Paladin's Oath

by M. H. Johnson

  Geoffrey smiled. “And thank all the gods the Squires are on our side. No, you don't have to say anything, Jess. But when that duke passed on, one of the first things his son did was treat with us. I swear, he was pale and shaking, for all that he had a handful of men by his side. Father was the height of courtesy, of course, asking for nothing save friendly relations in the years to come.”

  Geoffrey took a sniff of a still dazed Jess's hair. “Amazing the way the scent of wildflowers always surrounds you after you visit the garden. That works for us, I suppose. You can tell Mother you dabbed on some perfume to cover the odor of… stress.”

  Jess smiled. “Thank you, brother. I appreciate you covering for me. And, well, you know.”

  Geoffrey laughed. “Just returning the favor. We have to look out for each other, you know.”

  Jess nodded.

  "Oh, and say hello to Apple's beau when you get a chance? He arrived just before I came looking for you. Seems a nice enough fellow, even if a bit of the brooding sort. Should keep her away from the other cads, and hopefully he won't try anything too improper himself, but one of us should keep an eye on them, make sure a stolen kiss doesn't lead to anything else."

  “Very well,” Jess agreed, her mind still racing with revelations and horrid flashes of memory she had consigned to nightmare, long ago, even as her brother raced ahead. She turned to her familiar, padding quietly beside her. “For the first time in a while, I could really use some brandy.”

  Her cat abruptly froze, Jess stumbling to a halt beside him.

  “Twilight?”

  Her familiar slowly tilted his gaze to meet her own. “Sorrow this way comes.”

  34

  Jess felt a cold chill wash through her. “Twilight, what are you talking about? Please explain what is going on.”

  “Something’s wrong, Jess. Like a gathering storm. It’s not imminent, but something would bring sorrow to this House.”

  “Twilight! What is it?”

  "That's what I'm trying to tell you, I don't know." Twilight shook his head in frustration. "I only taste the faint underpinnings of tragedy emanating from some future potential, like the crack of a mace crushing a skull echoing back through time. But I can't pinpoint it. All is in flux. Uncertain."

  Jess felt her heart skip a beat. “You mean like when the Turnsby Estates were almost pulled into Regio?”

  Twilight sighed. “Something like that. But remember, Jess, I only sensed that trouble was afoot and the direction it was heading in. Other than that, I knew little more than you. At least we were ready to spring when our enemy finally made his play. This could be anything. Anything at all. Keep alert. Do you sense danger to yourself? Malice aimed at your person?”

  Jess thought about it, and slowly shook her head. “No. Not at all. Admiration and desire, that's for sure. But any girl could sense that with the men I spoke to today. No, I don’t get any sense of malice or treachery aimed at me from anyone.”

  Twilight frowned. “We need something to go on, Jess. Something feels... wrong. Now would be an excellent time for you to have one of your odd flashes of intuition.”

  Jess gaze apologetically at her familiar. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I don’t feel anything unusual at all.”

  “Well, try harder!” he snapped.

  Jess blinked and gave him a look.

  "I don't know," he sighed. "I hate feeling the weight of the storm upon us while having nothing to go on. The results will be catastrophic to us somehow. That much, at least, I know, and it has my whiskers on end. Go mingle! I'll see if I can get any inkling of… anything."

  Jess took a deep breath, giving her brooding companion a reassuring pat. “That plan is as good as any. Mother wants me to mingle anyway.”

  “Jess, there you are!” Her mother, walking briskly down the corridor, locked eyes with her at that very moment. Though exquisite in her sky blue dress, the slightest lines of care on her brow doing little to belie her natural beauty, her gaze at that moment was as hard as iron, and Jess found herself momentarily at a loss for words.

  “Your brother told me you were feeling indisposed, but I don’t think that’s the half of it, and don’t pretend you two aren’t covering for each other. I know you both too well, and we will all have a long talk when this gala is finished. And is that a stain on your dress? By the angels above, Jess, were you in the garden all this time?”

  “Listen, Mother, I’m sorry,” Jess mumbled. “But there’s something important...”

  “You acting like a proper young lady during your fete is what’s important, Jessica. Now come with me, and for gods' sakes, smile!”

  “Yes, Mother,” Jess grimaced. “But something’s wrong.”

  “We’ll talk later,” her mother said curtly. “Lord Basney, it is such a pleasure to see you this day! Have you met our lovely Jessica? Oh yes, I agree, the color suits her perfectly!”

  Jess smiled and grimaced and congratulated herself on politely greeting no less than a dozen of the noble guests circulating the grand dining hall who were presently nibbling from the many trays filled with gustatory delights, or otherwise taking a break from the ballroom dancing. Only twice did a hand attempt to stray inappropriately, and the gentlest of squeezes and a couple of apologetic whimpers and that was straightened out readily enough. Had Jess not been trying so hard with her mother's hawklike gaze weighing her every movement, she wouldn't have squeezed quite so gently, but the point was made and the guilty party suitably chastened, she consoled herself.

  “I’m not letting anyone take advantage of me,” she whispered curtly to her mother when they strode together once more. Agda, surprisingly, only smiled and nodded.

  “Of course not, Jessica. The winces you rendered were entirely appropriate. And since the object here is to keep a very dignified profile, I thank you for refraining from snapping any fingers or wrists, my daughter, since most of our guests are just a bit drunk, and so not the paragons they normally might be.”

  "That's the problem," Jess quipped, even as she caught sight of her sister. Hair done up in beautiful cascade of crimson curls flowing down her back with fluid grace, her steamy green eyes were fastened intently upon her partner, even as she laughed merrily at his jests. She had somehow managed to change dresses, now wearing an elegant pink gown that swayed and flowed with her every movement. Apple nodded at something the young man dressed soberly by her side suggested, and together they strode along the ballroom. For just an instant Jess caught the young man's eyes... and nothing. They washed over her with the politest of smiles.

  Jess meant nothing to him. Not once had she ever been a part of his fantasies or plots, Jess could instantly tell. Not the tiniest strand of malice connected the two of them. Jess felt a curious sense of relief and embarrassment, to think so highly of herself that a stranger would care in the least. No doubt she was just one more girl at the gala to him.

  Come to think of it, Jess had the sense that most of the noble guests present simply wanted to stay in the Calenbry's good graces, and didn't really care one way or the other about her. She was simply a young woman of hot temperament and a checkered past, as was every girl who embraced the path of a Squire, and didn't she already know two girls who had put aside their swords to embrace marriage with a man who loved them no less for that? Being of noble blood, particularly the daughter of a powerful baron, meant that Jess's eccentricities counted far less against her than they would a girl of common stock in search of a loving husband. Not that she was in any rush to be tied down to any man, but perhaps her embracing a gentler life wasn't quite the impossible feat she sometimes feared it would be.

  Jess was about to approach the pair, curious about her sister’s take on the fete so far, but her mother was pressing yet another guest for her to meet.

  “Lady Verona, how do you fare this evening? Please, allow me to introduce you to my daughter Jessica. It is in her honor that we celebrate this special occasion, the return of our child from the land of darkest dream, safe and sou
nd beside us once more.”

  Dressed in a pale lavender gown with her fair hair carefully coiffed, Lady Verona was not unattractive, though her features were cool and very reserved. Jess smiled and took her hand and the lady did a dutiful curtsy, but made no move to gush courtesies or gossip, content merely to gaze at Jess with appraising eyes before speaking at last. “Congratulations on your fete, Lady Jessica de Calenbry. I do hope you are enjoying your special day.”

  "Thank you, Lady Verona," Jess smiled, relieved to sense no malicious intent behind the words. "We are glad to have you. Please, come in and make yourself comfortable. Food and refreshments await within."

  Lady Verona nodded politely at Jess’s words, and made her way to the buffet.

  Jess paused, considering. More than one guest had been reserved upon arrival, but almost all of them attempted to flatter the baroness in some way, even if their sons eyed Jess like some prize they hungered for. Yet from Verona she had sensed neither excitement, nor lust, nor even malice. She gushed neither admiration nor false flattery, radiating only a controlled calm. Jess frowned. From Lady Verona, Jess sensed nothing at all, save a disciplined mind observing her surroundings.

  “Mother…”

  Her mother’s gaze caught her own. Though always happy to lose herself in domesticity, gossip, or cards, her true passion was intrigue in all its forms. Fiercely sharp, her mother was an excellent judge of character. “I know, Jess. I know. Tread very carefully around that one, my dear. For her sake, more than anyone else, show poise and discretion.”

  Jess took a deep breath. “Perhaps it would be best if there was nothing to critique. Mayhap I should find suitable diversions with Apple, far away from here?”

  Her mother closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead. “Perhaps that would be for the best. Now where did your sister wander off to? And with a new beau, too.” She nodded firmly. “An excellent idea. Go chaperon Apple, Jess. No one can find fault with your taking such a sisterly role, after all.”

  Jess grinned. "Gladly." With that, she began a meandering search around the banquet hall and ballroom, happy just to be out from under the probing gaze of Lady Verona.

  If Lady Verona was the source of that vague, worrisome premonition Twilight had sensed, it would make perfect sense. Political machinations were sometimes ponderous, impersonal affairs, and a pretext for their family's disenfranchisement could be years in the making. And the more impersonal and subtle the attack was, the harder it would be for her to sense. Perhaps their opponents had learned from earlier maneuvers that had been too direct, too fueled by greed and envy, and were taking a different approach.

  Jess thought it best to be as demure as possible around Lady Verona just in case, preferably out of her sight entirely. And where was Apple? Jess felt a bit frustrated that her sister had escaped her sight that easily. At this point, she could be most anywhere.

  “What have you found out?” Twilight asked, appearing of a sudden, darting out from behind a table with a particularly large fish, still flapping, it was so fresh.

  "Didn't Mother have our chef supply you with those tasty whitefish fillets you love so much?" An amused Jess asked.

  “Yes, but this was more fun.” Twilight grinned before tearing into his catch. “I think I’m responsible for more white hairs in our poor cook's head than old age itself."

  “And you take pride in that, don’t you.”

  "Of course!" His rapidly devoured fish was now nothing but scales and bones. "So. You've found something, haven't you? And you seem… poised. As if it is a threat you know you can deal with. This is good. What have you discovered?"

  “I think perhaps the source of our worries is one Lady Verona. The cool way she was analyzing me, paying the barest of courtesies. Polite, but by no means simpering, almost monosyllabic.”

  Twilight cocked his head. “She can’t be the only hen opposed to constantly clucking.”

  Jess smiled. "True. A fair number of pale violets throng our banquet hall hoping for a single glance from whichever boy has caught their interest. Indeed, I do believe Mother has designed this gala as a matchmaking event as much as my coming out party, no doubt hoping I'll catch someone as well, so that some good comes of this insipid affair. In any case, Lady Verona doesn't seem interested in any of the other guests. She appears utterly indifferent to the glances I saw being thrown her way, yet I see no marriage ring about her finger. And something about her gaze… Mother feels it to. If there really is a Crown Agent present, it's probably her."

  “Are you sure?” asked a highly skeptical Twilight. “It hardly seems like someone who has earned the rank of a royal spy would be so easily spotted within seconds of her arrival. You need merely think about the more distasteful elements of Eloquin's training. You know, the skillsets involving seduction and general underhandedness that didn't come naturally to you. It was the best of those students, the most elite Squires of War with a penchant for intrigue that would be offered positions as King's Men. It would be safe to assume spies brought on from other routes would be well vetted in other areas, hardly an aloof noble who has already managed to alert her presence to you and your mother both.” Twilight paused reflectively. “Perhaps she is a decoy for the real spy?”

  "Perhaps, though the only guests that arrived since have been young lords with their fathers hoping to meet their future beau. Twilight, I know that you are wise in the ways of Byzantium politics and maneuvering, but Mother is extremely perceptive. She has helped Father avoid more than one mishap over the years, particularly when we were all younger, and you've already tipped me off to be suspicious of something." Jess shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, any agent is going to have to be a noble, or they are not getting inside. Everyone's footmen are waiting in their carriages. Our serving women are bringing them food and drink to while away the time, of course. We are not uncivilized, after all."

  Twilight nodded. “So this noble lady is the best they could do. Fair enough. For all we know, she was just paid or promised favors for a report, and is hardly a formal agent at all, as unlikely as I think the whole thing is. Very well. Point her out to me, and we will go from there.” Jess did so, Lady Verona quietly sipping her drink and watching the younger guests dance and flirt, seeming like nothing more than an overly reserved guest, Jess had to admit.

  Twilight gazed at the woman for some moments before turning back to Jess. “Really?”

  “What? You asked me to find anyone who seemed the least bit suspicious, and she’s the best I could do.”

  “She’s drinking quietly and is deliberately avoiding talking to that tipsy young man obviously flirting with her, though he’s at least a decade younger, hardly more than a boy. I think, dear Jess, if she were an agent she’d be much better at putting the man at ease by flirting back at him, which would put you and your mother at ease as well.” Twilight shrugged. “Very well then, I’ll catch her scent and track down her carriage. From there I’ll be able to recognize her driver and any footmen. If I find anyone tied to her lurking about the grounds, we’ll have found our true spy.”

  Jess nodded in approval. “Good thinking, Twilight. In the meantime, I’ll go hunt down my sister.”

  Twilight turned abruptly just as he was about to dart off. “You don’t know where Apple is?”

  Jess shrugged. “She went off with the boy she’s been exchanging letters with for some time. No doubt I’ll have to track her down and prevent her from doing anything… unsavory.”

  “You mean like you were about to do with a certain Delver, not too long ago?” Twilight’s grin went from knowing to downright evil.

  “There’s a difference!” Jess huffed.

  “Mm? And what would that be?”

  Jess sighed. “Never mind that now. I’ll go track down Apple. One less headache, and it gets me out from under the gaze of Lady Verona.”

  Twilight chuckled silently. “Very well, dear Jess. I’ll see what I can sniff out from Verona’s coach. I’ll meet with you as soon as I know something.”r />
  Jess nodded in approval as her familiar darted off. A quick glance through various rooms and corridors showed many guests having a grand time, with various servitors seeing to everyone's needs, and no sign of Apple at all. The house guard, Jess was glad to see, were diligent in their regular patrols about the manor just to prevent any guest from ‘accidentally’ wandering into areas they didn’t belong, one such patrol bowing low in grave courtesy while encountering her in the halls. “Is all well, Lady Jessica?” The guardsman asked formally.

  Jess smiled, feeling warmly as she did to all the men and women her father employed, particularly his guardsmen, many of whom had been by her father's side since the war, years ago. “Thank you, James. I was looking for my sister, actually. I suspect she is out taking an evening stroll, and I wanted to keep her company.”

  If James thought it strange that the lady of the Fete was herself seeking to escape it, he was too gracious to say anything. Or, more likely, he like the rest of the housing staff knew their wayward charge all too well. “Of course, my lady.” He paused a moment. “If you have any concerns, would you like me to alert Johnathan?”

  Jess smiled, thinking fondly of the man who had not shirked in his duties when living nightmare had pierced the veil at the Turnsbys. “That is all right, James. Johnathan is heading security, and I would hate to cause alarm over a simple evening’s walk.”

  James bowed his head respectfully. “Very good, my lady.”

  Jess nodded and made her way out the entrance, breathing deep of the evening air, sweet and fresh with the scents of mint, thyme, and apple blossoms. Away from the din of the dining party and dancing, Jess felt a curious sense of release. Though the light had faded to twilight, it was clear enough for her to see, and she began to walk a path she knew her sister favored, nodding at a patrolling guard as she did so.