Karl took note of his niece's lack of enthusiasm for sitting down to breakfast with him.  He wished she would be more socialable with him, more friendly, perhaps even playful and flirtatious.  But why she should?  Karl had little doubt that she would just as well push him from the crenulations as to sit down to a meal with him, particularly one that had been so firmly ordered as was breakfast.

Clara accepted that she would meet the new Lord of Echo Valley, as Karl had expected.  And she showed just as much enthusiasm for [i]that[/i] as she had for breakfast, again as Karl had expected.  

Publicly, he'd made it clear that she would wed one day and that her intended would be a man that Karl himself picked.  And because of this lack of choice, Karl had never expected Clara to be happy with the situation.  Privately, though, he wished she would fight against the forced marriage, decline it with all her heart and soul.  In that case, of course, Karl would have no choice but to wed -- and, of course, bed -- his niece.  After all, custom said she had to marry someone, and -- because of Clara's great beauty, poise, intelligence, and Noble standing -- that someone should be a person of equal or better standing and wealth.  

So, Karl thought often and fantasized even more often, why not him.

He saw Clara's lack of enthusiasm now as a good sign for him.  He couldn't know, of course, that his niece would probably marry the ugliest, fattest, and rudest Noble in the Kingdom rather than marry him.

[color=blue]"I assume we would go today?"[/color] Clara asked. [color=blue]"I believe I am already ready. This dress would be good enough, no?"[/color]

The mentioning of her gown gave Karl a justified reason to let his gaze fall to his niece's body without appearing as if he was ogling her delicious curves.  After a moment, he reluctantly tore his eyes away from the young beauty and reached for his glass of Morning Wine, a very weak drink that -- closer to water than to wine -- was meant to provide safe hydration rather than intoxication. 

"I sent word to the Earl of our intention to visit," Karl confirmed.  "I have also arranged lodging with Viscount Crooper for this evening."

The Viscount was one of the [I]Lesser Lords[/I] who had vouched for Karl before the King.  And he'd benefited greatly for it.  Crooper's estate shared a river land border with Karl's County, and the Viscount had always yearned for a small sliver of land that offered a wonderful location for a toll bridge.  After the Viscount's testimony, Karl had very quietly sold the valuable land to the Viscount … for one silver piece.  Since then, Crooper had built his bridge and siphoned away a great deal of toll-paying merchant traffic from yet another Viscount downstream.  

"The village at Echo Valley is a two day ride by coach for those wishing a comfortable ride," he continued.  Karl was rarely in a hurry to get from one point to another these days.  He preferred taking his time so that he could check in with his [I]eyes and ears[/I] spread all about the Kingdom.  "We leave at half-to-noon."

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A couple of hours later, they were on the road southward.  Karl sat facing forward and his niece sat facing to the rear.  He always offered her a seat next to him, so that she could see where they were going as opposed to where they'd been.  But never in all her years with him had Clara chosen to sit that close to him.

The County of Black Rock had been well and appropriately named.  Tall, steep cliffs of dark, volcanic rock rose up all around the lush, green forests and valleys.  The narrowness of the valleys and canyons meant that there wasn't often a lot to see at any one time.  But what could be seen was simply magnificent.

"The Angel Falls are at full flow," he said to Clara, breaking a silence that had existed since leaving the keep.  He gestured with a lifted chin toward the falls as they passed.  Some time later he interrupted a second silence by pointing out the opposite side of the coach and informing his niece, "My Master Builder says he'll start on the cart bridge over Widow's Creek this next month."