The Blue Falcon by Robyn Carr Page B

stuffed with a duck and finally stuffed with a quail was served with great flourish. A huge roast of boar dripping with gravy was yet another, and also stag and hens aplenty to go around.
    Squires with their carving knives in hand stood ready to serve their lords. For these lads it was more than a night of celebrating, for they were again in training. They must not only carve the meat to perfection but have the proper terminology memorized in the event they would be asked. Chandra listened to the words passing between a squire and his master at the next long trestle table. The lad would “ disfigure” the peacock, “ lift” the swan, “ despoil” the hen and “ unbrace” the duck. And an error here was a serious offense.
    Edythe touched Chandra’s arm. “ Chandra,” she said sol emnly. “ Do you see who sits beside my brother? Does Edwina desire Conan?”
    Chandra felt herself shudder. “ Nay, my sister is soon to be betrothed to Sir Tedric. She has discussed it with my father many times.”
    “ And Edwina wants Tedric?” Edythe asked.
    “ She wishes to please our father,” Chandra replied.
    “ When the meal is done you must put yourself in my brother’s company again, if you wish him to notice you.”
    Chandra was taken aback by Edythe’s advice. She had not thought anyone paid much attention to her preference. She thought herself too young to be considered a choice mate for Conan, but she had not thought it too soon to give him something to think about.
    “ I suppose I must,” she heard herself reply.
    The best mead and the finest wines and ales were brought to the nobles. Songs were sung by troubadors while all ate and drank for hours. The feasting would continue until early morning and few would feel the comfort of a soft pallet this night. Even when the women had wearied of the noise and left the hall to retire, the men would carry on until the first streaks of dawn could be seen.
    Conversation would not be confined to one’s immediate dinner partners, nor even just one table. Knights and lords broke from their seating to meander about the hall and chat with a damsel or argue with another knight. When this moving about the hall once again crowded the room, Chandra rose and began to find friends and new acquaintances to chat with, hoping eventually to find herself near Conan once again. But as she viewed the table where he had been seated, she found Udele in deep conversation with Edwina, and Conan gone. She searched the room with her eyes but he was nowhere to be found.
    When he returns, Chandra promised herself, I must at least see that he notices me.
    ***
    Conan and his father walked away from the hall and into the courtyard. It was a quiet and clear night, the sounds of celebrating in the hamlet and in the hall becoming more distant with their every step. It was a welcome relief from revelry for both of them.
    “ If it would please you, my lord,” Conan started, confident in his every word, “ I would ask for the hand of Lady Edwina.”
    “ Please me? Nothing could please me more, and Medwin would in like be pleased. I did not know the maid interested you.”
    “ I have only lately come to see the good wifely qualities in Edwina. And I have just become aware that if I want her, I must speak quickly or await another as appealing.”
    Alaric’s eyes searched his son’s, and though the night was dark, he focused on them. “ Is Edwina whom you truly desire?”
    “ Yes, Father. And she would have me, though she is shy and cannot say so easily. It was a trial to coax her to speak her mind.”
    “ How will she serve your needs, Conan? Will she gladly breed up a small clan, bearing your children with joy? Will she endure with grace the many months you are away?”
    “ Father,” Conan laughed. “ How can I know if she is fertile unless I bed her now and wed her when she is ripe with babe? And to endure the months alone -- she is Medwin’s daughter and there is no better teacher in the ways