“You are well settled in?” Lord Elwyn asked. For the first time, I noticed that a small table stood next to him, and on that table were three silver goblets. Now he lifted one and extended it to me, even as Mayson stepped forward so he might claim his own drinking vessel as well.
“Oh, yes,” I replied as I took the goblet from Lord Elwyn. “The suite you have provided is lovely. I had not expected anything so beautiful.”
“The least I could do, for my son’s affianced wife,” his lordship said. “You have made us both very happy, Iselda. So let us drink to your upcoming wedding, and your joining with the Bellender family.”
I knew there was no way to refuse, and so I did not even try. Instead, I lifted my goblet and clinked it against Mayson’s, and then against Lord Elwyn’s. For the briefest instant, I thought I saw a cloud of confusion in Mayson’s eyes, as if he was not quite sure what we were toasting. Then his expression cleared, and he smiled at me, and I thought I must have imagined that flash of uncertainty.
“Yes, we should all drink to that,” he said. “For this is an auspicious day, with even greater ones to follow.”
The best I could do was maintain my own somewhat wavery smile before I sipped at the wine. It was a pale gold, almost as pale as the silver goblet which contained it, and was quite cool. Lord Elwyn must have been keeping it in one of his deepest cellars.
“Now, my dear,” his lordship said, “I fear we must broach a rather unpleasant subject.”
“Erm…yes?” I managed before swallowing more wine. I could not imagine what he might be hinting at. Had he somehow looked past my watery smile and tentative enthusiasms, and seen that I was not quite as enamored of the prospect of becoming his son’s wife as everyone wanted to believe?
In a way, I hoped that was exactly what he intended to discuss. For then I could tell him that this had all been an awful mistake, and that I should be sent back to my aunt and uncle forthwith. A pleasant fantasy, even if I doubted it was one that would come true.
But of course that was not what he had meant at all.
“I refer to your father,” Lord Elwyn went on. “While some eyebrows might be raised at the prospect of excluding him from the festivities, because of his current disgrace, I cannot in good conscience recommend that he attend. But my son and I wanted to speak to you about this in private, so we might know your mind. If your heart is set on having him present, then of course we will accede to your wishes.”
A little bubble of laughter rose to my lips, but I somehow managed to choke it back. “Oh, no,” I said at once, in tones of such utter sincerity that I knew father and son would have no choice but to believe me. “I have no desire at all to have him attend. Why, we have not spoken in years. I believe my last letter from him came two years ago. I cannot even recall whether it was on my birthday or — no, it was at Midwinter, I think. So you see, there is no connection I wish to maintain.”
At my words, Mayson’s expression softened, and he came closer so he might take my hand in his. I did not even bother to attempt to pull it away, for I knew better than to make such a display in front of Lord Elwyn. “You see, Father?” Mayson said. “It is just as I told you. Her aunt and uncle gave her a worthy home, but she is still quite alone in the world.”
His lordship gave his son a fond glance. “Yes, it seems you were right. I should have trusted your judgment, for of course you have spent the last month in Lady Iselda’s company, and so know her very well.” He looked over at me before continuing, “I will respect your wishes, my lady, and do my best to ensure that you and my son have the perfect day you both deserve.”
I began to stammer my thanks — false though they might be — and he raised a hand.
“It is the least I can do, as your new father. We will continue with the preparations, and if there is anything you should wish for the ceremony, please be reassured that we will do everything to make matters proceed just as they should.”
Everything except releasing me from this regrettable obligation, that is, I thought, but I only smiled. Lord Elwyn had no way of knowing that my feelings for his son were not quite as deep as they should be, and that I in fact loved another.
I only said, “You are all kindness, my lord,” and he smiled at me.
“It is easy to be kind, when I look forward to having such a lovely and worthy daughter-in-law. But now, Mayson, she is probably wearied from the ride here, and would wish to rest until dinner. Help her back to her room, for I doubt she remembers the way.”
“Of course, Father.”
Mayson put his hand on my elbow and guided me from the chamber. While I would have preferred a less intimate touch, at least Lord Elwyn’s instructions seemed to indicate that I would have some time to myself, a small space to try to regroup and come to terms with my new life.
During the climb up to my suite, neither Mayson nor I spoke. It was only when we stopped in front of my door that he said, “You are very quiet, Iselda.”
“Oh, well,” I replied. “It is only as your father said. I am not used to such long rides, and I am feeling rather tired. I am sure I will be quite myself by the time dinnertime arrives.”
Whether he accepted this explanation or not, I was not sure, but he did not contradict me. Instead, he took my right hand and pressed a kiss on my palm. “You will be very happy here, my love. I will make sure of that.”
Then he bowed and turned away, and I let myself into my room. It was only a moment later that I paused, heart pounding much harder than it should, and tried to tell myself that an echo of a threat hadn’t underlain his parting words.
* * *
Dinner went smoothly enough, however, with Lord Elwyn explaining more of his plans for the wedding, and how he intended to make it a great event, even with so little time to prepare. How precisely he intended to accomplish such a thing, when my cousin Adalynn’s wedding had required several months of planning, I was not sure. But then, he was an earl, and so had far more resources at his command than an ordinary man, or even an ordinary baron, such as my uncle.
So I smiled and nodded at the appropriate times, and did my best to seem enamored of his son, even while I inwardly had begun to catalogue what I had seen in the castle so far — how many doors, how many guards, how many opportunities for escape.
Deep down, though, I knew such plans were all for naught. I would not be able to get away. The household at Bellender Rise was far larger than what I was accustomed to at my aunt and uncle’s home, and the chances of escaping detection frighteningly small. Beyond all that, though, I could not find it within me to bring such disgrace upon Aunt Lyselle and Uncle Danly. Even if I did somehow manage to get away and return to them, the scandal would be well-nigh insurmountable. I did not care much if my own name was to be dragged through the mud, but how could I do such a thing to those kindly souls, who had stepped in and given me a home so I might not be outcast forever?
And so my thoughts twisted this way and that, even as I laid myself down in my new bed later that night. The bed was even more luxurious than the one I had slept in at my aunt’s home, with a new feather mattress and a coverlet of silk, and yet I knew sleep would not be my friend. I would have to fight it, wrestle it into submission, for I could not get my roiling mind to settle down enough that I might get the rest I so desperately required.
In the darkness, just as the edges of the silvery moon began to touch the arched window opening a few yards from where I lay, I heard a voice I thought I had lost forever.
“Iselda?”
Although I could not be sure that I was not dreaming, still I sat upright in bed, the silken covers clutched to my breast. “Reynar?”
He stepped out of the shadows, moonlight glinting silver in his hair. As I stared at him in shock, he came over to my bedside and dropped to his knees there, just as he took one of my hands in his. “Yes, it is I. But you — you are quite unharmed?”
“Why, yes,” I replied, puzzled. “That is, I have been greeted with the utmost hospitalit
y here, even though I would much rather that I was at home.”
His fingers, which had wrapped themselves around mine, tightened their grasp. Indeed, his grip was almost painful, but I was so glad to see him that I cared little for a bit of discomfort. “So…you do not love Lord Mayson?”
“Of course not!” I replied with some indignation. “How could I love him, when you know my heart has been given to you already?”
For a few seconds, he said nothing, but only continued to hold my hand. His eyes caught mine and held. When he spoke, there was a certain roughness to his tone which seemed to belie an emotion held barely in check. “I had hoped…but then I heard the dreadful news….”
Although I knew how terrible it must be to anyone who did not understand how I felt about Reynar, I could not help leaning over and pulling him toward me so our mouths might meet. I did not care that I was in my bed, and clad only in a nightgown. I had kissed him thus once before, albeit out of doors, and not in the questionable surroundings of a bedchamber. Right then, however, it seemed more important to me than anything else that he know I loved him and only him, no matter what the world might think.
And oh, the sweetness of his mouth, the despairing intensity with which he deepened the kiss so we might taste one another, could remind ourselves of how we could only be with the person we now held, and no one else. Again shivers and heat flooded my body, and I had the stray thought that it would be so easy to pull him to me so we might press against one another, limb to limb. I had only a very hazy idea of what might happen after that, but I was willing to take the risk. Surely Reynar would know what to do.
But then he pulled away, shaking his head. “You make this very difficult for me, Iselda.”
“What is difficult about it?” I asked. “I kissed you then because I wanted you to know that my heart is yours…only yours. Lord Mayson trapped me into this horrible engagement. I had thought we were friends, and that he would at least respect my wishes not to discuss any future plans until after Adalynn’s wedding. But then he kissed me, and made sure to do it in a place and time where we were certain to be seen. After that, I had no choice but to accept his suit, or at least pretend to. Do not think that I have not been planning my escape ever since, although I must confess that it has seemed rather impossible.”
Despite the direness of my circumstances, Reynar’s mouth lifted into a smile. “Yes, I believe you would have rather a difficult time scaling down the walls of this tower.”
“Oh, do not tease me,” I said, not amused at all. “You are here now, and so you must have a plan to take me away.”
“I am trying to come up with one,” he replied, the smile disappearing as if it had never been. “It is not all that simple, you know.”
“But you are a mage,” I told him. “How did you even get in here? Surely if you were able to sneak in, you should be able to spirit me away.”
His shoulders lifted. “As I’ve shown you before, I have the ability to change my appearance. Anyone who looked on me as I walked down the corridors would have thought me merely another of the earl’s guards. In the same vein, I have cast a spell to make any who might pass by decide they have urgent business elsewhere, and another so that even if someone should draw near, they would not be able to hear us. So I do not fear getting caught.”
“But….”
“But I cannot do the same for you, Iselda. I cannot change your appearance, hide you in any way so I might walk you out right in front of the guards with no one noticing.”
In that moment, I rather wished that mages were more like the fearsome creatures I’d read about in my storybooks, powerful men who could cast any spell they liked and who commanded powers that leveled mountains. The reality was somewhat disappointing. But I did not want to be disappointed by Reynar. He had come here, after all, and that meant a great deal. Together, we should be able to devise some sort of plan for getting me away. “A sleep spell, such as the one you cast back at Mirfeld Hall, so my cousins might slip out of the castle without anyone noticing.”
He shook his head. “That would not work here, I am afraid. And I fear the situation is even more perilous than you might imagine.”
A small tendril of cold began to unfurl its way down my spine, but I tried to sound calm as I said, “And how can that be, Reynar? For I am engaged to a man I do not love, and surrounded by his family’s servants and guards. And even if I do escape, I will disgrace both myself and my family. So forgive me if I am having a difficult time understanding how things can be any worse than they appear to be.”
“Oh, they are.” He hesitated then, eyes shadowed with worry. “You know how I never told you who my master was, how he carefully guarded his name so no one could guess his true identity?”
I nodded, wondering what that had to do with my current predicament. Yes, I was sure Reynar had taken a risk to slip away and come here to see me, but….
Another pause. Then he said, “My master is Lord Elwyn.”
CHAPTER 15
I could not speak. I could not do anything except stare at Reynar in horror, for my mind did not want to accept what he had just told me. It was not possible. How could such a thing be possible?
His mouth curved in a grim smile. “You are surprised.”
Somehow I found my voice. “No, ‘surprised’ is what you might be when the cook promised venison for dinner and you are given chicken instead. This…this….” I floundered for a moment, then asked, “How is such a thing even possible?”
“Do you think the old blood appears only in the veins of commoners? True, Lord Elwyn appears to be an ordinary man…unlike myself…but he was born with the same gifts. Or rather,” Reynar added, “his own particular gifts. And he was trained, just as he trained me, although his education was undertaken in secret, under the very nose of the former earl, from what I have been able to gather.”
My mind did not want to accept this new and strange reality. Mages by their very nature must keep in the shadows, must do everything they could to escape notice. And yet Lord Elwyn was by all accounts a very sociable man, one who did not turn up his nose at an invitation to come to dinner, or to step out on the dance floor, should the occasion warrant. He clearly doted on his son. But….
“What are his powers?” I demanded, although my voice dropped to a near-whisper. Yes, Reynar had reassured me that we could not be overheard, and yet I could not help but think Lord Elwyn would certainly discover us, would….
In truth, I did not know what he would do. I could only think that he would not be happy to learn that his apprentice and his future daughter-in-law had formed an alliance without his knowledge.
“He is powerful in many ways. The more so because many of his powers are subtle ones, gifts he can bring to bear to hold others under his sway, to make them do his bidding. As he has done with Lord Mayson.”
“What about Lord Mayson?” I asked then, my voice sharpening despite my best efforts to keep it low. “What has he forced him to do?”
“Why, to compromise you so the two of you must be married,” Reynar replied simply.
I slumped back against the pillows and stared at him in shock. At once he took my hands, holding them tightly before continuing.
“I cannot speak of Lord Mayson’s feelings for you, because I have never had any kind of speech with him. His father made sure that we never met, that he did not even know I existed. I did gather, however, that Lord Mayson was not terribly eager to be married. This reluctance annoyed his father to no end, as you might imagine.”
“Lord Mayson does not possess his father’s powers?”
“Oh, no. He is an ordinary enough man. But still, he is Lord Elwyn’s heir, and I know my master hoped the old blood would appear in any children Mayson might father, even if he himself does not possess any magical gifts.”
“But….” I clenched my cold fingers around Reynar’s, needing their warmth to drive away the chill that had entered my body, even though the night was quite warm. “Why me? If Lor
d Elwyn only wanted to make sure that he had grandchildren who could carry on the magical blood, he would have done far better to have Mayson pursue my cousin Carella, who was more than eager, and who also is the daughter of a baron, rather than a commoner like myself.”
“That much, I do not know,” Reynar replied. He did not relax his grip, but seemed to understand that I needed to hang on to him like a drowning swimmer might cling to a rope. “I am sure he has his reasons, for my master does nothing without a plan, but I cannot begin to see what his motivations are here, and he has not explained them to me. I am sure he believes it is none of my affair, since this involves the continuation of the Bellender name.”
My heart sank. For if Reynar, who had known Lord Elwyn for years and years, could not begin to guess at his intentions in having Mayson claim me rather than some other young woman, then I certainly had no idea, either. Some called me beautiful, but Carella was beautiful as well. I had no wealth, no title. And I was not precisely alone in the world, and therefore easy to take advantage of, because I could always go to my aunt and uncle for help if I must.
No, the whole situation had me completely flummoxed.
“So…why the dances under the moon?” I asked then. “Did that have something to do with the spells he was casting on his son?”
“No,” Reynar replied. “At least, only partially. It is a ritual he performs once a year, to gather the power of the young and vital, and bring it into himself. Have you not wondered why he has the air of a man some ten years or even more younger than he is?”
Well, I had, but I had not thought on the subject too much. After all, there were always those who seemed blessed in that manner, who appeared more youthful than their peers. “I suppose it crossed my mind once or twice,” I replied slowly, then added, guilt overcoming me that I had remained silent and had said nothing to my aunt or uncle, “Did it…did it hurt them?” For while I already quite hated Lord Elwyn, I certainly did not want to think that Reynar had been complicit in any sort of activity which might have caused harm to my cousins or Janessa.
tales of the latter kingdom 08 - moon dance Page 19