A Prelude to Penemue (3 page)

She motioned her litter-bearers away, and they set her in the shade of an old oak on the far side of the road. “Emile, that is your name, yes? Could you be a dear and seek out Master Marius Sloane for me, please? Tell him that I need to see him at once, and to bring
Charlotte
over with him.”

“Yes, ma’am.”
Emile bobbed a bow and dashed off across the scorched lawn toward what had been the grandest house in the principality.

Hester waited. Some time later, Emile returned with a plate of early apples, some brown bread, and a small wedge of cheese. He offered her a bent silver ewer of water, but he had no cup. He also had no news.

It was growing dark when he returned again, this time with cold sliced meat, more brown bread, and a pear. There was still no news.

Together they sat in silence as torch-bearing workers cleared rubble and laid out the dead, draping them in sheets, towels, curtains, and whatever textiles were at hand. The remaining
Vedma
, battered and weary, came and soothed Hester’s leg.

“The bone is still weak—take care not to bear much weight on it until it heals properly,” she said and moved on before Hester could even thank her.

By the first light of the following day, the scene had not much changed, save that the
Regalii
had all been moved into the apartments and rooms that remained intact at the estate house. The estate’s owners had slept in the
servants
quarters, and many of the servants had spent the night out in the field with Hester and Emile. One of the house servants came to them early, wringing his filthy hands in the tail of his equally dirty shirt.

“I would speak to the Lady,” the man said. His face was puckered with burns, and he had several teeth freshly missing. His breath smelled of blood.

Hester tensed.

“If you would follow me, my Lady.”
He extended his arm and helped her to her feet, bearing her weight as he led her to the line of corpses.

“No,” she whispered.

“You must be strong, Lady.
For all of us.”

“I do not want to be strong! I do not want to be a lady! I just wanted an ordinary life.”

The servant laughed darkly. “We always want what is denied to us. It is what makes us human, even you who were born to rule Heaven and Earth.” They came to a shaky halt at the end of the line. “I need to know if this is your husband, Lady Hester.”

“I know. But I do not want to tell you. If I see him dead, then dead he will be. While I still hope, he still lives.”

The servant patted her hand. “I know.” He pointed to a swaddled body lying away from the others. “I lost my wife. Now please, that we may get on with identifying the others.” He drew back the damask drape and Hester forced herself to look.

Marius looked peaceful, his hazel eyes closed, his mouth relaxed, almost as if in sleep.
Nevermind the terrible gash that opened his head from ear to hairline.

“Oh, my love,” she murmured, sinking to her knees. Glancing back at the servant, she steeled herself for her next question.
“And what of my daughter?”

“Daughter?”

“
Charlotte
!” Hester staggered to her feet and ran as best she could into the ruins of the house. The nursery had been down the corridor from the main hall, she remembered. Climbing over timbers and fallen masonry, she limped past several broken doorframes until she found one that still stood intact. The brass plaque on the door announcing that this was the nursery still gleamed. “Help me! Help me with this door!” She beat against it with fatigued arms. Emile and Cadmus were behind her in an instant.

“Stand aside, Hester,” Cadmus told her and barreled into the finely painted door with his shoulder. It was well jammed into the frame, but no mere wood could withstand the force of a determined
Gyony
warrior.

As the door gave way, Hester ran inside. It was still dark in this room, and the children’s playthings were tumbled about, creating strange shadows. The roof had halfway fallen in, and a fine layer of ash lay over everything. The air was stale and more than once Hester lost her balance as she searched, her head growing light and her arms and legs even more unsteady.

“Hester, it is not safe in here.”

“I have to find her, Cadmus.”

“Let me help you.” He hooked his thickly muscled arm around her waist and held her up. Together they pushed aside pillows and plush creatures until they came to the farthest corner of the room.

Emile was waiting there, having gone around in the other direction. Hester searched his face, but he would not meet her gaze.

“Is she…?”

“I believe so. They are all here.”

She pushed him aside with what little strength she had remaining and stepped away from Cadmus. Mary, the nanny, and four other girls were huddled in the corner. Blankets and nappies and petticoats were over their mouths and those of the children. There were only six youngsters, Charlotte being the youngest. They, too, might have been sleeping, but that their faces were flushed violently pink.

The floor seemed to tilt abruptly, and Cadmus caught her once more. “The air’s to blame. Everyone out before it drops us, too!”

Hester could not catch her breath until they returned her to her litter beneath the tree.
“Gone.
Everything.
Both of them.
Gone.”

Emile took her hand, rubbing it softly. Cadmus dropped to one knee. “I am so sorry, Hester.”

“What is this? Oh, princess, did you lose your favorite fur in the rubble? Perhaps one of your earbobs has gone missing? What else could account for these crocodile tears?”

“Speak no more, Moll
Aldias
, you have no notion of what you are saying,” Cadmus rumbled.

“I lost three of my sisters,” the black-haired woman hissed. “Tell me how that compares to anything
she
may be missing! Her sister is whole, I saw her myself. What else of value can the brat
be
bawling over?”

“My husband and my child are dead.”

“Oh, you are the one with the mortal husband, are you not? What pain can that be? And children can always be gotten again. I might even be able to find the soul of the babe for your next getting…for a price.”

“Get away from me, witch!”

“Suit yourself.” The
Aldias
gathered her dignity and walked away, hiding a limp.

A long bright note from a horn sounded across the landscape, not too far distant. “That would be my mother.” Hester slumped. “I cannot face her. She will not have an ounce more sympathy than that wretched, heartless Moll
Aldias
.”

“We can take you anywhere you would like to go,” Cadmus said softly. “We can let her think you have perished. ‘
Twould
be easy to accomplish.”

“I cannot.”

“Why? I heard what you said to that servant. I cannot promise you an ordinary life, but I can offer you a place that is far removed from the
Regalii
and the Primacy as well. As ordinary as it gets for our kind, anyway.”

Emile nodded. “You would love it there. Master Cadmus has recently been accepted into House
Gyony
, and I will be studying for the trials for my House in the coming decade. It’s practically right around the corner.”

Hester had to laugh at his enthusiasm. “What house would that be, young Emile?”

“
Edulica
, of course.
And as empathic as you are, I daresay you would make a wonderful addition. We will speak to Lord Andrew as soon as we are home.”

“Home?”

“Home to
Penemue
.”
Cadmus set his hand on Emile’s shoulder. “Say you will come, Hester dear. Leave all of this behind you.”

“I do not know if I will be able…”

“Kitty would be begging you.” Anna stepped out from behind the oak. “I apologize for eavesdropping.” She made what could have passed for a curtsey in some other country. “But really,
m’lady
, there is no love for you here. And if the
Edulica
deny you, you can train to fight with the
Gyony
. I will teach you quarterstaff myself.”