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She let the beetle drop from her hands, and laughed, colouring
a little. "A princess? And has your name a meaning, too?"
"My name means - well, Edwin means ’a conqueror.’"
They looked at each other for a moment, and then Sarah said, "And the
name - Ben?"
"Benjamin means the ’son of e right hand."
He saw her stiffen, and she bent lower over the crook in which she
was kneading the grain. "Why did ye ask for the child’s name?" she
demanded suddenly.
"That is really why I came today. Would you like me to christen
him?"
She shook her head. "I dont know. I would have to hear What the
men say."
Sorleyson came a little closer. "Sarah, your boy will be called
Ben Echlin when he grows up. Will he have to be ashamed of one of his
names? He wont, if you marry Frank or Hamilton."
"Isn’t it just because of that, that I cant marry either of them?
God in Heaven, Mr Sorleyson, dont make it harder for me nor you can!"
"I’m not making it difficult for you, I’m showing you a way out
of your difficulty. It’s my duty to advise on these difficulties, Sarah.
I tell you that you’re mistaken to think that you cant marry either of
them! "
"If I did what ye bid me, it would only be putting a scab on a sore.
What right have I to give myself and the child to one man over the other?"
"Do you not lean towards one of them yourself?”
She straightened and looked angrily at him, her lips drawn closely
