All Fall Down (8 page)

He continued to watch me closely for a moment longer. Then he said, “You’re a brave woman, aren’t you, Mistress Merys?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I don’t know how many of the other slaves would have had the courage to come to their master with this sort of information.”

I flinched at the words “other slaves,” but I refused to let him upset me. If that was all he saw me as, regardless of the service I had provided for him and his daughter, so be it. “Perhaps none of the
other slaves
—” and I made sure I gave the words extra emphasis, even as I scowled at him— “has sworn an oath to protect others from harm. But I have. I could not let this go on, once I had learned of it.”

Whatever else he was, Lord Shaine was not stupid. He gave me a sharp look, then said, “And what would you propose that I do about it?”

“You should dismiss him. Immediately.”

At that Lord Shaine gave a short, humorless laugh and stood, pushing his chair away from the desk with an abrupt, angry gesture. “You make it sound so simple.”

“It is.”

He took a step toward me, then another. Although I would have liked nothing better than to move away from him as he came closer, I stood my ground, lifting my chin as I did so. Whatever else, I would not let him see me cowed.
 

Stopping a few feet away, Lord Shaine said, “Tell me, Mistress Merys, did you notice the preparations in the hall downstairs?”

Wondering what he was driving at, I replied, “I did.”

“It so happens that tonight three of the neighboring lords and their families are dining here. Families, I might add, that include sons who are of an age to marry my daughter. Do you see?”

Indeed I did, and I began to comprehend his predicament. Probably he had not mentioned it to Auren because of her tendency to become over-excited by things. Although I knew little of managing a great house such as his, I did know that a steward was certainly necessary to coordinate such an important event. Still, as much trouble as it would cause, Dorus needed to go.

“I understand, my lord. But do you not think that for one evening Merime and Ourrel might manage things between them?”

Scowling, he replied, “And after that, what? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a competent steward? Dorus has been with my family for more than twenty years. And I’m supposed to dismiss him based on hearsay from two of my slaves?”

“
I am not your slave!
” The words tore themselves from me before I even knew I was going to say them. Aghast, I looked away from him. What he would do in response to such effrontery I could only imagine. He would certainly be in his rights to strike me, or order me whipped for that kind of insolence.

He did neither. Instead, he watched me narrowly, and asked, “Were you not sold in the markets of Myalme? Did my steward not bring you here as my property?”

“I will admit that I was kidnapped from Aunde, in my homeland,” I retorted. “And money exchanged hands for my person. So by your barbaric laws, perhaps that makes me a slave. But I was not born a slave, and I still do not think of myself as one. I doubt I ever will.”

“Think what you like,” he said. “But that doesn’t change your status here in Seldd.”

“As you say,
my lord
.” Even as I said the words, I was surprised by my boldness. I had no idea why this streak of defiance had suddenly chosen to manifest itself, save that I suddenly realized how weary I was of knowing I was not free to leave this place whenever I chose, or that people such as Raifal and myself had no rights under Selddish law. It had been foolish for me to try to save him. There was nothing I could do for either of us.
 

“And if I dismiss Dorus, what then?” Lord Shaine asked suddenly, startling me. “Would you offer to assist Merime and Ourrel? Do you know anything of how a great house is run?”

I stared at him for moment, hardly comprehending what it was he had just suggested. Then I said, “I’m afraid I do not, my lord. But I am a quick learner.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” He regarded me for a moment, and I found myself wondering exactly how it was he had broken his nose. Certainly if I had had the task of setting it, I would have done a much better job. But oddly enough, I found that I liked its off-center appearance. It gave his face a character I found interesting.
 

 
“You won’t regret this, my lord,” I said then, for I could see the concern begin to creep over his features.

“Oh, I think I will regret it a good deal, Merys.”
 

It was the first time I had ever heard him call me by my given name without the title of “Mistress” preceding it. I decided to take the new informality as a good sign.

“However,” he went on, “neither will I condone that sort of behavior in my house. There have been…rumors…over the years, but no one ever had the courage to accuse him directly.”

“You knew?” I asked, feeling the anger begin to rise in me once again.

“I said there were rumors. Nothing definite, nothing brought directly to my attention. I do nothing without good reason, Merys. That includes dismissing a long-time servitor without evidence or cause.”

“But you will do it now,” I said, my tone firm, unquestioning.

“But I will do it now.” He looked away from me then, as he watched the flames in the hearth leap for a space. “For some odd reason, I trust you. I don’t believe that you would have come to me with this if you hadn’t been certain.”

“Oh, I was certain,” I said, and shivered a bit. Unfortunately, I had seen this sort of thing before, although the last time was at the household of a baron in my own kingdom, and the victim a girl barely twelve years old. The horror of that situation had compounded itself when the girl found herself pregnant and tried to get rid of the child herself. I had been able to keep her from bleeding to death, but I knew that she would never bear another child. Whether that was a blessing or not, I would never know. As soon as she was well, the girl had been sent on to another household, and the entire scandal hushed up. The situation had sickened me, as it would have anyone with the slightest sensibilities, but since the girl had been removed from her predator, there had been very little else I could do.
 

But seeing it here once again, and with no chance of saving Raifal but ridding Lord Shaine’s household of Dorus, I had known what must be done. That Lord Shaine was man enough to remedy the situation without blaming the boy or even me for being the bearer of bad news spoke volumes about who he was, and he was raised in my estimation all the more for doing so.
 

His keen eyes had apparently caught my shudder, for he asked, his tone gentler this time, “You have seen this sort of thing before?”

“Yes, my lord. A girl of twelve. She conceived a child and tried to rid herself of it. She almost died.”

“Thank the gods at least we did not have that to contend with here,” he said, and his tone sounded very weary. Then he went on, “It appears we have much to do. Send Ourrel to me. I will have him fetch Dorus. Probably it is better that he know as little of your role in this as possible.”

“Thank you, my lord,” I replied, thinking of Dorus’ narrow dark eyes and the evil glance he had given Elissa and me when he had first seen us in Myalme. At the time I had worried merely that he had unwholesome designs on either or the both of us. Now I thought perhaps it was a dislike of the female sex that had made him look upon us so unfavorably.
 

“And after you have done that, see if you can round up my daughter and that decorative but not very useful lady’s maid you suggested for her.” His eyes caught mine, and this time his expression was rueful and a bit amused. “We have a feast to prepare for.”

 
“Yes, my lord,” I said, with a completely uncharacteristic meekness. Then I gave him a small curtsey and fled the chamber, all too aware of his keen gaze following me as I left the room. Still, I felt triumphant as I descended the stairs in search of Ourrel. If nothing else, at least this was one matter in which I had persuaded Lord Shaine to see my side. Perhaps, in time, I could make him see how wrong my presence here was, and how it would be better for him to free me.
 

Now if only I could push away the pang of sadness that thought caused, for in my tenure here, I had grown attached to so many of them: Auren and Elissa, Merime, even the overly correct Ourrel and the enigmatic Lord Shaine. I guessed it was simply because I had spent more time here than almost any other location since the time I’d left the training house of the Order to make my way in the world. It was normal that I should form such attachments…which was why we were told never to stay more than a month or so in each place. Otherwise, we would feel overly responsible for our charges, and not have the strength of will to move on to wherever we were needed.
 

At least, that was what I told myself.

Chapter Five

I never knew exactly what transpired between Dorus and Lord Shaine. But within an hour of my own conversation with his lordship, the steward had left the castle, taking with him a good riding horse from the stables and leaving behind a swirl of rumors and speculation. For my own part, I was merely glad that the furor of preparations for the evening’s festivities kept me safely away so there would be no possibility of crossing paths with the villain.

Merime had the kitchens well enough in hand, and Ourrel stepped in to oversee the final decoration of the hall, but Elissa was definitely over-matched by the strong-willed Auren, who was none too happy to learn at such a late date that her future husband might be arriving in the next few hours.

“What was Father thinking?” she fumed, leaning on her crutch as she watched Elissa pull a variety of gowns from the wardrobe. “Why now? Look at me!”

I assumed she meant the crutch, which she still needed to help her get up the stairs or over the rougher patches in the gardens. Indoors she could do well enough without it, but I feared pointing out that fact would not meet with a particularly favorable reception at the moment.

“Perhaps he was trying to be accommodating to the other families,” I suggested. “There could be snow any day now.”

“How do you know?” she asked scornfully. “Can you smell it?”

In fact, I almost could. Although I was hundreds of miles from my own homeland, I had done enough outdoor traveling through all seasons to feel the change in the air, to sense the shift in wind currents—indeed, Auren’s deprecating words notwithstanding—to smell the increasing dampness in the atmosphere.
 

“What about this one?” Elissa asked, a note of desperation in her voice. She held up a lovely high-waisted gown of deep blue, its neckline and detachable sleeves covered in a twining pattern of leaves and flowers.

“Blue makes me look sick,” Auren replied, her scowl deepening.

I wondered why she had the dress at all, if she disliked the color so much, but now was not the time for argument. Giving a quick glance at the time-marker candle that burned steadily on the girl’s dresser, I saw we had little more than an hour to get her ready by the time Lord Shaine had specified.
 

With a small shake of my head, I stepped past Elissa and began taking inventory of the contents of the wardrobe. Auren actually owned a fairly impressive collection of gowns for a girl her age, although I would never have known that from the way she dressed on a daily basis. I wondered at the variety, then speculated perhaps her father had begun amassing clothing as part of her dowry.
 

At any rate, I found a fine damask gown in a warm dark green that would do very well with the girl’s honey-colored hair and brown eyes. Lifting it out of the wardrobe, I said, “This one is lovely.”

I could tell from the mulish look in Auren’s eyes that she wished to contradict me, but instead she gave an exaggerated sigh and said, “Oh, very well.”

Elissa and I exchanged a relieved glance, and I handed the gown to the girl, who dropped it over Auren’s head and then set about tightening the laces that closed it up the back. The sleeves were separate and tied on with a complicated system of ribbons that required my assistance. I recalled wearing such things in my father’s home before I took up the life of a traveling physician, but Elissa, straight from a farm in Aunde, had little experience with such fripperies.
 

With that task accomplished, I was able to sit back and watch as Elissa went on to dress Auren’s hair in a complicated series of braids and coils, all of which she accented with a few brass and cabochon garnet hair combs. When she was done, Auren looked quite elegant and certainly some years older than the fourteen she possessed.

The effect was marred somewhat by the limping steps she took once she arose from her seat, but I hoped Lord Shaine would have the good sense to leave dancing off the evening’s entertainments and allow Auren to remain seated. At least that way her prospective suitors would be able to admire her pretty face without the distraction of the limp.

We had agreed that I should escort Auren down to the hall, as at least I had the experience of attending social functions such as this one and could be counted on not to make too many missteps. Also, since I had been brought here with my luggage intact, I actually had a decent gown to wear. It was something I carried with me for the odd cases where I had to attend the wealthy or the titled and my usual brown linen working gown simply wouldn’t suit.

Adjusting my steps to Auren’s halting ones, I followed her down the stairs. Custom required the lord of the hall to greet his visitors separately, and that was the reason I escorted the girl now, and not her father. As we drew closer, I could hear the sounds of laughter and voices raised in greeting. They echoed in the large chamber, and the contrast with its usual calm was startling. Normally the meals held there were quiet ones; Lord Shaine had no other family besides Auren that I knew of, and it was only in the past few weeks that she had been fit enough to join her father there. Some other members of the household, such as the more senior men-at-arms, took their evening meal in the great hall as well, but still the tone was sedate, especially compared to some of the more boisterous estates I had visited over the years.