Fortune and Fate (Twelve Houses) (34 page)

Read Fortune and Fate (Twelve Houses) Online

Authors: Sharon Shinn

BOOK: Fortune and Fate (Twelve Houses)
6.38Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
 
 
“I shall know what to expect if I ever go visiting royalty at Ghosenhall!” he said. “I will creep around the castle most carefully so I don’t excite any alarm.”
 
 
“Actually, that’s likely to make everyone even more suspicious,” Cammon said. “But it’s not a good idea to jump through doors, either.”
 
 
Chelten turned his eyes toward Cammon, obviously identified him as the royal personage, and sank to his knees right there on the threshold. “I beg pardon for disrupting your meal and thank you most sincerely for offering me this chance to meet you,” he said. “I apologize also for arriving late, but I’m afraid that couldn’t be helped.”
 
 
“Well, we’re glad you’re here now,” Cammon said.
 
 
“Yes, do sit down,” Seton said. “You’re in time for cobbler.”
 
 
Chelten was on his feet again and scanning the table. “I’ve eaten, thank you, but I wanted to see—yes! Kirra! You
are
here! Let me give you a kiss!”
 
 
He dove headlong across the room with his arms outstretched. Donnal leapt to his feet, his skirts swirling around him, and Kirra loosed a squeak of horror. Oh, this was so funny Senneth almost let the situation unfold, but she wasn’t sure Donnal would be able to stay in character if he were mauled affectionately by a lord. So she sucked in a hard breath and clenched her fists, and every flame in the room went out.
 
 
In total darkness, there were sudden cries of bewilderment, the stamping sounds of heavy bodies in motion, the flit and rustle of clothing as guests shifted position. “Bring us a candle!” Seton was shouting, and in less than a minute, servants were hurrying back into the room with lit tapers. The fresh light revealed all of the Riders converging around Cammon, who was perfectly unharmed, while Chelten had again frozen in mid-stride. Kirra was still on her feet, but looking much more serene—because now she really
was
Kirra, while Donnal had taken her place as taster at Cammon’s side.
 
 
“What kind of madness has taken possession of your house, Seton?” Chelten demanded.
 
 
“It’s the southern wind,” the hostess said with a little moan. “It just blew out all the fires.”
 
 
Kirra laughed and flung her hands out. “Don’t be stopped by a few theatrics, Chelten,” she said, her ailment all of a sudden forgotten. “Come give me a kiss, after all.”
 
 
 
 
NATE
and Sabina were in the coach on the way home, so naturally the rest of them couldn’t discuss the hilarity of the dinner then; and once they pulled up at Gissel Plain, Kirra and Donnal melted away before Senneth had even disembarked. The Riders had already dispersed, and Nate drew Cammon aside, so Senneth was left to go upstairs all by herself, still trying to smother her grin.
 
 
When Tayse returned to their room a couple hours later, he locked the door, turned to her, and held out his arms. She collapsed against him, and felt him convulsed with silent laughter. She giggled, then she laughed, and then she was almost howling, clinging to his shoulders because she absolutely could not stand. They fell to the bed, still entwined, still helpless with laughter, and quite unable to speak.
 
 
Chapter 17
 
 
AT WEN’S INVITATION, KARRYN HAD BEGUN TO VISIT THE
training yard in the mornings to watch the guards work out. It had taken a little persuading, though Karryn’s reasons for hesitating had surprised Wen.
 
 
“Won’t they think it’s odd that I’m there?” Karryn had said. “I mean, don’t they think I’m just a silly girl?”
 
 
“They might think you’re a silly girl, but they’ve pledged their lives to protect you,” Wen replied. “If you give them reasons to like you, they’ll undergo that task with even more of a will. But they can’t get to like you if they don’t know you.”
 
 
Karryn looked doubtful. “What if they get to know me and they
don’t
like me? Then maybe they won’t fight so hard for me after all.”
 
 
That gave Wen pause—but, after all,
she
rather liked Karryn, and she was a difficult one to please. “Here’s the secret to winning the hearts of your soldiers. Feed them well, pay them on time, never put them in unnecessary danger, and treat them with respect. If you simply learn and remember their names, that will please them. Not throwing a tantrum in front of them will help a little,” she couldn’t help adding, “but it’s the respect and the money that will win them over first.”
 
 
Karryn showed her true maturity by sticking her tongue out, but Wen grinned in response. Her comment had been deliberately provocative. “Anyway, you’re an attractive young woman and most of them are men. They’re predisposed to like you. That’s the way of the world.”
 
 
So Karryn had come down to the training yard the very next morning, wearing a flattering dress and a shy smile. As Wen had expected, the younger men were particularly eager to introduce themselves and proclaim themselves happy to be in her service, but even the old veterans like Eggles seemed pleased to meet the serramarra. Wen was impressed at how quickly Karryn was able to memorize and parrot back their names—even more impressed when Karryn proved she had actually noticed some of them before.
 
 
“You were with us when we went out on Coren Bauler’s boat, weren’t you, Amie? And, Moss, I think you accompanied me to Lindy Coverroe’s house, didn’t you? Orson—oh, I’ve met you a couple of times already! And one of those times, you saw me in a temper. Let me apologize now.”
 
 
It was a charming performance, and it won over every single member of the guard. Even Wen, who hadn’t particularly needed convincing. Davey, the youngest guard, perched on the top rail of the fence the whole time she was present, making no attempt to hide his admiration. Wen practically had to shove him back into the yard.
 
 
“Why don’t you all show the serramarra some of the moves you’ve been practicing, so she understands why she pays you such a handsome salary?” Wen said. That sent them all scurrying off to find their shields and blades, and within minutes the yard was ringing with combat. Wen hadn’t even had to pair off partners.
 
 
Karryn was unprepared for the violence; her eyes were huge as she watched. “Aren’t they going to hurt each other?” she demanded, looking pale.
 
 
“They’ll get banged up a little,” Wen admitted. “Nothing like in a real battle, of course. Now and then someone’s careless, and you’ll get a serious injury. That’s why we mostly use practice swords.”
 
 
Karryn’s eyes were fixed on the scene. “Are they very good? They look so ferocious!”
 
 
Wen felt a strange and wholly unexpected surge of pride.
I picked them. I trained them. These are my troops.
“They’re getting better,” she said coolly. “Orson’s the best, probably always will be. Eggles is not quite his equal. You remember which ones they are?”
 
 
Karryn nodded and pointed, correctly identifying the men.
 
 
“So they’ll probably win their contests,” Wen went on. “But my goal is to get everyone as close to Eggles’s level as I can before I—” Her mouth snapped shut.
 
 
But Karryn, always wayward, always noticed what you most hoped she’d overlook. She transferred the attention of her big brown eyes to Wen’s face. “Before you leave? Is that what you were going to say?”
 
 
“Serra, you know I never planned to stay here long.”
 
 
“I thought you might change your mind.” Karryn watched her a moment. “Don’t I pay you enough, Willa? Show you enough respect?”
 
 
Wen felt her mouth form a bitter smile. “That’s what it takes to win over most soldiers. Things are a little different for me.”
 
 
“Right, you’re worried about saving everybody else’s life,” Karryn said. “But what if you leave and I get attacked and no one else is as good as you are and I
die
? Won’t you feel awful then?”
 
 
Wen stared at her. The little brat. Straight for the gut with an underhanded blow. She said stiffly, “Maybe by that time I’ll be so far away from Fortunalt that I won’t hear the news.”
 
 
“I’m a serramarra,” Karryn said. “Everyone would hear that news.”
 
 
Wen almost laughed. “You’re a mean and manipulative child, did anyone ever tell you that?”
 
 
“Jasper says it all the time.”
 
 
“I won’t leave until I can trust them to care for you, is that good enough? In return, you must treat them all well even after I’m gone. Today was a very good start.”
 
 
“I liked them,” Karryn said. “I was a little afraid of them, but now I’m not.”
 
 
“The head of your guard can turn out to be your very best friend. Many a marlord has a close relationship with his captain.”
 
 
Karryn was nodding. “Mayva Nocklyn’s captain helped her imprison her husband after it turned out he was poisoning Mayva’s father. She says the captain was the only man she could trust.”
 
 
Which made Wen wonder if she was encouraging
too
much intimacy between the soldiers and the serramarra. She wasn’t up to giving Karryn a lecture on keeping a proper place, though; she’d just have to deliver that to the men. “You see? So take care to build a strong relationship with your guard, and they will gladly fight for you when the situation arises.”
 
 
WHEN
she made her report to Jasper Paladar that night, Wen made a point of praising Karryn’s appearance at the training yard. It turned out he already knew of it.
 
 
“Yes, Karryn was quite full of Orson and Eggles and Davey and Moss,” he said. They were still meeting in the library, still sitting at the little table, but they had not started another cruxanno game, for which Wen thanked the gods. She had, at Jasper’s request, brought a deck of cards, but for the past three nights they had not bothered to play. They merely talked. Of course, none of these recent visits had lasted very long, either, and that made Wen a little sorry. She liked hearing Jasper Paladar’s views of the world. “They say the queen knows every Rider by name,” he continued. “No reason a serramarra cannot do the same.”
 
 
Who would have expected him to bring up Riders in any conversation? Wen waited till she’d gotten her breath back, and replied, “And they say a Rider can walk into any room at the palace and interrupt royalty no matter what the occasion. I don’t know that Karryn’s guards should ever feel quite so unrestricted, but her captain should certainly have leave to come to her no matter what the time or situation.”
 
 
He gave her a curious look, accompanied by a curious smile. “You feel free to come and go in the house, do you not, Willa?”
 
 
“If the danger were great enough, I would burst in on you in the bath or in the bed,” she replied, smiling back. “Any of you.”
 
 
He laughed. “Well, then, I shall take certain safeguards that neither eventuality will leave either of us embarrassed.”
 
 
That made her laugh in turn. “But I feel Karryn is safe enough behind the hedge,” Wen said. “If nothing else, I have instilled in your soldiers the importance of a constant patrol. I think they are actually disappointed that no one has tried to breach the wall while they were defending it. It is when she leaves the House that I expect danger to strike—if it ever does.”

Other books

2 Dog River Blues by Mike Jastrzebski
Redneck Tale - Naughty Shorts by Hennessee Andrews
Babel by Barry Maitland
Deviations: Submission by Owen, Chris, Payne, Jodi
Shopping for an Heir by Julia Kent