Daughter Of The Lioness - Trickster's Choice Part 20

His gaze hardened. "Anyof it, Aly."

She scratched her head. "You know, Your Grace, this will go so much easier for everyone if you accept the G.o.d's gifts without question," she reminded him.

"Take it from me, you'll just give yourself headaches this way."

Mequen smiled. "So I will. I suppose inquiring into your origins comes under the heading of questioning the G.o.d's gifts."

Aly bowed her head meekly. "Oh, undoubtedly, Your Grace."

"Very well. You are dismissed-with my thanks."

Aly was about to open the door when she thought of something else. She faced the duke. "Your Grace also owes thanks to Lady Saraiyu," she said, not sure if she was overstepping her bounds.

"She will have her sword lessons again, if that is what concerns you," replied Mequen. "After tonight, I think your Tortallan king is wiser than we are, to allow women to take up arms. Sleep well."

A n.o.ble maiden must convey dignity and chast.i.ty without appearing to think about either one. Let common-born girls tussle in the hay with their loutish swains.

The future of your family's bloodline and your future lord's bloodline should be your greatest concern. Let no man but one of your family embrace you. Let no man but your betrothed kiss any more than your fingertips; let your betrothed kiss you only on fingers, cheek, or forehead, lest he think you unchaste. And never allow yourself to be alone with a man, to safeguard the precious jewel of your reputation. No well-born maiden ever suffered from keeping her suitors at arm's length. Your chast.i.ty will make you a prize to your future husband's house and an honor to your own.

-FromAdvice to Young n.o.blewomen, by Lady Fronia of Whitehall (in Maren), given to Aly on her twelfth birthday by her G.o.dsmother, Queen Thayet

11.

MIGRATIONS.

To be on the safe side, Aly suggested to Ulasim that he might want to question Gurhart, to see if he told the head footman the same story he had given to the duke. She looked on as Ulasim and Fesgao interrogated the man using truthdrops.

Gurhart's answers were the same as those he'd given Mequen. It was just a safety measure, but Aly was determined not to be overconfident again. She had been virtually sure of Gurhart's innocence. He was too terrified to lie, and he should have been. Anyone but Mequen would have confiscated all Gurhart owned and demanded lives as well. Here in the Isles, the duke didn't even need to have the executions approved by a royal court, as he would in Tortall. On his own lands in the Isles, the luarin n.o.ble had the rights of a king. Bronau would have demanded everything, but with Sarai to plead with him for clemency, he gave way.

Aly also made sure to be on hand as Veron, Fesgao, and the men searched the caravan board by board. As she had expected, they had found nothing in the a.s.sa.s.sins' gear to indicate who had hired them. As professionals, they had stripped themselves of anything personal before they joined Gurhart on Lombyn.

Returning to the castle after the search, Aly was joined by old Lokeij. He looked none the worse for his late evening. He was teasing her for her yawns as they wandered into the inner courtyard. There one of the corporals put the off-duty armsmen through sword drills. Today their numbers included Sarai, paired off with Fesgao, and the d.u.c.h.ess, who was learning the beginning drills under the corporal's instruction.

"Is she not beautiful?" asked Lokeij softly as he watched Sarai parry and disengage with catlike grace. "Like Gunapi-"

"The Sunrose, the G.o.ddess, I know," Aly interrupted, watching the girl and her partner. "If she doesn't keep her guard up, she'll be skewered by someone who knows what he's doing."

Lokeij looked up at Aly with a frown. "You know so much about it, I suppose."

Aly opened her mouth to say she knew plenty about swordplay, then closed it.

Finally she said, "I watched lots of armsmen practicing. I even saw the Lioness fight."

"Who?" asked Lokeij.

Aly stared at the little man. Who had not heard of her mother? "The King's Champion of Tortall," she informed him. "The first female knight in over a century. The Lady Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau."

Lokeij shrugged. "A luarin," he said dismissively. "I only pay attention to them when it's a matter of survival or of protecting my lady's girls." He rubbed a hand over his bristled chin thoughtfully. "So she's good, this Lioness?"

"She's never lost a fight as King's Champion!" Aly said, offended by Lokeij's disinterest. This was hermother, a lady acknowledged by all to be poetry with a sword in her hand. She looked at Sarai just as Fesgao sent the girl's sword flying into the air. "Your Sunrose has a way to go to beat Alanna the Lioness."

She walked on to the castle, feeling wistful. She'd never had to say more than her mother's name to describe her before. She was truly away from home, to say "Lioness" and not have every person within hearing turn to listen.This is a terrible time to find that I miss her, Aly thought, picking up her step. There's nothing I can do about it until autumn.

To shake off her mood Aly went to Chenaol and begged for ch.o.r.es. She was setting the dais table when Sarai walked into the great hall from outside, straggle-haired and sweat-soaked. She ma.s.saged her sword wrist wearily. Aly guessed that Sarai hadn't practiced as much as she'd meant to since her last official lesson.

She was about to call out a suggestion that Sarai wrap her arm in hot, damp towels when Bronau emerged from the study near the staircase. He halted Sarai with a touch on the shoulder and murmured in her ear. Sarai looked up into his face, startled, then glanced around with the look of someone checking for her parents. Aly knew that look very well, having often used it herself. She held perfectly still. With the afternoon's light fading, the dais was in shadow, and so was she.

Sarai nodded and whispered to the prince. Then she continued her climb up the stairs, while Bronau retreated into the study and closed the door.

It had been open before, Aly realized. The prince had been sitting in there, waiting for Sarai to return.

Once the table was set, Aly returned to the kitchen and took Chenaol aside. "Let Hasui pour," she murmured to the cook. "I have things to do."

Chenaol nodded and beckoned to Hasui. Aly left to wash up.

She ate in the shadows at the foot of the stair, her supper cheese and venison slices jammed into a cut roll. All seemed normal on the dais. Bronau, seated between Winnamine and Sarai, plied the d.u.c.h.ess with his usual easy flow of conversation and compliments. He seemed to ignore Sarai next to him.

Sarai, too, tried to pretend interest in Dove, seated next to her, and in her food, but she wasn't good at it. A blush mantled her cheeks. She had put a jeweled chain as a band around her forehead, with a citrine droplet dangling at its center. Citrines glinted from her earlobes. Her pale yellow silk dress had a neckline properly meant for court dinners, not country ones. A gold chain with a large gold-tinted pearl drew attention to the shadow between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Aly shook her head. If ever a girl was dressed for an a.s.signation, it was Sarai.

Aly could have taught her a thing or two about sneaking away to meet a man.

Everyone in the room suspected, particularly her parents. She couldn't wait to see how the girl would get away from her family.

Getting to her feet at the end of the meal, Sarai stumbled, b.u.mping into Bronau.

He fell sideways against Winnamine as the d.u.c.h.ess raised her wine cup to her lips. Wine spilled down the front of Winnamine's rose-colored gown.

As servants, Bronau, and Mequen scrambled to help the d.u.c.h.ess, Sarai quietly ducked out through the servants' door behind the dais. Aly had guessed that would be her way out. She entered the pa.s.sage through another door under the shadow of the stair. On this level the hall pa.s.sed around the outer wall, allowing servants to bring dishes or messages to the dais without being seen by everyone in the room. The servants' stairs to the upper floors also ended here.

The ground floor level had two exits, one directly into the kitchen, one to the outdoor area where Nawat had brought down the pair of would-be a.s.sa.s.sins.

To the left of the outside door lay the ladies' garden, a small green oasis with a fountain, flowers, and trees tucked between the castle and keep walls, in a spot that drew sunlight every day. Its edges were planted with pines and ferns, which made it seem like part of a forest. The plants also gave Aly cover to hide in as Sarai arranged herself on the broad lip of the fountain. With the approach of night the garden was deep in shadow. The only light came from torches on a walkway on the outer curtain wall. In these conditions Aly got so close to Sarai that she could hear the girl's dress rustle as she fidgeted. Aly settled down to wait.

The musical part of the evening's entertainment in the great hall had begun when Bronau came down the flagstone path. "Sarai, my dear." His voice was warm and soft, intimate.

Sarai's dress whispered as she got to her feet. "Your Highness, good evening."

Bronau chuckled. He kissed Sarai's hand and sat on the lip of the fountain, pulling her down beside him. "That was very clever. I'm not sure Winna will thank you, but I don't believe anyone noticed you left in all the excitement."

"You said you had something important and private to discuss," Sarai pointed out shyly.

"But I am distracted by the music of your voice, those lovely eyes, the sweet curve of your lips . . ."

Aly couldn't see, but she didn't need to. Sarai's quiet gasp, cut off abruptly, and the rustle of silk, painted a clear picture of a kiss. Oh, dear me, Aly thought, shaking her head. Making up to your host's daughter-bad prince! Now, why do you suppose he's doing it on the sly? He's not married, and her parents are his friends. He could probably get permission from His Grace to court Sarai.

"My lord prince!" Sarai was definitely fl.u.s.tered. "It's so improper!"

"I know. I apologize." Bronau's voice was a little hoa.r.s.e. "My feelings carried me away. To watch you ride, to see you among your devoted subjects, like a true queen-none of Oron's wives were as graceful or as gracious as you. Don't look so alarmed. No one can hear us."

"But you talk something like treason, Your Highness," Sarai warned gently. "I am no queen, only the daughter of a disgraced n.o.bleman."

"But if I asked you to be queen of my heart?"

Aly crinkled her nose with distaste. She had sighed over speeches like that one in the stories she had read and the romantic ballads she had heard. In real life they sounded tawdry. He was a prince of the realm, nearly twenty years older than Sarai. How could he talk like a minstrel performing for ladies in a bower?

Did he think Sarai had no brains or honor?

"Your Highness, why have you not asked my father's permission to address me in such terms?" Sarai asked. Her voice was small but firm. "He is your friend. So is my stepmother. For that matter, you used to court Winna."

"Ah." Bronau's chuckle had an embarra.s.sed sound. "To be honest, I hadn't meant to get so carried away, truly. But my feelings . . . The affection I had for Winna was that of practicality. She was a widow and my friend, I had found no true love, so I offered her a marriage of friends.h.i.+p. I thank the G.o.ds now that she preferred Mequen."

Don't fall for this dolt, Aly silently begged Sarai. I'll bet he wrote all these pretty speeches down and memorized them so he could make any maiden swoon all over him.

Unaware of his hidden critic, Bronau continued to talk. "I escaped love for years, only to be plunged into it when I thought myself immune. I need to know from your own beautiful lips: would you be averse to a union with me? You would be queen of my heart in truth, and I would put the world at your feet."

Sarai's hesitation was marked. Aly raised an eyebrow, fascinated. Back in Tortall, she herself had sighed with the feelings of kisses and strong arms, yet she was still practical. The boys who had courted her had called her cold-blooded. Now it seemed that she and Sarai had that in common: that their hearts could be racing as their heads remained cool. "Your Highness," Sarai murmured at last, "I cannot bring glory to your name. Tanair and a few estates like it are my only inheritance. You have seen how poor it is."

"I care nothing for your fortune, Sarai," Bronau said. There was enough pa.s.sion in his quiet voice to almost convince Aly. "So I am an impractical fool.

Certainly Rubinyan and that human Stormwing he married think so. But I would rather have a woman I loved than the plumpest heiress in the Isles. Unless . .

." His pa.s.sion faded audibly, with a trained actor's precision. "The difference in our ages . . ."

"Oh, no, Highness, that's not it at all!" Sarai's emotion was not calculated.

She spoke from the heart. "How could I-a man so alive as you-"

There was the movement of cloth, the catch of breath, sighs and murmurs. Aly pushed back her cuticles, then carefully cleaned under her nails, waiting for conversation to start again. Bronau would do no more than kiss Sarai, not when there was a chance a sentry would look down from the parapet and see them.

At last Bronau asked, his voice rough, "Will you marry me, enchantress? Will you let me make you queen of the world?"

Sarai was panting. Aly envied her; she liked kissing, too.

At last Sarai managed to say, "Your Highness, I am not free to choose. If my father says I may . . . He's your friend, he won't refuse us if that's what we want."

Bronau hesitated. At last he said, "I cannot ask him. Not yet. I am under suspicion, as are you. Oron might see a union between us as a threat."

"He sees everything as a threat," Sarai reminded him.

"When I am in favor at court again, I will ask Mequen for your hand-if you wish to give it." Another stifled gasp. Aly wondered if they were going to do this all night.

"I'll go back first," Bronau said. "Give me time to reach my rooms before you return. And thank you, for giving me hope."

Judging by the movement of shadows beyond her screen of ferns, Aly suspected Bronau kissed Sarai's hands, then her mouth, one last time before he left the garden. Now she also noticed that the ground under her was damp. The d.u.c.h.ess would skin her for getting another tunic dirty.

"That wasn't very wise," a small, clear voice-Dove's-announced. "And it was.e.xtremely improper, letting him get you alone. People would say you aren't very well brought up."

"What do you know?" Sarai retorted, sounding like a cross sixteen-year-old, not a gently bred maiden swept away by her lover's kisses. "You're only twelve. And you're not in the least romantic."

"Good." Firm steps sounded on the earth. A rustle of cloth announced that Dove was sitting by her sister.

"Besides," Sarai added, "Ihad a chaperon. Didn't I, Aly?"

Aly giggled and stood. "How did you know?" she asked.

"I just guessed," Sarai replied. She and Dove were making sure her hair was tucked up and neatly pinned once more.

"Why did you let them do that?" Dove wanted to know, bending around Sarai to glare at Aly. "It was so shameful."

"Hmph," Sarai replied with a sniff. She tugged a lock of hair out of Dove's hold when she tossed her head. "Wait until you're my age and the blood's hot inyour veins. He's very handsome, and charming-"

"And he'sold, " Dove interrupted. "It was disgusting."

"He's a man of the world," Sarai informed her sister, her nose in the air.

"So he's twice as likely to get you pregnant as a boy your own age who loves you and doesn't know what he's doing. That's what Chenaol says," Dove snapped.

"Dovasary Temaida Balitang!" cried Sarai, shocked. "Never say Chenaol told that toyou !"

"No," Dove said, her chin thrust out mulishly. "She said it to one of the maids who's got one of Bronau's servants chasing her, but it means the same for you, doesn't it?"

"He never mentioned his debts," Aly pointed out, brus.h.i.+ng a clump of moss from the front of her tunic.

Sarai drooped and sighed. "No, he didn't. And he didn't talk to Papa first. But Aly, I think he's serious about the marriage."

Aly propped her chin on her hands. "I do, too," she admitted. "And it makes me uncomfortable. I hope it makesyou uncomfortable. Or wary, at least."

Sarai laughed. "I don't need to be wary," she said, elbowing Aly. "I have you and Dove for that."

Aly smiled evilly at Sarai, showing teeth. "But not for explaining to Their Graces where you have been since supper. You may tell them Dove and I were present, of course, but we won't be there to sweeten the discussion for you."

Sarai looked from Aly to Dove, who gave her a grin identical to Aly's. "I'm going to read in the library for a while," she told Sarai. "I'll come upstairs later."

Aly inhaled deeply. "I believe I'll enjoy the cool air for a bit," she said, her voice light. "Summer nights areso lovely."

"All right for you two," Sarai told them sharply. She got to her feet. "I may as well get it over with. And I'll remember this!" She flounced down the flagstone path.

"She always surprises me," Dove remarked. "She didn't try to tell you that you're a slave, so you have to go with her."