The Queen of Mages (16 page)

Besiana ignored her son, and instead eyed
Queen Alise. The queen tapped her fingers together. “Hm. Not so far
as to seem like a flight from retribution, but not too close
either. It is settled, then.” The queen stood, and everyone else
shot to their feet. She turned to face Amira once more. “Again, my
lady, I am deeply sorry for what has occurred. Should you ever have
need of my assistance, it is yours.”

Amira went to her knee again, taking the
queen’s hand and kissing it lightly once. “Your majesty. Thank
you.” She’d completely forgotten she was still in her filthy
servant’s dress. The queen seemed to ignore such trivialities.

Queen Alise smiled once more and left. Her
stoic
vala
followed her out, and there was much commotion
outside as the queen’s guards escorted her from the manse.

Amira looked around. Katin stood at one
wall, Liam at the other. The air had gone out of Besiana and Dardan
after the queen left. Hosting the queen in one’s sitting room was a
draining experience, it seemed, even for someone as formidable as
the countess.

But Amira felt invigorated. She was
home—almost—and safe. Her ordeal was over. An extended stay in the
country would be an ordeal of another sort, but one for which she
was much better prepared. Just then Sir Thoriss’s face flashed in
her mind’s eye, and she felt a wave of grief all over again.

For now, at least, no one would deny her
anything. “As you all must expect, I am quite exhausted,” she said,
letting herself slouch. It was not feigned. “I must return home and
recover. I gather the queen would like to see our backs sooner
rather than later.”

Besiana ushered her from the room, Katin
following close behind. Dardan bowed to Amira as she left, but
Besiana barely gave them time to wave a farewell.

“You are correct on that account,” Besiana
said. “I would suggest several days’ rest before you travel, but I
believe the queen would not take it as kindly as she usually does.
You must leave on the morrow. I will arrange a coach, although I
suspect Dardan and Liam will insist on riding those horrible
beasts.”

“I believe they’re called ‘horses,’ m’lady,”
Katin said dryly.

Besiana sniggered, then giggled at herself.
“Oh, dear. We are all out of sorts today, aren’t we? Well. Off with
you, my dear,” she said, patting Amira’s cheek. “You must sleep and
eat and recuperate. The future will hold better days, I believe.”
She smiled, satisfied, and went back into the sitting room, closing
the door behind her.

By the time they stepped outside, the
queen’s coach was gone. Amira wasted no time assembling her own
servants and assuring them that she was well and unharmed. Sara
nearly fainted when she saw her lady, and then cried tears of joy
for hours thereafter, every time she saw Amira again. Katin finally
had to send the girl out to the gardens to get some air.

Once they were finally alone, and Amira had
washed and dressed properly, she sat in her bedchamber with Katin
and told her the parts she had omitted from her story to the queen.
Katin’s eyes were hard, but she listened intently and did not
interrupt.

“I trust you know how serious it is that
you… did what you did to Sir Thoriss,” Katin said. She seemed
afraid to say the words.

“Of course. But the man had his sword out.
He was going to kill me.” The grief and terror came rushing back,
making her stomach feel like an empty pit, even though she’d eaten.
She seized on her ember for comfort. “It is only by this that I
survived.” She tapped her temple.

Katin nodded slowly. Amira thought about the
argument they’d had the night of the ball.
Two nights ago. Such
a long time.
She felt a pang of regret at how cruel she’d been
to Katin, but dredging that up would just hurt them both.

Afternoon turned to evening, and Amira
talked much about the upcoming journey, to take her mind off Edon
and Thoriss and all that horrifying mess. Katin pointed out that
Besiana was clearly setting her up for a marriage proposal. Amira
had supposed that she might remarry, if she found the right man;
certainly she had no need to marry for wealth any longer. Dardan
could very well be a tolerable match, if not half so charismatic as
Valmir had been. Though marrying Valmir had been entirely for the
sake of convenience. Amira got financial security, and Valmir got a
beautiful, vivacious wife who he could show off.

She’d have to see how things went in
Hedenham. At worst, she’d turn down the offer and come back to
Callaston.
And what if Edon’s here? What then?
Keeping Edon
off her mind was harder than she thought.

Katin and the other maids went through the
ritual of packing again. Her
vala
asked Amira’s leave to go
back to the Tarians’ manse and inquire about the arrangements.
Hedenham Town was sizable, with its own dressmakers and jewellers
and everything, and what they did not pack they could buy once they
arrived. No doubt the Tarians would provide everything Amira would
need anyway, all the better to impress upon her their seriousness
about Dardan’s courtship.

When night came and supper was done, Amira
asked Katin to bring her an unlit candle. Katin looked at her
oddly, but complied. Amira sat in her chair and held the candle
before her. The ember sat there in her mind, pulsing as calmly as
ever. Whatever this power was, she had best master it. Should she
find herself in peril again, she wanted better options than fleeing
in panic or accidentally killing someone.

She moved the silver bead into the candle’s
wick, and held it there a moment. Nothing happened. She slowly
began to push energy into it, and after a moment the wick caught
fire. Katin sat on the floor, watching intently. Amira blew out the
candle and tried again, this time pushing even more gently. The
wick smoldered for a few seconds before igniting. She repeated the
experiment two score times, fascinated by how the little bead moved
and how its energy flowed.

Katin finally insisted that they needed to
sleep well before travelling. By now, Amira was well and truly
tired, and fell easily into a dreamless slumber.

On the third evening of their journey to
Hedenham, their coach stopped at a town called Ketterford. After a
tolerable dinner at the inn, Lady Amira pled fatigue and turned in.
Dardan wanted only rest as well, so Liam followed him to his room
and began to help him dress for bed. “I suppose I should start
properly courting Lady Amira,” Dardan groused all of a sudden.

“Yes, m’lord?”

“I can’t imagine I’ll find someone better,
and I’d have to go through all that rigmarole again. The
introduction, chatting mindlessly. I find it easier to talk to her
now.”

“That’s good, m’lord. It’d be a pity to have
gone through all that trauma with Prince Edon and have nothing to
show for it.”

Dardan frowned. “That’s not something to
make light of, Liam.”

“Of course not, m’lord. Will there be
anything else?”

“No, I’m wearied. Good night.”

Liam was not tired in the least, so he found
himself wandering the halls, and chatted up a comely young maid.
She was all smiles at his attention, but the third time he realized
he’d been silent for half a minute while thinking about Katin, he
growled a good night at the startled girl and stomped off.

———

The next night they came into Potterton, a
handful of homes and shops scattered around a ramshackle inn that
had somehow attracted the services of a minstrel, so they were all
serenaded while they ate dinner. Afterward, Dardan courageously
asked Lady Amira if she would fancy a stroll around what passed for
the town square. She assented, and so their
valai
followed
behind as the lord and lady made a slow circuit in the deepening
twilight.

Liam took a deep breath and offered his arm
to Katin. She confounded him; he’d never met a woman who was so
game for banter, yet stared so coldly as if he meant some harm.
Girls either cozied up to him or told him to get lost at once.

To his delight, she took his arm, but kept
her gaze studiously ahead. When Dardan made a subtle shooing
motion, Liam slowed his walk, to give Dardan and Amira a bit more
privacy. Katin made no objection.

“Our masters seem to enjoy one another’s
company,” he observed. “I’m pleased as well to be able to walk with
you.”

“Indeed. It would be a waste of warmth to
walk separately,” Katin said.

“That is not what I meant.”

“You should speak more plainly, then, or I
might misunderstand you again.”

Liam stared. “Was there a burr under your
saddle today? You are acting strangely.”

“My apologies, Mister Howard. Are you upset
that I failed to simply fall over and spread my legs for you the
moment we met? As I recall it was when my lady first met your
master, at his manse. I think it might have been received poorly
had we begun fornicating on the rug.”

Liam came to a dead stop, aghast. “What do
you mean by speaking this way?”

Katin cast an eye after Amira for a moment,
then looked up at Liam. “Why, I merely had some words with a few of
the maids at your lord’s manse, before we left. It seems you’ve had
quite a number of adventures there.”

Liam’s face grew hot. “This is no
appropriate conversation.” He stiffly offered his arm again. Katin
took it a moment later. Dardan and Amira had gotten farther ahead,
so Liam made haste to close the gap. What business was it of hers
if he had tumbled a maid or two… or five?

Katin went on. “Indeed, such a conversation
might make a woman faint with fright. We are such delicate
creatures.”

Liam hesitated. “Fine, then. If you wish the
truth, those girls propositioned
me
.”

“Oh dear! Have I made some error by turning
a cold shoulder?”

Despite her words, Katin still held his arm.
Liam tried to let himself calm. “Is it so wrong to say that I found
you to be fine company at the royal ball?”

“On the contrary, it is quite a nice thing
to say. If only I didn’t suspect the motive behind it.”

“The motive—!” Liam gritted his teeth.
Calm. She’s just trying to get you riled up.
Maybe he was
taking the wrong tack. “I suppose you’d prefer it if men were all
gelded and kept as pets.”

“Some men, perhaps. Not all.” She
smiled.

“Well, that’s a relief. Humanity would come
to its end, otherwise.”

“I suppose your sweethearts in Hedenham
would be displeased by that.”

“I have no such sweethearts.” It was true.
More or less. Some girls seemed to think they meant more to him
than they really did. But that was hardly his fault.

“No?”

“No. I mean… no.”

“So which is it? No, or no?”

“I will admit that there have been some
young women for whom I have had… affection.” He eyed her sidelong.
“At the moment, there is only one girl I have my eye on.”

“Hm. You should make sure she knows that.”
They’d come back around to the inn, and Katin slipped her arm out
of Liam’s. She strode off without another glance.

Dardan was saying goodnight to Amira. He
boldly bent down and kissed her hand, and her eyes widened in what
looked like amusement. Katin collected her and they went into the
inn.

“M’lord is wasting no time, I see,” Liam
murmured as he came to his master’s side.

Dardan shuffled his feet a little. “I
confess I’m not pleased with mother’s meddling, but Lady Amira is…
a remarkable woman.”

“M’lord is indeed lucky,” Liam said.
Luckier than me, it would seem.

———

Two mornings later, the coach rumbled into
Hedenham Town. They passed shops and homes and finally came to the
wide, stone-paved town square. Buildings here favored walls of a
whitewashed plaster, with high peaked roofs of slate. Hedenham had
always been prosperous, surrounded by farms and forests to the west
and north, and hills bearing copper and iron mines to the east.

Children ran alongside Dardan’s horse as he
tossed coppers down at them, laughing and calling out the names of
some he knew. This was his habit whenever he returned; it cost but
little and taught the children early to love their lord.
Lord-to-be, rather.

On the north end of the square was the
magistrate’s office, with its hammer painted large on the outer
wall. Liam saw someone emerge from it as they approached, and
recognized Dardan’s father, Count Asmus Tarian. He was a voluble
man, tall and broad. He always reminded Liam of a hairless bear.
His
valo
, Bannis—they all called him Old Ban—lumbered
stiffly along behind him.

Dardan cantered ahead and stopped before his
father, who had turned at the sound of hoofbeats. Liam followed
close behind. The count smiled up at his son. “My boy! I thought
you’d be back days past. Stayed for the summer ball, did you?”

“And more besides,” Dardan said, forcing his
own smile.

The coach thumped to a stop behind them, and
Katin and Amira peered out the side window. Asmus glimpsed them and
grinned at his son. “Brought me a gift, eh?”

“Lady Amira is here as our guest,” Dardan
warned, “and I am presently courting her. Thus I will kindly ask
you to keep your charms to yourself. Hands off her maids, too, if
you please.”

Asmus grinned, holding his hands up. “As you
will, my boy. A man should have his own pleasures. I suppose you
could at least introduce us, hm?”

“Of course.” Dardan dismounted and helped
the women down. Katin and Amira, anyway; Sara looked terrified as
usual and stayed hidden in the coach.

Amira had dressed this morning in a lovely
shade of peach, and had done her hair up in an elaborate, showy
braid. Clearly she’d expected to meet the count and wanted to
appear as radiant as possible.

Even old Asmus, veteran of a thousand
boudoirs, was stunned. “My lady Amira,” he said, bowing low over
her hand but, Liam noted, not kissing it. “Welcome to Hedenham. It
is an honor to meet you.”

“The honor is mine,” she said, bowing in
return. “Your lands are remarkably fertile and pleasant.”

“My son and I have worked hard for long
years to ensure prosperity,” Asmus said, near bursting with pride.
Is there a man that Amira cannot beguile? Well, me, I suppose.
And Prince Edon.
Liam wondered what trouble the prince might
have gotten up to out at Gravensford. It made him feel a bit safer
to know that the royal estate was as far to the northwest of
Callaston as Hedenham was to its northeast.

Dardan looked around the square. “Where’s
Ilya?”

“Your brother is with Master Stephens until
the evening. He’s already saved the man a hundred gold crowns,
going through his books and finding errors. The boy will make a
fine master of trade some day.”

Dardan’s little brother would be happy to
know they’d returned. He idolized Dardan and always said how well
he’d serve his older brother when he was grown. Liam hoped that
Ilya’s enthusiasm persisted through adolescence. Soon he’d start to
notice girls, and then all bets were off for a few years.

Asmus told them that he still had business
to conduct in town. In the meantime he formally granted Amira full
use of his house and grounds, and insisted that the party decamp to
the manor at once to rest and recuperate.

———

The Tarians’ ancestral manor house,
Tinehall, lay a mile north of the town, on a low rise beside the
road. The manor was in fact two large parallel buildings, one
hidden behind the other, with a broad grass courtyard between them.
It was surrounded by a hundred and ten acres of grounds, gardens,
stables and other utility buildings. A long gravel path led from
the Hedenham road up to the manor.

The house major, old Gerald, came forth with
what looked to be half the domestic staff: footmen, maids, a few
stableboys. Gerald greeted Dardan and Liam warmly, and bowed low
when introduced to Amira. The chief maid took the women inside at
once, to show them to their quarters and see to their comfort.
After such a long journey, the women would need plenty of rest.
Liam did not miss that Katin glanced over her shoulder at him just
before vanishing inside. He was going to have to figure out what to
do about that girl.

“Gerald, we’re famished,” Dardan said.
“We’ll take luncheon in my father’s office.”

The count’s office was adorned only with
treasures the count had acquired over the years: the mounted head
of a stag that he’d killed with a knife after his bowstring
snapped; a rusted sword that he’d taken from a surrendering
Vaslander chief during the last war; a black stone pyramid a foot
high, received as a gift from some foreign merchant he’d once done
business with. Other trinkets, arranged in no discernible order,
had piled up along the walls.

Dardan settled into his father’s seat while
Liam remained standing. They waited in companionable silence until
Gerald arrived with a tray bearing plates of ham, bread, onions,
and beans. He turned to go but Dardan said, “No, please, stay. Let
us all sit, in fact. The count will be some time, I’m sure.”

Liam shrugged and sat, but Gerald looked
uncomfortable. “M’lord,” he intoned, in a sepulchral voice that
always made Liam think of impending doom, “I would not feel
comfortable sitting in the count’s own office.”

Dardan shrugged. “So be it. Tell me of my
father. How has he been these last weeks?”

Gerald blinked at the young lord.
“Irrepressible, as always. His mood seems well. He only threatened
to whip me once this week.”

Liam snorted. Asmus would threaten his
servants at the slightest provocation, but they all knew he would
never actually strike any of them. He was equally likely to promise
titles and lands simply for being brought a delicious bowl of
soup.

“Thank you, then,” Dardan said, dismissing
the old major. Gerald bowed and went out. Liam hoped he was getting
along well; he always made life at the manor feel well-ordered.

Liam tucked into his food as soon as Dardan
did. “Worried about your father’s reaction to our news,
m’lord?”

Dardan shrugged. “He’ll shout obscenities
and promise divine retribution, and two minutes later shrug it off
as the common mischief of young men. I’m more concerned about the
garrison.”

They had just finished eating when footsteps
heralded the count’s approach. He strode into the office with Old
Ban following right behind, who took the count’s hat and leaned
against the credenza by the door.

“My boy! I see you’ve eaten without me.”
Asmus chuckled. “Oh, and now your
valo
makes casual use of
my office, eh? I should have you flogged,” he added to Liam. Liam
held back a smile as he stood up, bowed to the count, and moved
over to join Old Ban.

Dardan vacated his father’s seat. “It is
good to see you, of course, but I have urgent matters to
discuss.”

Asmus plopped into his chair and snatched up
a crumb from Dardan’s plate. “Go on, then.”

Leaving out many small details, Dardan
recounted his trip to Callaston, the business done there, and his
introduction to Amira. His eyes glazed over as he began talking
about how lovely she was, how graceful, how ladylike… Liam glanced
at Old Ban, whose eyes were about to roll out of his head.

“Yes, yes, an outstanding example of noble
womanhood, I quite comprehend. I’ve met the girl, you know,” Asmus
cut in. “None of this sounds especially urgent.”

Dardan jumped ahead to the morning after the
ball, when they’d been summoned to the palace and the prince had
tried to have his way with Amira. The count’s face grew cloudy, his
eyelids lowered, and he listened intently, asking curt questions
about this or that detail. The only part of it that stuck out to
Liam was when Asmus said, “And
is
there anything strange
about Amira?”

“Not that I know of,” Dardan said. “We all
agreed that Edon had got into a panic about witches, claiming Lady
Amira had had a spell cast on him. I think we can all agree how
unlikely that is,” he added with a snort.