Kings of the North - Elizabeth Moon [127]
“Dinner in a quarter-glass, my lord,” Arian said, and shut the door.
“Time enough to wash up,” Kieri said. In the passage, he signed to Gavin, the youngest Squire. “This is Count Andressat, who will be staying here as long as he finds convenient, and then going to Tsaia, to Duke Verrakai. See that he has everything he needs. When he is ready, arrange an escort of honor to Verrakai’s estate. If he wishes to stay until I return, he is welcome to do that, too.”
Gavin guided Andressat toward one of the guest rooms; Kieri ran up the stairs to his own apartments, where he found Garris just strapping together a pack of his clothes. His riding clothes and all-weather cloak were laid out on the bed.
“I should come, too,” Garris said. “Whatever’s wrong at Halveric’s—”
“No,” Kieri said. “I need you here, at the center of my courier service. You’ll have to organize Andressat’s travel to Tsaia for me. There’s no one I trust more, Garris.”
“How bad is it?”
“I don’t know yet, but I know I must leave now, not tomorrow. If you don’t get regular reports from the river patrols, send a courier to demand them. Something’s going on there. I’d feel better if the king had replied to my letter about Elis.”
“Kieri—tell Aliam I love him too.”
“I will, Garris. Gods grant I’m there in time.”
He changed to riding clothes and went down to dinner. Andressat waited there, eyeing the dishes arriving on the table. “What is that?”
“An apple sweet the cook here makes; I don’t know what she calls it. My lord Count, pardon me, but I need to eat quickly.” Kieri nodded to the servants, and they withdrew. He stacked slices of meat on a thick wedge of bread and bit into it. Andressat put slices on his own plate and investigated the pots of sauces, smiling when he found the one with southern peppers.
Andressat was still eating when Kieri excused himself. He rode away in the wet night, raindrops sparkling in the torchlight. He knew Andressat would consider his abrupt departure discourteous, and wished he had not needed to ruffle the old man’s composure, but he had no choice, not if he was to arrive before Aliam died. The taig itself now urged him on, hinting at some danger beyond even Aliam’s death.
From Chaya to Halveric’s steading could be a long road or a short one, depending in part on the weather, forest rangers, the elves, and the forest taig itself. Kieri tried to infuse the taig with his own sense of urgency, and a way seemed to open, almost straight and wide enough for several to ride abreast. Still, it was days of riding, in the shifting autumn weather—that wet night was followed by a dry morning, with a cold wind blowing up behind them. The forest darkened their way even as some leaves blew before the wind. A day—another day—even with extra mounts they had to stop to rest the horses, and Kieri slept in snatches, but for the one night they spent at a farmstead deep in the forest, where the startled housewife insisted that the king must have their best bed.
Then they were coming out of the woods into the lower fields of Halveric Steading, and the familiar house and outbuildings were there before him. The same as always—but not. He could not define the difference. Kieri let his standard-bearer ride ahead of him, the royal standard snapping like a whip in a brisk wind.
Estil and Aliam both met him at the gate; Estil’s eyes thanked him silently, but Aliam scarcely smiled. He looked as Andressat had described: old, tired, sick, a man ready and willing to die. Kieri hugged them both, then said, “Invite your king indoors, man—we’re cold and hungry!”
Aliam winced; Estil said, “Come in! There’s sib still hot, and I’ll heat spiced cider.”
Kieri led the way; he knew every stone of that courtyard. He shed his cloak in the main passage and hung it on one of the hooks out of sheer habit. He could see, from the alert glances his Squires gave, that they, too, felt some menace here. Arian started to speak to him, but he shook his head; he had to speak to Aliam first.
“You don’t understand,” Aliam said. They had drunk sib and eaten a quick meal,