Days of Air and Darkness - Katharine Kerr [23]
“Not truly a scandal, my lady, because you see, my father was a silver dagger, too. I had no position or anything to lose.”
“Really? How fascinating! You must tell me all about it.”
Although Jill normally parried such questions, that night she chattered about true love in general and Rhodry in particular until she could see she’d won the lady’s confidence—although she avoided telling her why Rhodry was riding the long road. At that point, she could work the talk round to Tieryn Dwaen’s current troubles.
“My heart absolutely goes out to Slaecca, losing her husband to that drunken little—well, in a drunken little brawl,” Ganydda said. “And now to have her son threatened is really too much to bear. I pray that things won’t come to open war.”
“It must be sad for Lord Beryn’s wife, too, the poor lady, seeing her husband put himself in danger after losing her only son.”
“Well, perhaps it would distress her.” Ice formed in Ganydda’s voice. “One must always think the best thoughts one can about people, mustn’t one? But then, there’s no doubt that Mallona’s had a hard enough life. My dear Jill, wait until you see Beryn puffing and snorting at my husband’s court, and he’s a good bit older than her, you know.”
“Truly? Lady Slaecca never mentioned that.”
“She’s so charitable, isn’t she? But he is, and I’ve often wondered why she only had that one pregnancy, if you take my meaning.”
Jill smiled and arched one eyebrow.
“Oh dear, what if worst comes to worst?” Ganydda went on with a certain relish. “I wonder what poor dear Mallona will do. I can’t see her fitting into the temple life, I just simply can’t.”
“Doesn’t she have a brother to go back to, my lady? The Lady Ylaena mentioned one.”
“Um, well, a brother of a sort. Let me see, what did happen to him? He was the youngest son of a poor clan, you see, and so he ended up living just like a commoner, and his mother was so upset. He received a small inheritance from an uncle, and he became a merchant—can you imagine it—some said he was actually running a brothel down in Cerrmor, but I never believed it for a minute. People will say the nastiest things sometimes.”
“But what about all her other brothers, then?”
“Well, you see, when this Graelyn—I believe that was his name—betrayed the honor of his blood, Mallona was the only one who spoke on his side, and she and her kin no longer speak, for all that it’s been ten years now. I think her father arranged the match with Beryn as revenge of a sort, although I shouldn’t say that. I mean, he might have thought it a perfectly good match. After all, you can’t tell one old man that another doesn’t have much life left, if you take my meaning.”
When Jill managed to make her escape from the lady’s side, she headed upstairs to Tieryn Dwaen’s chamber. On her way, she met a serving lass carrying a tray with a silver flagon and goblets upon it.
“Here, Silver Dagger,” she called out. “You’re with the tieryn’s party, aren’t you?”
“I am. Shall I save you a few steps and carry that up?”
“Would you? Some fellow from his grace’s retinue handed it to me and said to deliver it, but with all these guests, I’ve got so much work to do.”
“Of course you do. Rude of him.”
Dwaen, Cadlew, and Rhodry were all sitting in the reception chamber of the suite, the two lords in chairs, Rhodry on the floor by the door. When she brought the mead in, Cadlew rose with a small bow and took the tray from her.
“Splendid idea, Jill. We found a water jug in one bedchamber, but that won’t do a man any good.”
“Well, my lord, I’m afraid you don’t dare drink this mead. I’ve got the feeling it’s been poisoned.”
Her feeling was confirmed when Rhodry dipped the corner of a rag in the mead, tasted a scant drop of it, and immediately washed his mouth out with the aforementioned water.
“Crude,” he remarked. “Cursed crude. No one in their right mind would have drunk more than one sip of this.”
“Ah, by the great hairy balls