Secrets and Spellcraft

by Michael G. Manning

  Will cloaked himself once again with the chameleon spell and began moving more slowly. It took him almost an hour to follow the tracks to where they ended, two blocks away at yet another expensive city house. He couldn’t get to the roof of that building without taking a larger risk, though. Like Spry’s home, it had an exterior gate guarding the front entrance along with several human guards.

  Whoever lived there was obviously not only rich, but also important. He waited across the street, leaning against a different building while he watched the house, but nothing of interest happened.

  It was two hours past midnight by then and he was getting tired. He doubted anything of note would happen and he knew he’d need his sleep for the ball the next day, so Will gave up and returned to Wurthaven after taking careful note of the address.

  He slept fitfully, and his dreams were plagued by visions of Selene and mysterious villains that summoned demons whenever he tried to get near her. When he awoke the sun was already up and he knew he’d missed saber practice. It was a price he was willing to pay. Sleep was more important if he was to be alert that evening.

  His classes went as usual, but all he could think about was the Winter Ball. It was supposed to be a purely social occasion, but given his history he couldn’t help but worry that he would wind up in a fight. Killing someone important in the royal palace is almost certain to piss off the king, isn’t it? he thought wryly. The joke might have been funny if it wasn’t a real risk, and worse, it wasn’t just himself in danger. Any major blunders on his part might well put Janice’s future, or even her life in danger.

  His anxiety only grew stronger as the day progressed, until finally his classes were done. He returned to his room and dressed in his new finery. Unfortunately, he couldn’t wear his special brigandine with his expensive clothes. Even as slim as it was, it was too bulky to wear both a thick doublet and his leather jerkin over the top.

  Going without armor made the spot between his shoulder blades itch, but there was no avoiding it. With time to spare before he needed to pick up Janice, he checked and rechecked the weapons and gear he had stored in the limnthal. You’d think I was going to war, he chuckled nervously. Hopefully I won’t need any of it.

  At half past the sixth bell, he went to the girls’ dorm and waited in the front lobby for Janice to come down. He didn’t wait long; however, when she appeared, he almost didn’t recognize her. If it hadn’t been for the fact that no one else would be dressed in such a gown, he might have mistaken her for someone else.

  Janice glanced up shyly at him as he stared open-mouthed at her. Her hair had been worked and fashioned into an elaborate braid that dropped to her slender neck before rising to form twin spirals atop her head. The dress was a work of art in two different shades of blue. It stopped after just barely topping her shoulders, showing off her neck and delicate collarbones. His eyes rose from her face to her hair, then down to the dress, before stopping at the focal point of the entire assemblage, her décolletage. Will’s cheeks colored.

  “You’ll embarrass me if you keep staring,” said Janice demurely.

  “Pardon me?” Will sputtered, then he apologized. “I’m sorry. You’re just—” What am I trying to say? “You look lovely. I didn’t expect, I mean I didn’t realize—err, you’re stunning.” He struggled for a moment to figure out what to do with his hands as he became overly self-conscious. Then he realized he was still holding his present for her. “Here, this is for you.”

  Her eyes lit with surprise. “For me? Should I open it now?”

  “I think so. Yes. It’s for tonight.”

  She untied the ribbon with graceful fingers. He’d seen her hands at work countless times before, usually as she was writing or taking notes. How did I not notice how pretty they are? Janice’s face glowed as she saw the contents of the box. “Oh! Thank you! They’re perfect.” She removed the earrings and set about replacing the unassuming pair she wore with the ones he had given her. “How do they look?”

  “Beautiful,” was all he could manage.

  “Thank you.” She stretched up onto her toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek, and he felt a warm flush rise from his neck to his ears. Janice took note of the look on his face and laughed, her eyes twinkling with merriment. “No need to be so bashful. I know I’m not the one that occupies your thoughts, but it’s nice to see I can still make you blush.”

  “Umm.” He had no idea what to say. Glancing around, he noticed that they were drawing a crowd as the other female students gathered to study them in their finery. “We should probably go.”

  Janice draped her hand across his arm, and he escorted her from the building, feeling more confident with each step. Once outside they started down the walkway, but when they reached the wider lane, she asked him, “Where do we meet the carriage?”

  Chapter 48

  Fortunately, the royal palace was relatively close to the college, though walking down the lane to the street, then across, and back up to the entrance of the palace took a little more than fifteen minutes. They kept their pace restrained and dignified, but Will felt like a fool the entire time. It simply hadn’t occurred to him that he needed to arrange for a carriage. The palace was right there, next door.

  His mistake became more apparent as they strolled up the palace drive, past a line of carriages that were disgorging their occupants one by one. Will and Janice were the only ones on foot, and they drew stares as they went by.

  “Keep your chin up,” said Janice from the side of her mouth. “These people are wolves. If they sense embarrassment, they’ll go to great lengths to make it worse for you. Smile and pretend you don’t give a damn, that it’s a lark. They’ll wonder if the joke is on them.”

  He took her advice to heart, smiling and giving a nod whenever someone stared too long. Those watching them seemed more curious than hostile. “You seem like you know what you’re doing,” Will noted.

  She smiled faintly. “I’ve been dealing with these people all my life. You have to learn quickly, especially when they could ruin you or your family on a whim.” For the first time, Will felt lucky he had grown up in a backwater village.

  Since they skipped the line of carriages, they were some of the first to enter and the doorman announced their names to an almost empty room, “Mister William Cartwright and Miss Janice Edelman.” Arm in arm they entered the massive ballroom, and Will’s interest was immediately drawn by a long array of tables on either side of the room. Food. He glanced at Janice, and they began heading toward the nearest table.

  “Look at all the food!” said Will happily. “I don’t understand why there’s so few people here yet. The ball is supposed to start now.”

  She lectured him as they went, “Ordinarily aristocrats will do their best to avoid arriving early as we did. It’s part of how they establish the pecking order. The most important arrive last. Don’t worry, though, since we’re nobodies, arriving early won’t affect us. In fact, we might have attracted negative attention if we’d tried to show up too late.”

  “More food for us,” said Will, already busy packing finger foods into his mouth.

  “You’re supposed to use the little plates, not eat right off the table,” said Janice.

  Will smirked, his cheeks stuffed full. “That’s what they get for letting pigs into a buffet.”

  She demonstrated the proper etiquette, loading a small saucer with a light selection of tidbits. With her first two fingers she lifted a tiny quail leg to her lips and removed the meat in a single, efficient bite. Will noticed that she kept her pinky finger out straight the entire time.

  “What are you doing with your finger like that?” he asked. He’d seen Selene do the same when she was sipping from a cup, but he hadn’t noticed it while eating.

  She wiggled her pinky at him. “This is your salt finger. Don’t ever let it touch your food or anything dirty.”

  “Huh?”

  Janice pointed to the salt and pepper bowls, which he had just used a moment be
fore. “If someone saw you reach into those with your other fingers, as you just did, you’d be mocked.” She demonstrated by dipping the nail of her little finger into the salt bowl and scooping out a tiny portion, which she sprinkled over her plate. “Salt finger, understand?”

  “What about pepper? Do I use the other pinky?”

  “No. Same finger for all the spices.”

  “Got it.”

  “It’s lucky for you that the food is being served informally like this. You’d need a few days to learn all the rules for a banquet.”

  “At least I wouldn’t have to injure anyone,” remarked Will ruefully. “I still have a lot of sympathy for what your feet went through last week.”

  She grimaced. “Don’t remind me.”

  They meandered a bit, enjoying the scenery and listening to the doorman announce guests as the room slowly began to fill. Will was surprised when he recognized several of the guests who arrived. Duncan Fisher had come with Rebecca Swafford as his guest, while Craig Larkin arrived with Stephanie Beresford. All four were students that Will had met at various points at Wurthaven, and Rebecca was in his Spell Theory class.

  He should have expected it, though, since they were sons and daughters of noblemen. A little while later the chancellor, Lord Bradshaw, and his wife arrived, followed shortly after by both of the college vice-chancellors, Lord Courtney and Lord Connolly.

  Will’s ears grew numb from the tedium of the constant litany of names, but they perked up when he heard one in particular being announced. “The Baron, Mark Nerrow and his wife, Baroness Agnes Nerrow, accompanied by their daughters, Laina and Tabitha Nerrow.” He felt a strange emotion as they entered the room, for three of the four were his blood-relatives, and yet they were almost complete strangers to him.

  The Baron’s wife, Agnes, was thin and had a severe face composed of sharp lines, but her daughters were a beautiful melding of her features with Mark Nerrow’s broader jawline. Laina was almost grown now, with a full figure and light, almost blond hair, while Tabitha was younger, with darker brown tresses and a kind smile. Tabitha reminded him a little of Sammy with her youthful exuberance. My sisters, thought Will, feeling his chest tighten.

  It had never bothered him before. In fact, he had almost never thought about them, but seeing them then, dressed up and smiling at one another as they followed their mother and father, Will suddenly felt as though he was lacking something. I’m the dirty secret of the family. Staring at them, he wondered if they were really related. Laina and Tabitha were refined and ethereal in their beauty, while he—well, he knew his features were coarse. The scar on his cheek was just the icing on the cake, declaring his rough upbringing for all to see.

  Janice nudged him with her elbow. “What’s with the face? Do you know them? You look like someone just stole the dessert off your plate.”

  “No,” he said somberly. “I don’t know them at all.”

  “Whoa,” hissed Janice. Lifting one arm, she wiped his cheek with her sleeve. “Are you crying?”

  “Huh? No,” said Will, shaking himself slightly to rid himself of his melancholy. “I think I had something in my eye.”

  “Sure,” said Janice. “Try to keep it together. The princess isn’t even here yet and you’re already getting sentimental.

  More people arrived, and the pace began to slow with pauses between entrants. When the doorman announced the Duke and Duchess Arenata, it seemed to be all but over. “That’s probably it except for the royals.”

  Will wasn’t sure how he felt about that, and he was also surprised and perhaps relieved that Count Spry hadn’t made an appearance, but then the doors opened again. “Her Highness, Princess Selene Maligant with her escort Count Malcolm Spry.”

  Will froze, and a strange vibration echoed through his chest. He’d begun growling without realizing it. “What the hell?” he muttered. “Why is he here with her?”

  Janice put her hand on his arm. “Calm down. You won’t win any points by showing your teeth.”

  He glared at Janice. “Shouldn’t he be here with his wife?”

  “She died a few weeks ago,” she responded matter-of-factly. “Didn’t you hear? Apparently, she had a bad case of indigestion.”

  “What?” A look of horror spread slowly across his face.

  “You should try going outside more often,” said Janice dryly. “It was the only thing people were talking about for days. She was still young, and of course there have been dark rumors that her demise wasn’t entirely natural.”

  “I go outside plenty,” said Will in irritation. “I just don’t talk much. People keep trying to stick sharp things in me. Do you really think he had her killed?”

  “Shhh, lower your voice,” warned his date. “Some things are meant to be thought but not spoken, or at least, spoken very softly.”

  A hush fell over the room, and the string musicians stopped as King Lognion Maligant entered from the second-floor balcony on the opposite end of the ballroom. The gathered lords and ladies dropped into deep bows and curtseys and remained that way until his voice rang out across the room.

  “Noble guests, raise your heads. Welcome to the Winter Ball. Our beloved nation has survived yet another year and we find ourselves here again to celebrate the turning of the seasons and our rest from the labors of the spring, summer, and fall.”

  As if any of them were out planting or harvesting, though Will sourly.

  The king continued, “This year we have even more to be thankful for, as our gallant soldiers successfully pushed the invader from our eastern borders and even now the Patriarch begs us for peace and leniency in the wake of his defeat.” Lognion lowered his head and voice menacingly. “Though whether I will grant them such mercy is yet to be seen!”

  He paused, and a brief applause broke out in the room. Then the king held up his hands again. “But despite all of that, I have yet another surprise for the people of our land, a small bit of joy I would like to share. As most of you are aware, Lord Spry suffered two great tragedies this year, first the loss of his son and then the loss of his beloved wife Frya. While such crushing sorrow might destroy lesser men, Malcolm Spry has proved once again what strong stuff he is made of, for he has continued to move forward despite his losses.”

  Selene and Count Spry were climbing the stairs on one side of the room, moving to join the King where he addressed the crowd. Will began to mumble to himself. “No, no, no, no…” Janice dug her fingers into his arm, warning him to stay silent.

  “Without wife or heir, Lord Spry has been left wondering if his house would pass away entirely, but as his liege I could not stand idly by and watch such a friend to the crown suffer. My daughter has always had great affection for Lord Spry and she has recently consented to become his wife. I was only too pleased to grant them my blessing! I ask all of you to do the same, as a month from today they will be wed in the great chapel. Please greet the future bride and groom.” The king stepped back from the railing and gestured toward Selene and Malcolm Spry with open arms, inviting them to stand beside him.

  With the speech over cheers and applause filled the air and some of the guests called out their congratulations. Will simply stood and stared, and a line he’d once heard from his grandfather tumbled out of his lips. “That needle-dicked bug fucker!”

  A lady nearby heard his words and she gasped and moved away, while Janice’s face grew pale. A heavy hand landed on Will’s shoulder and he turned angrily to see who had dared.

  “Mister Cartwright! It’s a pleasure to see you hale and hearty! Try to keep my nickname away from the ears of the delicate ladies of this gathering,” exclaimed the heavily muscled man. He appeared to be in his thirties with an impressively large mustache and mirthful brown eyes. It took Will a second to recognize the man.

  “Captain Barrentine?”

  The knight-captain dipped his head in acknowledgment, a smile on his face. “Please, though, call me Sir Kyle here. Military titles are out of place in this company. Will you introduce
me to your lovely companion?”

  Will awkwardly made the introduction. “May I present Miss Janice Edelman, a fellow student at Wurthaven. Janice, this is Sir Kyle Barrentine. He was my commanding officer during the fight against the Darrowan invasion.” He stared at the big knight in wonder. “I’m surprised you even remember me, Sir Kyle, much less know my name.”

  “How could I forget the single biggest source of trouble in Company B?” said Sir Kyle with a laugh. He winked at Janice. “Miss Edelman, I don’t know how you came to be an acquaintance of this rogue, but you must love excitement. There’s rarely a dull moment with this one around.” He punctuated the remark by clapping Will on the shoulder so hard that he staggered.

  Janice showed a brief flash of white teeth. “I cannot argue with your appraisal, Sir Kyle. He has been a handful, even at Wurthaven.”

  “Sir Kyle,” began Will, “could I trouble you for news of the men in Company B? You probably don’t know them but…”

  “Let’s go get some air,” suggested the knight. “We can talk on the veranda, rather than bore the ears of these notables with war stories.” There was a warning in his eyes.

  They followed Sir Kyle across the room to a wall that held several sets of broad, glass-paned double doors that had been thrown open to allow air into the crowded ballroom. There were already some people milling around outside, but the knight led them to a quiet spot where they could speak without being overheard. The knight’s demeanor became less jovial as they gained privacy. “Mister Cartwright, I see some things never change. You looked as though you were about to bring out a barrel of lamp oil and set fire to the place.”

  Will looked to one side uneasily. “I wouldn’t go that far.”