Matilda sat staring at him, wondering if Robert was playing an elaborate prank on her. Were there thin ropes attached to the chair? There had to be. There was no other explanation for what she had just seen. “How did you do that? Really?”

He sighed. “Just like I told you.” He concentrated on a small piece of meat in their trencher, commanding it to flow through the air and to her mouth. “Open up, my sweet.”

She did as she was told, but she did not know why. As she chewed the food, she stared at him in awe. “How long have you been able to do that?” she asked, still astonished at what she was seeing. No wonder people called him odd!

“There is a story my mother likes to tell. At the time, they had no idea I would develop a power. You see, in my mother’s family, most females are born with power, but not all. Never has a male been born with powers. In my father’s family, the seventh son gets extra luck. I know that sounds strange, but the seventh son will always know which way to dodge in a sword fight or which path to take to find a treasure. So when my father married my mother, the powers seemed to combine, and I have this strange ability to move things with my mind.”

“But . . . ”

He laughed. “I know it is strange. I think so as well. Anyway, when I was four months old, my mother had just fed me, and I was lying on her bed. I kicked my feet and a blanket flew from across the room to cover me up. So she removed the blanket, and I did it again. And again. She called my father, and he watched me move the blanket, and they both just stared at me in surprise. They were not expecting to have any children with true powers.”

“But they did. What about your brothers?”

He shook his head. “Nay, none of them have powers. Just me.”

“You do not fear that I will tell someone?”

“Of course I do. But you are a member of my family now.”

“Where do the powers come from?” She resisted the urge to cross herself for the second time that day. His powers were wonderful . . . yet frightening all at once.

Robert grinned. “Go ahead and cross yourself. It will not offend me. I have no idea where the powers come from, but my family has always assumed they come from God. My mother wears a cross, as does her mother.” He picked up a chain from inside his chain mail and held it out to her. “As do I.” He squeezed the cross in his hand, showing her that it had not burned his palm. “See?”

“It is very strange, milord.”

“Aye, it is. But I have no complaints about it. It is a power that anyone would be pleased to have. It helps mightily in a battle.”

Matilda pictured him sword fighting with someone and their sword soaring out of their hands to stab another enemy, and she bit her lip against the laughter bubbling up inside her. “I can just picture it, milord.”

His eyes met hers, sharing the laughter with her. “I see that you understand my meaning.”

She nodded. “I do. It would be something to watch.”

“I am glad you agreed to have the noon meal with me today.”

“Agreed?” She gave him a surprised look. “I did not agree. It was my punishment, if you will recall.”

He grinned. “I am sure Mary told you that It was not a true punishment. That you would just be eating with me.”

Matilda frowned. “She said I would be eating with your parents as well. Where are your parents, milord?”

“They went off to talk to my aunt. Mother decided a picnic would be nice when she realized I wanted to eat my meal alone with you.”

“Alone? You wanted to eat alone?”

Robert nodded. “I plan to get to know you better, Matilda.”

She shook her head. “My mother told me not to allow any member of the family get too close to me.”

“I am not planning to take advantage of you. I want you to trust me enough to agree to be my wife.” He understood her mother’s concerns, but he had no improper intentions. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

She immediately started choking on the food in her mouth, and he handed her a tankard of water. “Wife?”

He nodded. “I heard you talking about me and decided to tease you a little, but when I saw your face, I knew.”

“Knew?”

“That you were meant to be mine.” He said the words so simply that she stared at him in shock.

“Do you say things like that to all the new maids, milord?”

“Actually, I have never told anyone that I meant to marry her. You are definitely the first.” Robert watched her face, hoping she had believe him. The words were true, and he very much wanted her to agree right there and then to planning a wedding.

She shook her head. “I do not think you know what you are saying. I am the daughter of a serf. You are the son of a nobleman. We cannot marry.” But she would not be his mistress. She had more pride than that. If she had to, she would return to the hovel where she had grown up and move back in with her parents.

“You do not know my family. My mother met my father when he took her a sick peasant child to heal. They healed her and ended up raising her. She is my only sister. That is how my family is. We do not care about class.”

“But adopting a peasant is very different than marrying one. I am sure your parents would not approve.” She shook her head. “I do not even know you.”

“Well, we will spend time getting to know each other. I need you to know that I feel strongly about you becoming my bride.” He picked up a piece of meat and held it to her lips, waiting for her to take it from his hand. She held up her hand to take it, and he shook his head. “Not like that.”

Blushing, she took the meat from his fingers with her mouth, careful not to touch his fingers with her lips. “Why?”

“Because you are beautiful. Because that is the way it needs to be. I have no other reasons.” He got to his feet. “Thank you for the pleasant noon meal. I expect you here for supper so my parents can get to know you. I will fetch you when it is time.”

“But I am supposed to eat with the other servants!”

Robert grinned. “That is how it normally works, but not tonight.” He walked away, whistling a happy tune under his breath. He knew he was an odd man when you considered that he was a member of the nobility, but he simply did not care. She would be his bride. His children would not be any less noble for it.

As Matilda watched Robert walk away, she was flummoxed. How on earth was she supposed to hold her ground when a man like that was trying to convince her that she was meant to be his bride? What would her mother say?

She hurried back to her duties, finding Mary on her hands and knees in one of the many sitting rooms, and she joined her.

“What did he say to you?” Mary asked.

“He told me I am meant to be his bride.” Matilda still could not believe it, and as she spoke the words aloud, she knew she would not believe her if she heard it.

Mary laughed long and hard. “I had a feeling it would be something of that sort. The Lains are special people!”

“I do not know what to do. My mother told me that if any of the men in the family showed a special interest in me, I was to run straight home.” Matilda wondered if she should already be on her way.

“She meant if one was trying to force his attentions on you. It sounds like Robert wants to legitimately court you, and that cannot be a bad thing. Your mother would want your life to be better by marrying a nobleman.”

Matilda shook her head. “I am not so sure. She does not trust noblemen at all.”

“Well, of course not. Very few serfs do. But that does not make them not want to be just like them.” Mary sighed. “If Robert wanted to marry me, I would happily agree. He is handsome, intelligent, and a good man. I think you should give him a chance.”

“I will think about it.”

* * *

Matilda hurried to her room to straighten her appearance just before supper time, and then she went down to the kitchen to see if she could be of assistance. Alice shooed her away. “Lord Robert has taken special notice of you, Matilda. You need to be available to him.”

“What if I do not want his special attentions?” Matilda asked, still unsure of how she felt about the entire situation.

Alice just laughed. “Of course you want them, girl. You are not a halfwit!”

Matilda frowned. “No, I am not a halfwit.”

Alice pushed a platter toward her. “Carry this out to the table, and then stay there so Lord Robert can find you.”

Matilda did as she was told, putting the large platter on the table and looking around the great hall. His mother came toward her with a smile on her face. “Robert tells me he is revealed some family secrets to you.”

“Aye, milady. He says you can make it snow or rain inside.” Matilda wondered if it was possible or if Robert had simply said some things to shock her. She had to believe it was possible if he could move objects with his mind.

The older woman smiled, and a gentle snow fell in the great hall. “I really can.”

“Oh my!” Matilda shook her head. “I should not have doubted him.”

“Robert also tells me that he wants to get to know you better, and that is why you are having supper with us. Well, he said he is going to marry you, but we will have to see how that works out.”

“You would not hate the idea?” Matilda thought that as soon as he mentioned the idea to his parents, it would be argued with.

“Not at all. We are just happy Robert has found someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with. I hope that you feel the same after spending some time with him and getting to know him. And I want you to know that as the woman he is courting, you have the right to stay in one of our guest rooms and not work any longer. The choice is truly yours.”

“I will continue to work.” Matilda shook her head. “I would not know what to do with my time if I did not.”

Lady Lina laughed. “I assure you, there is always enough to do. Mayhap I will steal you from Alice and allow you to follow me around so I can teach you how to run this household when I move away into the home I will live in once Robert marries.”

“Why would not you stay here? This is where you have raised your family!”

“Aye, it is, but it is also where I know my son will raise his family. There is no need for me to stay here when there is a perfectly good house still on Lain land.”

Matilda had never met a family quite like his. They were willing to give up the home where they had lived for many years so their youngest son could raise his children there. Why not just share it as most families did? “I will not argue with you about your family’s traditions.”

Lady Lina laughed. “I argued with my mother-in-law about them. Why would you not argue with me?”

“You did?”

“Of course. It seemed silly that she would give up the house where she had raised her children so I could move in and have seven sons. I am glad she did, though. It is a good tradition, though I did not realize it until I was already expecting my third son.”

“Seven sons is a lot of children. Were you never worried?”

“About giving birth?” Lady Lina shook her head. “My mother is a healer. I am a healer with potions and herbs, but my mother heals with her touch. She came and stayed with me through each of my pregnancies. I was always very ill from them.”

Matilda frowned. “My mother has had seven children die. I am the only one to live to adulthood.”

“It is sad, but so many families have experienced the same. Without my mother’s healing powers, I doubt if I would have lived to give birth to my first son, let alone seven. She was here a great deal because I had seven children in ten years.” Lady Lina smiled. “So when one of my sons went tumbling down the stairs, she was there to heal him before he awoke. She was there when another son fell off a horse. Mother made things easier.”

“It sounds like it.” Matilda looked over Lady Lina’s shoulder as Robert walked toward them. Now that she had spoken to his mother and determined that his interest in her was real, she was shy in his presence.

He walked toward her and took her hand, kissing the back of it. “Good evening, Matilda.”

“Milord.”

“Please call me Robert.” He smiled down at her, his blue-gray eyes dancing. “It would make me very happy.”

“I could not! It would not be right.”

His mother smiled. “Call him Robert. Trust me, it is fine.”

Matilda could not believe his mother was so calm about her using his first name. “But he is my better.”

Lady Lina shook her head. “No, he is not. We are all equal despite the circumstances of our birth. I happen to know you are an intelligent young woman, and I would be pleased to have you marry my son.”

Her husband came and stood beside Lady Lina, his arm around her. “Are we giving the ‘all people are born equal’ lecture again? I just do not see the idea catching on, wife, as much as we believe it to be the truth.” He smiled at Matilda. “I am Lord Alex, Robert’s father.”

Matilda was not sure what the proper thing to do was, so she bowed her head. “Milord.”

Alex looked at Robert and nodded. “You are right son. She is a beauty.”

Robert grinned. “And she does not think she can use my given name. Please tell her to call me Robert.”

Alex smiled. “Call him Robert. Standing on ceremony when he plans to marry you is silly.”

Matilda looked at Robert, surprised he had talked to his parents about marrying her when he had just met her that day. “Do you tell your parents every thought that flits through your head?”

Robert laughed, joined by both of his parents. “Not always, but I thought they might want some warning that I planned to marry soon. it will give them time to pack their belongings and get ready to move.”

“Mayhap you should talk to my parents about this. I am not sure they will be as enthusiastic as yours.” She was sure they would not, but she was not about to tell him that right then.

“Mayhap not. But that does not mean my mind will be changed.” He wanted her parents to be happy that he was falling in love with their daughter, but if they were not, it would not stop him from marrying her. Only she could do that.

“Shall we eat?” his mother asked.

Robert pulled a chair out for Matilda, and she sat down uncomfortably. It was strange having a member of the nobility use his manners to court her. “Thank you,” she said, trying to be polite, but not sure if she should say something.

While they ate, Robert and his parents peppered her with questions.

“Where did you learn to read?” his mother asked.

Matilda bit her lip, unsure if she should answer truthfully. “I am not sure I should say.”

“We believe women should read,” his father told her. “Our daughter has been reading since she was three years old.”

“Really?” Matilda asked, surprised. “I was taught by our parish priest. He said that he did not think reading should only be for men, and he asked me if I wanted to learn. I was very excited and so were my parents. They thought it would be a way for me to better myself if it were possible at all.”

“So your parents like the idea of you bettering yourself?” Robert asked, a gleam in his eye. “Then they will certainly like the idea of you marrying me.”

“I am not as certain as you are,” she said, shaking her head. “I suppose the only way to know is to talk to them. They expect me home every Sunday.”

“I hope to be married to you by Sunday!” he said. “We should go talk to them tomorrow.”

“We cannot marry so quickly! Why would we do such a thing?” From what she knew, you spent months and months planning a wedding once you decided to marry. Why would they marry in just a few days?

“Some people wait a long time, and some people do not. We married within two days of meeting each other,” his mother said. “My father was not thrilled, but he certainly is now. He and Alex have become fast friends over the years.”

Lord Alex nodded. “It is true. Her father hated me at first. It took the two of us worrying over Lina and her illness through pregnancies for us to become close.”

“I see.” Matilda looked down for a moment. “Were you raised as a serf as well, milady?”

Lady Lina shook her head. “Nay, I was raised by a Norman father and a Saxon mother in a castle bigger than this one.”

“Do you ever go home and visit your family?” Matilda asked, wondering if she would be asked to give up her family entirely if she was to marry into this family.

“No, but only because it is a three-day ride from here. My parents have come to visit us often. It was hard to travel with seven sons and a daughter.” Lady Lina smiled. “As soon as Robert marries and takes over the running of the castle and army here, I am sure we will be able to visit.”

Matilda could not imagine a family that large. “Did you always want to have so many children?”

Lady Lina shrugged. “I knew when I married Alex that there would be seven sons and no daughters. it is the fate of each of the seventh sons of the family. We adopted our daughter so that I could have one. Well, we would have adopted her anyway, but I like to joke it was my way to get around the seven sons and no daughters.”

Matilda looked at Robert, blinking rapidly. “So to marry you means seven sons and no daughters? There is never any other way the family grows?”

“My brothers may have all daughters or all sons or a combination of both, but we know I will have seven sons. No more and no less. And all seven sons will live to adulthood.” Robert shrugged. “it is the way it is been for many generations.”

“Oh my. I have never heard of a family that was so set in how things would go. I am not sure I am ready to commit to having no daughters.”

His mother smiled at her. “You can always find an orphan and keep her like we did.”

Matilda sighed. As handsome as Robert was and as kind and loving as his family seemed, it did not feel like the right decision for her to make. “I see.”

Robert watched her, realizing that she was not ready to commit to everything, and he could certainly understand why. She barely knew him and did not have the luck that his family had. He knew as soon as he saw her she needed to be his. He would just have to work on convincing her, and if that meant convincing her with kisses and with long romantic walks, he would make it happen.

His father’s eyes met his, and he knew his father was thinking the same thing he was. His parents liked her. That much was readily obvious. Now he just had to convince her that they were meant to be, and then convince her father that he should be allowed to court her. How hard could it be?

He looked over at her and saw that she was looking completely bewildered as she looked from him to his mother to his father and back to him again. It might be harder than he was anticipating, but what did it matter if it was difficult? All the things in life that were worth having were hard.