Her Father's Daughter

by Jennifer Mueller

  "You're indeed an angel," he finally whispered, though the words were redundant by then.

  Gwenhyfer held out her hand for him to take. "Come, the King waits."

  As they walked down the hall, everyone stared, even if discreetly. The castle had filled with talk of her since the King's order. The Great Hall stood full as the banquet prepared to start. All the talking stopped when she appeared. They all seemed too curious.

  "Please come forward," the King ordered.

  Gwenhyfer let go of Robert's arm and continued alone. She curtsied gracefully and raised her head slowly until she looked at him directly. Nothing intimidated her. She still held enough secrets in her head to make many uncomfortable, even with a change of kings.

  "I suppose I shall have to forgive you for making us wait. As my wife, Matilda, always tells me, beauty such as this does not just happen." The gathered crowd chuckled, and the King grinned at his wife next to him. "Now I assume that you would like to know why you have been summoned here and by the King, no less. It has come to my attention that Moerhab or, more precisely the village that lies on its edge, has no governance. What was its name again, Robert?"

  "Wulfgren, your Highness."

  "Quite right, that is the name. The area is quite large, as I am sure you know. Through Robert's accidental arrival in your part of the country and your letters since, I have come to the impression that it is in sore need for the protection I should be offering to all my holdings, whether city or, in your case, barely a village. It is only fair that you receive some benefit from what you're paying into my coffers."

  Gwenhyfer was not to be placated by such pretty words. "Your cousin did inform you that you taxed so heavily as to almost starve us through the winter. If I did not empty my own pockets in order to buy food, you would have no village to tax at all. I see no reason for anyone's assistance to fleece us like sheep even more. A King does not need my presence to make appointments in his kingdom. Exactly why have you summoned me here?"

  Several in the room gasped at such words said to the King before a man standing nearby shouted in interruption. "Your Highness, You're not going to let a woman, and a commoner, talk to you like that?"

  Gwenhyfer wondered what he was playing at. Even Edward would have brought her to task for such words. He may have valued her words, but he demanded respect even still.

  The King ignored the man's protest. "Despite your feelings, I think it would cause considerable problems if you were taken out of the situation and your lands. Due to what I have heard of your holdings from Robert, you're the closest thing to a ruler, Lord, or whatever you want to call it, that these people have. Whether it is out of loyalty to your father, or because of agreements that I know nothing about, I do not know. I feel that a union between you and the new Count of Moerhab would be the best choice, a blending of the old and new, as it were. It will cut out any chance for resentment and, as my choice has no lands, you'll not end up as chatelaine of some Norman castle away from your home."

  Gwenhyfer felt Robert stiffen behind her. Did he still care that much? Hell, she fought all attempts to marry her off the first time she was at court. Her own hand clenched.

  "It is not your right to play God, cousin." Robert hissed after a moment's silence.

  Gasps filled the room. "Your Highness, it is ridiculous that you would force one of your faithful noblemen to marry this outspoken Saxon wench. One who, they say, has little morals as far as men are concerned," a man from the side called out.

  Robert's hand flew from his side and struck the man offending her honor. He pulled it back to strike again, but Gwenhyfer took one long stride to reach him. She took hold of his hand and intertwined her fingers in his so he could not let go. It stopped him dead in his tracks, and he turned back to her, as surprised as everyone else. Robert had one of the strongest sword arms in the kingdom. Either she held superhuman strength or she held a power over him stronger than his anger.

  "Why did you never mention how you still felt, that you wanted to come back?" She asked for his ears alone. That the entire room stared meant nothing. Before she fought the King of all people, she had to know.

  He started grinning. "It made the want worse, and I did not think you would appreciate me taking one of the camp followers you observed so often in your stead. All hope is not lost for me, then? Trust me; it killed me not to come back. If I had known it would take so long, I would have subjected you to the soldiers' camp."

  Her eyes closed slowly as Robert traced her cheek, like the day he had left her. "Can you be happy with the faults of a woman who has lived alone for too long and tries to hide her heart from the hurt of being alone forever?" she whispered.

  The man Robert hit came forward, wishing to pay back the insult. "Stay where you are, or I shall let go. An old man is no challenge for him," Gwenhyfer hissed, without opening her eyes. It held even more impact that she did not yell.

  The man froze, watching them carefully.

  "Philip, this matter has nothing to do with you. You shall not be marrying her. Keep your tongue, or I shall have it cut out," the King bellowed.

  Gwenhyfer let him get no further and held up her hand for his silence. The little sound in the room stopped as if the King himself ordered it. They were all too shocked to see her interrupting him. "I do not know who this man is that slanders me, but may I have permission to correct some of the false ideas he has about me?"

  "There are those in my court that were here when Edward was ruler, when you lived here, few though they are. They have said that you were the most beautiful at court, and, now that I have seen you, I have to believe them. They also said you were the most outspoken. I too have heard strange stories of your practicing with the soldiers and archers and holding your own among them. I found the tales hard to believe until your demonstration to the knights in the courtyard today." The knights clamored in agreement. "Your father must have been a remarkable man to train a daughter such as you. I give you permission to correct him and perhaps me as well since I feel that you'll correct him without my permission."

  Gwenhyfer bowed her head politely at the compliment despite it being veiled. "Since the King has been asking about me, I am sure he knows much of this already so I shall address you, Philip. My father held post as advisor to King Edward for twenty years and his knight before that. My father was Eoarl and I his only surviving heir. I lived in this castle for seventeen years. I watched my parents die here. I have met kings before and, no offense to his Highness, but ones that have been so longer than the one before me now and with more noble bloodlines. I watched Edward become an old man before my eyes."

  Philip opened his mouth, but one look at Robert, still being held back by Gwenhyfer, stopped his words.

  "I have sent men to their deaths for plotting against their King, and I made an enemy of the one that wished to steal the throne from the King before me now. Much of what the King knew of what happened in his castle, he knew because of me. No spy, I sought none of these plots out. Foolish men with more ambition than brains would come to me telling of their plans to become king, and they would make me their queen. The foolish men I would merely watch until they showed signs of actually going through with their plans, and then I would warn the King. I believe Harold is a name you're familiar with. For a long time, he could never figure out how Edward knew of his plans, but eventually they found the man with the wandering eye and the loose tongue. My father was too powerful for them to just kill me, but they thought that if I were immoral, I could be a liar as well. My father would have taken their heads for daring to touch me without marriage and mine for having let them, after being trained to do more than scream to scare off some unwanted advances. As you can see, I am not dead from the attempts on my life nor from my father's hand,"Gwenhyfer concluded.

  "Well said. Now Philip, and indeed you, Robert, do you think that I can finish uninterrupted?" the King requested. Philip nodded weakly as a guard took position next to him. The King did nothing toward Robert but cont
inued talking, "Robert, I am not playing God. I am giving her the opportunity to marry the man that fell in love with her. I hope you did not think that I would do such a thing to you when you told me how you felt. Indeed your family came to me, trying to have me force the match that you turned down. I told them in good conscience that I could not force you into such a match, knowing you held another in your heart. For those of you who say I am sentimental or softhearted, I'll admit the match you found for yourself would do my ruling this country far more good than your parents' match would do them. And as for you, Gwenhyfer, I am not as unfeeling or cruel as you seem to think." William smiled. "Not this time, anyway, as we all know I have not led a blameless life, but I think I am glad Harold usurped the throne. I am not sure I would have liked you, Gwenhyfer, or your father as an adversary."

  The laughter became uproarious and difficult to control, but finally the room grew silent. "But I ask you not to marry a stranger to suit my purpose. If I had not been interrupted so often, you would have already heard that I ask you to marry the man that two years ago told me of you, your kindness, the promise he left with you, and, most of all, your bravery on his behalf. I felt that he very well might kill me when he has protected me from so many when I told him I could not allow it. I did not die laughing as you predicted. It hurt me a great deal to forbid it, for the reason that I still did not control this land fully. Fighting still needed to be done. I could not spare him at such a time. He held his temper and continued his work, but I know that he was not with me as before. His heart belonged with you, even if he still gave me his allegiance. I did not allow him to visit even for a time, fearing that, if he saw you, he would never return to me.

  If word did not arrive that Wulfgren recovered after the 'raid', for I'll call it that, he was going to your aid in a few days despite my command. Under my orders, he tracked down those that taxed you unfairly, and they are all either in the dungeon or dead. My taxes may be high, I fear, but if I am to continue to rule then they have to be fair as well. There are some that are taking advantage, and many areas have no governance except from afar as of yet, a fact I soon hope to have remedied. I am in control of my domain now, and I have found those to replace my cousin in his duties that he has fulfilled so long and so faithfully. His only duty now will be to rule the part of my kingdom near your lands. You'll not have to share them with a man you do not know nor leave the house covered in ivy that Robert fell in love with as much as he has with you. There is little that I would not do to repay him for all he has done and the wounds that he has received in my stead. I did not tell him of my plan to see you together until it came time. It would have distracted him from the task at hand, a task that, I am sorry for your sake, has taken so long."

  "William, are you sure?" Robert asked in shock.

  "Do you wish to argue with me over such a matter? I do believe you have picked a good woman for your wife, Robert, to live with among the ivy. All I ask is that I'll be your first child's godfather."

  Her arms folded around his neck despite everyone watching. All forgiven. The whispers began until the knights began to cheer. Soon the cheers became too loud for the whispers to be heard.

  * * * *

  Several minutes later, Robert and Gwenhyfer married in the King's own chapel. The banquet everyone prepared for unknowingly became a nuptial celebration.. When spring came, they left for Normandy to collect Robert's things and introduce his wife to his family. Then they returned, for good, to the stone house covered in ivy, a true home once again.

  * * * *

  * * * *

  My interest in writing came about simply enough, I was reading a series of books and I became fed up with them. I just pulled out a notebook and said I could write one better. That's it, I never dreamed of being a writer and truth be told for 10 of the 13 years since that fateful day I was a closet writer. No one read any of my stories, very few even knew that was how I spent my spare time.

  I love history and my stories range from ancient Egypt to modern day. They range in genre from western, mystery, suspense, spies, romance, a few erotic pop up even, you get the idea. Then 2 years ago, my husband said you spend so much time writing you should try to get them published. This from a man I hadn't let read anything in four or five years and just like that, I did. One of the first pieces I sent out was accepted within weeks. This is going to be easy I thought. I was wrong of course. I had one other piece that fit their guidelines so I sent it in.

  Not quite as quickly as the first, I got a letter saying the publisher had died and the publication was closing. Come to think of it, has that happened twice? Any way as you can see I've gotten over the problem. No one's died since.

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