All Fall Down (11 page)

“Lord Shaine,” Arnad said, and although his voice remained pleasant enough, the tightness of his mouth belied the even tone of his words, “I am offering you a fortune. Surely she can be replaced easily enough.”

“And I am not in need of a fortune, being already in possession of one.” Deliberately, Lord Shaine lifted a flagon of wine and poured a good measure into a pewter goblet. Then he raised it toward Arnad, offering it to him. “Come now, my lord. Have a drink, and let us forget this foolishness.”

“Foolishness?” Arnad’s eyes narrowed, and he said cuttingly, “I think you forget yourself, Shaine.”

The dropping of the honorific was not lost on me…nor on its target. The merest shadow of a frown passed over Lord Shaine’s features, but he remained calm. Instead, he looked over at me and said briefly, “Perhaps it would be best if you retired for the evening, Merys.”

Relieved beyond measure that he had offered me a way out of the awkward situation, I lowered my head and replied, “As you wish, my lord.” Not daring to risk a glance at Arnad, I gathered up my skirts and fled toward the entrance to the tower. All around me people backed out of the way, staring at me as if I were some sort of legendary monster that had been dropped in their midst.
 

At least Arnad made no attempt to stop me. Perhaps he had realized that seizing me in Lord Shaine’s hall, in front of so many witnesses, would make an already awkward situation completely untenable. Whatever the reason, I was able to make my escape unmolested. I ran up the stairs, my low indoor shoes slapping on the stone, my breath coming in great heaving gasps. It was not until I had achieved the relative safety of my tower room that I realized how my heart pounded, how the blood throbbed in my face and my throat.

Not knowing what else to do, I sat down on the bed and stared out the narrow window until my breath had calmed itself somewhat. The view was blurred by the bubbled glass, but at least I thought I could see the vaguest glimmer of Taleron, the larger of the two moons, as it made its way up over the foothills to the east. Tears began to burn, unshed, in my eyes, but I blinked them away. Weeping would accomplish nothing. At least I had gotten away before the situation grew any worse.

That thought led me to wonder what further words might have been exchanged after I had gone, but I probably didn’t want to know. I was sure that Lord Shaine would eventually gain the upper hand, but what sort of lasting scars might such a confrontation create?
 

 
All at once I was reminded of how much a stranger I was here, how little I knew of Lord Shaine and his connections to his neighbors. Had he and Lord Arnad been friends before this? Did Lord Arnad have a reputation for a hot temper and an eye for women? I guessed that was quite possibly so, but no one had thought to give me any warning to stay away from him. Then I shook my head. Blaming others served no useful purpose. How could anyone have guessed that I might have attracted such unwanted attentions from him?

Slowly I felt my body begin to still, the blood cool in my cheeks. Much as I would have liked to discard the heavy gown I wore and take my hair down from its uncomfortable pins, I thought it better to wait. The evening was still in its youth, and perhaps I would be needed after the guests had gone.

To keep myself from going mad with waiting, I retrieved some neglected darning from the low side table Elissa and I shared for various oddments. Then I lit a second candle with the one I had left burning against my return, and set to work.

Somehow the simple task allowed me to focus my thoughts elsewhere than the ugly little scene I had just left. My tower room floated far enough above the hall that I could simply shut it and its occupants aside. No doubt at some point I would have to face the consequences of what had happened, but for now I was content to sit in the candlelit confines of my chamber and think of simple things. I needed to beg some time from Merime in the kitchen to make more of my valerian salve against the onset of winter chilblains. At some point I would need permission from Lord Shaine to go out and gather various herbs that must be harvested before the onset of winter rendered them unavailable for months. And I had noticed that the castle’s store of soap was woefully inadequate.

So I went on, thinking of various simple problems and their solutions, until finally the door to my chamber opened, and Elissa looked in, somewhat fearfully.

“Oh, you haven’t gone to bed,” she said. Relief was evident in her tone.

“No, I thought I should wait in case either you or Auren had need of me.” I laid the darning aside.
 

“Lady Auren’s already in her bed,” Elissa said. “Quite a night she had of it, what with being betrothed and all.”

I closed my eyes in a brief silent prayer of thanks. At least Arnad’s demands hadn’t interfered with what had been, after all, the principal reason for the feast.
 

“So, she and—?” I paused, for I couldn't recall the name of the young lord who had been seated next to her at dinner, and I had never heard the plump lordling’s name mentioned at all.

“Young Lord Larol,” Elissa supplied. “I heard from the other slaves that that’s what they expected. They’re of the same age and have known each other all their lives. Besides, what girl could really be interested in Lord Noren, after all, and Lord Arnad—” There she paused, and her flush was apparent even in the gold-tinted candlelight.
 

“Well, then,” I said. “I’m pleased to hear that everything managed to work itself out.”

“More or less, mistress,” she agreed, her tone uncertain. “Oh, but what a row Lord Arnad and Lord Shaine had—not shouting, you know, the way my ma and da used to, but still.”

Wearily, I asked, “So what happened?”

“Oh, they exchanged a few more words, and then Lord Arnad decided to leave in a huff, and took all his slaves and retainers with him. Word is in the kitchens that Lord Arnad has always had too high an opinion of himself—although I have to say he is very handsome—and Lord Shaine never had much use for him.”

Then at least I hadn’t caused a rift in a long-standing friendship. I had seen Arnad’s type before, young men born to wealth and privilege and gifted with pleasing countenances, men who thought that everyone and everything should bow their way. This was the first time I had been at odds with such a man, however, and I fervently hoped it would be the last.
 

Hesitating for a moment, Elissa looked away from me, then said, “But his lordship would like to speak with you.”

“His lordship?” I echoed, and the worry that I’d thought I had dispelled began to wash over me once more.

“In his study. Now.” A frown creased her pretty brow, and she added impulsively, “I’m sure it’s nothing, mistress! Perhaps he just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

Hardly the sort of concern a master would afford his slave
, I thought, but I didn’t bother to protest. Feeling even more drained, I stood and said, “Well, I suppose I shall see soon enough.”

There being little else for her to say, she stood in mute worry as I passed her by and descended the two flights of steps to Lord Shaine’s study. I knocked, even as I said, “My lord? It’s Merys.”

This time I did not receive the usual command to enter. Instead, the door opened after the space of a few heartbeats, and Lord Shaine stood there, unsmiling. “Come in,” he said, and turned, leaving me to follow him after I had shut the door behind me.

Two chairs had been pulled up to the low-burning fire in the hearth. He indicated that I should take one, and I sat, feeling distinctly uneasy. It did not help matters that he remained standing.
 

His were not the actions of a man toward his slave. How many of the other household servants had ever been seated in his presence? I shot him a quick, sideways glance, but once again I could not read his expression.

Not knowing what to say, I sat silently and waited. He gathered up a filled wine goblet and handed it to me. “You look as if you could use this,” he said.

I knew I could not protest. Instead, I took the goblet from him and allowed myself a few sips.
 

“Rather an interesting scene, didn’t you think?” he asked suddenly, turning and fixing me with a sudden gaze. I had a sudden thought of one of Master Golan’s beetles back at the Order’s examination room, skewered to a bit of parchment with a pin.

Still, I did not want Lord Shaine to see me cowed. “It depends on how one defines ‘interesting,’ I think,” I replied, and sipped at my wine once more.

“Perhaps ‘uncomfortable’ is a better word,” he said. Then he lifted his own goblet to his lips and drank, more deeply than I had of my own wine.

“My apologies, my lord, for any disruption of the evening, but truly I had no hand in the matter. Lord Arnad acted quite—” I paused for a moment, searching for the right word— “precipitately.”

The straight, wide-set brows dropped a bit as he considered. “That one will do, I suppose. And although I was able to fend off that ‘precipitate’ young man, it was not done without inviting the attention of everyone in the hall, as well as his ‘ill regard’—his words, not mine. But of course you were not there for the conclusion of the scene, were you?”

“No, my lord, having left upon your counsel.” Now I could sense his anger; he was a man who kept his emotions in check for the most part, but in this matter the control had slipped just enough for me to see the rage beneath it. “I did nothing to invite his attentions, Lord Shaine. Indeed, if I had known that he was the sort to thrust those attentions upon the nearest halfway appealing female, I should have taken greater care to stay out of the great hall.”

“Indeed,” he said. “And now I have to contend with the questions and the rumors—why on earth would Lord Shaine not consent to sell one slave, when offered such a ridiculous price for her? Could it be that he has some greater reason for keeping her than merely as a nursemaid for his daughter?”

Head bowed, I stared down into my goblet, gazing into the deep garnet-colored liquid as if I could find answers there. These were the questions I had dared not ask myself. Truly, if I were no more than a slave to him, then why would he have cared whether I left his household or not? But I had never gotten the slightest hint that he had any more regard for me than as the one who had saved his daughter’s life.
 

During my time at the estate, I had gleaned as much as I could regarding his lordship’s history, not that there was any more to it than the same sad story I had heard many times before. The marriage had been arranged, of course, but he and his young wife had apparently cared for one another. She suffered a miscarriage. Then she gave birth to Auren, and all seemed well. True, an unmarried girl could not inherit, but they would find her a strong husband, and the estates would be safe. Besides, plenty of time remained for Auren to have many brothers. A boy was born, a boy who died when only five days old. Then another boy. Sickly, he barely lived for three months, and perished, chest heaving and face blue from what I guessed must have been a malformed heart. The third son lived only a few hours, and this time he took his mother with him in death.

Lord Shaine never remarried. No one knew whether it was because he had loved his wife so much that he could bear to see no other in her place, or because he dared not risk seeing the death of yet another child. Auren had always been a vigorous and active girl, and obviously Lord Shaine had pinned all his hopes on her. No wonder he had been so desperate when she was injured. The loss of his only remaining child surely would have been incalculable. Some whispered that he was unwise in his adamant refusal to remarry, for he was cousin to the king, and as such should have been more concerned with furthering his bloodline. Perhaps, but I could not find it in my heart to condemn him for his choice.

I opened my mouth to speak, but he held up his hand.

“Let me set your mind at rest, Mistress Merys.” Once again he sounded very formal. “My concern for you is only what I would have for someone who most certainly saved my daughter’s life…and also for a well-born, educated woman who deserves better than to be the latest toy for Lord Arnad’s bed.”

Startled, I stared at him, unable for a moment to find any words. Oh, I had been fairly certain of Arnad’s intentions, but to hear them spoken of so openly—

Lord Shaine must have noticed my shocked expression, for his mouth pulled into a grim smile even as he said, “I had assumed you were a woman of the world. How could you not be, if you have truly spent the last few years traveling and seeing all manner of human disease and injury?”

I made a dismissive gesture. Of course he was correct. Sheltered I certainly was not, and although I had never experienced the act myself, I knew everything about relations between women and men…as well as everything that resulted from such relations, from childbirth to the pox.
 

“You were not mistaken, Lord Shaine,” I said at length, knowing he expected some sort of reply. “It is true that as a physician there is very little I have not seen over the years. Please forgive me if I seemed at all shocked or surprised by what you said. I know you were only trying to protect me.”

That statement seemed to mollify him, as I had hoped it would. He took another sip of his wine—a smaller one this time. “Luckily, Lord Arnad’s temper is as changeable as it is quick. I have no doubt that by this same time next week he will have found something else to rouse his ire, or his interest.” Lord Shaine watched me closely, but this time with a slightly amused crinkle at the corner of his eyes. “If he doesn’t lay siege to my castle within the next few days, I will consider us safely past this crisis.”

I could tell he did not mean for me to take him seriously, so I ventured a fleeting smile. “I am very sorry, my lord, if any of this upset Auren—”

He shook his head. “I believe she was more worried for you. It seems she’s formed quite an attachment over this past month.” His expression darkened somewhat, and he added, “That is yet another reason why I would not willingly see you go from this place.”