After The Rabbit (Waldo Rabbit Series) (19 page)

“Fine, well if we’re staying no matter what then I think you should know the duke was lying when you asked him about monsters in the area.”

“Are you certain?”

“Pretty much, I have a lot of experience with men telling lies. One of the benefits of being a barmaid.”

“That’s interesting.” Waldo gave her his full attention and narrowed his eyes.

“What?”

“You were holding this back until I made it clear we weren’t leaving. If I had decided to go you wouldn’t have told me at all, would you?”

Her eyes darted towards the floor and she began tugging at her hair.

“I was going to tell you,” she mumbled.

“You also didn’t mention Lancel until the duke brought him up. You must have known who the ruler was as soon as we arrived. It explains why you were so adamant we leave. It also makes clear why you used your Charm.”

“I didn’t actually lie about that, I just didn’t bring it up.”

“A lie of omission then. It could have been important.”

“You think I like talking about all this? Of reminding you how I used to be nothing? I didn’t even have a last name. I was property. They didn’t call me a slave, but I could still be bought and sold like a pig or cow. I… I was ashamed.”

“Alice I know all this. I paid a hundred gold coins to buy you. Why is it an issue?”

She tugged on her hair a little more fiercely. “I care what you think about me. I know you know what I am, but I want you to see me as someone special to you.”

“Alice,” he reached out and took hold of both her hands, pulling them free of her hair. “I am going to tell you something very important and I want you to pay attention to me. All right?”

She nodded silently.

“Growing up I was taught many sayings that summed up important lessons in just a few words. One of the first and most important was this; ‘Trust is a dagger pointed at your own heart.’ I was brought up to not trust others. I was taught to always expect betrayal.”

“That’s terrible.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Life is cruel, and I learned a great many hard lessons growing up, every child of every Great House does. Members of my family were dangerous, it was not unusual for them to arrange accidents for one another. Trusting too much, or the wrong person, would get you killed very quickly.”

“I can’t believe people in the same family could do that to each other.”

“Another of our sayings is; ‘Corpses are easy to step over.’”

Alice grimaced in obvious distaste.

“Before setting out on my quest I trusted only two people; my mother and my sister Gwendolyn. In my life they were the only ones I felt I could put my faith in. Everyone else, every brother, sister, servant, or teacher I expected to betray me. Except for my mother and Gwen there was no one else I would share a secret with or allow to stand at my back. Do you understand what I am saying? About how precious trust is to me?”

“Yes, I think so.”

He leaned forward and placed a slow, soft kiss on her lips.

“I trust you.” He whispered.

Her eyes widened. Through the bond he felt her shock, followed by a well spring of clear happiness.

“So don’t lie or keep secrets from me anymore.”

She hugged and pressed herself against him. “Yes, darling.”

XXX

Lancel was lying in a warm bed. Uma asleep next to him, her light snoring reminded him of a sickly weasel. She was one of the women he liked to keep on his various estates. Brothels were fun to visit now and again, but he preferred having exclusive lovers. Being discreet with his pleasures was important. After all, one day he would be the Duke of Norwich, one of the most powerful men in all Lothas and an advisor to the King. For a man like him reputation was everything.

Thoughts about his reputation brought Stratford and Alice back to mind. To think he had almost lain with a monster! To have actually committed bestiality would have ruined him. The king would never allow a man who’d committed such a depravity to be a lord of the realm. So, in an odd way, Elsa’s greed had saved him. Not that Lancel felt any sort of gratitude towards the fat sow. Her lies had nearly ruined him in the first place. The mere possibility of rumors about him being attracted to a monster made Lancel sick.

Had Stratford been a small village he and his men would have slaughtered everyone and burned it to the ground. The lives of a few commoners and whores meant nothing compared to his own future. As it was, he could not make an entire city disappear. He’d had to settle for a small lesson and putting some fear into them. If any of those fools talked he would go back and turn them into dog meat.

Rationally Lancel was sure everything would be fine. Even if the story spread, who would believe it? Peasants loved to talk about their betters, but their opinions didn’t matter. If other lords and ladies heard they would just assume it was idle slander. Every truly great man had enemies, and those enemies were always inventing lies. Go to any tavern late at night, when tongues were loose, and you would hear how the local lord had fondled a stable boy or slept with a cousin or raped some farmer’s pretty daughter. Those sorts of stories were the same wherever you went, they were expected.

So what if the king or his father heard some vague rumor about him and some barmaid who was secretly a monster? What person of importance would take that sort of thing seriously? Alice was gone and he would never see or hear from her again. The important thing was that this would have no effect on his future. He would follow in his father’s footsteps and be Duke of Norwich.

Beside him Uma stirred and her weasly snores continued.

Looking at her he thought about how common she was, how ordinary. She was a pretty little milk maid from Bristol. He’d decided to make her one of his women, Lancel suddenly wasn’t sure why he’d bothered. Uma was enthusiastic and not unskilled with her mouth, but he’d had better.

She was underneath blankets, but he’d gotten a close look before. Her breasts were barely enough to fill each hand and were a bit lopsided. The girl had a slight pot belly a small bulge of fat at her hips and thighs. When he bothered to talk to her she agreed with every word he said and fell over herself to tell him how wonderful he was.

Gods she was boring.

Alice on the other hand…

Now there was a woman.

Everything about Alice was magnificent, perfect, and unique. The first time he’d seen her he’d known she’d belong to him. Everything from her hair to her eyes to those ample breasts had caught his attention. When he’d offered to take her to bed she’d actually defied him! A barmaid in a common whorehouse had refused him. It turned out she was an indentured servant, lower than even an ordinary peasant.

Her refusal had not upset him. Lancel loved a good hunt, and she was clearly a worthy prize. The fact she was a
virgin
made her seem a gods’ gift to him. Surely such a woman was meant for a man like him.

The delays while he dealt with that cow Elsa only increased his eagerness. He would dream about Alice, spend the hours on horseback imagining what her kisses tasted like. Thought of undressing her and finally rubbing his face and hands all over those glorious tits. It had been years since he’d wanted anything as much as he’d wanted her. Lancel delighted in the anticipation and in the conquest to come.

Then it all turned out to be for nothing. His angelic beauty was a hideous, inhuman beast. His feelings for her were reduced to a foul jest.

The worst part of it all was that he still wanted her, even knowing she was a monster. The thought of forcing her to his will made his manhood start to rise. It would never happen now, but if he could have her just once, in secret, he would.

Then he would silence her forever.

Lancel shook Uma’s shoulder roughly. Thinking of Alice had gotten him too excited to sleep. He would spend a few more days here enjoying himself before it came time to go home.

XXX

It was the second hour and Celton Poisondagger was at the same place where he had originally met the vampire.
Celton’s wand was in hand but he had not cast a spell to provide light. His father had given him strict instructions to draw as little attention as possible. He stood in near total darkness, waiting for the possible arrival of a murderous creature. The thought he might be betrayed and murdered filled his mind. Killing a Poisondagger under such circumstances was most definitely something Lilith would do.

“I take it your father has agreed to my offer?”

The voice coming from behind made him jump. Not five feet away was Enver. Even being so close it was hard to make out more than an outline in the darkness. The vampire’s fangs were the only part of him Celton could see out clearly.

“Where have you been? I came here yesterday and waited for over an hour.”

“My apologies,” Enver sketched a shallow bow. “You can inform Master Dante that my mistress was awake late last night. Obviously, I could not venture out without her being aware of it. I am watched even when I am not watched, such is the fate of a familiar.”

Celton had no idea if it was a lie. “My father is willing to meet with you, but he remains suspicious.”

“Hardly surprising, your father hasn’t lived this long by being the trusting sort.”

“He wanted me to inform you he will use a Circle of Truth. He plans to interrogate you thoroughly, and if he suspects any sort of deceit will kill you. He and I will be within a protective circle, just in case.”

“That is to be expected. You Poisondaggers are not known for your courage.”

Celton bristled. Unfortunately, such was his family’s reputation, but to actually bring it up was rather rude.

“People may mock us, but whenever we walk past they always watch their backs. We are very good at dealing with enemies in our own particular way. Even your mistress takes care around us.”

Enver shrugged. “I suppose.”

“In any case, my father is suspicious. He is not the sort to be taken in. Trying to do so is very dangerous.”

“Everything about this is dangerous, you can’t kill the head of a Great House without taking a risk.”

“Quiet!” Celton looked about fearfully, trying to spot anyone who might be lurking in the shadows.

Enver chortled. “Do give me some credit. Unlike you I can see perfectly in the dark. Rest assured, no one else is within earshot.”

“Maybe not physically, but there is always scrying magic. My father could be listening to us at this very moment.”

“What if he is? I have not said anything he could disagree with. He might take offense at my mention of your family’s courage, but I doubt he would call off the meeting.”

“You should still be careful.”

“I have spent the past seventeen years at Lilith’s side, I know how to watch my tongue when I must.” There was a sour laugh. “Though I admit to sometimes saying more than I should. Poking at her is one of my few pleasures.”

“Saying the wrong word where my father can hear will see you turned to ashes.”

“I will keep that in mind, Master Poisondagger. Don’t be so afraid, I will handle my part. Have you made it clear to Dante that no one but the two of you can know about me?”

“Yes, he is aware there are spies in our House. The last thing he wants is to lose a chance to rid himself of his greatest enemy by being careless.”

“So long as only the two of you know, everything will be fine.”

“If I am able to trust you, you know the old saying.”