The Demons We See

by Krista D. Ball

  Stanton ignored Lex’s elbow digging into him, as Lex tugged Dodd upright. When they got back to Orsini, Stanton was putting Dodd through another round of etiquette classes, and would continue to put him through them until that damned kid decided to act in the manner appropriate to his birthright.

  Stanton inclined his head slightly and said, “Your Ladyship, I am under strict instructions from the Holy Father himself to convince you to accompany me back to Orsini, to meet personally with him at the Palace.”

  “I don’t care in the slightest,” she said.

  Lex made a choking sound. Stanton glared at his second-in-command and made a mental note that Lex would be attending classes soon, too, if he kept this up.

  “Sorry. Swallowed the wrong way,” Lex wheezed.

  The break in conversation did allow Stanton enough of a pause to choose his words carefully. “The Holy Father believes you are the best candidate to broker a…”

  “Captain, you have disrupted my quiet evening at home, so give me the courtesy of not lying to me in my own drawing room. He’s doing this because I embarrassed him. This is his way of getting his revenge. I will not fall for his tricks. We are not children anymore, and I will not have him treating me as one.”

  Despite knowing better, a smile tugged on one side of Stanton’s mouth.

  Fury flashed in her eyes. “Are you laughing at me, Captain?”

  “Not at all. Pero warned me that you were a firebrand. Francois said you were frail. I see now which of them knows you best.”

  The Contessa’s dark eyes sparkled and a wicked grin cracked her stern disguise. “Frail? Oh, am I not what you were expecting, Captain?”

  “Not even remotely.”

  Her anger dissipated in a flash and she barked out an undignified laugh. “Did the Holy Father give you the impression I was some frail old woman? Oh! Did he say I was low in spirits?” Stanton’s mouth twitched, which was all the affirmation she needed. She laughed more. “He’s turned into such a mother hen since his elevation to the papal chair. I am not to be trifled with, and he knows that.”

  “Indeed he does.” Stanton reached down to place the mug and saucer he was still holding on the small table next to the sofa. “I apologize for disrupting your evening, Your Ladyship. We are staying in the stables tonight if you should happen to change your mind. Good evening.”

  Stanton knew enough from his mother and sisters not to argue with a woman of rank when she’d dug in to make her stand. He bowed and turned on his heel. He would speak to her again in the morning.

  Courtesy demanded she’d speak with him first, ensuring she had not offended him, so he had every expectation she’d send for him. Then, after her assurances that she’d meant no offense, his duty would be to insist he had been the offender. They would banter back and forth until, finally, he would guilt-trip her into coming to the Cathedral to salvage his duty and honor.

  That was Francois’s plan.

  “I’m sorry, Captain. I’ve lost my manners this evening.” He turned around to face her; she was still standing. “Please sit and let us discuss this like adults.”

  ****

  Damn Francois to the pit, and his letter with him. And damn that idiot bishop’s letter arriving and throwing her off. She was angrier than all of the demons in the abyss, and it was a hair’s width tie of which problem topped the list.

  How dare Francois send these three here to kidnap her. He knew she never left Borro Abbey these days, and he knew why. Least of all Cathedral politics! Which was why she resorted to only letter writing and charitable donations. She could remain an active part of the world without having to step into it.

  But she’d also been rude to her guests, who’d done nothing more than fulfill their duty and assignments. “It’s been a long day and I apologize for being rude. Captain, would you mind having your companions step outside?”

  “Certainly, Your Ladyship,” Lex said.

  Dodd nodded sharply to Allegra and said, “Your Ladyship.” The two left together without a return glance or a whisper.

  Once the drawing room door shut behind them, Allegra sat back in her chair. She motioned with her hand at the sofa. “I wish to begin again.”

  Captain Rainier inclined his head and retook his seat. “As you wish, Your Ladyship.”

  Allegra smiled. “Gentlemen’s manners?”

  “Guilty.”

  She slipped into court language, the tongue of the elite. She could small talk her way into a decent enough mood, and maybe drag some information out of this captain in the process. “Gentlemen’s manners from a guard captain. Well, I suppose you do work for the Cathedral, so I shouldn’t be too surprised.” She made a scene of sizing him up. He was easy on the eyes, so at least that task was enjoyable. “Obviously, a younger son of rank. The military is usually the province of second sons and the clergy that of third. Hmm, I am guessing you are a fourth son, with no property of his own, and achieved his position through the influence of his two older brothers and perhaps an uncle. Am I close, Captain?”

  Rainier’s mouth formed several silent words before his mouth quirked upwards. “I’m a fifth son.”

  “Your poor mother.”

  “Indeed,” Rainier said with a snort. “Later in life, I took a position at the Cathedral, escorting cardinals and bishops between their homes and the palace. Eventually, I was raised through the ranks and here I am, escorting beautiful ladies to the palace.”

  Allegra shot him an unimpressed look, though she knew the mirth in her voice gave her away. “Flattery will get you nowhere.”

  “I’m relieved, as that was the extent of my skills.”

  It was Allegra’s turn to let out a little snort. She eyed the letter and asked, “Did they really tell you I was a recluse?”

  Rainier made a show of hesitation, but then he nodded. The sparkle didn’t leave his eye. “His Holiness for certain, as well as several bishops I spoke with while preparing for my journey. I have a few friends amongst the clergy, so I deliver letters or small parcels if it’s not out of my way. Even Father Michael, here at the abbey, was very concerned that I not disrupt you, for fear of unsettling your nerves. It was your maidservant that convinced him you were still up and could use the distraction from your...” he glanced at her writing desk, “work.”

  “I’ll have you know, Captain, that I am not fine lacework. I am made of much stronger material.”

  “I’m discovering that for myself, Your Ladyship.” He leaned forward. “They expect you to refuse, claiming some malady or nervous complaint. Then, there is someone to blame if the peace talks fail once more.”

  She nearly fell for the bait, but she kept her spine straight and said, “I see you also spoke with Pero.”

  “Yes. It is his opinion that you should take this position to spit on the slave-owning cardinals.”

  “Pero’s a fop.”

  Rainier shrugged. “He can still be right.”

  Captain Rainier was too good at this game, and Allegra was out of practice. He was obviously more than simply a Cathedral guard captain, and it irked her he was getting the better of her. He knew just what words to say to spur her underlying ambitions that hid safely out of view. How did he even know they were there?

  Pero, of course. If Pero had his way, Allegra would be holding Elemental Mage Rights rallies while flaunting the law until it caught up to her. Then, upon arrest and a showy trial that would go down in the annals of judicial history, she would be sentenced to the mines. She would burst out into her elemental form, burning through her oppressors and go on the run. Support would gather for her, and soon the people would stand up against injustice and the laws would be changed.

  Pero was a dangerously idealistic fop.

  “Captain, I have no interest in politics, let alone being the Arbiter. Doing nothing but listening to prattling nobles and merchant upstarts whine about how religious law impedes their pursuits, I…I would lose my mind and my temper.�
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  “Think of the influence you’d have.”

  She made a dismissive sound. “I am one of the richest nobles in all of Serna. I’m wealthier than some princes. I need no more influence.”

  “Then do it to spite them all.”

  Oh, Pero had prepared him well. It had been a long time since Allegra had been at Orsini’s palace or the Cathedral. Most of them back at the Cathedral had no idea she kept up on politics, or that she was active in her letter writing, protests, and funding of various peaceful organizations. And, perhaps, a couple of less-than-peaceful organizations who were smuggling elemental mages to safety. But no one needed to know that, especially not a magistrate who would attempt to arrest her.

  “I do not want the position.”

  “Then don’t take it,” Rainier said. “I’m here to escort you, not to force you into a career.”

  The very act of her showing up at the Cathedral could cause beautiful trouble. She could visit the Bishop of Orsini himself and give him a very large, very angry piece of her mind; she could even demand to see what her money had purchased. She could make loud protestations about the clergy’s treatment of mages, get a feel for the number of abolitionist hardliners in the Cathedral’s ranks, and begin a renewed campaign for mage rights.

  This was the perfect reason to get her out of Borro Abbey for a few weeks and to cause trouble elsewhere. She didn’t have to take the position.

  Allegra looked up at Rainier and smiled. “We’ll take my carriage.”

  Chapter 4

  Borro County, Amadore

  The morning sky was obscured by thick fog when Allegra accepted Captain Rainier’s hand of assistance getting into her carriage. She was wearing her second-best travelling outfit, which was to say completely inappropriate for travelling. The beige cotton satin dress was tightly-fitted across the shoulders and back, snug armholes and sleeves, and skirts that skimmed the mud. Over one arm, she carried a silk satin brown-striped jacket, one that would hold snug against her torso before flaring out to follow the flare of her skirts.

  Allegra wished to travel in trousers and a greatcoat, but Nadira patiently reminded her that a woman of rank travelling with a handful of His Holiness’s Consorts must look her best. When Allegra jokingly asked why she was wearing the second-best dress, Nadira pointed out that the Contessa would want to arrive at the palace wearing a dress that didn’t smell like she’d just worn it for four days in the heat near horses.

  Captain Rainier stepped inside the carriage after her, taking the seat across from her. He held his sheathed sword, and placed it on the seat next to him. He shifted down enough so that he could stretch his long legs across the floor without touching Allegra’s more primly crossed ankles. Rainier was wearing his dark green uniform again, which was suspiciously cleaner than it had been the previous evening.

  “Did the laundry maids stay up all night scrubbing your uniform?” Allegra asked. “I hope you tipped them well, especially since I had you moved from the stables to one of the guest rooms.”

  “Good morning to you, too, Your Ladyship. I did ask my chambermaid to have water and a small scrub brush sent up, but beyond that, I assure you I was the one up all night scrubbing my uniform.”

  Allegra gave him an apologetic smile. “You did an excellent job, Captain. Although, you missed one of the buttons.”

  He looked down at the brass buttons that decorated the front of his jacket, connected by gold braiding. He fingered the button that was dull compared to the others. “I’ve never managed to get this one as clean as the others.”

  Allegra nodded in understanding. That button was either enchanted, or all of the others were and that one had lost its enchantment over time, either through use or poor magic. If her nephews were all clothed in magical linens and wool trousers, carefully sewn and enchanted by her, surely a captain in the Holy Father’s service would be cloaked in magical protections. Some of them might even work as originally intended, unlike many that flooded the markets made by slave hands.

  He was wearing a greatcoat over his shoulders, clasped at the throat by an adjustable cord of dark green rope. He hadn’t bothered to put his arms into the garment, knowing that the heat would rise in a couple of hours.

  “What are you smiling about?”

  She smiled more, though felt a touch of heat rise on her cheeks. “I was thinking about the cardinals if I showed up at the palace wearing a greatcoat and trousers.”

  “I suspect many would collapse from a shock-induced apoplexy.”

  “I wonder if there is time to change.”

  One of the abbey’s footmen pulled up the carriage steps and slammed the door shut. He latched the door into place and then bowed to her. He gave Captain Rainier a shallower bow. A moment later, the horses lurched and the small caravan was off.

  “Not a supporter of the cardinals, Your Ladyship?”

  “I believe the only sure thing the cardinals and I share is a mutual distaste for one another’s company.”

  That made Rainier laugh. “If you united the cardinals on anything, including their distaste of you, you are truly the greatest woman alive. You must became the Arbiter of Justice.” Allegra rolled her eyes, eliciting more laughter from the captain. He held his hands up and said, “I surrender, Your Ladyship.”

  “One volley from me and already you’re surrendering. Captain, you are not a military genius, are you?”

  “Not even close,” Rainier said solemnly. Something flashed across his eyes that Allegra couldn’t identify, but it was gone before she could ask about it. The smile returned and he said, “I did promise the Holy Father that I would try to…encourage you to his way of thinking, but I also promised Pero that I wouldn’t annoy you.”

  “I’m not certain you can honor both promises.” Allegra gave him a friendly smile. She ran her hand along the blue satin interior. The satin had faded from both use and the sun, and the seams along the wall padding were frayed in places. The stuffing in her seat was lumpier than she’d remembered. “It seems Father Michael and his friends have been hard on my carriage. I let them use it, since the lower clergy are often visiting the poor in the abbey’s more modest carriage. I’ll need to reupholster it over the winter. It’s looking a touch shabby, isn’t it?”

  “You own your own carriage, Your Ladyship. You are already further than most.”

  “I am well aware of my own good fortune, Captain. I do not require a younger son to lecture me on economics.”

  Her volley hit its mark. Rainier cleared his throat. “My apologies, Your Ladyship. I didn’t mean to lecture you. I was simply trying to…” He cleared his throat again. “I apologize.”

  “Good. I don’t take kindly to being chided nor lectured.”

  “I am overwhelmed with shock.”

  Whatever stern visage masking her true feelings she’d managed to maintain cracked at the dry, emotionless words. She threw her head back and laughed. “We are going to have so much fun together.”

  “That is one word for it, yes, Your Ladyship.” His words were dry, but there was a twinkle in his eye that gave away his true amusement.

  “Now that we have that out of our way, please call me Contessa. Everyone does, except the servants, of course.”

  “Then please call me Rainier. Everyone does, including the servants.”

  Allegra made a show of sizing him up. Captain Rainier wore the standard officer’s uniform of the Consorts and other specialized groups within the umbrella of the Cathedral’s guard. The green jackets, as they were affectionately called on occasion, were a stylish bunch and Rainier was no exception. The brass buttons on his tunic were all polished, except for one, with gold braiding dancing across his chest. Even the metal buckle about his waist had been polished. He’d put a lot of work into cleaning himself up for today, though she worried he might have been rubbing off the spells that were no doubt laid into his items.

  Idly, she wondered if it was truly possible to imbue a po
lishing kit with transferable magic. She had never tried it, and it wasn’t polite to speak of magical technique in public. Allegra always found that odd, considering that most of her circle had various mage-created items. Even her family, who received frequent gifts from her, never talked about the art behind it. It just wasn’t done.

  The black embroidery on his cuffs was worn, but still clearly showed his captaincy. His black leather boots were polished, not to perfection, but well enough. The black slash normally worn to show off one’s military honors was suspiciously missing. The decorative red slash around his hips was not. Allegra never understood the sash’s purpose, other than to make young women stare at a soldier’s lower regions, especially if the tassel ends were strategically placed.

  Younger son or not, he wore that uniform well.

  “Rainier is a good, strong name, but Captain has a romantic vigor to it. I think I’ll stick with that title. Surely the title enchants all ladies, does it not?”

  Rainier laughed. It was a genuine, unguarded sound. “Contessa, I have been called many things in my life, but this the first time the word romantic has ever been used in any sentence referring to me. I’m not sure if I should be grateful or wary.”

  Allegra scoffed and waved a hand at him. “Please. Everyone is a romantic, Captain.” She leaned forward until her corset threatened to break her ribs. Her words came out breathless when she said, “Even me.”

  The confused expression that crossed Rainier’s face announced she was playing the tease too hard. She was out of practice when it came to courtly behavior and the flirting game; Rainier didn’t seem all that practiced, either. She slumped back in her seat, lest she arrive in Orsini with no information to prepare for her visit and a very unfortunate marriage proposal from a lesser son from a nobody landowner in the north.

  A wicked grin spread across Rainier’s mouth. “I’m not sure everyone is a romantic, but all fine ladies certainly are.”