The Khangan must be the healer she was talking about.
Next, there was a fair-haired young man in expensive clothes who seemed unsure of himself in the present company. He was followed by two Virmans—a man and a woman. The man was powerfully built and had the face of a sea wolf. The woman was slight and attractive, and her eyes glowed whenever she turned to her husband.
As he stole glances at the table, Rolf saw another man, this one in his middle years. The others called him Taris. Rolf had no idea who he was.
Next to Taris, was a younger man, Chevalier Lons. As he warily watched the young man, Lons happened to glance over at the minstrel and Rolf saw a sudden flash of fear in his eyes. The young chevalier quickly recovered his composure and looked away.
What did that mean? Did I imagine it?
Those were questions for another day. His lute tuned, Rolf struck a chord and began to sing. He ran his fingers up and down the strings while keeping an eye on the countess and her guests. Life had taught him that every powerful woman was backed by a man, but as he watched the flow of conversation, he realized something important: if Lilian Earton had a man supporting her, he was not at the table that night.
The pastor opened the meal with a prayer asking for Aldonai’s blessings on the house and the food. Rolf had seen more than his share of pastors. Living in Wellster, Rolf had grown accustomed to looking at men of the church with a critical eye. He could tell that Lilian’s pastor was a true believer and that he looked at his benefactor as if she were a holy icon. He was no backstage manipulator, using the countess for his own ends, that much was clear.
Rolf looked up at the flickering candles on the wall as he came to the end of his first song.
Who is supporting her? Could it be that chevalier?
He sang several more songs before stopping to drink the cup of water that one of the servants had placed on the hearth next to him. Keeping his eyes down, he listened to the talk. The atmosphere around the table was most unusual. There was no drunkenness and no loud arguing. The tall Virman and the Khangan spoke quietly about something, the pastor was talking to the countess about church matters, and the children seemed to know it was an honor to sit with the adults and ate slowly and carefully.
When he looked up, he noticed that everyone at the table had a fork.
Rolf could hardly believe his eyes. If anyone had described the diverse group to him, he would have expected the pastor to be spewing brimstone at the heathens, the Virmans to be fighting the locals, and the Khangan to have cursed them all as sons of dogs.
In reality, all of the people around the table were linked by their common interests, and the center holding it all together was Lilian Earton. With each passing minute, Rolf found himself increasingly interested in the countess. She never once raised her voice, and she listened to everyone with a smile on her face. When she spoke, she was brief and to the point. Even so, she was the central figure in the group.
He found it all very strange.
***
Lons was desperate for the dinner to be over. He was shaking, and his hands were cold as ice. It was all he could do to keep himself from crying out “Seize that man!” The only thing that stopped him was the fact that Relamo had not recognized him. Lons was sure of that. If the Wellsterite had recognized the former tutor to the king’s daughters, he would have killed him on the spot. Lons knew most of the gossip that circulated at the court of Wellster, and he knew that Rolf was a trusted runner for King Gardwig.
What is he doing here?
The chevalier wasn’t sure what he should do, but he had survived in the hold of the slave ship, and he had every intention of surviving now.
***
Lily listened to the minstrel with one ear. She found the romantic ballads uninspiring, with their lovely ladies, brave knights, dragons, and demons. At one point, even the great and wicked Maldonaya made an appearance. Pastor Vopler frowned, and the minstrel moved back into safer territory.
The countess was even more skilled than Rolf at noticing people without seeming to do so. She saw that he was a good-looking man, and not nearly as starved as his thin frame would have one assume. In fact, he reminded her of Tahir’s mongoose—slinking and deadly. That made him a strange minstrel and subject to suspicion. She would ask Leis to keep both eyes on him.
When dinner was over, Lily smiled sweetly at Rolf. “I thank you for providing us with entertainment this evening.”
Rolf decided to risk everything. “My Lady, will you allow me to stay here and rest for a few days?” He could have left the next day with plenty to tell the jester, but he had heard too many contradictory things and couldn’t make heads or tails of any of it.
Lily nodded. “So long as you promise to entertain us tomorrow evening.”
Rolf gave his word, and the countess and her guests left the dining room.
***
Lily went no further than Miranda’s room, where she put the little girl to bed. That done, she went to her study. Lons knocked on the door before she could even sit down.
“May I come in, My Lady?”
The countess pointed to a chair. “Come in, Leir Lons. What is the matter?”
Lons took a deep breath as if he were about to jump into deep, cold water. “My Lady, that man is no minstrel.”
“Is that so?”
“I am not sure, but I fear he may have been sent here after my head.”
Lily did some quick calculations. Lons worked for her, and he did his work well; she would protect him.
“Why do you think that?”
Lons looked her in the eye. “I was on that slave ship for a reason.”
“I guessed as much.”
“I lied to you when I came here. The truth is that I was supposed to be dead.”
Lily listened as Lons told her the whole story, how Anna had been interested him, how he had seduced her, how they had been married in secret, and how the king’s jester had taken away his marriage papers and ordered some men to kill him. She listened intently, and when he was done, she said nothing for a moment. Then she summed up what both of them were thinking.
“What the hell do we do now?” As always, she was brief and to the point.
Lons looked up at her with eyes full of suffering.
“So you think he’s here for you?”
“Perhaps, My Lady, but it doesn’t make sense. Why make up that whole story about being a minstrel just to get to me?”
Lily bit her thumbnail. “What else could he be after out here in the middle of nowhere?”
“You, My Lady. Or Tahir.”
“Tahir?”
“He is a healer, My Lady, and King Gardwig is very ill.”
Lily nodded. “And what about me? I’m just a woman living in the country.”
Lons allowed himself a smile but said nothing.
“Fine,” Lily continued. “Why shouldn’t we deal with this right now?”
“How, My Lady?”
“I’ll call him in here and question him.”
“But…”
“You will hide behind that cabinet or wherever you want. I’ll have Leif come sit with me. He can claim to have seen this man before.”
Lons felt something like hope rising in his breast. “It might work.”
The countess sighed. She was starting to feel like she needed a Castle Security Committee organized along the lines of the old KGB.
“Leir Lons, go quietly and find Leif. Tell him I need to see him.”
With her secretary gone, Lily sat down at her desk.
This minstrel can be gotten rid of, but he will just be followed by other spies. I need a spy network of my own, and I need it yesterday.
***
When he heard that the countess wanted to see him, Rolf’s first instinct was to run. Unfortunately, he had no way out. There were two Virmans, both the size of bears, standing in the doorway with elbow-length daggers in their hands. He had a premonition that her ladyship didn’t want to talk to him about m
usic.
Once in the countess’ study, Rolf looked around himself quickly. What he saw was cause for wonder: shelves stacked with scrolls and sheaves of parchment. This was a room intended for work. Lilian Earton, dressed in black, looked at him sternly from behind her desk. Behind her stood the same massive Virman who had sat at her table at dinner, only this time he was without his wife, and his face was dark.
The countess spoke first. “Leir Relamo, is there something you would like to tell me?”
Rolf could tell from her tone of voice that she knew exactly who he was. Still, she couldn’t know everything, so he decided to play for time.
“I don’t understand, My Lady.”
“I want the truth, Leir Relamo. If you don’t wish to share it, I will have my Virman guards set their dogs on your trail. What do you think? Will they turn up anything of interest?”
Rolf went cold. Of course, they would.
“Why go to such great lengths, My Lady?”
“Because I have no need of spies in Earton,” Lily said quietly. “I don’t believe for a minute that you just happened by.”
Rolf stared.
She continued. “Leif has seen you before. You would do well to pay more attention to Virmans. I suppose you think they all look alike.”
Rolf could have kicked himself. He didn’t think they all looked exactly alike, but there was some truth in the countess’ words…
“He saw you in Wellster. Now tell me, Leir Relamo, what does your king want from me?” Her fingers tilted a small silver mirror this way and that.
Rolf shrugged. “Nothing much, My Lady. Your husband…”
“Has accompanied His Highness Prince Richard to Wellster.” Lily finished for him.
“Yes. And someone at court was intrigued by your correspondence with him.”
***
Lily’s eyebrows went up. The letter she had sent her husband was short and unlikely to interest the King of Wellster. Her husband’s reply was similarly short and uninteresting to anyone outside the family.
She knew it by heart. It was just five lines:
Dearest wife,
I am pleased with your decisions and completely approve of them.
How is Miranda? Are you in good enough health to try to conceive an heir in the spring? I hope that no one will try to poison you or otherwise harm you before I see you at court.
Your husband,
Jerrison Earton
Rolf seemed uncomfortable as he attempted to explain. “There was an attempt on your life, and the earl’s reaction was…”
“Odd,” Lily offered. She could imagine the earl’s reaction.
The spy smiled gratefully. “Yes, My Lady. The Earl of Lort became interested in Earton—in yourself and in the estate.” “What exactly interests the Earl of Lort?”
Her mind was working overtime. She had supposed it was the king who sent the spy. Who on earth is the Earl of Lort? Lons had spoken of the king’s jester, but he had mentioned no powerful earl by the name of Lort.
Rolf seemed not to see her discomfort.
“He is interested in everything, My Lady. Who, what, how… You see how it is, My Lady. He was in a hurry, so I didn’t have time to work up a proper story.”
Lily nodded. It would have worked if it hadn’t been for Lons and his great confession.
“You wanted information, Leir, so ask.”
The man stared.
“Ask your questions. I will answer them. In the morning my people will take you to… Where would you like to go?”
Rolf paused for a brief instant. “Altver, I suppose, My Lady. I can send a letter from there and wait for instructions.”
Lily bowed her head in assent. She would take the opportunity to send some goods to Torius and a letter for her father. “My Virmans will accompany you. I promise you will come to no harm, Leir. Do you believe me?”
At this point, Leif spoke up from behind her chair. “I would stick him in the well, My Lady. Or give me three hours with him in the dungeon; that’ll keep him from bothering you in the future.”
Lily smiled and waited a beat for effect. Then she looked up at Leif. “Thank you, Leif, but I don’t think that’s necessary. He was simply acting on orders. I would like to meet this Earl of Lort, but that’s a matter for another day. In any event, we have no secrets here. The attempts on my life are widely known.”
Leif squinted and muttered something in Virman under his breath. Rolf shivered. Lily realized to her delight that she was starting to understand some of the Virman language. She couldn’t speak it properly yet, but she could follow the gist of a conversation.
“Now, Leir Relamo, what did you want to know? It’s getting late, and I’d like to get on to bed.”
***
An hour later, Rolf was led from the countess’ study by the same two Virmans who had brought him. The countess had not told him everything he asked, but he had learned enough to make his head spin. Once he was back in his little room, he pulled a piece of parchment out of his bag and began to write down what he knew. Altres would be shocked. Something told Rolf that he would not be the last spy to visit Earton, but he suspected none of them would be as fortunate as he had been. He had escaped the torture chamber and would be escorted to Altver, where he could send his report.
***
“My Lady?”
Lily turned to Lons as he climbed out of the cabinet where he had been hiding.
“You heard everything, didn’t you?”
“I did, My Lady.” He was grateful, she had talked to the Wellsterite spy for a whole hour without ever mentioning him.
The countess sighed. Her secretary’s face was lined with worry and for good reason. “I will not tell anyone about you, but it can’t last long. I have to go to the capital in the spring.”
“You won’t have to introduce me by name to anyone. I can change my appearance. I’ll grow a beard and color my hair.”
“I suppose so,” Lily said doubtfully. “In any case, we will try to let Anna know that you are alive.”
“I beg you, My Lady…”
“Don’t ever beg, Lons. I want you to think. Will she wish to live with you out here where there is no society to speak of?”
“That’s how we always lived before…”
Lily tried to look sympathetic, but she thought Lons’ chances were uncertain at best. To a young girl living in the country, Lons might be as good as a prince, but all bets were off once she had a chance to live at court and dance with a real prince.
Once her secretary was gone, Lily put her head in her hands. She was so very tired, and now she faced the prospect of having to learn everything she could about the political situation in Wellster and how it might affect her. Then she could decide what to do with the runaway tutor.
Lily staggered to her bedroom and laid down without undressing. The last few hours had worn her down to almost nothing. It was no easy feat to converse with a man, getting as much information out of him as you could while weighing every word of your own.
Her stomach rumbled, and Lily wondered how many calories her diplomacy had burned.
She had done her best to send the message that she had nothing against Wellster. There were a few things—like glass and lace—that she was prepared to share, but only after talking to someone more important than Rolf Relamo.
In turn, she had learned that Gardwig was very ill, and that Altres Lort would do anything and kill anyone to help him. She learned that the royal medicus, like everyone else in her new world, believed in the miraculous powers of bloodletting and enemas.
Old Gardwig must have started out strong as an ox if he’s still alive after years of that kind of treatment.
There had been an uncomfortable moment when Rolf told her that her husband had earned himself quite the reputation as a gallant ladies’ man during his stay in Wellster. The spy naturally supposed that this information would pain her ladyship, and her ladyship did her best not to let on that she couldn’t care less.
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She had given Rolf a list of questions to ask the king regarding his health. While she couldn’t visit the royal patient, she could at least collect his health history and give the matter some thought. In the end, Lily was satisfied that she had shown her interest. What would come of it remained to be seen.
Chapter 7
Winter’s Icy Blast
As the year came to a close, Lily was surprised to learn that people in her new world had no mid-winter holiday. She would have liked to put up a tree and decorate it, but she worried that it would raise too many questions. So, in the end, she simply announced that the last day of the year would be a day of rest. Everyone in the castle got the day off, and there was wine and dancing in the evening.
Lily refrained from drinking, but she watched with curiosity as those around her enjoyed the unexpected party. The wine seemed to lift their inhibitions. Even the Virmans looked more relaxed. Lily danced with Tahir, Lons, Taris, and even Leif (with the generous permission of a laughing Ingrid). Erik asked her to dance three times, but Lily was careful not to dance more than twice with the same man. Lons had explained that a noblewoman should not be seen dancing too often with any man other than her husband.
She was doing her best to remember every tiny detail of etiquette so that she would be prepared to attend balls at the palace in the spring. Even so, she was aware there were too many things she didn’t know. I’ll stand out like a sore thumb, she thought glumly.
***
A letter from Lilian:
My dear husband,
I am sure you will be glad to hear that all is well. Miranda is healthy and sends you her love. I am alive, but my health is a source of constant worry. I have lost much weight because of my recent tragedy and the attempt to poison me. This has been confirmed by an eminent healer who arrived in Earton by a happy twist of fate. I expect you will have heard of Tahir Djiaman din Dashar. In any event, when you arrive, you can talk to him about the proper time to conceive a child. He believes that I will need to undergo lengthy treatment before attempting anything of the kind.
I was pleased to receive your letter of approval and likewise look forward to seeing you in person. I hope you are well and continue to pray for you.
Palace Intrigue (Medieval Tale Book 3) Page 24
