Miranda nodded. “I’ll be glad to give my staff tomorrow off. They’ve earned it.”
Kevin frowned. “And you’ll take the day off too, right?”
Miranda shook her head. “I’ll be here tomorrow morning like usual.”
Kevin’s frown deepened as he shook his head. “You need a break. You haven’t taken a day off since I got here. You work twelve hours a day, seven days a week. That’s way too much. And I know you’ve put in at least sixteen hours a day for the last three days. We can manage one day without you. Take the day off.”
Miranda shook her head again. “Myron, this is my kitchen. It’s been my home almost as long as you’ve been alive, and I know you could manage without me, but no one, not even you, is going to make a mess in my kitchen. I’ll take care of things in here tomorrow. Do you know how many people will be eating?”
Kevin shook his head. “I told Cryslyn to give her staff the day off, and Neiven’s going to let his people have the day too, but we’ll still have the guards, and any of the family who’re staying over. I haven’t had a chance to talk to them yet.”
“That’s fine,” she said. “I’ll have coffee and pastries for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and soup for dinner. Will that be all right?”
“It’s fine, but Miranda, you need to take a day off. If not tomorrow, how about one day next week?”
Miranda smiled and shook her head once more. “When I decide I need some time away from my kitchen, I’ll let you know. Now I need to get back in there if you’re going to have your dinner by 6:00.”
~ ~ ~ ~
During dinner with his family that night, Kevin asked what they’d been doing.
“Finishing Laryn’s house,” Shadron answered. “The frame’s done, and the inside walls are up. We have to hang the wardrobes and cabinets, but that’s minor.”
“Only because I’ll have them ready to install when we bring them down,” Dayed said, cutting his eyes at Shadron. Then he turned to Kevin. “When would be good for you to bring Laryn and Steve to my house? They need to decide which door styles they want. If they come early in the week, I’ll have everything ready by next weekend and they’ll be able to move in after they sign the register.”
Kevin looked at Laryn. “When do you want to go?”
Laryn shrugged. “I don’t have any plans for this week. Thank goodness.”
“Would tomorrow be all right?” Kevin asked Dayed.
“That would be great, but could you take me home tonight? There are a few things I’d like to get done before they come.”
“Sure,” Kevin said. “Anyone else want to go home tonight?”
Kyle started to speak, but Kevin gave him a quick nod. “I know you’ll need to.”
“Me, too,” Shadron said. “I need to check on my horses.”
“Well, I’m staying until Laryn signs the register,” Kayla said, “but Lysa and Brandt can go back with Shadron.”
“What? Why?” Lysa blurted out. “I want to stay, too.”
“No one has time to entertain you around here. This is a working castle,” Kayla said. “If you stay, you work. From what I heard, Myron gave the staff the day off tomorrow. I’m sure Miranda could use some help. If you want to stay, you work in the kitchen.”
“Fine,” Lysa said. “but I get to stay as long as you do.”
“Hey, if she gets to stay, I want to stay, too,” Brandt insisted.
“Same deal,” his mother said. “You can work in the stables while you’re here.” When Brandt frowned, his mother cut her eyes over at him. “That’s the deal. Take it or leave it. You can always go home with your father.”
“All right. I’ll help out in the stables,” Brandt said, adding, “Can’t get away from shoveling muck no matter where I go,” under his breath.
Kayla nodded. “I’ll expect to see both of you at work by 6:00 tomorrow morning. No excuses. And you’ll work every day you’re here. When you get tired of it, ask your cousin Myron to take you home.”
Kevin bit back the grin threatening to take over his face. No one could accuse Kayla of spoiling her children. He nodded at the pair. “Let someone in my office know if you want to leave. One of us will take you home.”
“Well, we need to leave after dinner tonight,” Danyelle said. “I’m afraid my two little ones are worn out. They need to get back on a regular schedule, especially as far as bedtime is concerned. Can you take us this evening?”
Kevin nodded. “Whenever you’re ready.” He looked at Allisandra. “What about you? Are you ready to go? Or do you want to stay for a while?”
“I’d like to take a good look around Laryn’s house and yard tomorrow, but then I’ll be ready to go home until the end of the week. I’m doing the gardens, and I need to figure out which of my plants I want to use.”
Laryn’s eyes popped open. “Alli, I don’t know one thing about flowers. I’ll end up killing them. Just let the yard be. Natural suits me just fine.”
Allisandra laughed. “I know your gardening skills, sister. I’ll plant rugged flowers, the type that’ll look nice but need a minimum of care. They’ll be fine.”
“Well, don’t blame me when they all die,” Laryn mumbled under her breath.
Kevin saw a quick grin flash on Steve’s face and a slight movement of his arm. Kevin took a quick look under the table with his seeing eye. Yep, he was right. Steve took Laryn’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze.
~ ~ ~ ~
By the time Kevin made it to his room that night, he was so tired he didn’t bother to change clothes. He kicked off his boots, pulled a blanket around him, and collapsed on his bed. Within moments he was sound asleep.
A couple of hours later, somewhere around midnight, a soft light grew steadily stronger until it pulled him out of the depths of sleep. His first thought was it couldn’t be morning already. His second thought was he was not alone.
He opened one eye and peeked over the top of the blanket towards the couch, the source of the light. There, seated on his couch, were his parents.
Badec had his arm around Yvonne and she was leaning into him. When they realized Kevin was looking at them, Badec moved his arm from around his wife’s shoulders and sat up. “Hello, son. Nice to see you again.”
Kevin yawned and rubbed his hands across his face as he sat up. “Nice to see you, too. Have you been here all weekend?”
Yvonne smiled and nodded. “It was nice to see everyone again, and all in one place. Haven’t seen that many sorcerers together in a long time.”
“Not since our marriage,” Badec said.
“They came to my funeral,” Yvonne replied.
“But you weren’t there, so it doesn’t count. But, at any rate, we did enjoy seeing everyone. And the children! I can’t believe Lysa and Brandt are so grown.”
“And Allisandra!” Yvonne said. “Do you know when she’s due?”
Kevin, still fighting sleep, said, “In a month or so? I’m not sure.” He frowned. “Don’t you two ever visit them?”
Badec shook his head. “Not like this. We glance in once in a while, but we save our snooping for you.”
Kevin grinned. “So you admit you’re spying on me, huh?”
“I have a request,” Yvonne said, ignoring Kevin’s question. “We could visit Laryn ourselves, but it might upset her. Would you tell her you’ve spoken with us and we’re both very pleased with this marriage and wish the two of them many years of happiness.”
“And a niece or nephew would be nice, too,” Badec added.
“Sure, I’ll tell her.” Kevin nodded to his mother, but he looked at his father and said, “But if you want to tell your sister to get pregnant, you’re going to have to do it yourself. I’m not having that conversation with either of them.”
Badec laughed.
“I have a question,” Kevin said, waking up a bit more. “While you’ve been snooping around, did you happen to see who went into the jail and murdered Saryn?”
Badec’s eyes narrowed. “Murder?
Here? At my castle?”
“Well, out at the jail, but yeah, murder. Did you happen to see anyone skulking around out there?”
Badec shook his head. “I haven’t been out there in years, since long before I died.”
“Oh, well,” Kevin said. “It was worth a shot.”
“Who’s Saryn anyway?” Badec asked. “I don’t remember anyone by that name.”
Kevin shook his head. “You wouldn’t have known him. He didn’t arrive in Camden until a couple of months ago. He was an assassin Rolan sent here to kill Landis. We had him in jail, but someone wanted him dead.” Then he asked, “You’ve heard about the slaver raids going on this fall, right?”
“A little bit,” Badec acknowledged, “enough to know the two children living with your governor were refugees from one of them.”
“We think there’s a key involved. Did any of the council sorcerers ever get actively involved in the slave trade? Participate in any of the raids?”
Badec shook his head. “Several of the families are involved in the slave trade, notably Gwendolyn’s, but one of the seated sorcerers actually going on a raid? No, can’t say I’ve ever known any of them to do that. But lend their key to someone? We’ve all done that at one time or another. Laryn used mine a lot, and I’m sure your assistant uses yours.”
Kevin nodded.
“It’s not against the law to lend out the key. Transporting slaves isn’t against the law either. Only the raid itself is illegal, and I doubt any of the seated sorcerers are involved in those, so tread lightly. Don’t make any accusations you can’t back up, and don’t accuse someone of a crime where no crime exists.”
“I know. But if I knew which sorcerer was involved, I wouldn’t have any problem visiting them and taking a look around their castle for the captives.”
“And what would you do if you found them?” Yvonne asked.
“I’d rescue them.”
“If you do undertake such a task, be careful,” Badec says. “It would be better to buy them than to take them. You don’t need to be accused of stealing someone else’s slaves. Might cause a bit of a mess on the council.”
Kevin nodded. “Diplomacy. But it’d be a lot easier to just reach out, grab them, turn the key, and be done with it. But I know better.”
“Good luck with all of it,” Badec said as the two spirits stood up and started to fade. “Don’t forget to give Laryn our best.”
“And be careful,” Yvonne said. “I enjoy spending time with you, but I’m not ready for you to join us yet.”
Kevin grinned. “I’m not either, mother. I’ll be careful.”
“And good luck with that elf,” Yvonne added.
“What?” Kevin frowned. “What elf?”
“The pretty one,” Yvonne said, laughing. “The one who’s caught your eye. Good luck with her. I like her.”
Kevin shook his head. “You’ve got it all wrong. Rhianna is Landis’s assistant. That’s all.”
Badec shook his head as Yvonne laughed again. “Keep on believing that, son. I’ve seen the way you look at her,” she said as she took Badec’s hand. “Same way your father looks at me.” And, without another word, they faded away.
Kevin was left with a dozen questions. What look? What was his mother talking about? How did they know about Rhianna? She’d spent less than an hour at the castle. Where did his parents get the idea there was something between them?
Kevin burrowed back down in his blanket and tried to shut out the nagging questions. As he finally fell into a fitful sleep, his last thoughts centered on Rhianna: Rhianna, who smiled at everyone, except him; Rhianna, who talked with everyone, except him; Rhianna, who got along with everyone, except him; Rhianna.
Chapter 55
The Next Week
Kevin wasn’t the only one who had a restless night. Serra spent more time pacing than she did sleeping, and it showed in her eyes the next morning. For once her room was closing in on her, so she went outside to think. Since most of the staff had the day off, the playground was empty. Serra sat down on one of the swings and gently pushed herself back and forth.
Darrell was looking for Marcus, but when he saw Serra he asked her if something had happened.
“You might say that,” Serra said with a shaky smile. “What brings you out here?”
“I’m looking for Marcus. Have you seen him?”
“Not for the past hour or so. Why?”
“We need to practice his defensive skills.”
“Myron’s not here this morning. Don’t you need him for that?”
Darrell shook his head. “He tries to be here for practice, but most of the time something comes up, so I’m going ahead without him.”
Serra’s eyebrows rose. “You’re going to let archers shoot at Marcus without Myron here to back him up? Are you crazy?”
Darrell laughed. “No, and I don’t have a death wish either. Look.” He pulled an arrow out of his quiver and handed it to her. “See? No tip. They’re all flat.” While she was looking at the arrow, Darrell continued. “I had Cryslyn make a vest with extra padding for him to wear. If one of those arrows gets through, it may leave a bruise, but that’s all.”
“Don’t let them aim at his face. It could put an eye out.”
Darrell sighed. “You sound just like my mother. It’s not going to hit him in the face.”
“Just be careful,” she said as she handed the arrow back.
Darrell noticed tears in her eyes. “All right. Something’s wrong.” He motioned to Brandon, who was standing outside the playground waiting for him. When Brandon reached them, Darrell said, “Something’s come up. I need to see Serra for a few minutes. We’ll find Marcus later.”
Darrell started to sit down in the swing next to her, but she shook her head. “Not here. If you want to talk, we need to go somewhere else.”
Darrell frowned. “Near the river? It should be quiet there.”
Serra nodded, so they headed in that direction.
When they reached the river, Darrell leaned back against a tree and said, “Okay, what gives?”
Serra frowned. “You have the strangest way of saying things, but yesterday I found out my life has been a lie.” Then she told Darrell about her conversation with Debra. “I can’t believe my mother’s not my mother. Nothing’s the way I thought it was. I thought I’d been born here, at the castle, that this was my home. Now I find out I was a slave? That I was bought like a sack of potatoes?”
Darrell knew it was the wrong thing to do, but he couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing.
Serra spun towards him with her hands on her hips and fire in her eyes.
Darrell held his hands out in self-defense and started apologizing. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny. Nothing about this is funny, but the way you put it …” The rest of his sentence was swallowed along with a new burst of laughter. Finally he cleared his throat. “Sorry. I know finding out about all of that knocked you for a loop, but nothing’s changed.”
“How can you say that?” Serra demanded, eyes flashing. “How can you stand there and say nothing’s changed? Everything’s changed! I’m not who I thought I was.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’? I’m not Debra’s daughter. I wasn’t born in Camden. I don’t know where I came from,” Serra spouted. She frowned and thought for a minute. “I really don’t know where I came from. One more thing I need to find out about me. Along with who my parents are and what kind of people they were.”
“Serra, you’re making a mountain out of a molehill.”
“That doesn’t even make sense, but no, I’m not.”
“Look, Debra and Korman are your parents. They raised you. They took care of you. They did what parents do. They love you. What are you planning to do? Dump them in a trash heap because you don’t share the same blood?”
“Of course not.”
“Good. At least that’s settled. And you might want to let Debra know that. I have a feeling you didn’t leav
e her feeling all warm and fuzzy yesterday.”
Serra scrunched up her face as she tried to figure out what he meant, but before she could work it out, Darrell continued. “Do you still work here? At the castle?”
Serra rolled her eyes. “You know I do.”
“Are you planning to quit your job?”
“Of course not.”
“Then nothing’s changed.”
“Everything’s changed!” she yelled. She took a deep breath and sighed it out. “You just don’t understand.”
“Yes, I do, but you’re not getting my point. You found out that some things in your past are not the way you thought they were, but that’s the past. That’s over. The important stuff’s what’s going on right now, today, and that’s not changed. You have a family. You have people who love you and want to be your parents. They weren’t forced into it by an accident of birth. They chose to be your parents. And you have a brother and sister who adore you. Do you think it’s going to matter one bit to either one of them that you don’t share their blood? You didn’t anyway. Their father’s Korman, and you’ve known all along he’s not your father. Nothing’s changed.”
“But things are going to change. Didn’t you hear the part about the minister and his wife who want to meet me? What if they want me to go with them and live in Ridgeville, wherever that is?”
“Tell them no.”
Serra wrinkled her nose again and looked at Darrell like he’d lost his mind.
“Just because they want you to doesn’t mean you have to. You’re not a child. You’re an adult. You get to choose where you want to live. Say no if you don’t want to move.”
“But I owe it to my real mother to at least meet them, to get to know them, to let them get to know me.”
“The way I see it, Debra’s your real mother, but I get what you mean. If you feel you need to meet your birth mother’s family, do it. You might even find out you like them. And if you do, you’ll be part of two families instead of one. You don’t have to choose.”
The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) Page 48
