Captives by Emily Murdoch Page A

arrived, Catheryn finally felt as though her presence was not an insult.
    Sitting beside her was Adeliza, and the two women talked together quite happily. In fact, they had barely stopped speaking since they had joined together at the table.
    “So you have three children?” Catheryn asked. She looked around the room, with the four tables set out as a square, and saw Emma laughing with a girl who looked remarkably like her. The younger woman caught her eye, and they shared a smile of understanding across the room. It appeared that Emma and her twin were back on speaking terms.
    On the other side of Adeliza was a tall, pale young man with a rich cloak and a highly decorated belt. Catheryn had assumed since the first day of her arrival that he was a son of the household, but he had said nothing to her and, from what she had seen, very little to anyone else.
    “Four,” Adeliza replied with a smile. “The three youngest you can see here. Emma, you have met, and her sister Isabella.”
    Catheryn looked over once again at the twin sisters.
    “It is strange to think that Isabella is but a short time older,” she said. “Does that affect –” Catheryn stopped suddenly, and reddened.
    Adeliza looked puzzled. “What is it?”
    “I must beg your forgiveness,” Catheryn said awkwardly. “In my country, it is normal to ask such questions of a host, but I think perhaps it is not so acceptable here.”
    Instead of a frown, however, her words were met with a laugh.
    “Oh, Catheryn,” Adeliza smiled. “It is almost expected between us Normans to enquire about marriages amongst our children. Do not be embarrassed; it is natural to wonder.”
    Catheryn’s smile returned. “Is it really so accepted?”
    Adeliza shrugged. “Some ask because they are curious, and some ask because they have someone in mind – a friend, a cousin, a mistress – and some just ask because they need to show an interest. Not to ask would in fact have drawn more attention!”
    “And so,” asked Catheryn eagerly, “your girls’ prospects. What are they?”
    Adeliza’s smile flickered. “Not so certain as they once were,” she admitted, lowering her voice so that the babble of the room could mask her words. “Ever since the invasion…” Her voice trailed off as she looked at Catheryn. “I do not wish to offend.”
    Now Adeliza looked anxious and embarrassed, but for Catheryn it was with just as little cause.
    “Come now,” she said, “was it you who invaded my home? Was it you who decided to go across the water? Did you decide who should and who should not die? No. And so continue, my lady Adeliza,” Catheryn’s smile encouraged her to speak. “Please go on.”
    Adeliza swallowed, and continued.
    “You must remember, my lady Catheryn,” formality slipped back into her phrases again, “that many things that once were, and are no longer, are changed because of the invasion. Some families that were once great lost all of their sons, and now have only daughters. Others that had no land are now rich men.”
    “The game has changed.”
    “Exactly,” Adeliza nodded at Catheryn’s words. “It is becoming more and more complicated, especially as the girls are now much older.”
    Their faces turned to the subjects of their conversation.
    “They will soon be married,” Catheryn said slowly. “Who do you have in mind?”
    Adeliza pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Isabella is the eldest, which means that she is most likely to marry Ralph de Gael.”
    Thoughts stirred in Catheryn’s memory.
    “Do I not know him?”
    Adeliza nodded. “I would not be surprised. He was born in England, but fought on the side of our King William during the invasion. He is a little… older than my Isabella, but he is a good match.”
    “What is his age?”
    “He is nearing thirty years,” Adeliza confessed, and then continued quickly, “but really, it takes that time for a man to be worth marrying!”
    Catheryn laughed. “In too many cases, you speak the