Eleanor frowned. “Dress?”
This time both Amelia and Conlan laughed.
Eleanor huffed. “I don’t like dresses,” she said, knowing she sounded a little petulant, but the nightmare white dress was dancing through her head.
“I liked the white dress,” Conlan said softly, as if he was reading her mind. It was disconcerting.
Eleanor stared at him incredulously. “It was hideous, I felt naked in it!” she muttered, dropping her head and feeling her cheeks turn crimson in embarrassment. Conlan placed a hand on her face and she shuddered at the pleasure that flooded her body. He firmly brought her eyes to his.
“You looked beautiful,” he murmured.
Shocked beyond rational thought, Eleanor stared at him. He had just told her she was beautiful. He smiled at her and her heart tried to bounce itself out of her chest.
“Eleanor? Are you OK?” he asked, a small frown appearing between his eyes. Still unable to give a sensible, coherent response, Eleanor continued to stare at him. She was grateful when Amelia came to her rescue.
“She’s fine, Conlan; you just surprised her, she really hated that dress. I’ll take her for a bath,” she said, stepping forward. With firm hands on Eleanor’s arms, she got her to stand and led her from the stable.
Amelia was helping her to undress in the bathroom, steaming hot water waiting for her. Finally, Eleanor found her voice again.
“Amelia?” she whispered.
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Why did Will do it?” she asked, failing to keep the hurt out of her voice.
Amelia sighed and helped Eleanor into the large metal bath tub. “It takes a huge amount to get Will furious, but once he is, all common sense goes out of the window – you should know that. He’s feeling unbelievably guilty and has no idea what to say to you or Conlan; neither of them does. They’ve been freaking out. Poor Conlan, he’s been doing his best to hide his pain and stay out of your way. He’s been hiding his misery because he knows you can feel it.” Tears began running down Eleanor’s face again; Amelia noticed and shook her head. “Please don’t, or you’re going to have red eyes for the party.”
“I’m sure red eyes would make me look even more stupid than the dress,” Eleanor muttered.
“You won’t look stupid. Don’t you want to look your best for Conlan?” Amelia asked. Eleanor stared. The thought had never occurred to her.
“Amelia, he sees me all day, every day. He’s seen me soaking wet, covered in mud, covered in blood, covered in sand, half-asleep, throwing up, sweaty and tear-stained. I really don’t think one night of me in a dress is going to make much of an impression against that opposition.”
Amelia smiled at her knowingly. “He remembered the white dress.”
Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “Yes, Amelia, he remembered the white dress that made me look like I was wearing nothing. I’d lay odds that Will and Freddie remember that dress rather well, too.”
Amelia giggled. “Fair point,” she agreed as she concentrated on washing the straw and dust out of Eleanor’s hair.
Amelia had been right. There were two dresses in the bottom of the bag Callie had given her. She had no idea what they looked like – she knew that one was brown and the other was vivid green, but that was it. So she was surprised when Amelia led her back to her bedroom, still damp and wrapped in a towel, and showed her the two dresses lying out on the bed. They had both been freshly washed and pressed and they were beautiful. The brown one was warm and soft and made from an earthy brown, velvet material, which would hang heavily around her. Long sleeves and a square neckline, the top tapering to a tight waist and a full skirt completed the look. When Eleanor moved her hand across it a golden ripple followed her hand’s movement, giving the impression of flickering gold streaks. The bright green one seemed to be made of silk, and the material made the colour shift hue in the light. It was a much more delicate material and it would brush her skin as she walked, like the white dress had done. It was also a full-length dress, but with short sleeves and a heart-shaped neckline. The bust and waist were fitted, with a small fishtail of material at the back.
“Which one do you want to wear?” Amelia asked, smiling at the blank look Eleanor gave her. “Would you like a suggestion?” she offered. Eleanor furiously nodded her head and Amelia laughed. “OK, well the brown one would go beautifully with your eyes, but the green one would be more comfortable in this heat and would match Conlan’s eyes better.”
“Why does that matter?” Eleanor asked in confusion.
“It doesn’t, it was just something that occurred to me,” Amelia shrugged. Eleanor was not convinced that was the whole truth, but she let it drop. Amelia left her in peace to dry off and dress, returning to brush and pin Eleanor’s hair, which she pulled back off her face before handing her a pair of delicate brown leather ballet shoes she had never seen before. Eleanor looked at her questioningly.
Amelia smiled. “I borrowed them,” she said by way of explanation. “You didn’t think I was going to go to all this trouble and then let you wear your boots, did you?”
Eleanor shrugged, accepting that Amelia obviously knew far more about dressing up than she did. Once Eleanor was ready, Amelia organised herself and put on the outfit she had brought to Eleanor’s room, a stunning, pale grey, loose-fitting, strappy dress that flowed like water over her slender body.
“You look beautiful,” Eleanor said appreciatively.
Amelia smiled. “Ditto, sweetie.” Her face was suddenly serious. “Eleanor? Have you given any thought to how you are going to react when you see Will and Freddie?”
“Yes, I’ve given it some thought,” she said, her voice solid ice.
“And?” Amelia prompted. Eleanor saw the glazed look in Amelia’s eyes and knew who would be inside her head eavesdropping.
“And they’re going to apologise,” she said softly. “Come in, Will!” she added. The door opened and Will entered. He looked strange. It took Eleanor several moments to realise that he was scrubbed, clean-shaven and wearing clean, pressed clothes that did not look like he had been living in them for weeks; she was not used to it. He wore a bright white shirt over dark brown trousers that she had never seen before. Amelia has been very busy borrowing clothes. Eleanor noticed the cartoonish-sized purple lump on his forehead, partially hidden by the soft blond hair he had brushed over it, and guilt punched her hard. She did her best to keep it off her face, though, as she was still angry with him. He was watching her, deep-blue eyes showing apprehension.
“I’m sorry.”
Eleanor stared at him. “It’s not me you need to be apologising to, Will.”
Will nodded, dropping his gaze.
“Shall we go and join the others?” Amelia asked, ignoring the brittle atmosphere as she took Will’s hand. They walked down the corridor to the living room they shared. Freddie was stood outside, also wearing new clothes, his outfit matching Will’s. He looked nervous, his expression twisted by the slight swelling to his eye and several bruises standing out dark purple and red on his golden brown skin.
“What are you stood out here for?” Eleanor asked.
Freddie dropped his head. “Conlan’s inside; I didn’t want to face him on my own,” he whispered.
“Coward!” Eleanor hissed at him, pushing past, opening the door and marching into the room. Conlan was stood by the window and turned to face her.
He smiled. Everything stopped.
He was washed and clean-shaven and had even brushed his hair into some sort of order. Like the others he was wearing borrowed clothes: black, tight-fitting trousers, black polished leather boots up to his knees, a white silk shirt with a soft collar and a jacket that dropped to midway down his thigh and seemed to be the exact same colour green as Eleanor’s dress. Amelia was right, the colour makes it look like his eyes are glowing.
Eleanor smiled as her heart stuttered back to a semi-normal beat again. “You look very handsome,” she managed. “Did Amelia steal several people’s
wardrobes to clothe you all?”
Conlan chuckled. “Apparently she went to a lot of trouble to get this jacket to match your dress. I’m unsure why it was important, but she assures me it is.”
Eleanor shrugged, ignoring the twinge of pain across her back. “I have no idea either, but if it makes her happy…” Behind her, Amelia sighed loudly. Eleanor looked around the room and frowned. “Where’s Merl?”
“He has chosen not to attend, as he is still a little sore. Laurice has people watching over him, he appears to be quite enjoying being waited on hand and foot,” Conlan said. Eleanor nodded, amused. There was a cough from behind her and Eleanor turned. Will and Freddie were watching Conlan.
“We need to apologise,” Will said softly. There was an uncomfortable silence
“I lost my temper,” Will said slowly. “You didn’t do anything wrong and we had no right to pass judgement. Please forgive me.”
Eleanor decided he sounded genuine. Before Conlan could respond, Freddie spoke.
“I’m so sorry. I needed to take it out on someone and you were convenient; it was wrong, please forgive me, too.” Eleanor looked at Conlan and saw the affection in his eyes.
“I forgive you,” Conlan said, a grin spreading across his face as they raised their heads and smiled at him.
Eleanor hardened her glare. “Promise him you will never lay a hand on him in anger again,” she ordered.
“I promise, Conlan, I’ll never intentionally hurt you again,” Will said, and Eleanor heard the guilty apology in his voice.
Freddie was silent for a few moments, but finally he took a deep breath. “I promise, Conlan, I’ll never strike at you in anger again. I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Conlan stood silently, emotions flashing rapidly across his face and shame filling his eyes. “And I make you the same promise,” he said quietly, looking each of them in the eye and holding Eleanor’s gaze. “All of you.”
Will gave him a wide grin while Freddie nodded, although he still looked uncomfortable.
“Eleanor, do you forgive me?” he asked in a small, pained voice. Eleanor thought about it. Did she forgive him? She wanted to, and she knew it would cause problems if she was unable to, but she still felt hurt and betrayed.
“Freddie, you took the most important person in my life and you damaged him. I know why you did it, I understand and yes, I forgive you, but I trusted you. You destroyed that trust and I’m finding that very, very hard to deal with,” Eleanor said, staring at his bowed head. Freddie nodded, eyes firmly down, and Eleanor saw tears drop off the end of his nose. Her heart squeezed for him. Stepping towards him she wrapped an arm around his waist and looked into his eyes. Reaching up, she wiped the tears from his bruised face. A tiny smile tried to lift the corner of his mouth. Resting her head against his chest she hugged him tight.
“Don’t ever do that again, Freddie,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered back, carefully hugging her in return.
“Eleanor…” Will started.
A shot of anger ripped through her. “I’ve something I want to show you,” she interrupted, and with no warning at all she slammed an energy string into him with such force that Will staggered backwards. Closing her eyes, Eleanor sent him her memories and feelings. She started with the deal she had made with Laurice and Conlan’s objections – his distress, threatening Nials. Moving on, Eleanor showed Will every quiet word of encouragement and support, every tender, comforting touch Conlan had ever given her and the strange way he remembered everything she said. She then brought forward all the occasions he had made her feel better, had made the effort to make sure she was OK, and all the times he had made her feel better, without even knowing he had done anything. As she played these memories back, rapid snapshots playing against the background of her emotions, she realised that almost every one had been a private moment. Conlan had approached her only when there was nobody else paying attention. She showed Will the comforting reassurance Conlan gave her, the brief touches, the gentle stroking of her head and holding her hand under the blankets. Then she replayed some of the day they had spent in the stables, sending Will all her feelings of serenity, her joy at having the churning in her mind stop, her delight at discovering that he could do this for her. For a moment she dwelled on this, wanting Will to understand what it meant to her, before yanking her string back roughly.
“Now do you understand?” Eleanor snapped.
Astonished, Will moved his eyes to Conlan and gave him a stunned smile. Conlan gave him a lopsided grin in return.
“What did she show you?” he asked, apprehensive eyes flicking to Eleanor.
“She showed me just how wrong I was,” Will whispered in Dwarfish, a grovelling growl of subservient apology running through the sentence.
Conlan chucked. “She is good at that.”
Will nodded ruefully.
There was a knock on the door and Amelia opened it. Nials stood dressed in a fine silk version of the everyday clothes he normally wore. He smiled.
“Are you ready to leave?”
Conlan nodded. Amelia took Will’s hand and pulled him after her. He still had an awestruck look on his face, and every so often he would glance back at Conlan, as if he could not quite believe he was looking at the person he thought he knew. Eleanor was surprised when Conlan took her hand.
“What did you show him?” he asked.
“You.”
Conlan looked uncomfortable for a moment, before shrugging it off. As they walked towards the door, Eleanor turned back. Freddie still stood in the middle of the room. His face was empty and he had a look in his eyes Eleanor did not understand. She stretched her free hand back to him. Smiling, he walked quickly forward and wrapped his hand tightly round hers.
Nials led them back to the main audience chamber. Eleanor could hear the sounds of voices talking and laughing long before they reached their destination. It sounded like a lot of people. She was quietly glad for Conlan and Freddie’s hands in hers, as they embodied confidence. Social gatherings had never really been Eleanor’s thing. She liked the idea of parties, wanted to join in and have fun, but large groups of people made her nervous. If I can’t handle a party, how am I going to deal with a battle? Feeling her anxiety, Conlan gave her hand a squeeze. Chastising herself for being utterly pathetic, Eleanor sought calm. Nials opened the main doors to the audience chamber, and the noise level jumped. Will and Amelia blocked her view, so Eleanor could not see much, for which she felt grateful. As they entered, silence fell so quickly it was like someone had pressed the mute button. Wondering what was happening, Eleanor jumped when Nials’s voice rang out.
“My Lady Laurice, precious Urerla, Honoured Ladies of the Seven Tribes, Noble Horsemen, faithful friends, dependable allies and beloved family, I have the pleasure of presenting Conlan Baydon and his Avatars.”
A moment of silence followed Nials’s words.
“‘Conlan Baydon and his Avatars’; he makes us sound like a Vegas lounge act,” Eleanor muttered without thinking. Next to her Freddie slapped his hand over his mouth and looked pained as he fought to control his giggles, every naked flame in the room jumping. In front of her Eleanor could see Will and Amelia go rigid; she knew they were also trying desperately hard not to laugh.
Oops…
Conlan noticed the reaction of the others and looked down at her, an eyebrow raised in question. She smiled back innocently. Before he could say anything the assembled gathering broke out into riotous applause. To the huge swell of clapping hands, Nials led them forwards. Everything looked very different from the last time Eleanor had seen the audience chamber; the clapping was making her nervous again, so she concentrated on the room. The central raised platform with its wooden chair was gone and had been replaced by six wide tables that ran the length of the room, benches on each side, white cloths and flower arrangements covering the tables, cutlery and glasses arranged in each place, sparkling in the delicate, dreamy glow of lanterns and candles. At the f
ar end of the room, towards where they were heading, a table had been placed horizontally across the others. This table only had settings on the side that faced the rest of the room, and instead of benches there were large, comfy-looking chairs with high arms and tall backs. Looking up, Eleanor could see the remnant pale orange and red splashes of the setting sun through the open roof, and a cooling breeze brushed her face. Everybody was stood clapping, cheering and smiling; it made her uncomfortable. Conlan, however, seemed relaxed and happy, a friendly smile on his face. Growing up with a Lord of Mydren as a father, he must be used to it. As they reached the end of the room, Laurice stepped forward. She was wearing her gold belt with a stunning red dress, similar to the one Urerla had been wearing in the garden, with lots of floaty layers of gossamer material. As she looked around at the many women present, Eleanor noticed this style of dress seemed to be the fashion; most women were wearing one in myriad different colours, styles and lengths.
Laurice clasped the hands of each of them to her in greeting, a radiant smile on her face. She directed them to their places personally. Eleanor was horrified to find they had been placed on the top table, with Conlan sitting next to Laurice. The only other occupants at the top table were Urerla, Nials and the leaders of the other seven tribes, whom Laurice introduced as they walked to their seats. Each woman had a different delicate pattern of ritual scarring across their faces, and all gave an air of strength and intelligence, appraising Eleanor with keen interest as they met her. She wondered what Laurice had told them.
As she sat in her place, Eleanor felt like every eye in the room was boring into them, analysing and scrutinising. Relieved to discover that she was to sit next to Conlan, with Freddie on her other side, Eleanor relaxed slightly, as at least she would have someone to talk to – a distraction from the watching black eyes. They took their seats as Laurice took hers, followed by the shuffling and movement of three hundred people climbing into their places at the tables in front of them. After this flurry of activity had passed, an expectant silence descended and Laurice stood, smiling at the people gathered before her. When she spoke, her clear, chiming voice carried to the far corners of the room.
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