Days of Air and Darkness - Katharine Kerr [59]
“Ask the Lady Sevinna if you don’t believe me,” Jill said. “She’ll speak for me.”
“She already has. But it’s easy to fool a young lass, and I’m not listening to her, no matter how much she carries on. My lord’s not in the dun. When he returns, you can tell your fine tale to him.”
With a snap of his fingers, Cenwyc summoned the guards, who marched Jill out of the broch and across the ward. By the wall was a stone structure much like the one at Coryc’s dun: a small prison for town beggars and any riffraff awaiting the gwerbret’s judgment. They shoved her into a cell and barred and bolted the door behind them.
Restlessly, Jill paced round the space, about eight feet by five, the floor covered with reeking straw, the odor as thick as the flies come to sample it. From the one barred window, she could see the rise of the stone wall and nothing more. You underestimated our dear Mallona, didn’t you? Jill thought, and now you’re going to pay for it. She sat down on the cleanest part of the straw and hoped that Rhodry and Dwaen rode in before Mallona was able to poison her.
“Now, Sevvi dear, I’m as disappointed as you are,” Davylla said. “But it was foolish of us to trust someone like that, and here we are.”
“My lady, please! I know it couldn’t be Jill who took that jewelry, I just know it.”
“So sweet of you to be loyal. But so misplaced. Oh, how awful! Here it’s spoiled your lovely visit. Let’s not talk about it anymore.”
Since she was a guest, Sevinna allowed the subject to be changed, but guest or not, she was a tieryn’s daughter and used to having her own way in women’s matters. As soon as she could, she slipped away from the other women and went down to the ward, where she bribed a page to show her the prison house. At the door, a beefy guard made her a bow. Sevinna set her hands on her hips and glared at him.
“I want to speak with Jill, the woman you stupidly think is a thief.”
“Now here, my lady, you don’t truly want to do that.”
“If I didn’t want to do it, I wouldn’t be standing here telling you I did. Now listen, my man, I don’t care to be kept waiting.”
The guard chewed on the edge of his mustache and looked this way and that.
“If you’re rude to me much longer,” Sevinna snarled, “I shall go straight to Lord Cenwyc.”
“Not to be rude, my lady, honestlike, but you don’t want to go in there. It stinks, it does.”
“Then is there a window in the miserable cell where you’ve put her? Take me round so I can speak through that.”
This compromise won the day. With a melancholy sigh, the guard walked Sevinna round the prison house and pointed to a small window. By standing on tiptoe, Sevinna could just see in.
“Jill!” Sevinna said. “Oh, by the gods, this is awful.”
Jill jumped up and ran to the window.
“I didn’t steal anything.”
“Of course you didn’t. That’s why I came to see you. What are we going to do? Where’s Rhodry?”
“Off on an errand, and I blasted well hope he gets here soon. He’ll be bringing a friend of ours with him, but I don’t dare tell you more about that. Here, where’s Lady Taurra? Does she know you’re doing this?”
“She doesn’t. Why does she want you arrested? I just know she’s behind this. She never mentioned losing the beastly brooch before today.”
Jill considered, rubbing the side of her face with the back of her hand.
“I don’t truly know why. Oh, Sevinna, this is so horrible! The only food they gave me was a bit of stale bread with green places on it. I just couldn’t eat it.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll smuggle you somewhat better myself.”
“Oh, would you?” Jill seemed on the edge of tears. “I’ll be ever so grateful. But please, be careful. I don’t want you to get into any trouble over me.”
“Not a soul will know, I swear it. It’s easy for us to get food any time we want, after all.”
“So it is.” Jill turned suddenly grim. “Which reminds me. Are you all well?”
“All of us but Baba. She’s gone all mopeylike. I don’t understand it.”
“Mopey?”
“Tired all the time, but she’s not ill. She’s been spending lots of time with Taurra, though.”
Jill clutched the bars tight