Yes, gentlemen: said Philippa impatiently, and seizing a stout wooden heading axe, let it fall on the next person who passed.It was Lymond. He dropped to his knees, his hands covering the nape of his neck, his skin flushed with laughter. Philippa, lowering the axe, said, 'I have never in the whole of my life seen you laugh before.'He looked up at the red sock, still gasping. 'Now that,' he said, 'is ridiculous. Although, now you mention it, I didn't laugh last time it happened. Hit d'Harcourt on the head and see if he laughs.
Philippa, impatient and commanding, threatened anyone passing to be struck with a wooden axe, revealing her frustration and readiness to take drastic action. When Lymond appeared, he humorously dropped to his knees, visibly amused and caught off guard by her assertiveness. Philippa remarked that she had never seen him laugh before, highlighting the rarity of his genuine amusement.
Lymond, still gasping from laughter, dismissed the moment as amusing but questioned its significance, jokingly suggesting hitting d'Harcourt to see if he would laugh. Their exchange reflects a rare moment of levity and camaraderie between the characters in Dorothy Dunnett's "The Ringed Castle."
