A lift of my shoulders that I was fairly sure did not fool her at all, and I said, “This is all entirely academic, for of course I don’t believe that I will be the Emperor’s choice.”
Gabrinne’s dark eyebrows shot upward at that remark. “You are entirely too modest. I saw how he was looking at you, and if there’s one thing having five older brothers has taught me, it’s that I can tell when a man is interested in a woman.”
“Five!” I exclaimed, hoping to move the conversation toward safer topics. “That is quite the number.”
“It is, and even worse when you are the only daughter in addition to being the last child of six. To be sure, I do believe my brothers have worn my parents down enough that they won’t mind too terribly when I tell them I have no intention of marrying the Emperor…they’ll only be glad that I made such a fine match as the Duke of Gahm with no assistance from them. After finding wives for all my brothers, they are quite done up.”
I could only imagine. Since I had Janks in my own household, I wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with having a young man about the place, but five of them at once must be quite the strain. “Well, I am glad that you will have some opportunity tonight, as the Duke is here, and appears to have a seat at the high table, so perhaps you will have a chance to speak with him when we move there.”
A quick glance in that direction told me that it seemed the members of the Imperial family were taking their seats. As soon as they were all sitting, it was time for us to choose our own spots at the table and sit as well, since we were assigned to the table only, and not to any particular seat. This was accomplished with a minimum of fuss, for of course the seating arrangements here did not matter — it was only when we reached the high table that our location would be of any importance.
Luckily, Gabrinne seated herself between me and the end of the table where my two stepsisters sat, and on the other side of my newfound friend was a very tall girl who did quite a good job of blocking any view of the two of us. Because of this, I found my nerves easing a bit as the servants came ’round with great jugs of wine and filled our goblets, then retreated so they might bring forth equally oversized tureens of soup, which they ladled into our bowls. The scent that rose to my nostrils was as toothsome as any I had enjoyed in Claris’ kitchen, and I gathered up my spoon.
Immediately Gabrinne’s hand was on my wrist. “Not yet,” she whispered. “We must wait until all at the high table have had their first taste, and then we may begin.”
Chagrined, I set down my spoon and placed my hands in my lap, following her lead. Thank goodness I had found a friend as knowledgeable about such things as she was kind, or I would surely have made quite the fool of myself.
At least we sat on the side of the table that had a more or less clear view of the Imperial party, and so I was able to watch as they had their first taste of the soup. The Emperor nodded, apparently giving his approval, and then it seemed we were free to begin our own dinners.
“So what happens if the Emperor does not approve of a dish?” I whispered to Gabrinne.
She shook her head, grinning. “I have never heard of such a thing. Whether that is because he is too polite to show his disapproval publicly, or because his cooks are so excellent that turning down any of their dishes isn’t even a possibility, I do not know for sure.” Her expression turned sly. “You will have to tell me which theory is correct, once you are Empress.”
There being no way I could sensibly reply to that remark, I lifted my spoon once again and tasted the creamy concoction within the bowl. Some kind of cream of leek soup, I thought, but with a subtle, pleasant tang I could not place, one that was noticeably absent from Claris’ own recipe. Although that taste reminded me of how hungry I was, how my noon meal had consisted of only bread and cheese, and half an apple, I made myself eat slowly and delicately, taking my cue from the other young women around the table, who seemed to barely take two or three spoonfuls before abandoning their soup altogether.
“Why are they eating so little?” I asked Gabrinne in an undertone, for I noticed she had taken hardly more than the rest of the girls.
“Their gowns are laced tight, and we have three more courses to go,” she replied frankly. “You are slender enough that such a thing is probably not a hardship, but I cannot say the same for the rest.” My expression must have still been one of concern, for she added, this time in a murmur that no one else could possibly overheard, “There’s no need to worry about it going to waste. The excess goes back to the kitchens for the servants, and if there’s any left over after that, I’ve heard it’s distributed to the poor.”
I knew I must be content with that explanation, although it seemed odd to prepare so much excess, only to give it away. My stepmother had always been parsimonious with her food, unless she was having company. I had always guessed that she preferred to spend the money on gowns for her daughters or new trinkets to clutter up the house, rather than something as lowly as foodstuffs.
Perhaps a half hour later, a soft chime sounded throughout the chamber — the signal to move on to the next table, apparently. “Do I take the silverware?” I asked Gabrinne in a whisper.
“No, of course not. See, they are already coming to bring fresh pieces. Just move along!”
I did as she bade me, hanging back a little so she was in the lead, and I might follow in her shadow. This first time I had been lucky in sitting so far away from my two stepsisters, but I could not count on that good fortune indefinitely. As we approached the table where we would take the second course, things became somewhat more complicated, as I had to dodge what appeared to be a veritable army of servants laying out new flatware for us.
Even so, Gabrinne and I made it safely to the table, and I waited while she sat down before I did so as well, catching in the corner of my eye the wine color and sapphire of my stepsisters’ gowns as they took their own seats a comfortable distance away. Not quite the opposite end of the table, unfortunately, but there were still at least fourteen or fifteen young women separating us, and that seemed a safe enough barrier.
Now I understood how these things worked, it was easier to sit and wait as the servants came ’round with a dish of field greens and nuts and raisins, with a tangy-sweet sauce that was a perfect complement to the slightly bitter taste of the greens. Easier still, because I saw that the next table was the one where the Emperor sat, and so my wait would be over soon.
Don’t be silly, I told myself, for the odds are almost one hundred to one that you will be able to sit anywhere close to him. No, you will most likely perch at one end. The most you can hope for is that your stepsisters will take no note of you.
This course appeared to be more involved than the last, for the dish of field greens was removed promptly and replaced by medallions of chicken in a light, savory sauce. I had been following Gabrinne’s lead, so at least I had not made a fool of myself by rising once the salad had been taken away. I also began to see why the girls had been so circumspect about their portions, for truly one could only have a few mouthfuls of each course, or risk being full before the main dish was even served.
“And we are very lucky, for the next course is the largest, and so the one that takes the longest, and it is for that one that we’ll be seated at the high table,” remarked Gabrinne after she had taken two very delicate bites of chicken, then laid her fork down on her plate. “Plenty of time for you to speak to the Emperor, and for me to renew my acquaintance with Lord Senric.”
“So you do know him?” I asked.
“Oh, everybody knows everybody else. That is,” she amended, and shot a rather guilty glance in my direction, “the dukes and the earls, mostly. My father has known Lord Senric for many years, and he has visited our estate several times. He never took any particular notice of me, but it has been several years now since he last visited, and most likely he does not know that I am now a young lady ready for the marriage bed.”
I choked on my wine at these bold words, and she grinned and shook he
r head.
“Why so modest, Ashara? That is why we are all here, is it not?”
“I — well, perhaps, but — ”
“But nothing.” She drank some of her own wine before adding, “I have kissed a young man several times, and I must confess that it was quite pleasant. I can only imagine that it will be even better with Lord Senric, for he will have had much more practice.”
What I was supposed to make of any of those pronouncements, I was not certain. Of course I had never kissed a young man, much less participated in any of the activities I had accidentally spied Mari and Janks sharing that one notable day. Even so, I thought of the Emperor kissing me, of his arms going around me, and a shiver fluttered its way down my spine.
My voice deliberately prim, I said, “And I imagine that your parents would not like to know that their daughter thought nothing of speaking of such things.”
Gabrinne only laughed, and raised her glass of wine toward me in a mock toast. “Ah, you may say that, but I saw the look on your face just before, and it was anything but proper. You were thinking of him, weren’t you?”
Since I could not deny it — well, deny it without Gabrinne spotting the lie immediately — I only looked away from her and took another very small bite of a chicken medallion.
“As I thought.” She pushed her plate away and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin of linen so fine that in my household it would have been used for a gown, not a bit of cloth to wipe one’s hands with. “It looks as if the servants are preparing to clear away this course from the high table. We will need to look sharp, for I am not sure exactly how they are going to determine who sits where.”
“It is really no matter — ”
“It is for me. You may sit at the end and stare up at the ceiling and feel put upon, but I must sit close to Lord Senric, and that means sitting close to the Emperor, for the Duke is but two places away.”
“Of course,” I said at once. I reminded myself that Gabrinne had her own stakes to play here, and it was selfish of me to ignore them. “I will do what I can, but I do draw the line at fisticuffs.”
The grin returned. “Then I daresay that makes you better than half the girls here.”
I could only shake my head at such a remark, but I did follow her lead in touching my mouth with the napkin and wiping my hands thoroughly before I set it aside. Around me I noticed the other young women were doing the same, then shifting to the edges of their seats, as if they expected to break into a sprint the second the signal was given.
My heart began to pound, and I willed myself to stay calm. There were three more days after this one — three more opportunities to see him, possibly speak with him. I could not act as if everything hinged on this single night.
The chime sounded, and everyone jumped out of their seats as if pinched. No one ran, precisely, but it was certainly an inelegant rush that descended upon the high table. Gabrinne was a pace ahead of me, and I followed in her shadow, hearing the familiar voices of my stepsisters only a few paces behind me.
“Jenaris, move faster! If only you weren’t so fat — ”
“I am not fat — someone is in my way!”
Somehow I forced myself to not look back, to keep moving forward. And then it was as if we hit some sort of invisible wall, for a distinguished-looking older gentleman stood between us and the table, one hand raised.
“I admire your enthusiasm, ladies, but there are seats for all. Two at a time, please.”
As somehow Gabrinne and I had managed to place ourselves more or less at the head of the pack, we were neck and neck with two or three other girls, all of whom shot us venomous glances. I guessed they would not be so ill-disposed toward Gabrinne once they learned she had no designs on the Emperor, whereas I was already the source of a good deal of ill will because of the attention he paid me the day before.
We stood there, irresolute, apparently no one wishing to show poor breeding by stepping forward first. I wondered how long this impasse would last.
But then I heard the scrape of a chair being pushed back, and the Emperor rose from his seat and came toward our group. His dark gaze flickered over all of us, at last coming to rest on me, and he smiled.
“This way, ladies,” he said with a nod at Gabrinne and me, and spread his hand toward the empty seats at the table.
Words seemed to fail both of us, but we managed a curtsey, then went to take our seats — I across from the Emperor, and Gabrinne next to me, where she would be on the diagonal from where Lord Senric sat. Not perhaps the most ideal location for conversation, but apparently she deemed it well enough, for she smiled as she allowed a servant to push in her chair. I also took my place, swallowing nervously and praying that my stepsisters were not tall enough to have seen exactly what just transpired.
The Emperor returned to his own chair and smiled at me, expression warm and perhaps almost too familiar, while in the seat next to him his sister appeared to repress a grin of her own, and on his other side the Dowager Empress, a beautiful but forbidding woman of perhaps some fifty years, shot a scowl at me from beneath a pair of perfectly arched eyebrows.
What on earth had he been thinking?
Chapter 8
Torric
No doubt my mother would have said some imp possessed me, to show such favoritism in front of everyone. After all, for the other two courses, I had been content to let Lord Hein manage the placement of the girls at my table. None of them interested me in the least, although I did my duty by smiling and making conversation with them, even as my eyes continually sought out Ashara where she sat across the chamber. When she turned up at the front of the latest group, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to make sure she had the best spot at the table — she and her friend, who I believed was the youngest daughter of the Earl of Kelsir, although I could not recall her name.
To my surprise, that young lady, though bold enough in other respects, seemed not interested in me in the slightest, and instead turned her attention toward Lord Senric, inquiring as to his grape harvest with a most predatory gleam in her eye. Ah, so that was her game. I wished her luck with it, for in my estimation the Duke had gone long enough without a wife. And I had to confess it was a relief to know that at least one of these young ladies had no desire to be Empress.
The others, though…
I looked across the table to Ashara. Thank the gods that Lord Hein had had the good sense to make sure the centerpieces weren’t so tall they obscured my view of my dinner companions. Her gaze met mine for a few seconds before she looked down, a warm flush staining her cheeks.
Yesterday I had thought her lovely, but she seemed even more beautiful now, in a dark green gown that brought forth mysterious copper glints from within her russet hair, and which warmed her ivory skin. Also, as befitted a dinner dress, the bodice of this one was cut lower, and I saw the faintest hint of the shadows between her high, full breasts, a contrast to the slenderness of her neck, the pronounced collarbones beneath the heavy necklace of gold and green tourmalines. Desire stirred within me, and I forced it back. Now was not the time to be indulging such things.
“It is good to see you again, Ashara,” I told her, which was certainly no more than the truth.
“And you, Your Majesty,” she replied in her low, sweet voice.
How I wished to hear her call me by my name! However, I knew I could not ask such a thing of her — not here in front of my sister and my mother, and the other noble lords who had a place at the high table. Perhaps once we had the opportunity to be alone I could urge that…and possibly other intimacies…from her, but not now.
No, here we could only speak of the commonplaces propriety allowed, but that was better than nothing. “And are you enjoying the dinner, Ashara?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The food is wonderful, and the flowers are so very beautiful. Someone must have been working from sunup to create so many lovely arrangements.”
It seemed rather an odd comment to me — of course someone had be
en working on the flowers all day; that was what servants were for. Since it was clear that she was sincere, and, truly, the hall did look rather impressive, I only nodded. “Lord Hein said the roses would not last much longer anyway, so best they be put to some good purpose. I confess I do not pay that much attention, save that there are arrangements all over the palace in the warm months, and not so much in the winter.”
She smiled at that. “Well, Your Majesty, they are lovely, but his lordship is correct. They will last through the first frost or two, but after that they are gone until the spring.”
“Do you have many roses at your home?”
A shadow seemed to pass over her face. “At the — at our townhouse here in Iselfex, we have none. It is all cobbles on the street, and although our cook grows geraniums in her window boxes, it is not quite the same thing. There were — there are lovely gardens at our country estate, but we do not go there often.”
There was such a combination of wistfulness and sadness in her tone that I longed to know more, to ask why they should stay here so long in town if she appeared so clearly disinclined to it, but that question seemed somehow too intimate. Instead, I inquired, “But will you ride tomorrow? I know some of the young women will only come to the reception, and not participate in the hunt itself, for they do not count themselves good enough riders. I hope you do not include yourself in that number, even if you spend a good deal of time here in the capital without much opportunity for riding.”
She waited until the servant at her elbow had finished filling her wine goblet to the halfway point. When she replied, her voice was soft but firm. “It is true that I have not had the chance to ride as much lately as I would like to, but when I was young — that is, my father and I used to ride all the time, and I think I shall manage well enough. He had me in the saddle before I was barely old enough to walk.”
I recalled then that her father had been dead these ten years or so, which could explain the note of quiet sorrow in her tone. Perhaps it was hurtful for her to recall the times they had spent together, when it seemed clear enough to me, even though she had said nothing specific on the topic, that she did not get along very well with her stepmother. A common enough story, but at least she had managed to attend these festivities despite all that. In a way, knowing even this small fact about her heartened me and made me even more anxious for the future, for by making Ashara my bride I could take her away from a life that she apparently did not find all that appealing.
Ashes of Roses (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms Book 4) Page 10