She came to a halt in front of the head table and looked at the man who brooded in the hall's best carved oak chair. It was said that Hugh the Relentless was not the most comely of men in the best of light, but tonight the combination of flame and shadow rendered his features as forbidding as those of the devil himself.

His hair was darker than black chalcedony and brushed back from a peak above his forehead. His eyes, a strange shade of golden amber, were brilliant with a remorseless intelligence. It was plain to see how he had won the appellation of Relentless. Alice knew at once that this man would stop at nothing to obtain what he wanted.

A chill went through her but her resolve did not waver.

"I was disappointed that you chose not to join us for the meal, Lady Alice," Hugh said slowly. "I am told that you supervised its preparation."

"Aye, my lord." She gave him her most winning smile. One of the small facts she had managed to discover about Hugh was that he valued well-prepared, finely seasoned dishes. She was confident that the food had been above reproach. "I trust you enjoyed it?"

"An interesting question." Hugh contemplated the matter for a moment as though it were a problem in philosophy or logic. "I found no fault with the flavor or with the variety of the dishes. I confess I have eaten my fill."

Alice's smile dimmed. His measured words and obvious lack of appreciation annoyed her. She had spent hours in the kitchens today overseeing the banquet preparations.

"I am pleased to hear that you could find no obvious fault with the dishes, my lord," she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her uncle wince at her tart tone.

"Nay, there was nothing wrong with the meal," Hugh conceded. "But I must admit that one always wonders about the possibility of poison when one learns that the person who oversaw the preparation of the food elects not to eat it herself."

"Poison." Alice was outraged.

"The very thought adds spice to a meal, does it not?"

Ralf flinched as though Hugh had just drawn his sword. A collective gasp of horror came from the nearby servants. The men-at-arms stirred uneasily on the benches. Some of the knights rested their hands on the hilts of their swords. Gervase and William looked as though they were about to be ill.

"Nay, my lord," Ralf babbled quickly, "I assure you, there is absolutely no cause to suspect my niece of having poisoned you. I swear, sir, on my honor, she would not do such a thing."

"As I am still sitting here, none the worse for having dined well, I am inclined to agree with you," Hugh said. "But you cannot blame me for being wary under the circumstances."

"And just what circumstances would those be, my lord?" Alice demanded.

She saw Ralf squeeze his eyes closed in despair as her tone went from tart to downright rude. It was not her fault that the conversation was not beginning on an auspicious note. Hugh the Relentless had injected the antagonistic element, not she.

Poison, indeed. As if she would even think of doing such a thing.

She would have considered using one of her mother's more noxious recipes only as a last resort and then only if her sources had informed her that Hugh was a stupid, cruel, brutish sort who lacked intelligence. And even under those conditions, she thought, growing more irate by the moment, she would not have set out to kill him.

She would merely have used some harmless concoction that would have rendered him and his men so sleepy or so nauseated that they would have been unable to murder the household in cold blood.

Hugh studied Alice. And then, as though he had read her thoughts, his hard mouth curved faintly at one corner. The smile contained no hint of warmth, merely an icy amusement.

"Do you blame me for being cautious, lady? I have recently learned that you are a student of the ancient texts. 'Tis well known that the ancients were very adept with poisons. In addition, I hear that your own mother was an expert with strange and unusual herbs."

"How dare you, sir?" Alice was furious now. All thought of handling this man with care and circumspection had flown out the window. "I am a scholar, not a poisoner. I study matters of natural philosophy, not the dark arts. My mother was, indeed, an expert herbalist and a great healer. But she would never have used her skills to hurt anyone."

"I am, of course, relieved to learn that."

"I have no interest in murdering people, either," Alice continued rashly. "Not even rude, ungrateful guests, such as you, my lord."

Ralf's ale mug jerked in his hand. "Alice, for the love of God, be silent."

Alice ignored him. She narrowed her eyes at Hugh. "Be assured that I have never killed anyone in my life, sir. And that, moreover, is a claim that you, I'll wager, cannot make for yourself."

The dreadful stillness that overlaid the crowd was broken by choked-off exclamations of horror from several of the listeners. Ralf moaned and dropped his head into his hands. Gervase and William looked stupefied.

Hugh was the only one in the hall who appeared unperturbed. He gazed at Alice with a thoughtful expression. "I fear you are correct, lady," he said very softly. "I cannot make such a claim."

The shocking simplicity of the admission had the same effect on Alice as running straight into a brick wall. She came to an abrupt halt.

She blinked and recovered her balance. "Aye, well, there you are, then."

Hugh's amber eyes lit with brilliant curiosity. "Where, precisely, are we, madam?"

Ralf valiantly attempted to stop the downward spiral of the conversation. He raised his head, wiped his forehead on the sleeve of his tunic, and looked at Hugh with a pleading expression. "Sir, I pray you will understand that my foolish niece meant no offense."

Hugh's expression was doubtful. "Nay?"

"Of course not," Ralf sputtered. "There is no call to be suspicious of her merely because she did not choose to dine with us. In truth, Alice never dines here in the main hall with the rest of the household."

"Strange," Hugh murmured.

Alice tapped the toe of her slipper. "We are wasting time, my lords."

Hugh glanced at Ralf.

"She claims that she, uh, prefers the solitude of her own chambers," Ralf explained hurriedly.

"And why is that?" Hugh returned his attention to Alice.

Ralf grunted. "She says she finds the level of the, uh, intellectual discourse, as she terms it, here in this hall too low for her taste."

"I see," Hugh said.

Ralf shot Alice a belligerent glare as he warmed to an old and familiar complaint. "Apparently the mealtime conversation of honest, stout-hearted men-at-arms is not sufficiently elevated to suit my lady's high standards."

Hugh's brows rose. "What is this? Lady Alice does not care to hear the details of a man's morning practice at the quintain or learn of his success in the hunt?"

Ralf sighed. "Nay, my lord, I regret to say that she shows no interest in such matters. My niece is a perfect example of the foolishness of educating females, if you ask me. Makes them headstrong. Causes them to believe that they should wear the braies. Worst of all, it breeds ingratitude and disrespect for the poor, hapless men who are charged with their protection and whose sad lot it is to have to feed and shelter them."

Goaded, Alice gave Ralf a fulminating glance. "That is nonsense, Uncle. You know perfectly well that I have been suitably grateful for the protection that you have extended to me and my brother. Where would we be without you?"

Ralf flushed. "Now, see here, Alice, that is quite enough out of you."

"I'll tell you where Benedict and I would be if it had not been for your generous protection. We would be sitting in our own hall, dining at our own table."

"Blood of the Saints, Alice. Have you gone mad?" Ralf stared at her in mounting horror. "This is no time to bring up that matter."