tales of the latter kingdom 08 - moon dance

by Christine Pope

  Even so, I could not quite bury my rage at Mayson, that he would so knowingly imperil me. What on earth had he been thinking?

  My uncle turned toward the group of watching nobles, and murmured a few words I could not hear. Apparently they thought it best not to ignore the wishes of their host, and so they went off immediately afterward, heading back toward the hall. I did not want to think of the gossip they would spread once they were inside, but at least they were gone.

  Lord Elwyn moved forward so he stood next to my aunt. His clear blue eyes flicked from his son to me and back again. When he spoke, his words were a knell in my heart.

  “There is only one thing you can do now, my son. You must marry her, and marry her quickly. If everyone believes you were already secretly engaged, then the gossip will die down soon enough.”

  “That is all I wanted,” Mayson said, his dark eyes gleaming. With triumph? For it seemed he must have planned this all along.

  And in that moment, even as I seethed with frustrated fury, I realized there was very little I could do to escape.

  CHAPTER 13

  “Oh, it’s so very exciting!” Janessa exclaimed as I packed my meager belongings. “To think that you and Lord Mayson have been engaged for this past week! However did you manage to hide such a thing from all of us?”

  Because there was nothing to hide, I thought sourly. That is, I did have a great many things to hide, but this sham of an engagement to Mayson Bellender was not one of them.

  Of course I could not say such a thing to Janessa. I had to pretend that I was happy, that I wanted nothing more than to be the Countess of Bellender Rise.

  For truly, I could see no way to escape my doom. As soon as word of the “engagement” spread, Lord Elwyn seemed to take over, telling my aunt and uncle that he and Mayson would bring me back with them to their estate, and there I would stay until the day of the wedding, which he announced would take place a week from now. Precious little time to plan such an elaborate event, but perhaps his lordship only wanted to make sure his son and I were married as quickly as possible, before we could elicit even a whiff of any more scandal.

  This was all rather unconventional but not completely unheard-of; it used to be the custom that a bride-to-be would go to stay with her betrothed’s family if she had none of her own. No one could claim that I was all alone in the world, but an aunt and an uncle were not the same as a mother and father, especially since my own father was still alive, if absent. It seemed that Lord Elwyn was determined to take advantage of the opportunity my uncertain status represented, and since he outranked my uncle, there was little Uncle Danly could do to protest. Neither he nor my aunt would do anything to stop this marriage, not when I had been caught in such a public embrace with Mayson. They were probably thanking the gods that Lord Elwyn was so eager to have me marry his son at all, for there were some noble fathers who would have made sure their sons remained free to marry someone of elevated birth, and then left me to suffer my disgrace on my own.

  And so I was packing my meager collection of gowns and other trifles into a pair of leather satchels that Aunt Lyselle had lent me. Perhaps I should have left the task to Tarly, but I needed something to occupy myself. My thoughts chased each other this way and that as I concocted ever wilder schemes to extricate myself from the situation, and yet I knew in the end there was very little I could do. Everyone seemed to be watching my every movement. I had no way to escape.

  If only Reynar had known anything of what was happening to me. But there had been no more spells, not on the night of Adalynn’s wedding, nor the evening that had followed. He had already hinted that his master would not cast any more enchantments during the festivities, and had told me to be circumspect until all the guests were gone.

  Well, now they had departed, except for Lord Elwyn, who had sent one of his men back to his estate to fetch some of his belongings, so he might stay with us for a few days after all. He took an empty room the first night, then moved into one of the suites which had just been vacated that morning. I knew he would not leave again until he accompanied his son and me back to what would be my new home.

  Adalynn was gone, too, safely away with her new husband. If she had been startled by the announcement of my sudden engagement, she showed no sign of it. But then, she had her own changes and beginnings to keep her occupied. She was not going to concern herself with my fate, except perhaps to be somewhat annoyed that we would soon be of equal rank.

  I had seen very little of Carella, for she had greeted the news with an eruption of hysterics, and promptly disappeared into her room. The outburst surprised me somewhat, because I truly had thought she wasn’t interested in Mayson at all. Unfortunately, all she had done was hide her feelings until they exploded like a summer thunderstorm.

  Ah, well. If I had had my choice, I would gladly have allowed her to take him off my hands.

  I closed the satchel and locked it, then went to fetch the little wooden box I kept underneath my bed. In there were my few pieces of jewelry, and, hidden in a small leather pouch, the stones my sister and Tobyn had sent me. They had hoped to give me something of a dowry, but it seemed I had no need of such a thing now. Even so, I was glad of the jewels, for at least I could still take them out and hold them, and think of my sister and the happiness she had found with her husband.

  It seemed such happiness would be denied me.

  Now you are just being dramatic, I told myself. For if you were to look at any of this logically, you would understand that you had no real understanding with Reynar. A few stolen kisses, and that is all. Mayson cares for you, and is young and handsome besides. You should do your very best to make him a good wife.

  Sound advice, I supposed, the sort that a mother might have given me, if mine had still been alive to deliver it. But I found I could not quite believe those sensible words. I had no experience with broken hearts, but I rather thought mine was breaking now.

  I would not weep, though. Somehow I would find the strength to go downstairs and meet my future husband and his father, would keep my chin up as I rode away from the place that had been my home for the past six years.

  Would Reynar even know what had happened to me?

  Impossible to say, for I still understood very little of the doings of the mage-born. They each had their own powers and abilities, and yet they were far from all-knowing. They were not gods. So it was entirely possible that Reynar would think himself utterly abandoned, jilted for a man with a title, without ever knowing the real reason why.

  I pushed that thought aside, for I knew if I allowed it to dwell in my mind, I would begin to weep and never stop.

  Janessa was watching me curiously, as if trying to interpret my prolonged silence. I needed to be careful, for too much woolgathering would certainly signal to her that something was wrong.

  “We did not want to speak until after Adalynn’s wedding,” I said, for I knew I must tell some falsehoods, even though the thought of doing so made me want to grind my teeth. However, since I had been thrust into this role, I could do nothing but play the part I had been given. “But we were overcome by the moonlight, and quite forgot ourselves.”

  “Oh, I can understand that,” Janessa returned with a smile. “For I cannot say that Gwyllim and I were being perfectly proper that night, either. Only we were fortunate enough not to be caught. Even so, he said before he left that seeing your happiness has inspired him, and he will be going to speak to my father very soon. So yours will not be the only wedding we should be celebrating in the near future.”

  I left off my packing and gave her a quick, fierce hug, then said, “I am so very glad to hear that. Lord Gwyllim is a very worthy man.”

  “Well, I certainly think so. And I am sure my father will think so, too, if only because that way I will be well off his hands, and to someone with a title, no less.”

  “Janessa!”

  She shrugged, watching as I closed the flap of the satchel I had just finished packing and fastened the c
lasp. “Why should I lie, or try to make it sound better than it is? My father has very little use for me, so I must make my own future elsewhere. Just as you are, Iselda.”

  I supposed I could not argue with that. Lord Elwyn had said very little about the plans for my marriage to his son, only that his steward would manage the wedding preparations, and that I need not worry about any of it. Whether those preparations would include an invitation for my father, I could not begin to guess. He and I had been estranged for so long, and a whiff of scandal still clung to him, and so I could see why his lordship might wish to exclude my father from the celebrations.

  To my shame, I could not really bring myself to care.

  A knock came at the door, and Janessa went to answer it. Outside in the corridor were Tarly and one of the footmen, so he might carry my two meager bags downstairs. At least Tarly was to come with me, and so I was not quite as afraid as I might have been, for I would have one familiar face in my new home.

  If she detected any of my trepidation, she gave no sign of it. And if she minded being sent from the household where she had served for so many years, she gave no indication of that, either. All smiles, she said, “They are waiting for you downstairs, my lady. Steffan will take your bags.”

  He came into the room and gathered up the two satchels as if they weighed nothing at all, and I followed him out into the corridor. Tarly gave a quick look around the chamber after I had exited it, as if to reassure herself that I had not forgotten anything. If I had, I did not think it would be that much of a problem, since Lord Elwyn’s estate was less than a day’s ride from here.

  Then we all went downstairs, Janessa at my side as if to lend her support, Tarly and Steffan behind us. Waiting down in the foyer were my aunt and uncle, Carella and Theranne, and Lord Elwyn and Mayson. Carella still appeared red-eyed, and she would not meet my gaze. Ah, well. I certainly had not intended to take anything away from her, but I knew nothing I might say would convince her otherwise.

  Of course Aunt Lyselle and Uncle Danly looked very pleased, although I assumed they would have been even more pleased if it had been their own daughter who was leaving the castle as Lord Mayson’s betrothed. However, if they felt any disappointment on Carella’s behalf, they gave no sign of it.

  Lord Elwyn stepped forward. “Thank you, my lord, my lady, for your excellent hospitality. While we are saddened to leave, know that we depart to take Lady Iselda to a new home and a new life.”

  My aunt smiled, and Uncle Danly said, “And thank you, Lord Elwyn, for providing such a welcome for her.” He turned to me, then grasped my hands and gave them a comforting squeeze. “Take care, Iselda. We will be there to stand with you on your wedding day in less than a week, and so do not be too sad now.”

  I nodded, and if perhaps my own smile wavered a bit, I did not think anyone would blame me overmuch for that. “I look forward to seeing all of you again very soon.”

  He let go of my hands then, so I might embrace my aunt, and then Carella and Theranne as well, although I thought Carella would have been glad enough to dispense with that particular display of affection. After that, there was nothing to do but allow Mayson to take my hand in his so we might follow his father down the corridor and out the main entrance to the castle, which stood open, letting in the bright sunlight and a warm summer breeze. Outside waited their two mounts, and horses for myself and Tarly as well.

  Steffan the footman went ahead and fastened the satchels he carried to the saddle of Tarly’s horse, and then assisted both of us up onto our mounts. She did not appear very pleased at being so high off the ground, and I doubted I looked very happy, either; while I had been taught to ride, I would not say I possessed a great deal of skill. But we did not have far to go, and it was a cheerful, sunny day, and so I supposed matters could have been worse.

  Well, except for being dragged off to marry a man I did not love.

  Lord Elwyn and Mayson mounted their horses with far more skill. As they did so, a group of five men came from the stables to join us — his lordship’s escort, although one could argue he hardly had need of such a thing in these times of peace. But still, no man of his rank would ride about the countryside unescorted, and so we all waited while the guards fell in around us.

  Then it was time to ride.

  Even though I almost lost my precarious seat, I had to turn in the saddle so I could get one last glimpse of my family disappearing behind me. They all stood on the steps of the castle, the building itself a great grey pile rising up behind them, the bright clothing they wore a startling contrast to the drab stone. Their hands were raised to wave me goodbye — well, all except Carella, whose arms were crossed and whose lips seemed to form a pout I could see from yards away.

  A lump grew in my throat, and I forced myself to look straight ahead, at the tall, proud forms of father and son on their fine horses, at the guards with their livery of green and gold. Surely this would not be so terrible. Mayson loved me — or at least he wanted me — and certainly Lord Elwyn was very agreeable. In time I would come to accept my new life, and I would forget all about the silver-eyed man I had met in the depths of the forest, would forget about the feel of his lips on mine and the way he had awakened both fire and ice within my veins.

  No, I thought then, I will never forget him. I will not allow myself to. And all is not completely hopeless, for I am not yet Lord Mayson’s wife, and perhaps I can still find a way to escape this forced marriage.

  Perhaps those were foolish words, and vain hopes. But I could not allow myself to give up hope, for without it I was surely lost.

  CHAPTER 14

  Bellender Rise was far grander than Mirfeld Hall, an edifice made of the same grey granite but more massive in scale, with large wings extending from the central rectangular structure and many towers and turrets of various sizes. From the spires on top of those turrets fluttered banners in the green and gold of the Bellender family colors. I supposed they soon would be my colors as well, unless I could think of some way to stop this farce.

  A veritable throng of servants came out to greet us, and I was spirited away to a sumptuous suite like something I might have imagined a princess would live in, with a sitting area and a separate bedroom, and an enormous tiled bath chamber with a tub large enough to fit two or three people. That thought brought a flush to my cheeks, and I thrust it away. I certainly did not want to imagine sharing a bath with Mayson, although I did not know for sure precisely what intimacies were involved when it came to marriage. I could only hope he was not quite as unschooled as I.

  Tarly unpacked my things, hanging them up in the enormous wardrobe, and then she bustled about as she disposed of the rest of my belongings, the brushes and combs and shoes and all the little oddments of one’s existence. When she lifted the little box containing my jewelry from the satchel, however, I moved forward and took it from her, saying, “I will put that away, Tarly. Thank you.”

  One of her sandy eyebrows might have lifted slightly, but otherwise she showed no response, and only said, “Of course, my lady. Whatever you wish.”

  Usually she was not so formal, but it seemed our new surroundings had cowed her somewhat as well. I took the box and placed it on the shelf in the wardrobe, and reminded myself to remove it someplace safer when she was not looking. I did trust Tarly, but that box contained the few things of actual value that I owned, and I wanted to make sure I could give them a secure resting place. Besides, the last thing I wanted was to attempt to explain whence had come all those precious stones….

  While we were busy with these tasks, one of the maids came and paused at the door, and said that Lord Elwyn and his son wished to see me once I was done settling in.

  “Of course,” I replied, although my heart began to beat more quickly than I would have liked. Mayson and I had not exchanged above ten words that day. Perhaps he felt he had very little to say to me, now that his goal had been accomplished. Or perhaps he simply did not feel comfortable speaking confidences to me in the pr
esence of his father. Either way, I could not help but be a bit trepidatious at the thought of going to see both of them. But I knew I could not demur, so I added, “I am done now, actually. If you could show me the way?”

  The maid dropped a quick curtsey and inclined her head. “Yes, my lady. If you will follow me, please.”

  I was certainly not used to that sort of deference, although I supposed I should get used to it, now that I was to marry the heir of the estate, and one day would be the Countess of Bellender Rise. No, that seemed impossible. I could not marry Mayson. My heart was given to another.

  And yet here I was.

  After nodding at Tarly in farewell, I followed the other maid — a young woman only a few years older than myself — out of my suite and down several flights of stairs, and then across a large landing to a pair of double doors. Here she paused and knocked, then said, “My lord? The Lady Iselda is here to see you.”

  A pause of only a moment, and Mayson was there, opening the door and smiling down at me. “Of course. Thank you for bringing her here, Elyth.”

  The girl curtseyed and hurried off. There was nothing I could do save enter the suite, and follow Mayson as he led me down a short corridor to a large sitting area where his father waited next to the fireplace. It was an impressive structure, carved of stone and with basilisks serving as caryatids at either end. No doubt in the winter, when it held a roaring fire within, it would be even more impressive. Now, however, with the hearth cold and unused, there was something bleak and rather sad about it, as if it knew it had a good while to wait before its days of usefulness returned.

  Or perhaps I was merely placing my own feelings of worry and isolation on something that had no feelings at all, was only an object to be used when it was necessary, and otherwise ignored. Then again, that notion hit a little too close to home as well.