Sharon Green - Brat 02, page 24
“Where did Fallis and that last guardsman go?” Derand asked after looking around. “I hope the guardsman didn’t run off thinking he was about to be arrested. I need him to find a decent guard force? “
“There’s Fallis, my king,” Listan answered, pointing to the open doorway. “And he seems to have another prisoner.”
Even as Listan spoke, Fallis came back through the doorway dragging an unconscious man by the collar of his tunic. The prisoner wasn’t Roblen, though, but before Derand could ask about the man his question was answered. Roblen followed Fallis slowly, his arm around a girl wrapped in a blanket. The girl was trembling as she got as close to Roblen as she could, but she wasn’t crying.
“We were able to stop him before he did more than force her to take her clothes off,” Roblen said when he saw Derand’s eyes on him and the girl. “I don’t know who you are, sir, but if you’ll have some of your men take this little girl home I’ll be able to surrender.”
“You’re ready to surrender, but only now, after you saved an innocent girl,” Derand said while most of his men glanced at Roblen with approval. “Even if I hadn’t already made up my mind, this would settle the matter. Instead of surrendering, I’d rather you volunteered to recruit more men like yourself for the guard force. The ones who have had the job until now won’t be available after today.”
Roblen looked so stunned that many of the fighters around him laughed, but the laughter was another gesture of approval. Fallis had turned over his unconscious prisoner to the fighters who were chaining up the rest, and now he showed his own smile.
“Your Majesty, as soon as the men started to enter, that Roblen gestured to me and began to run for that door,” Fallis said in a soft voice. “There’s an area with a cot near a bunch of cells back there, and when I got through the door I found Roblen beating the hell out of that uniformed garbage. The garbage had made the girl strip naked, and all her clothes were cut to ribbons and scattered around. I know that scum was going to rape the girl, but happily he decided to enjoy her terror for a while first.”
“And that let us keep it from happening,” Derand said with a nod of approval. “Or, to be more accurate, it let Roblen keep it from happening. If the other three men you and your group found for us are half this good, Fallis, we should have no trouble at all building a guard force that will shine.”
“Two of the three should be almost as good,” Fallis said with a judicious nod. “The third ? isn’t what can be considered leadership material, but he still keeps himself away from the others and tries to do a decent job. It might be a good idea to reward those four, my king, to show what an honest man can earn by staying honest.”
“That’s a very good idea, so Listan, please see to it,” Derand said. “Right now I’ve got to get back to the palace to join my guests for lunch. If you like, Listan, you can have the men drag this dross along in chains. It won’t hurt for the people to see that they don’t have to be more afraid of the guard than of the thieves preying on them.”
“I’ll see to it, my king,” Listan said, who had already signaled to some of the fighters. “Your escort back to the palace is ready to leave.”
Derand stopped himself from telling Listan that he didn’t need an escort, and simply led the fighters outside and back to the horses. He didn’t enjoy having what amounted to baby-sitters, but until he found out who his enemy was it would be stupid to take chances. And when the first of the guardsmen were dragged out in chains, the cheers coming from the watching people lightened Derand’s mood to the point where he reached the horses almost whistling.
Riding back to the palace didn’t take long, and Derand reached the small dining room to discover that he was right on time for lunch. He stepped inside - and the smile died on his face when he saw what was going on. His parents and Seea’s were ? more clumped together than standing with each other, an odd arrangement that suggested something other than a pleasant time. The servants in the room wore the perfectly blank expressions that said they’d been witnesses to a scene that they were going to pretend had never happened - at least while they remained in the room. Gardal hovered around the clump of their parents as though uncertain about what to do, but when he saw Derand he turned and quickly strode over.
“Well, I think I can safely say that you’ve done it now,” Gardal growled without preamble, not even a hint of friendliness to be seen in his expression. “I’d ask if you were ever going to learn what my sister is like, but the question doesn’t seem to have relevance any longer.”
“What are you talking about?” Derand demanded despite the fact that deep inside he had a really terrible feeling? “Does this ? strangeness have something to do with Seea?”
“This ? strangeness, as you put it, has everything to do with Elissia,” Gardal responded, his lowering stare accusing. “You did something to her to force her into apologizing to our parents, and it’s too bad you didn’t get to hear that apology.”
“Don’t tell me she just added to the insult she gave yesterday,” Derand groaned out, rubbing his eyes with one hand. “I don’t believe - “
“Oh, don’t worry, she didn’t say anything that was an insult,” Gardal returned, still really angry. “What she did was apologize, for not being the daughter our parents would have preferred, for being a disappointment to everyone in reach and hearing, and even for being born in the first place. She apologized for reaching the point of actually hating our parents for having married her to a monster, and she apologized for having decided never to speak to or see any of us again. After that she left without letting any of us stop her, and in a little while what she said will be all over the palace. If complete chaos is what you wanted to accomplish, allow me to congratulate you. You succeeded.”
Derand kept his eyes closed as his insides turned over, knowing perfectly well that it wasn’t chaos that Seea had caused. Her strategy had accomplished two things, both at the same time: her parents and brother would no longer be targets even if they’d been of interest to assassins before now, and Derand had been thrown to the wolves. That “blissfully happy” charade they were supposed to be in the midst of had been completely destroyed, right along with the reason for his vassal kings to stay when they arrived.
If they all turned around and left before he found out which of them was actively after his blood, well, that was just too bad?
“You used to take my advice a bit better than this,” another voice put in, and Derand opened his eyes to see that his father had joined him and Gardal. “That girl was so chokingly furious and bitter when she spoke to us that I’m surprised she was able to utter a word. Ostrin almost collapsed from guilt and grief, and Liminia actually forgot to be delicate. Gardal here went so pale I thought he would pass out, your mother almost had hysterics for the first time in her life, and I - I had some thoughts about my son and liege that I won’t repeat at the moment. I just hope you’ll live to regret your mistake.”
Derand felt a very strong urge to defend his actions with Seea, to claim that he’d simply punished her for doing something wrong. What stopped him was the realization that he’d been warned more than once about getting in the middle of Seea’s relationship with her parents, but had ignored what he’d been told and instead had tried to impose his opinions in place of hers. And worst was that he hadn’t even tried to talk to her first, not really?
“Yes, I noticed that I’ve been left hanging in the wind,” Derand said to his father after taking a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter whether or not she had reason to do it, the fact remains that it’s done.
Obviously it’s not a good idea to get on the wrong side of a master strategist no matter who that strategist is. I’d better go and talk to her.”
“I’d be willing to bet that she’s going to hold you to that promise you made her,” Gardal said, now looking more worried than angry. “Do you have any idea where she intends to go?”
Derand shook his head before walking away, having noticed the same change in his father’s expression.
They’d all realized that if Seea made up her mind to leave the way she had in Ramsond? Instead of thinking about that, Derand hurried.
Derand found a group of maids leaving the apartment when he reached it, which hopefully meant that Seea was still inside. He crossed the sitting room quickly and entered the bedchamber, then stopped with his hand still on the door. The first thing he saw was the dagger in the sheath he’d given Seea sitting on a table only a few steps away. The second was Seea herself, now wearing breeches and a tunic, seated in a chair across the room sipping tea. Her gaze rested on him where he stood, but she didn’t say a word.
That meant the first move was up to him?
“All right, I was wrong to mix into something that was only tangentially my business,” he found himself blurting as he walked closer to her. “The only excuse I have is that I was thinking about my own parents, and now things have been made worse rather than better between you and your family. I made you apologize, and now I’m making myself do the same. I’ll even speak to your parents if you like? “
Derand let his words trail off, hoping she would take him up on his offer, but no such luck.
“I want something in writing to show that you’ve put the marriage aside,” she said, giving him the chance to notice that she looked only in his general direction, not really at him. “And as quickly as possible, please. I’d like to be on my way well before dark.”
“On your way to where?” Derand couldn’t help asking as his heart began to curl up and die. “Where do you expect to go all alone?”
“That information comes under the heading of my own personal business,” she responded, nothing of actual inflection in her voice. “Since I’m not needed around here any longer, I’m free to go wherever I please.”
Not needed here any longer, she’d said, and the words rang in Derand’s head like a death bell tolling his coming end. He’d pushed her one time too many and obviously too far, and now she was holding him to his word. She wasn’t running off secretly the way she had once before, she was demanding what she’d been promised and then would leave with dignity.
And it was all his fault, his fault, his fault?
Chapter 16
Elissia was still furious when she left the dining room, so furious that she had no trouble ignoring the calls of Gardal and King Almis. They wanted her to wait so they could “talk to” her, but what they really wanted was to talk at her. Well, she’d had enough of people telling her what to do. From now on the only one she would be listening to was herself.
And that would be done as far away from Holdisond - and its king - as she could get. Every time she thought that the man was finally seeing her as someone who had the right to her own opinions and decisions, he did something to prove just the opposite. No matter how much freedom he seemed to be giving her, it was only enough freedom to do something he wanted done. In all other respects she was nothing but his tool, his possession, his slave, a female.
The stab of pain Elissia felt in her chest at that thought was absolutely ridiculous, but that didn’t stop it from hurting terribly. She’d thought that knowing he didn’t love her would be enough for her to enjoy her time with him, but she’d been lying to herself. She hated the monster for treating her like a slave, but even that couldn’t kill the mindless love she felt. She loved a man who cared nothing about her or her feelings, and being completely disgusted with herself made no difference. If she had even half the intelligence she claimed she did, she would have let that assassin put a final end to her torment.
But she’d stupidly defended her life, and now was paying for that stupidity. It was fairly obvious that she’d been hoping for a change in the monster, a fantasy that would include their living happily ever after, but it was time to grow up and admit that the fantasy would never come true. Instead of waiting for something that wasn’t going to happen, she would take to the road and let reality catch up. No matter what that ended up being?
Getting back to the apartment didn’t take long, and the girls were there to help her out of the gown just as they’d been told to be. Her mood was too obvious for them to try any smalltalk, so she was into the breeches, tunic, and short boots she’d picked out in no time. She’d taken off the dagger to dress in the breeches, and wasn’t foolish enough to put it back on. Instead she put the weapon on a table near the door, then turned her back on it in the same way she would soon turn her back on everything else around her.
A pitcher of tea and cups had been delivered while she was away, so Elissia poured herself a cup and sat down to drink it while the girls put away the clothing she’d taken off. Once the girls were done they curtsied and left, and now there was nothing for Elissia to do but wait for the monster to arrive. It would take a bit of time to get the last thing she would ever ask of him, and during that time she would pack the few things she meant to take with her.
Only one sip later Elissia was surprised to see the monster entering the room. He must really be in a hurry to tell her how much he disapproved of her actions again, but instead of striding arrogantly toward her the way he usually did, he stopped in the doorway with his hand still on the door.
“All right, I was wrong to mix into something that was only tangentially my business,” he said suddenly, then left the doorway to walk slowly toward her. “The only excuse I have is that I was thinking about my own parents, and now things have been made worse rather than better between you and your family. I made you apologize, and now I’m making myself do the same. I’ll even speak to your parents if you like
? “
Hearing such strange words from the monster put Elissia slightly off balance, but then common sense came to her rescue. He’d noticed that his reason for having the other kings stay as guests had disappeared, and now was trying to turn things around again. Well, that was too bad about him because it wasn’t going to happen.
“I want something in writing to show that you’ve put the marriage aside,” she said, completely ignoring his latest attempt to manipulate her. “And as quickly as possible, please. I’d like to be on my way well before dark.”
“On your way to where?” the monster asked after a definite hesitation, his voice sounding odd. “Where do you expect to go all alone?”
“That information comes under the heading of my own personal business,” she responded, firmly refusing to let herself believe that he actually cared. “Since I’m not needed around here any longer, I’m free to go wherever I please.”
A very soft sound came, almost like an involuntary gasp of pain, making Elissia look at the monster without thinking. She’d been trying to avoid looking at him directly, having no interest in adding to her own pain, and what she saw almost made her gasp in shock. Tears were running down the man’s face, and he didn’t even seem to be aware of them.
“I want to refuse but I can’t,” he said in a very soft and ragged voice, and it was clear that now he looked at something other than her. “I thought I could be the kind of husband you need and deserve, but I’m too much of an idiot to do the thing right. There’s paper and ink in the desk in the sitting room. You’ll have your something in writing in just a couple of minutes.”
Elissia watched him turn and walk out of the room without understanding what had just happened. He’d admitted that he didn’t love her, so why would he be crying over having failed at something that he hadn’t been seriously trying to do? The question plagued her in a very odd way, and then another question displaced the first and made the situation a good deal worse.
Could he possibly have been lying about not loving me? she found herself asking silently. If he’d continued to insist that he did love me I probably would have turned and run. The only thing that made me agree to go along with his plan - to stay with him - was to be told something I could believe. But tears tell their own story, especially from a man like him. He didn’t even cry when they were torturing him?
It was impossible for Elissia to keep from closing her eyes, but the darkness wasn’t as soothing as she usually found it. It was perfectly plausible for the man to lie about not loving her, to pretend that they were just going through the motions of being happy for the sake of the plan. His own ability in strategy and tactics couldn’t be denied, but he couldn’t have seriously hoped to accomplish anything. He never stopped to think about what he was doing when he dealt with her, and that blind spot ruined every good intention he might have had. Elissia had thought that love was the most important point between them, but obviously she’d been wrong?
Elissia opened her eyes after a few minutes of being alone with her bleak thoughts, and a moment later Derand came back through the doorway. All evidence of his tears was gone, and he held a piece of paper in one hand.
“All signed and sealed,” he said, gesturing with the piece of paper. “Give it another minute or two to dry, and then you can put it wherever you like.”
Elissia got up and took the paper, read it to be sure she was really being given her freedom, then looked up at the man who had kept his word.
“It would never have worked between us,” she said, hearing the heavy weariness behind her words. “You’re part of this world of ours, raised to live as other men live, but I can’t live the way other women do. If it’s any comfort to you, the failure is mine rather than yours.”
“When you find failure you can’t fix or change, it doesn’t really matter whose fault it is,” he said, his dark gaze clinging to her face. “A capable man would have been able to give you what you need, to make you feel loved and wanted instead of at odds with the world. I wish I’d given my word to provide you with complete understanding rather than freedom. If I had, this might have worked out differently.”
“Since complete understanding would mean letting me do things my own way without interference, you’d never have been able to keep that word.” Elissia smiled faintly at the idea even as she shook her head.
