The Blue Falcon by Robyn Carr

Now he will rule over a large holding in his own England.”
    Chandra’s throat ached and tears welled under clenched lids. She could not pretend that it didn’t matter, for her whole dream seemed crushed. However important the considera t ion of lands and wealth, Edwina was not strong enough or wise enough. She could never love him enough!
    Medwin lifted her chin and gave a rather perplexed look at his daughter’s tears. He questioned her with his eyes.
    “ Conan needs a woman of strength and spirit to help him prosper,” she heard herself say. “ A woman with as much strength and spirit as he has! Father, how can you think this a good match when I -- ”
    “ Chandra!” Medwin snarled.
    The door to the keep burst open, and, with a gust of wind that sent his dark blue mantle billowing, the intruder stepped inside. Soft leather boots were strapped tightly to his legs, covering to the knee his blue chausses. A red tunic covered chain mail, and his helm was still resting in one gauntleted hand. He gave the door a lusty kick to close it, and there he stood, feet braced apart and his hand on his hip. His white teeth gleamed from behind his dark beard.
    Chandra’s mouth formed his name, though silently. “ Conan.”
    Medwin was more verbal, and his smile nearly matched Sir Conan’s. “ Conan! Here! We could not have known you would come! We would have set a boar to roast had we known.”
    “ I could not send word ahead, my lord,” he apologized. “ I did not think I could be spared from my duties, but I have wrestled away a few days and thought to spend them here, with my bride and her family.”
    “ She will be delighted! Honored! You have ridden so far and through this hateful weather -- for Edwina! A fine son you will make!”
    Chandra’s hand flew to her mouth to still an outraged cry. Her feet took her quickly to the stair, and with tears flowing in spite of her efforts to stop them, she fled the room.
    Conan looked aghast as she flew past him, her pretty face streaked with tears and her glorious hair bouncing down her back as she ran up the stairs. He cast a confused look toward Medwin. “ My lord?”
    “‘ Twas not of your doing, lad,” Medwin said, shaking his head in disappointment.
    “ She seems heartbroken,” Conan said.
    “ Aye, it would seem. You should be aware, since you will h ave to deal with this. The lass had her own ideas for a bride for you.”
    “ Chandra?” he questioned.
    “ Ah, she plays at this now. She is young.” He laughed suddenly. “ And what lass doesn’t set her sights on you? You are young, strong, rich! And a fine figure of a man. Many, I am sure, will have to give their hearts time to mend when you have spoken your vows to Edwina. ‘Tis the way of life.”
    Conan looked at the memory of Chandra fleeing up the stair, and with a somewhat melancholy voice he said, “ The way of life.”
    “ Tis not like her to begrudge her sister’s happiness. In truth she is often the one to take extra chores upon herself so that Edwina can be lesser burdened. She has often given up something she loves to satisfy another’s craving. Aye, a generous lass. I am sorry you had to see her selfish jealousy this once.”
    Conan looked up the stair, a strained expression on his face. He had barely had a moment to notice Chandra, but she had seemed even more beautiful than before, if that was possible. Suddenly, the moments she stood before him at his pavilion months earlier were quite clear in his mind -- her glowing eyes, her lustrous hair and her captivating smile. Aye, little more than a child then, but blossoming into womanhood in a most alluring way. He cursed himself then for looking at one so young with such carnal thoughts, but he remembered well the dip his heart had taken. It was the same little lurch he felt just now when Medwin confessed that Chandra desired him. He had not felt that for his betrothed. He thought her fine and good and lovely, but there had been no passion