"Your mother was something special…"
For a moment, the words struck Owain in a way he hadn't thought anything could, bringing a bit of moisture to his eyes as he remembered the woman who had once sat quietly at his father's side, focusing her attention on her children while her husband focused on governing his domain.
There weren't many noblemen who would have agreed that Isla was anything special. She was the daughter of a minor baron in Keating duchy, one of Count DuValles' vassals, not even someone who directly served the duke. As alliances went, she brought little to the marriage beyond access to the vast reserves of salt in her father's lands, which, while helpful to the inland march, was hardly reason enough to accept her as the bride of a marquis.
