Days of Air and Darkness - Katharine Kerr [68]
“Since my lord has so generously fed and sheltered me,” Mallona said. “Let me beg only for his justice.”
“That you shall have, I swear it. The charges against you are grave: murdering your lover, the merchant Bavydd, up in Gwaentaer, after your plot to murder the tieryn here came to naught.”
Mallona tossed up her head like a startled horse and turned slightly to look down the table, her eyes pausing long on Dwaen, on Jill, and then reaching Sevinna with such a surge of hatred that Sevinna had to summon all her will to speak.
“My Lord Elyc? She also made false claims against Jill, this silver dagger, that caused her to be arrested and mistreated by your own equerry, Lord Cenwyc.”
Elyc glanced around the hall, saw Cenwyc standing ready by the hearth, and beckoned him over. Cenwyc knelt at his lord’s side.
“The Lady Sevinna speaks the truth, my lord. A small charge, compared to these others, but it speaks of a Woman trying to elude justice.”
“I see.”
Cenwyc rose, bowed, and stepped back out of the way. In her chair, Lady Davylla went pale, her hands tightening on the folds of her dress. The girls huddled closer to her.
“Very well,” Mallona said. “I see that I have no choice but the truth. I am Lady Mallona, wife to Lord Beryn, and truly, I did murder the man who seduced me and forced me to plot against my own lawful husband. Ah, ye gods and goddesses, I call you witness on my side! How could I say Bavydd nay, when he was threatening to tell my husband of my infidelity and have me cast onto the roads if I didn’t plot with him?” Her voice cracked, a little tremor of tears. “I grew to hate him, grew to bitterly regret the day I ever succumbed to his lying flatteries and kisses.” Suddenly she flung herself down by Elyc and clasped his knees. “I know His Grace can never forgive, but perhaps he can understand how lonely a woman grows, shut up with a coarse man who cares only for his hunting and his feuds. Bavydd was like a snake. He wormed his way into my life by bringing me news of my poor outcast brother, and what woman doesn’t want to have news of her own true kin?” Tears welled. “Bavydd was so kind at first, but then, when I found out what sort of man he was, it was too late.”
It was so beautifully done that at first Sevinna was inclined to believe her. Elyc’s expression softened, then turned puzzled as Mallona stared straight into his eyes.
“Then I found out that Bavydd was making trouble between my lord and his liege, Coryc. I felt like a fish in a net, Your Grace, flopping and flopping. And my son.” Her voice broke again. “My only son had just died, and I was distraught. All I could think of was ridding myself of the man who’d come upon me like a curse. And so I killed him. And then there was nothing left to me but flight.” She paused to let tears roll down her cheeks. “Ah, by the gods, my lord! I know I must pay for this murder, but I beg you, don’t let me hang. Let me go to a Moon Temple, where I can spend the rest of a miserable life tending the Goddess’s garden and praying to her for forgiveness. That’s all I ever ask of you.”
Elyc bent down and reached for her hands. Before he could touch them, Rhodry swung clear of the bench and strode to his side.
“My Lord Elyc! This sad story seems to ache your heart, but there are a few small things the lady has omitted. She would have killed Tieryn Dwaen if she could have. And to escape your justice, she would have let my Jill’s hands be cut off in the public marketplace, leaving her maimed for life.”
With a shriek of rage, Mallona bounded to her feet and swung at Rhodry, a hard claw with her hails. He dodged, grabbed her wrist, and swung her round, twisting her arm behind her back until she went limp. Lady Davylla began to cry, a soft whimper under her breath. Babryan leaned back against the lady’s knee, so pale that it seemed she would faint.
“Your Grace?” Rhodry said. “This lady