by Barb Hendee
Rolf didn’t speak much to anyone, but no one seemed to expect him to.
Somehow, we made it through dessert and the after-dinner conversation and were able to excuse ourselves.
Alone in a guest room with Rolf, I sank down on the bed. “I’m so sorry,” I said. “I know how you loved him.”
He came over to sit beside me. “I wanted to avenge him. Father was right to stop me, but he shouldn’t have given Sebastian a free hand.”
“What will Sebastian do?”
“I’ve no idea. That’s the problem. There’s something broken inside him. He doesn’t think or feel like other people.”
I found that an unfair assessment of Sebastian. Yes, he could be sly, but he was also capable of kindness, loyalty, and protection.
Rolf put his face in his hands. “I can’t believe Kai’s gone.”
Scooting backward, I piled some pillows against the headboard. “Let me hold you. Please.”
I needed this as much as he did. To my relief, he moved to me and laid his face against my stomach. I held him with both arms, rocking him gently.
He let me.
After a while, we both fell asleep like that, and the next thing I knew, I was awakened by the sound of a woman screaming.
Rolf sat up.
Loud voices and running feet came from beyond our door. Rolf bolted for the door, and I followed. He was faster than me, but I could see a small gathering down at the end of the passage. Lady Violette, Lord Henri, and several other guests must have had heard the screams. Jarrod was there. Coming to a stop near Rolf, I looked through an open doorway, into a room, and I went cold.
Lady Rosamund was on the bed of her guest room, on her knees, pressed up against the headboard, clutching the front of her gown.
Sebastian stood in the middle of the room over Allemond’s dead body. He had his pearl-handled dagger in his right hand, and Allemond’s hand gripped a dagger as well. But I had seen it before. It was Sebastian’s other blade, the plain one with the tan handle.
Blood flowed from a wound in Allemond’s throat and spread around him on the floor.
“What happened?” Lord Henri demanded.
This was the second death on the same day in his home.
Sebastian appeared distraught, but I could see the calm in his eyes.
He put his free hand to his head. “I didn’t . . . I would never have . . .” Looking down, he leaned over and picked up a small beaded purse on the floor. “Lady Rosamund must have dropped this earlier in the hall. I found it and brought it back to her. Lord Allemond came upon us in here, and he . . . he misunderstood and attacked me. I had no choice but to defend myself.” He turned to Rosamund. “My lady, forgive me.”
Henri was still staring at the scene. “Rosamund?” he asked. “Is this true?”
Her eyes were wide, moving from her dead husband, to Sebastian, to Henri. “Yes,” she answered. “It’s as he says. He brought me back my purse and my husband came to my room and found us and misunderstood. He flew into a rage. Sebastian had no choice.”
And then I thought on her earlier attentions to Sebastian, and I realized what he’d done. It appeared Rosamund and Allemond had separate guest rooms. Sebastian had accepted an assignation with her and then somehow arranged for Lord Allemond to come see his wife.
Sebastian probably had a message sent.
Upon Allemond’s arrival, Sebastian had killed him and placed a dagger in his hand and Rosamund had begun screaming.
But now, she was faced with a number of her peers asking questions. A little secret bed hopping could be overlooked so long as it wasn’t noticed. But a great lady like her being caught openly cavorting with a handsome young Volodane was something else entirely. She couldn’t let the truth be exposed. She’d lose her reputation and doors would be slammed in her face.
If she didn’t support Sebastian’s story, she would be ruined.
“It’s as he says,” she repeated.
I don’t know if everyone believed this, but it didn’t matter. They both told the same story: Sebastian had been forced to defend himself.
Lord Allemond was dead, and for Rolf and Jarrod, honor had been served.
But when I looked back to Sebastian, I could see that his pain had not been eased. I wasn’t sure it ever would be.
Chapter 6
We made the journey home and buried Kai in the family graveyard beside his mother. I had not seen this place before, as it was situated well beyond the kitchen gardens.
“I’ll have wild flowers placed on their graves as often as possible,” I promised Sebastian.
He nodded but didn’t answer.
There was nothing else for me to do but go inside the keep and oversee the unpacking.
Betty found me almost right away and handed me a letter. “From your father, my lady.”
“Thank you.”
I took it to my room to read in private. I’d never seen my father threatened before, and I wasn’t sure how he’d react.
Bracing myself, I unsealed the letter and opened it. The message was brief.
Dear Megan,
I understand your new father’s interest in receiving an invitation to attend the gathering. I can most certainly arrange for this.
But your mother and I have found ourselves in some difficulties, and two hundred pieces of silver would solve our current issues. If Jarrod can assist in this matter, I can be of assistance to him.
With affection,
Your Father
I stared at the note. He harbored no affection for me. Really, the man had nerves of iron. He’d completely ignored Jarrod’s threat and instead made an offer of his own: money in exchange for the invitation.
Taking the letter, I went downstairs and found Betty.
“Where is Lord Jarrod?”
I didn’t think he’d leave the keep grounds today.
“He’s out in the barracks,” she answered.
Heading down the main passage, I left the keep, walked to the barracks, and entered. The place smelled musty, but I stood in a large main room with tables. The men must eat in here.
Jarrod stood a few paces away conferring with a few guards.
He appeared surprised at the sight of me. I never came out here. Waving off the guards, he closed the distance between us.
I held out the letter. “From my father.”
Taking the paper, he scanned it once and looked up at me.
“I’m sorry,” I said instantly. “I did make your threat clear.”
“Don’t be sorry. This is what I expected.”
“It is?”
“Of course. I’ll have the money put together before dinner. You prepare an answer.”
It seemed Jarrod knew my father better than I did.
* * * *
The summer passed swiftly.
Kai’s absence was like a hole in the family. But while Jarrod and Rolf appeared to slowly recover, Sebastian did not.
I understood why. Kai had been the only one who loved him, and now he felt alone. I tried to make up for this as much as I could, and I spent time with him, but I had to be cautious. He wasn’t my husband, and a woman in my position had to be careful offering even sisterly attention to her husband’s brother.
As the harvest came to a close, we sat down for dinner one night and Jarrod made an announcement.
“I’ve received our invitation to the gathering at Partheney,” he said. “We leave next week.”
Rolf started slightly, but I could see the excitement dawning on his face.
Sebastian looked stunned but not pleased. “What? No. That’s not possible.”
Jarrod snorted. “And how would you know what’s possible? We’re invited. We’re staying in rooms at the castle, and we’ll be inputting Rolf’s name for the open seat on the council.”
<
br /> Rolf inhaled and gripped the table as he absorbed this news.
“Open seat?” Sebastian repeated.
“For Allemond’s replacement,” Jarrod answered, taking a long drink of wine from a goblet. “Thanks to you.”
Sebastian stood. “I didn’t kill him to leave an open seat on the council.”
“All the same, it’s there.”
Stepping back, Sebastian shook his head. “I’m not going. I always go to the house in Rennes for the first month of autumn, and you know it. I won’t give it up.”
I didn’t know what he meant.
A muscle in Jarrod’s jaw twitched. “You’ll go where I tell you.”
Sebastian pointed at Rolf. “I’ll not lift a finger to help you put him on the council!” He looked to me. “And neither should you! I assume we all have you to thank for this kind invitation?”
Without waiting for an answer, he turned and strode from the hall.
“Let me go after him,” I asked Rolf. “He’s distraught.”
“Leave him be,” Rolf answered.
He and Jarrod turned to discussing the pending journey to Partheney.
I sat looking down at my plate.
* * * *
I’d taken to rising early to make sure Rolf and Jarrod had a decent breakfast before they set off on any duties for the day.
Sebastian never came down until later.
But the following morning, shortly after Rolf and Jarrod had left, and I was having the breakfast trays cleared away, Sebastian walked in to the hall wearing a black wool shirt, canvas pants, and boots.
“Get your cloak,” he told me. “I need to show you something.”
His face was unreadable.
“Wait here,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”
After fetching my cloak, I found him waiting outside the archway of the hall. Without another word, he grasped my hand and led me outside the keep. Two saddled horses awaited us in the courtyard.
At the sight of them, I tried to pull back, but he didn’t let go.
“Mount up,” he ordered.
“Where are we going?”
“To the village. Get on the horse or I’ll put you up myself.”
He’d never once bullied me before. He’d certainly never threatened to use his strength against me.
I stared at him.
He sighed. “Please, Megan. We won’t be gone long.”
As he sounded more like himself now, I moved for the nearest horse and let him hand me up. He mounted the other horse and led the way. When we approached the front gates, I saw they were already opened and none of the guards there questioned Sebastian.
We rode out into the trees and down the path toward the village. After trotting a short distance, I pulled my horse to a walk and so did he.
“What did you mean last night by the ‘house in Rennes’?” I asked.
“We own a second house in the city of Rennes. It belonged to my mother. Every autumn, I spend a month there doing exactly as I please. You may not have noticed, but Father needs me at social events enough to offer a reward. He occasionally needs me for other services too. So long as I play the part of dutiful son for eleven months out of the year, he lets me have one to myself.”
I thought on that. Of course, I’d noticed that Jarrod relied on Sebastian at dinner parties. I wondered what other things he might ask of Sebastian, and I tried not to think on Allemond’s death.
“I’ve gone along with Father’s dreams of power to humor him,” he continued, “and I’ll admit I did want to go to the Cornetts when we were first invited. But it never once occurred to me that Rolf might actually gain a seat on the council. Not once.”
“Why don’t you want him to have a seat?” I asked.
“You’re about to see.”
We approached the village, often referred to Volodane Village. I’d only seen it the evening I arrived here, and we’d ridden through quickly. But I remembered the people vanishing at the sight of us.
Sebastian rode right in.
The village spread out around us. There were about fifty circular wattle and daub huts with thatched roofs, a few shops, a smithy, and a sturdy log dwelling that probably served as a common house. But in the daylight, I could see holes in many roofs and decay in the shops and dwellings.
It was a shabby, sad little place.
At the sight of us, the nearest people began slipping away.
“Stop,” Sebastian ordered in a clear voice.
Down on the ground, to my right, a young mother in a threadbare dress froze in fear as she held the hand of a small boy.
“Take a good look at them,” Sebastian said to me.
The woman was perhaps eighteen, but she was so thin. Her face was pinched and her dry hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck. The boy was no better, wearing pants with holes and no shoes. His arms were like twigs.
Sebastian nodded to the woman and she fled.
An uncomfortable wave passed through me. In addition to focusing on a single person and reading thoughts, I also had an unfortunate tendency to absorb strong emotions or sensations if enough people around me experienced the same feelings. Right now, all I could feel was fear, hunger, and despair.
Sebastian wasn’t finished.
He grasped the rein of my horse and led me farther inside, forcing me to see the conditions in which these people lived. The old and the young were all thin, and some were ill. The despair grew until it became nearly overwhelming.
“Please. I need to leave.”
Something in my voice must have reached him because he immediately started for the edge of the village, leading me all the way out.
We hadn’t been inside long, but I was struggling to breathe. I’d never seen people in such a condition. I’d never felt such misery.
“Something must be done,” I choked out. “Does your father know how bad things are?”
He looked at me as if I were simple. “Does he know? He’s the one who’s ensured they live like this. He’s even instated the old laws by which most of the people can’t fish in the streams or set snares for rabbits. Only a few people have license to fish or hunt and they have to either sell what they catch to us or sell it to anyone who can afford it and then pay my father over half of what they earn.”
“Over half?”
“Megan, where do think all our wealth comes from? This place is just one village. Father bleeds them dry in taxes and then keeps the money or crops for himself, and do you know who he sends out to face these people to collect that money?”
I didn’t want to hear the answer and closed my eyes.
“Rolf,” he bit off. “Do you know what reward Rolf receives for his hard work?”
I kept silent.
“He receives a portion of the profits to pay our guards or hire more, and he has a number of them riding the perimeter of our property.”
I opened my eyes. “Why would he do that?”
“Because he’s paranoid, and he believes military force is the answer to everything. He feels the same way about the nation. Has he never spoken to you of his concerns that the king needs to increase the size of our military?”
I shook my head, but Rolf never spoke to me about much.
Sweeping one hand toward the village, Sebastian said, “Imagine what the country might look like if Rolf was making decisions on a larger scale? He’d tax without thought or mercy and build up our armies . . . just in case we need to go to war or defend ourselves. That’s how he thinks. Is this what you want for the nation? People sucked dry to fund the military?”
Sitting on my horse, I was reeling. I’d lived in Volodane Hall for months, and if Sebastian was right, I knew nothing of the truth of my husband’s ambitions.
“Whether you realize it or not,” Sebastian went on, “you have a good deal
of power inside this family. We’ve come further in three months than the last five years, and that’s all due to you.” He shook his head at me. “Don’t help Rolf gain a seat on the council. Don’t do it, Megan.”
As I gazed back toward the village, I let his words sink in.
Perhaps I did have power. Perhaps it was time I used it.
Chapter 7
The next day, Sebastian packed up and left for Rennes. Jarrod didn’t try to stop him. Perhaps he realized such efforts would only result in an ugly battle that could produce more harm than good . . . and he still might need Sebastian’s help in the future.
For now, he had me to smooth over any socializing.
“I’ll be home in a month,” Sebastian said.
I never told Rolf about our visit to the village.
The following week, Rolf, Jared, and I were on our way to Partheney. It was a four-day journey, and we brought a large retinue of guards.
I often rode beside Miriam, so Rolf and I didn’t speak much during the day, but we stayed at inns along way, and he was attentive at night, kissing me more deeply than ever before. Jarrod would never openly admit to my being essential in this venture, but Rolf acknowledged my importance without reservation.
He valued me for what I could do, and a part of me basked in his appreciation. I’d never been appreciated before, and it was seductive. Another part of couldn’t forget how Sebastian had opened my eyes, and yet, I had no intention of disappointing Rolf.
Another plan was forming.
Near the end of the fourth day we arrived at the glorious city of Partheney, located on the west coast of the nation. The city stretched for miles, but it spread out around a hill and at the top of the hill was an enormous eight-towered castle. Our king had several castles, but he resided here in the autumn.
Much of the city itself had no walls as it had grown outward over the centuries, but the poorer citizens lived on the outskirts and the more affluent lived closer to the castle. Jarrod knew the roads well, and he led the way through the crowded streets.
Upon reaching the outer wall of the castle, he presented a letter, which I took to be the invitation he’d mentioned, and the castle guards ushered us through the gatehouse. Once inside the wall, we crossed a bridge and then passed through a second gatehouse and entered the vast courtyard of the castle.