Jerrison Earton, you’ll answer to me for this! You left my sweet angel in your falling-down castle and forgot her name! Someone was trying to poison her, and they caused her to lose her baby! It’s a good thing Lily takes after me. You can’t keep her down, and you won’t get away with it.
August re-read the letter. His eyes stopped on the name Karl Treloney. He wondered if his daughter had a lover, not that it mattered. She could do what she liked if her husband didn’t see fit to live with her and took his whore with him on the trip to Wellster. August laughed. Now everyone would see exactly what that whore had been up to.
***
The king said nothing to August about the new information, of course, but he sent Hans to see him. Hans gave the shipbuilder a note from his daughter and praised her to the skies, assuring August of his affection and respect, and he left August the two carpenter’s apprentices Lily had lured away from their master on her trip to Altver. After talking to them, August was beyond pleased.
Well, my girl, you knew exactly what I needed! And their master was right to fear letting go of them. That varnish of his won’t be expensive to make, and if I use it judiciously…
That same day, he offered the apprentices a good salary and a guarantee of safety, which they happily accepted. The countess had been generous with them, and her father proved to be the same. So why not get to work? A boatyard is an excellent place for a carpenter.
While he was with August, Hans told him everything the king knew. At first, August was angry, but he soon reached an important decision. Lilian might not be ready to leave her husband yet, but he needed to have everything prepared in case that day came—a house, land, workshops. He also needed to collect compromising information on Jess Earton, and the more, the better. August would be damned before anyone got away with treating his precious daughter this way. And whatever his daughter decided, he wanted her to have a safe place to retreat to. He also decided to transfer some of his assets to partners in Avesterra and Wellster. If he had to choose between Jerrison and Lily, he would always take his daughter’s side. If they had to, they could run away together. No one could catch one of his ships on the ocean!
August knew he could find work wherever he went, and he was confident he could set Lily up and help her raise her children (if she had any). Judging by Lily’s latest endeavors, she would have no trouble finding a new husband.
You’ve got it coming, Jerrison Earton. You didn’t love her and didn’t care for her, now you’ll wish you hadn’t lost her…
Seduced by the lyrics to the old ballad, August forgot one thing: Jess wouldn’t be sorry to lose Lily. He would only be sorry to lose the income she was bringing in.
***
Meanwhile, Lily was talking to Pastor Vopler.
“You have to realize that her unborn child has done nothing wrong…”
“My Lady, your mercy in this matter is beyond what I can understand. Adulteresses must be chased from their villages.”
“It’s winter, and she has nowhere to go. I believe that Aldonai instructed us to show mercy to others.”
“But My Lady, you have already gone above and beyond all of our Lord’s commandments. I will not be surprised to see you named a Radiant One in your lifetime.”
The kindly smile on the pastor’s face hinted that she should not take his words too seriously, so Lily answered in the same vein. “Everything is in the hands of our Lord Aldonai, the merciful and benevolent. All I ask is that you speak to the people in the village. I agree that the girl doesn’t have much of a brain to speak of, but she will give birth to a child who has done nothing wrong. Remember, the child did not choose its parents.”
The countess knew that Iria was an outcast in her village. No one outside her family would have anything to do with her. Lily wouldn’t have cared about that, but Ingrid had sat her down and explained how the situation was likely to develop. In the end, Lily decided that she didn’t need any lynchings and she most certainly didn’t need another village whore spreading disease. The other women would be upset at the young woman’s merciful treatment, but Lily would plow right through them.
“No, the child is not at fault,” the pastor admitted.
“Speak to them. Maybe there is a widower with a pack of children who would be glad to have some help. The girl has had enough time to think about her position. She’ll be glad to get married.”
“I understand, My Lady,” Pastor Vopler sighed. “I promise I will do what I can.”
Just then, they were interrupted by a maid scratching at the door. “Baron Donter is here, My Lady.”
Lily shrugged. “Show him into the hall. I’ll be down shortly.” This time, she felt calmer about this neighborly visit. If it came down to it, she could run over the baron like a tank. She had almost a hundred Virmans on the estate, as well as Leis’ men and the peasants. Earton could win a war if it had to.
She turned to the pastor. “Will you accompany me?”
“Of course,” he smiled. “I suppose we should also send for Chevalier Avels and make sure that the children are occupied.”
Lily agreed with him on all counts, especially concerning the children. The last thing she needed was for someone to shoot peas at the baron from behind a banister.
Why the hell did I show those kids how to make blowguns? Next thing we know, they’ll graduate from peas to poison darts. Step right up and see the Ninjas of Earton!
She laughed to herself and smoothed out her dress. She thought she looked good enough. There were no ink spots on her skirt, and there was nothing sticking out or sticking up anywhere. When at home, the countess almost always wore her special skirts (that were actually very wide pants), along with a blouse and long vest. This outfit of her own design kept her comfortable and decent, and best of all, she was able to wear normal underwear under it all, instead of pantaloons that went to her knees. With careful instructions, her dressmakers had made her some light cotton shorts that tied at the waist and had greatly improved her quality of life.
I’ll have time to think about my underwear later. Right now, I have to deal with the baron.
Lily made her way downstairs slowly, with her entourage behind her. Pastor Vopler and Lons were almost stepping in time with each other (the two men had struck up a friendship right away). The young baron was waiting in the hall. When he saw the countess on the stairs, he leaped up, bowed, and offered his best, most polite greeting. Lily replied in a similar vein, backed up by Lons.
What brought you here, Baron Donter?
***
Clive had been brought to Earton by greed, plain and simple. He was no longer concerned about his possible involvement in the affair of the slave traders. Several of his men had traveled to Altver and done some sniffing around. They learned that many of the pirates had been killed during the battle, including the captain who had been Donter’s contact person. Once he knew that no one could incriminate him, the baron was able to breathe easily.
What bothered him was something else entirely: his men had learned of the expensive things Lilian Earton was sending to Altver for Torius Avermal to sell. The baron had a rough idea how much fine handmade lace went for. The usual price was determined by covering the length of the lace with gold coins. How had the craftswomen in Earton learned to make such exquisite (and expensive) lace?
The baron had never been particularly interested in Earton. After all, what good could a woman come up with? Plenty, as it turns out. He almost fainted dead away when, on his last neighborly visit, he saw real glass in the castle windows. Despite their bubbles and uneven thickness, glass windows made the castle look utterly luxurious. Glass was something few could afford. Clive’s informer had told him that the countess’ glassblowers were making colored glass and even glass mirrors. Clive had not believed it until the mirrors showed up for sale in Altver.
Now, the baron hoped to reach an agreement with the countess. In fact, he didn’t know what he would do if she refused to take him into the business—h
e had seen her Virmans, and he knew how many of them there were. Given the current state of affairs, it would be madness to go up against Lilian Earton. The Virmans were known to fight like wild animals. The baron could easily imagine losing his head before he had a chance to explain why he was there.
Lily spoke first. “Lord Donter, I am pleased to see you.”
The baron bowed again. The countess was a charming woman. She was tall, with a curvy body and a long, golden braid cascading down her back. As she smiled at him, her fabulously expensive emerald earrings and emerald wedding bracelet sparkled at him most appealingly.
Good Lord, just think how rich she is. I wish I could…but no, I’ll have to think about that later!
The bowing and scraping took another fifteen minutes, but finally, the baron got down to business. “My Lady, some friends have come to visit me and do some hunting. In the heat of the hunt, we may possibly find ourselves on your land…”
Lily shrugged. “Possibly.”
“Would you object…”
Lons was standing off to one side where the baron could not easily see him. He shook his head ever so slightly.
Lily’s face took on a pout. “I don’t want a horde of drunk hunters running over my land with their dogs.” She wrinkled her nose like a true blonde. “They make so much noise, and I feel so sorry for the poor beasts in my woods. Baron Donter, I’m sure an intelligent, sensitive man like yourself can understand that they suffer when you poke them with your sharp spears.”
The baron’s eyes were round as saucers. He had never heard such ideas before. “My Lady, we would never hunt your game! I just thought that if one of our own beasts accidentally…”
“No, no, no!” Lily frowned. “Hunting is entirely too bloody. And dirty. And smelly. I am most decisively against it. My husband already harasses the animals in our woods whenever he is here. I expect him home any day now, and it will start up again. Dirty men and baying hounds; it’s awful!”
At this mention of the earl, the baron’s face fell. Still, he made another attempt; the outcome was the same. Lily stood firm. When Erik ducked into the hall to give the countess a report on his work, Clive recalled the need for caution. That led him to the second item on his agenda.
“My Lady, I saw Baron Avermal not long ago.”
“I hope the honorable baron is well?” Lily looked like a woman without any thoughts to weigh her head down.
“He told me about your agreement with him.”
Oops!
Lily pricked up her ears.
“I thought that you and I could work together, too. I can always handle negotiations with people you’d rather not be seen talking to.”
***
Lily glanced at Lons. Outwardly, she was absolutely calm. Inside, however, her mind was working overtime. Torius Avermal would never tell anyone about their agreement; he wasn’t stupid. Donter has to be lying. But why? The answer is easy: he wants money.
How did he find out about my agreement with Avermal? That was the important question. Lily didn’t want to believe the leak was in her own house, but Torius was too sharp to share that kind of detail with the baron.
She blinked at him. “Lord Donter, what on earth are you talking about? What agreements? I’m just a simple woman living in the country. Perhaps you heard that Baron Avermal helped me when I went to Altver to buy supplies for the winter. That much is certainly true.”
Clive squinted at her. “My Lady, he told me…”
Lons stepped forward. “Do you disbelieve what the countess just told you?” His voice was cold and haughty.
The baron backed away. “Of course not; don’t think anything like that. I would never dare doubt… Well, I suppose I was misled. That’s all.”
“That must be what happened,” Lily said, looking at peace with the world.
The baron gave up and turned the conversation back to hunting, but Lily was on the alert. As soon as they got rid of their guest, she turned to Lons.
“What is this? How could he have found out?”
Lons’ face was thoughtful. “I’ll think about it.”
Lily didn’t stand around waiting for him to finishing thinking. “There are two options,” she announced. “Either Torius told him…”
“Which he would never have done,” said Taris, who had stayed out of the room until Baron Donter was out of the castle. “Did you ask him to keep your agreement a secret?”
Lily nodded. Torius had promised to tell no one, and she had promised to continue trading with him.
Taris shook his head. “If Avermal didn’t tell him, then one of us did.”
“One of us?” Lons objected.
“Not you, Chevalier. But this is a large household with many servants. Someone told someone else, a third person overheard, and the gossip made its way to Donter.”
Lily bit her lip. “What can we do to keep the information from going further?”
“Nothing.” Taris’ face was dark.
The countess wanted to curse out loud, but the men would have been shocked by her vocabulary. So, she said nothing.
***
Clive, meanwhile, was allowing himself to use all the vocabulary at his disposal. How dare she refuse me everything I asked for? It killed him that there was nothing he could do about it. Her estate was too well guarded, and the countess was careful.
“Sir!” someone called out. Clive looked up. There was a figure standing in the road. The figure was filthy and wearing stinking clothes, but he was fairly sure it was a woman. He would have ridden right over her, but something urged him to be kind. He raised his whip at her.
The woman jumped out of the way and cried out, “Sir, do you want to know how you can get money out of Lilian Earton? Big money?”
He slowly lowered his whip.
***
Calma hated the countess with her whole heart. She had once been governess to the young Miranda Catherine, and now she was assigned to clean the privies. The countess had taken everything away from her: her job, respect, and even her man. Damis Reis had stopped coming to see her. He didn’t like how she smelled, so he stayed away. Calma knew exactly what was going on, and she hated the countess for it. All she could think of was revenge. She would get back at everyone who had wronged her, and she knew just how to do it. Baron Donter wanted money so she could use him. Why not? As long as I’m able to hurt the blonde bitch! The baron is greedy and evil. I know he will listen to what I have to say.
It didn’t take Calma long to explain what she knew. The baron smiled; he had just one question for her. “How much do you want for your assistance?”
***
The Duke of Falion re-read the king’s letter and frowned. He was supposed to watch Adelaide Wells and make sure she didn’t disappear before the delegation returned home. If she tried to run, he was authorized to have her killed.
This is interesting. I wonder what it has to do with Jerrison Earton?
If he had his way, Falion would have kept all women under the age of forty out of the delegation. The king had decided otherwise, however, and now it was up to Falion to deal with the consequences. Not that it would be a problem. For delicate jobs of that sort, the duke always had one or two men he could rely on. They tended to have rank—never more than a chevalier—and pockets full of nothing but lint… For the right price, they would keep all eyes on Adelaide Wells, and if something went wrong, they’d take care of her for good.
***
Miranda Catherine lay in ambush. Lately, all the children had been playing at stalking each other: one child would hide, and when the others found him or her, the child would shoot a handful of peas at everyone and run off to hide again. The winner was whoever managed to hide the longest and hit as many enemies as possible with well-aimed peas. Most of the games were won by Loik, an eight-year-old Virman boy, but now it was Mirrie’s turn to hide, and she had high hopes of winning.
Lily’s teaching had stuck with her: a countess was the first among her people and had
to always be the best at everything.
“My Lady!”
Miranda turned angrily to her left, where the whisper had come from.
“What do you want?”
“My Lady, the countess asked me to come find you.”
The little girl sighed. “Can’t she wait?”
“She said it’s a surprise,” Calma whispered.
Miranda wavered for a moment and then climbed out of her hiding place. “Fine. Let’s go. Where is she?”
“Her ladyship said she would wait for you under the old sycamore tree—the one by the road.”
Mirrie never even doubted the woman. Calma was someone she knew, and Lily was capable of coming up with anything. The little girl followed along behind the servant. Nobody tried to stop them.
***
The sycamore tree was not far from the castle. There was no one on the road. There was no one under the tree. Miranda turned to Calma and frowned. “What’s going on?”
Suddenly, someone jumped out from behind the old tree. A strong hand covered the girl’s mouth.
“Is this the one?”
Calma nodded. “It’s her.”
They wrapped Miranda in a warm cloak and tied her tightly. Then they gagged her so expertly that the little girl could only blink her eyes.
“Good work. Let’s go. The baron will reward you for this.”
Mirrie tried to struggle, but it was no use. She was no match for a grown man; the trap snapped shut.
***
Clive had assumed that the child’s absence wouldn’t be noticed right away and that he would have time to get far, far away from Lilian Earton. He was almost right. No one would have realized that Mirrie was missing until dinnertime if it weren’t for Loik. The small Virman seemed to have a nose for finding anything, anywhere. He had found Mirrie a few minutes before Calma did, but he was taking his time, planning his next move. As a result, he heard every word of Mirrie’s conversation with the servant.
***
Loik never once doubted that the countess had something up her sleeve, but his curiosity drove him to find out what it was. So, he followed at a distance. He knew that the countess had planned to clear out the land around the castle to prevent anyone from sneaking up on her, but she hadn’t gotten around to it yet. That meant that there were plenty of bushes and small hillocks for the boy to hide behind. He even saw the actual kidnapping, if from a distance. He watched Mirrie kick and scream as Calma, and the man tied her up. When he thought about what he should do, he saw two options: he could follow the kidnappers or run back to the castle. Loik chose the second. If he followed them and they caught him, they’d kill him outright. And they probably had horses waiting for them not far away so Loik took off running.
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