Instantly, three Riders were gathered around Cammon and two had leapt for the door to block the intruder.
“Whoa!” the newcomer exclaimed, finding his way barred by a pair of crossed swords. He flung his hands in the air to indicate submission. “Seton, call off your men! I’m perfectly harmless.”
Seton was on his feet. “My apologies, Chelten. You see that Queen’s Riders have come here to defend the consort, and your abrupt entry must have startled them.”
Tayse and Hammond dropped their weapons, gave brief nods to the young lord, and resumed their places against the wall, while the other three Riders also moved back into position. For another moment, Chelten stood where he had halted, elaborately adjusting the sleeves of his jacket, but appearing good-humored about the incident.
“I shall know what to expect if I ever go visiting royalty at Ghosenhall!” he said. “I will creep around the castle most carefully so I don’t excite any alarm.”
“Actually, that’s likely to make everyone even more suspicious,” Cammon said. “But it’s not a good idea to jump through doors, either.”
Chelten turned his eyes toward Cammon, obviously identified him as the royal personage, and sank to his knees right there on the threshold. “I beg pardon for disrupting your meal and thank you most sincerely for offering me this chance to meet you,” he said. “I apologize also for arriving late, but I’m afraid that couldn’t be helped.”
“Well, we’re glad you’re here now,” Cammon said.
“Yes, do sit down,” Seton said. “You’re in time for cobbler.”
Chelten was on his feet again and scanning the table. “I’ve eaten, thank you, but I wanted to see—yes! Kirra! You are here! Let me give you a kiss!”
He dove headlong across the room with his arms outstretched. Donnal leapt to his feet, his skirts swirling around him, and Kirra loosed a squeak of horror. Oh, this was so funny Senneth almost let the situation unfold, but she wasn’t sure Donnal would be able to stay in character if he were mauled affectionately by a lord. So she sucked in a hard breath and clenched her fists, and every flame in the room went out.
In total darkness, there were sudden cries of bewilderment, the stamping sounds of heavy bodies in motion, the flit and rustle of clothing as guests shifted position. “Bring us a candle!” Seton was shouting, and in less than a minute, servants were hurrying back into the room with lit tapers. The fresh light revealed all of the Riders converging around Cammon, who was perfectly unharmed, while Chelten had again frozen in mid-stride. Kirra was still on her feet, but looking much more serene—because now she really was Kirra, while Donnal had taken her place as taster at Cammon’s side.
“What kind of madness has taken possession of your house, Seton?” Chelten demanded.
“It’s the southern wind,” the hostess said with a little moan. “It just blew out all the fires.”
Kirra laughed and flung her hands out. “Don’t be stopped by a few theatrics, Chelten,” she said, her ailment all of a sudden forgotten. “Come give me a kiss, after all.”
NATE and Sabina were in the coach on the way home, so naturally the rest of them couldn’t discuss the hilarity of the dinner then; and once they pulled up at Gissel Plain, Kirra and Donnal melted away before Senneth had even disembarked. The Riders had already dispersed, and Nate drew Cammon aside, so Senneth was left to go upstairs all by herself, still trying to smother her grin.
When Tayse returned to their room a couple hours later, he locked the door, turned to her, and held out his arms. She collapsed against him, and felt him convulsed with silent laughter. She giggled, then she laughed, and then she was almost howling, clinging to his shoulders because she absolutely could not stand. They fell to the bed, still entwined, still helpless with laughter, and quite unable to speak.
Chapter 17
AT WEN’S INVITATION, KARRYN HAD BEGUN TO VISIT THE training yard in the mornings to watch the guards work out. It had taken a little persuading, though Karryn’s reasons for hesitating had surprised Wen.
“Won’t they think it’s odd that I’m there?” Karryn had said. “I mean, don’t they think I’m just a silly girl?”
“They might think you’re a silly girl, but they’ve pledged their lives to protect you,” Wen replied. “If you give them reasons to like you, they’ll undergo that task with even more of a will. But they can’t get to like you if they don’t know you.”
Karryn looked doubtful. “What if they get to know me and they don’t like me? Then maybe they won’t fight so hard for me after all.”
That gave Wen pause—but, after all, she rather liked Karryn, and she was a difficult one to please. “Here’s the secret to winning the hearts of your soldiers. Feed them well, pay them on time, never put them in unnecessary danger, and treat them with respect. If you simply learn and remember their names, that will please them. Not throwing a tantrum in front of them will help a little,” she couldn’t help adding, “but it’s the respect and the money that will win them over first.”
Karryn showed her true maturity by sticking her tongue out, but Wen grinned in response. Her comment had been deliberately provocative. “Anyway, you’re an attractive young woman and most of them are men. They’re predisposed to like you. That’s the way of the world.”
So Karryn had come down to the training yard the very next morning, wearing a flattering dress and a shy smile. As Wen had expected, the younger men were particularly eager to introduce themselves and proclaim themselves happy to be in her service, but even the old veterans like Eggles seemed pleased to meet the serramarra. Wen was impressed at how quickly Karryn was able to memorize and parrot back their names—even more impressed when Karryn proved she had actually noticed some of them before.
“You were with us when we went out on Coren Bauler’s boat, weren’t you, Amie? And, Moss, I think you accompanied me to Lindy Coverroe’s house, didn’t you? Orson—oh, I’ve met you a couple of times already! And one of those times, you saw me in a temper. Let me apologize now.”
It was a charming performance, and it won over every single member of the guard. Even Wen, who hadn’t particularly needed convincing. Davey, the youngest guard, perched on the top rail of the fence the whole time she was present, making no attempt to hide his admiration. Wen practically had to shove him back into the yard.
“Why don’t you all show the serramarra some of the moves you’ve been practicing, so she understands why she pays you such a handsome salary?” Wen said. That sent them all scurrying off to find their shields and blades, and within minutes the yard was ringing with combat. Wen hadn’t even had to pair off partners.
Karryn was unprepared for the violence; her eyes were huge as she watched. “Aren’t they going to hurt each other?” she demanded, looking pale.
“They’ll get banged up a little,” Wen admitted. “Nothing like in a real battle, of course. Now and then someone’s careless, and you’ll get a serious injury. That’s why we mostly use practice swords.”
Karryn’s eyes were fixed on the scene. “Are they very good? They look so ferocious!”
Wen felt a strange and wholly unexpected surge of pride. I picked them. I trained them. These are my troops. “They’re getting better,” she said coolly. “Orson’s the best, probably always will be. Eggles is not quite his equal. You remember which ones they are?”
Karryn nodded and pointed, correctly identifying the men.
“So they’ll probably win their contests,” Wen went on. “But my goal is to get everyone as close to Eggles’s level as I can before I—” Her mouth snapped shut.
But Karryn, always wayward, always noticed what you most hoped she’d overlook. She transferred the attention of her big brown eyes to Wen’s face. “Before you leave? Is that what you were going to say?”
“Serra, you know I never planned to stay here long.”
“I thought you might change your mind.” Karryn watched her a moment. “Don’t I pay you enough, Willa? Show you enough respect?”
/> Wen felt her mouth form a bitter smile. “That’s what it takes to win over most soldiers. Things are a little different for me.”
“Right, you’re worried about saving everybody else’s life,” Karryn said. “But what if you leave and I get attacked and no one else is as good as you are and I die? Won’t you feel awful then?”
Wen stared at her. The little brat. Straight for the gut with an underhanded blow. She said stiffly, “Maybe by that time I’ll be so far away from Fortunalt that I won’t hear the news.”
“I’m a serramarra,” Karryn said. “Everyone would hear that news.”
Wen almost laughed. “You’re a mean and manipulative child, did anyone ever tell you that?”
“Jasper says it all the time.”
“I won’t leave until I can trust them to care for you, is that good enough? In return, you must treat them all well even after I’m gone. Today was a very good start.”
“I liked them,” Karryn said. “I was a little afraid of them, but now I’m not.”
“The head of your guard can turn out to be your very best friend. Many a marlord has a close relationship with his captain.”
Karryn was nodding. “Mayva Nocklyn’s captain helped her imprison her husband after it turned out he was poisoning Mayva’s father. She says the captain was the only man she could trust.”
Which made Wen wonder if she was encouraging too much intimacy between the soldiers and the serramarra. She wasn’t up to giving Karryn a lecture on keeping a proper place, though; she’d just have to deliver that to the men. “You see? So take care to build a strong relationship with your guard, and they will gladly fight for you when the situation arises.”
WHEN she made her report to Jasper Paladar that night, Wen made a point of praising Karryn’s appearance at the training yard. It turned out he already knew of it.
“Yes, Karryn was quite full of Orson and Eggles and Davey and Moss,” he said. They were still meeting in the library, still sitting at the little table, but they had not started another cruxanno game, for which Wen thanked the gods. She had, at Jasper’s request, brought a deck of cards, but for the past three nights they had not bothered to play. They merely talked. Of course, none of these recent visits had lasted very long, either, and that made Wen a little sorry. She liked hearing Jasper Paladar’s views of the world. “They say the queen knows every Rider by name,” he continued. “No reason a serramarra cannot do the same.”
Who would have expected him to bring up Riders in any conversation? Wen waited till she’d gotten her breath back, and replied, “And they say a Rider can walk into any room at the palace and interrupt royalty no matter what the occasion. I don’t know that Karryn’s guards should ever feel quite so unrestricted, but her captain should certainly have leave to come to her no matter what the time or situation.”
He gave her a curious look, accompanied by a curious smile. “You feel free to come and go in the house, do you not, Willa?”
“If the danger were great enough, I would burst in on you in the bath or in the bed,” she replied, smiling back. “Any of you.”
He laughed. “Well, then, I shall take certain safeguards that neither eventuality will leave either of us embarrassed.”
That made her laugh in turn. “But I feel Karryn is safe enough behind the hedge,” Wen said. “If nothing else, I have instilled in your soldiers the importance of a constant patrol. I think they are actually disappointed that no one has tried to breach the wall while they were defending it. It is when she leaves the House that I expect danger to strike—if it ever does.”
“I doubt Tover Banlish poses a risk any longer. Did you hear the news? It arrived yesterday morning. He has been disinherited in favor of his younger sister.”
Wen was pleased. “Excellent! Though I suppose this might make him an even greater risk than before. Now he will be nothing unless he marries a title.”
“A man like that is nothing with a title, either,” Jasper said.
Wen considered. “I don’t know anything about how the marlords arrange their affairs,” she said. “But does Karryn’s mother think about planning a marriage for her?”
“Oh, Serephette started brooding over potential alliances while Karryn was still in the cradle. But Rayson’s ambition threw all that out the window. There are some Houses now that wouldn’t mate with Fortunalt for all the gold in Gillengaria. And—in case you hadn’t noticed—Karryn’s a headstrong girl. She says that Amalie married for love and she will as well. It doesn’t matter how often we remind her that Cammon is Ariane Rappengrass’s son—a bastard, maybe, but noble enough to placate the Twelve Houses! She won’t hear of a political liaison unless she cares for the man in question.”
“I have to say my sympathies are with Karryn,” Wen said. “But surely there are some noble young men who are handsome and young? I don’t know which marlords have sons and which ones don’t—”
Jasper did, of course. She wasn’t surprised. “There are the two Gisseltess boys, but even if Karryn desperately loved one of them, no one would allow them to marry,” he said. “Another alliance between Fortunalt and Gisseltess? Out of the question! The same is true for Storian and Tilt, although Gregory Tilton, at least, did the crown some favors during the war. Ariane has no unmarried sons and her grandsons are too young to consider. Malcolm Danalustrous has no boys. Kiernan Brassenthwaite has several, but I’ll be damned if I let him sew up all four corners of Gillengaria. He has one brother in Gisseltess already and another in Danalustrous, and his sister sitting in Ghosenhall advising the queen. So Karryn must look outside of Brassenthwaite for a groom. But she is only sixteen, after all. There is plenty of time to find her a husband.”
“Will you stay?” Wen asked. “After Karryn is married?”
He looked undecided. “I agreed to watch over her until she turned twenty-one—seven years, and it sounded like a lifetime two years ago! But I have become attached to Karryn and invested in the House. I will find it hard to leave unless I am convinced she no longer needs me. I suppose it all depends.”
“And if you did leave? What would you do? Go back to your own house?”
He nodded. “For a time, at least. I have thought about going to live near my daughter so that we could work on a book together, but who knows what her life might hold in five years?” He shrugged and then surprised her by turning the conversation. “What about you? When you leave us, where will you go?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never followed much of a plan. I might head east, though. I’ve seen very little of Gisseltess or Coravann, and I’ve never crossed the Lireth Mountains. Maybe I’ll try that next.”
“Oh, the men of the Lirrens wouldn’t have any idea what to make of you! They prefer their women sweet and submissive.”
Wen thought of Justin’s wife, Ellynor. To look at her, you would think she exactly fit that description, for she was quiet and mild. But she had practically fought the gods to save Justin’s life, and she had used her strange dark magic to aid the royal soldiers in the war. Wen hated her, of course, because Justin loved her, but she had to admit to a certain grudging admiration as well.
“I think I would manage just fine in the Lirrens,” she said. “I seem to do all right wherever I go.”
FOR the next three mornings, Karryn made a point of traipsing down to the training yard to watch her soldiers work out. Wen was pleased, of course, though the serramarra’s visits tended to distract the guards more than she liked, and Davey was concentrating so much on Karryn instead of his opponent that he sprained his wrist fighting off a blow he really should have been able to deflect. Wen didn’t tell Karryn this, she just splinted Davey’s arm, lectured him sternly, and set him to doing small tasks around the barracks that could be accomplished by a one-handed man.
The fourth morning, Karryn didn’t come down, but she’d already warned Wen that she was expecting company. Wen and two of the younger guards were on duty in the house when the Coverroe carriage arrived and Lindy
went running upstairs with some kind of news for Karryn.