on the trencher in front of Aeschene, who looked thoroughly puzzled. Marisse, on the other hand, looked fit to be tied. “Och,” she said, trying not to sound as angry as she felt. “That be mine.” Quickly, she began to trade her trencher for Aeschene’s.
Understanding dawned bright and clear in Aeschene’s eyes. She put a hand on her friend’s arm, stopping her in mid action. “What be goin’ on?” she asked.
“No’ a thing,” Marisse lied.
“It be bairn food,” Colyne said, still giggling. “Because ye be a blind cripple.”
“Colyne!” Black Richard ground out. “She is not a cripple.”
Aeschene glowered in the boy’s general direction, who was now looking quite embarrassed. “Come with me,” she said to Marisse as she swung her legs over the seat. “And bring the trencher of cripple bairn food with ye.”
With the trencher in her hands and Aeschene holding on to the finger loops, Marisse led the way out of the keep and to the kitchens.
“Is this the first time they’ve sent such fare?” Aeschene asked.
Marisse did not wish to continue lying. “Nay. They have been doin’ it ever since we arrived.”
“Why did ye not tell me?”
“Ye were already upset with yer husband. I did not want to make matters worse,” she replied. “Watch out for the puddle,’ she said as she made a wide berth around it.
“Ye should have told me,” Aeschene said as she stepped lightly across the damp earth.
Blowing hair from her forehead, Marisse said, “I thought I had handled it for ye. I told Loreen not to bring such fare again, after the first time. But she keeps bringin’ it.”
Back on the path to the kitchens, Aeschene’s anger continued to bubble. “Well, we shall put a halt to it once and for all.”
Marisse mumbled something along the lines of I hope ye have better success than I.
Pausing outside the door to the kitchens, she looked over her shoulder at Aeschene. “Take a deep breath before we enter,” she said. “Elst ye might say somethin’ we