Authors: Mackenzie Morgan
Dayed looked at Dara and held up his hand before she could speak. “I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t need to. Myron’s my nephew and anyone he brings into my house will be treated as an honored guest, no matter who it is. Now, Dara, isn’t it time for you to start getting lunch on the table? I’m hungry.” And then, with his arm around Kevin’s shoulder, Dayed opened the door to the rest of the house. “Is she related to Duane? I know he was a good friend of Badec’s.”
Kevin nodded as they joined the women in the parlor. “Rhianna’s Duane’s sister.”
“Much younger sister,” Rhianna said as she stood up and offered Dayed her hand. “I’ve seen some of your work in Laryn’s house. It’s lovely.”
“After lunch we’ll go out to the workshop,” Dayed said as he shook her hand. “You may find something you like.” Then he looked at Katrin and Georgia and nodded. “I think Dara should have lunch on the table by now if you’d like to join her. We’ll be along in a minute.”
Lunch seemed to last forever. The conversation was stilted, but at least no one was openly hostile. Kevin was stuck between Dara and Katrin while Rhianna was between Dayed and Georgia at the other end of the long table. Dayed was hungry and ready to get back to his workshop, so he concentrated on eating. Georgia was shy and stuck to the formal conversation of perfect strangers. Dara was fuming and Katrin was confused.
When the meal finally ended, Kevin said, “Rhianna, we need some new chairs in my office. Let’s go see if Dayed has anything that would work.”
Before Rhianna could answer, Dara jumped in. “I’ve got a better idea. Katrin, you help Myron find something appropriate for a Master Sorcerer’s office. Rhianna and Georgia can help me clear. It’ll give me a chance to get to know Rhianna better.”
Katrin quickly nodded and took Kevin’s hand. “I’m sure we can find something suitable.”
Kevin eased his hand out of Katrin’s. “It’s fine with me if you want to come with us, but I want Rhianna to see Dayed’s work.” Then he turned to Dara. “If you need help clearing up, we’ll all stay and help, and then, if you like, you can come with us.”
Dara sputtered, but before she could say anything else, Kevin and Rhianna started stacking dishes and clearing the table while Georgia went into the kitchen to start washing. Twenty minutes later, the dining room and kitchen were cleaned up and everyone headed out to Dayed’s workshop.
Dayed walked with Kevin and Rhianna while the others followed a few steps behind. “This isn’t what you had in mind, is it?” Dayed whispered out of the side of his mouth.
Kevin shook his head. “I want Rhianna to see your work, but with Katrin involved...”
“You deal with Katrin. Dara won’t come more than a few steps inside, and Georgia will stick to my wife. I’ll take care of Rhianna. Do you really want some new chairs?”
Kevin nodded. “The ones I’ve got are all right, but I’d prefer something not quite so heavy and dark.”
Dayed nodded. “We’ll look around and pick out a few things. You and Rhianna can come back later and make a decision. Just don’t tell Dara you’re coming.”
Kevin grinned. “Got it.”
When they got to the workshop, Dayed and Rhianna took off one way, Katrin clutched Kevin’s arm and pulled him in the opposite direction, and Georgia meekly followed Dara. All the chairs Katrin wanted him to use would have been fine in Dara’s parlor, but they were totally wrong for his office. An hour later, Kevin had had all he could take and was ready to go home, so he guided Katrin back towards the door.
Dayed had been keeping an eye on Kevin, so when Kevin headed towards the door, he and Rhianna did, too. As soon as everyone was back at the front, Kevin said, “Dara, as always, lunch was delightful. Thank you so much for having us, but I need to head back to the castle now. I have a meeting this afternoon.”
Dara frowned. “Again? You had a meeting you had to dash off to the last time you came. Do you really have to rush off today, too? It’s so rude. The least you could do is make an effort to clear the whole afternoon when you accept an invitation. You and Katrin haven’t had hardly any time to spend together.”
“I’m sorry,” Kevin said, easing Katrin’s hand off his arm, “but we should have left an hour ago.” He took out his key and stepped closer to Rhianna as he turned towards Georgia and Katrin. “Ladies, as always, nice to see you.”
Rhianna put her hand on Kevin’s arm and said, “Dara, thank you for lunch. It was nice to meet all of you. And Dayed, you have a lovely workshop.”
Dayed smiled. “Come back anytime.”
Kevin nodded, turned the key, and the two of them left for Kevin’s office.
“Well, that was a disaster,” Rhianna said as soon as they got back.
“What was?” Chris asked from his seat at his desk in Kevin’s office.
“Sorry, didn’t see you there,” Rhianna said.
“No problem.” Chris set his pen down. “What was a disaster?”
“Lunch at Dara’s,” Kevin answered with a chuckle.
“Could have told you that before you went. Oh, wait, I did, back when you accepted her invitation.”
“Humph! It wasn’t exactly an invitation.” Kevin walked around his desk towards his chair. “More like a command performance.”
Rhianna looked at Kevin. “You should have warned her I was coming, Myron. It took her by surprise. I’m sure that’s why she kept criticizing you.”
Kevin shook his head. “No, that’s just Dara. Besides, I did tell her you were coming. I specifically said I had a guest staying with me at the castle and I was going to bring my guest. What more could I have done?”
“Oh, let’s see.” Rhianna’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “First of all, you should have warned her I was female. That was a bit embarrassing all the way around since she’d invited another woman to be my lunch companion. And then there’s the fact I’m an elf...”
“How much did you hear?”
“I’m not deaf. I have quite good hearing, and it wasn’t like she was trying to keep the conversation private.”
“Rhianna, I’m so sorry,” Kevin said as he sat down.
Rhianna waved her hand as if to say no matter. “But I did feel sorry for Georgia. She all but crawled under her chair. Katrin, on the other hand, just smiled.”
Kevin took a deep breath. “Look, I can’t explain Dara. I doubt if anyone can. You should have been around for Laryn’s wedding. Everyone was ready to kill her. She criticized the decorations, the menu, our clothes, my office, the reception area, the way I walk, the way I talk, everything. And she was no better with the rest of the family. In the end, we all ignored her and went on with what we were doing.”
“He’s not kidding,” Chris said. “Before it was over, Joan and Laryn were hiding from her. They posted one of the pages at Joan’s door and threatened his life if he let Dara in.”
“You were no better, hiding in here,” Kevin said with a grin.
Chris shrugged.
“Just please,” Kevin said, “don’t let her poison you against the rest of my family. Everyone else is nice.”
“That’s why he wanted to get her out of the way first,” Chris added.
“And to get her off Laryn’s back,” Kevin said. “She kept writing to Laryn insisting we go up there for a meal. Laryn made excuses as to why we couldn’t, but she was running out of things to say. And then you came and we needed to make the rounds. Worked out pretty well, for Laryn.”
Rhianna frowned. “Is Dara a matchmaker?”
“Not that I know of. Why?”
“Well, it would explain all the invitations and why she was so put out when I showed up, and she made it clear I was not an acceptable candidate for marriage. It’s obvious she considers other races beneath her, but her actions today may not have been purely because I’m an elf. That may have just been a convenient excuse.”
Kevin hesitated. “As far as I know, I’ve never met a matchmaker. What makes you think she might be one?”
Rhianna shrugged. “You said she’s been trying to get you to go up there for a while, and from the way she acted today, I don’t think it’s for the pleasure of your company.”
Kevin laughed and then thought about it for a moment. “When Laryn told me about the invitations, she said in every one of her letters Dara mentioned a young lady she wanted me to meet.”
Chris looked at Kevin. “You didn’t tell me that part.”
“Didn’t think it was important, but if she’s a matchmaker, it fits.” Kevin looked at Rhianna. “How does it work?”
“I’m not sure. We don’t have them. Everything I know about them comes from listening to the stories Shelandra used to tell my mother. She and Duane both lived around humans before they got married and had a lot of human friends.”
“Well, that’s more than either of us knows,” Chris said. “So, what happens?”
“From what I gathered, the women fall into two categories. The first are the ones who are in their early twenties and still single. Maybe they live in an isolated area, or maybe the single men they know are either too old or too young, but they’re afraid they won’t be able to find a husband on their own, so they hire a matchmaker.” Both men nodded, so she continued. “On the other hand, some women have a clear picture of what they want out of life. Maybe they want to marry a businessman, or a farmer, or a fisherman, or maybe they want to live in a certain area, like the mountains or the coast. Some might want to marry a soldier and move from place to place, or marry a government official, or a sorcerer, or even the Master Sorcerer. If so, they find a matchmaker with the right connections and hire her. If the matchmaker finds a match, she gets paid for her trouble.”
“So only women who have money can hire matchmakers?” Chris asked.
“Not necessarily,” Rhianna said. “Usually the future husband pays the bill. The woman describes what she’s looking for and the matchmaker sets her price. If she finds someone, she introduces them and leaves the rest to them. Most of the time the man doesn’t realize it’s a match until he asks the woman to marry him. That’s when he has to pay the matchmaker’s price. If he doesn’t, the search starts all over again. But according to Shelandra, most men will do everything they can to meet the price. They don’t want word getting out they were either too poor or too cheap to pay.” Rhianna leaned back and looked at Kevin. “You’re not bad looking for a human, and you do hold a high position. I imagine you’d bring a nice price, as well as bragging rights for the matchmaker who landed you. Of course, you wouldn’t pay it personally, it would be paid out of Camden’s money, but the matchmaker would have to be paid before you could be married.”
Kevin shook his head. “There is no way Dayed would stand by and let Dara auction me off. He’s not like that!”
“You’re assuming he knows,” Rhianna said.
“How could he not?”
Rhianna shrugged. “I got the impression he lives in his workshop, just coming out to eat and sleep. And he didn’t seem to find it unusual to have several people sitting around his table at lunch.”
“But why would she do it? Dayed has a good business and you saw her house. What could she possibly need?”
Rhianna shook her head. “Maybe she’s not doing it for the money. Maybe it’s the prestige. A good matchmaker is well-respected, at least among women.”
Chris shrugged. “She may be right. Dara asked several men around here whether or not they were married. Come to think of it, she asked me shortly after she got here, and she questioned Darrell about his guards so much he started avoiding her. I didn’t think about it at the time, but maybe she’s looking at us as potential husbands.”
Kevin felt a shiver run up his spine. “Let’s hope you’re both wrong.” Then he stood up and took his key out. “Time to pick up Marcus and Hayley. See you later.”
As soon as Kevin left, Chris leaned back in his chair and laughed.
Rhianna grinned. “It makes sense.”
“Yeah, it does, but I’m with him. Let’s hope there’s nothing to it. That could turn into a real nightmare.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Later, after Kevin and Chris were settled in Kevin’s room with some scog, and Nikki was munching on some biscuits Miranda had made for her, Chris asked if Marcus had found out anything.
Kevin shook his head. “Marcie said no strangers have come around at all, much less anyone asking questions.”
“What about in Bridgeport?”
“His foster brother, Thom, is the village blacksmith. He told Marcus no one had been asking any questions around town either. And Marcus’s foster father’s the town director as well as the owner of the dry goods store. If someone had been asking questions about that night, one of them would have heard about it.”
“So we still don’t know how Gwendolyn made the connection.”
Kevin shook his head as he sipped his scog. “What do you think about Dara and that matchmaking bit?”
“It would explain a lot, especially all the questions she was asking while she was here.”
“Why would she be looking for husbands here when her clients live so far away?”
“She can come here whenever she wants. All she has to do is say she wants to visit Laryn. Or better yet, that Dayed wants to see Laryn. No way you’d refuse him, and Dara could tag along, with or without ‘guests’.”
“I still can’t see it.” Kevin finished his scog. “Anyway, let’s hope she’s not, for both our sakes.”
“Did you make it out to Walnut Springs at any point today?”
“No, and I really need to. Warren was going to talk to Colin and Ryan sometime this week and I need to find out how that went. Maybe I can squeeze it in tomorrow.”
Chapter 15
A Relaxing Sunday
After breakfast Sunday morning, Rhianna joined Kevin in his office. Once the door was shut, she asked, “You’re going to spar with Glendymere this morning, aren’t you?”
Kevin nodded.
“Could I go see Landis while you’re sparring?”
“Need a break?”
Rhianna nodded. “I want to relax for a little while and not have to worry about what I say.”
Kevin took out his key. When they arrived at the giants’ house on top of Wildcat Mountain, Rhianna’s sigh made Kevin smile. “We don’t have anything scheduled for today, so why don’t you stay for lunch? I could pick you up around three this afternoon.”
“How would you explain where I am? Everyone expects us to be together.”