"The Earl commands that if I have not found a husband by the spring solstice, he will give me and my lands away as a prize. I have little hope of attracting any man in Salisbury, and scare any better from beyond. I wonder if you would find me an acceptable wife?"
She quickly adds, "I am a woman of means - heiress to four manors with vassals and lands of my own. All this would pass to you one our wedding day. You could be a bannerett, Sir Cedwyn, and add my manors to your own! Your have grand plans for Winterbourne Stoke, and I admire them, but imagine what you could so with the additional resources of four manors?"
She pauses for a breath before adding breathlessly, "I am a pagan yes, but loyal and true once I pledge myself! Outside of the rites, you have nothing to fear! I am older, perhaps, that the young ladies you were speaking to earlier, but I have years left in me to bring you many heirs and have the experience of managing the affairs of four manors. I have much to offer ..."
She voice trails off, and she blushes.
"I sound as a beggar to your ears, desperate for a husband. But that is not so! I would chose my own destiny, and bind myself to a husband of my own will rather than be a pawn in the Earl's politics! Would you allow me that dignity? To choose whom to give my loyalty to, and with whom to share the marriage bed? I would not be traded like a prize horse, but chose my own fate if I could."
