Love's Labor's Won (25 page)

“We are to be married,” Gaius repeated, “and yet she doesn’t want to spend time with me.”

Emily shrugged, battling down her temper. Gaius...seemed odd, a mixture of entitled brat and passive-aggressive victim. There were some men, Sergeant Harkin had told his class, who saw the world divided into two sets of people: masters and slaves. The trick to controlling them, he’d said, was to keep them convinced that you were the master. Emily couldn’t help wondering if Gaius was torn between the two extremes. Maybe Fulvia had considered him biddable...

But he turned a maid into a frog
, Emily reminded herself.
He doesn’t deserve sympathy
.

“Emily,” Steven said, coming up behind them. “A word, if you don’t mind.”

Emily nodded to Gaius and turned to Steven. Gaius snorted and stalked off, muttering rudely under his breath.

“We need to talk,” Steven said, bluntly. “Can I request an appointment tomorrow morning?”

“Tomorrow afternoon, before dinner,” Emily said. It wasn’t a discussion she wanted to have, but she knew there was no choice. “I’ll see you in my office, if that’s acceptable.”

“It will do,” Steven said. He looked around. “Have you seen Markus?”

“No,” Emily said. She sighed, inwardly. “I have no idea where either Markus or Melissa happens to be.”

The band struck up a merry tune, inviting the dancers onto the floor. Steven bowed to her, before heading towards a pretty girl from one of the cadet branches of the Ashfall Family. Emily sighed, and started to make her way towards the dessert table. Alassa waved to her as she passed, then beckoned her into a corner.

“Emily,” she said. “Do we have time to talk?”

“I’d be glad of the distraction,” Emily said. She looked at the dancers and felt a flicker of envy. She had never had the confidence to just glide onto the dance floor and make up her own steps. “Would you like to run the rest of the Faire for me? I’m sure your father would consider it good practice.”

Alassa shrugged, although it was clear her mind was elsewhere.

“No,” she said. There was something in her voice that caught Emily’s attention, something...wrong. She was nervous. But Alassa was never nervous, not really. She could be happy or angry or even depressed, yet she never lost her poise. “But we do need to talk.”

Chapter Twenty

E
MILY FROWNED AS ALASSA LED HER
into one of the private rooms, locked the door and started to erect a set of complex privacy wards. Some of them she knew from Martial Magic; others were unique, as far as she knew. Alassa might have had a few private lessons during her Third Year...or she might have some specialized spells that had been devised for her family. Either way, no one would be able to spy on them without breaking through the wards and setting off a multitude of alarms.

“That’s a very complete set of wards,” Emily said. She felt she should say something, if only to break the tension. Alassa was practically nibbling on her fingernails. “Where did you learn those?”

“I don’t like the idea of people spying on me,” Alassa said. She gave Emily a sidelong glance before sitting down in one of the comfortable chairs. “My aunt...who knows how long she was watching me, before she made her move?”

“Years, perhaps,” Emily said. It might have been her fault. The barons would probably have been quite happy to have a spoiled brat on the throne. They wouldn’t have been able to marry her — and who would have wanted to marry her? — but at least she wouldn’t have been interfering with them. “I think she was an obsessive woman.”

Alassa smiled, thinly. “I think she was,” she agreed. “Please, sit down.”

Emily sat, feeling a chill running down her spine. Alassa was always direct, always certain the straightest path to the target was right
through
any barriers in her way. For her to be so hesitant was strange, utterly out of character. Alassa had never been shy about saying what she needed to say. Emily smoothed her dress, reminding herself of the value of patience. There was no need to rush things.

Unless there’s another problem
, she thought, morbidly.
Or a disagreement that turns to outright violence
.

Alassa looked down at the floor, her hands twisting and turning in her lap. “I need you to tell me something,” she said, finally. “Something important.”

Emily stared at her friend, who refused to meet her eyes. What did Alassa want? Had her father asked her to make a particular request of Emily? Something she knew Emily would refuse? Or was it something else, something more personal? It wasn’t like Alassa to be shy about anything. She’d happily built her own sports team in Year Two and set out to knock the older students off their comfortable perches.

“You can talk to me about anything,” Emily said, slowly. Lady Barb would have known what to say, she was sure. “I promise.”

Alassa took a deep breath. “Emily,” she said. “How do you feel about Jade?”

Emily blinked in surprise. Her imagination had provided a multitude of possibilities, from Randor having figured out the nuke-spell to trying to arrange Emily’s marriage, but she hadn’t even considered the possibility that Jade would be involved. She thought fast, trying to sort out her own feelings...and parse out the motives behind the request. But she could come up with nothing.

“He’s a friend,” she said, finally. She found the whole embarrassing interlude difficult to talk about, even to her best friends. Jade had asked her to marry him, perhaps out of sympathy, and changed his mind shortly afterwards. “He...you know...we’re better off as friends.”

Alassa looked up. “You really think so?”

“Yes,” Emily said. She’d found his proposal a little flattering, but also worrying. “I don’t think we would make good partners.”

She frowned. “Although I seem to recall
you
talking about the advantages of such a match,” she added. “You thought it was a good idea.”

“That was before I knew where you came from,” Alassa said. She looked back down at the floor. “And before you became a baroness, for that matter.”

So I’m too grand for Jade now
, Emily thought, sourly.

“Alassa,” she said slowly, “why are you talking to me about this?”

“I wanted to know your feelings,” Alassa said.

Emily shook her head in bemusement. “You could have asked without” — she waved her hand to indicate the wards — “all this trouble.”

“I needed to ask you in private,” Alassa said. She sucked in a breath, as if what she had to say pained her. “Emily...over the last year, while you were at Mountaintop, Jade and I became very close.”

She rushed on before Emily could say a word. “I want to marry him.”

Emily stared at her in absolute shock. Alassa wanted to marry Jade? Jade wanted to marry Alassa? But...

She closed her eyes as memories surfaced in her mind. Jade had served as a teaching assistant, taking Defensive Magic. Jade had clearly spent extra time working with Alassa, who needed the skills before she left Whitehall. Jade and Alassa had chatted and danced together...he’d traveled with them to Zangaria, to seek a post that would tie him down to one kingdom, even limit his employment elsewhere. And he’d managed to get himself assigned as Alassa’s personal bodyguard...

In hindsight, it was all too clear.

I missed it
, Emily told herself, savagely.
Why
?

“Does he...?” She coughed and started again. “Does he want to marry you?”

“Yes,” Alassa said.

Emily felt as if she’d been punched in the chest. Jade had wanted to marry her,
her.
Now he’d moved on to her best friend. To a princess. To...someone who was far more his match. She hadn’t wanted him, she knew she hadn’t wanted him, but it hurt.

Why did it hurt?

“There are advantages to the match,” Alassa said, as if she were relieved she could finally talk about it. “Jade is a commoner, but he’s a sorcerer, so he would be a social equal to anyone below a baron. He’s powerful enough to protect me and father strong children, but doesn’t have a kingdom or family ties of his own to urge him to take power for himself. He could serve as a regent without selling out the throne to either the barons or another kingdom...”

Emily glared at her. Alassa had always been cold-blooded about relationships — she’d once casually outlined all the advantages to
Emily
marrying Jade without sparing a moment’s thought for either of their feelings — but this was too much. The pain seemed to grow stronger, outrage that Alassa could pursue Jade mixing with astonishment that they’d never told her. Had they assumed it was obvious? Perhaps it would have been, to anyone else. But Emily knew she was hardly the most observant person where emotions were concerned.

“We would like your blessing,” Alassa finished. “And perhaps your support...”

“Why?” Emily demanded, feeling tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. Why was she almost crying? Why did it hurt so much? “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Alassa looked uncomfortable, just for a second. “We didn’t want to upset you,” she said, finally. “I...”

“You didn’t want to upset me,” Emily snapped. She had to fight down the urge to throw a spell, or perhaps a slap. “You didn’t want to
upset
me?”

“No,” Alassa said. “I didn’t want to see you hurt.”

Emily gritted her teeth. “You didn’t want to see me hurt?”

Alassa’s face darkened. “Do you want to marry him yourself?”

“No,” Emily snapped. “I...”

“Then why do you have a problem with
me
marrying him?” Alassa demanded. “If you don’t want him yourself, why do you object to me marrying him? Or is there something wrong with him that I should know about?”

Emily shook her head, but said nothing. Jade...was decent. He’d helped Emily, back when she’d been dumped into a class intended for students three or four years her elder, and had been her first real male friend. They’d walked the hills together, enjoying the sunlight and the chance to explore places touched by wild magic. In hindsight, it had been obvious that he’d been courting her, but at the time she’d just learned to relax and enjoy herself. Jade...had made her feel safe.

And now Alassa was taking him away.... And Jade was taking
Alassa
away. Emily’s feelings were such a tangled mess that she didn’t know how to handle them. Logically, she
knew
she should be happy for her friends, but what did logic know about emotion? She wanted to lash out, to hurt someone, and yet she felt helpless to do anything.

What could she do?

“I don’t know,” she muttered. “I just don’t know.”

“Then what is the problem?” Alassa demanded. She rose to her feet, towering over Emily and glowering down at her. “Do you think he’s a little too...
common
...to be my husband?”

“No,” Emily said. She rose, too, meeting Alassa’s eyes. “I don’t know how I feel.”

“Then figure it out,” Alassa snapped. “If you don’t want him, why do you object to him marrying me?”

She glared at Emily, magic sparking from her fingertips as she placed her hands on her hips. “Or are you just being selfish?”

“I’m not being selfish!” Emily shouted.

“Yes, you are!” Alassa shouted back. “You want everything to suit you! You want this barony, and yet you also want to stay at Whitehall and study magic! You don’t want Jade, but you don’t want anyone else to have him either! You want everyone to be your friend when it suits you, and leave you alone when it doesn’t!”

Emily forced herself to step back, despite the overwhelming anger. There was a great deal of truth in Alassa’s words, she had to admit; she was torn between keeping the barony, even though it might mean having to leave Whitehall and settle permanently in Cockatrice, or simply handing it back to the king. And she knew she wasn’t the most sociable of people, even when she wasn’t busy. There were times when she just wanted to be alone.

“I don’t want him,” she said, although the words tore at her soul. Why did it hurt? What was she missing? It wasn’t as if she’d imagined having Jade even after he’d made his interest clear. He was fun, she had to admit, but not as a long-term partner. They were simply too different. “I don’t...”

“Then why,” Alassa demanded again, “do you have a problem with me marrying him?”

“I don’t know,” Emily confessed. She wanted to find Lady Barb, to ask her for her advice, but she had no idea where the older woman was. But for all Emily knew, Lady Barb might just agree with Alassa and point out that Emily was being selfish. Somehow, the thought of the older woman’s disapproval hurt, too. “I just don’t know...”

Alassa thinned her lips and sat down, clearly furious. Flickers of magic were sparking over her hands. “We need you to help present our case to my father,” she said. “He would need to approve the match.”

“You want me to help convince your father to let you marry him?” Emily demanded. “You...”

“You saved his kingdom,” Alassa said. She rose again, her eyes meeting Emily’s. “He would listen to you!”

Emily almost slapped her. It hurt too much for her to think clearly. She hadn’t wanted Jade, but he’d wanted her, but now he’d moved on...and it hurt! It should not have hurt, she told herself, and yet it did. She sagged back into her chair, feeling suddenly tired and worn.

“You didn’t tell me,” she mumbled. She recalled, suddenly, the moment she’d met Jade’s eyes, just after he’d knocked Alassa to the ground and saved her life. He’d thought she’d realized at that moment, she saw suddenly. Perhaps Alassa had planned to tell her later, when the Faire was over. “You didn’t tell me, and yet you want me to help?”

“We didn’t want to upset you,” Alassa said. “You were trying to catch up with us and help Frieda adjust to her new world...”

“You didn’t want to upset me?” Emily yelled. “How will it upset your father if he finds out you’re marrying a man who wanted to marry someone else, first?”

Alassa took a step forward, then but stopped herself. “Do you really think that’s uncommon? Half of the imbeciles we brought to Zangaria two years ago were already engaged, probably several times in a row. Royal children are currency on the marriage market...”