Master of Chains - Jess Lebow [78]
The king stood up from his throne, gripping his dagger tightly in one hand. "And I suppose you are that man."
Montauk bowed. "At your service, my lord."
"And what would you have me do with Baron Purdun?"
Montauk took another step forward.
The king put his hand up. "That will be quite far enough."
Montauk nodded. "My sincere pardon, my lord." He took a step back. "I would suggest you do to Lord Purdun what King Morkann did when faced with the same situation."
"Place him in irons?" The king scoffed. "You forget, Master Montauk, Baron Purdun is married to my sister. He is part of my own family."
"Yes, my lord, but the history books are full of stories about monarchs losing power because of the machinations of a greedy relative."
"Are you suggesting that Lord Purdun is after my throne?"
Montauk shook his head. "No, my lord. Only that to overlook the obvious simply because of family ties is a mistake made frequently by the dispossessed and the dead."
King Korox sat down on his throne, a look of deep contemplation on his face. He snapped his fingers. In an instant, a servant was at his side, placing a full goblet of wine in his empty hand.
"I will give this matter my utmost consideration, Master Montauk," said the king. "I thank you for bringing it to my attention."
Montauk bowed again. "Of course, my lord. I do what I can to serve my country and my king."
The king waved his hand, and with that, Montauk turned and exited the double doors, the concerned look on his face replaced with a wide smile.
* * * * *
Ryder sat in a ceilingless room-illuminated by starlight-high in the spiraling tower of Fairhaven. He let one leg dangle over the edge of a huge tub of hot water-an extravagance to say the least. The Broken Spear had boiled the water over the fire and carried it in buckets all the way up the stairs to this chamber. Giselle had ordered the water be drawn and had given Ryder the privilege of the first bath.
The tub itself was huge-easily as big as the public baths in Duhlnarim. When he was younger and had thought he could make a life somewhere off the farm, Ryder had taken a job in the nobles' quarter, cleaning up after the rich people. Scrubbing out the bath basins had been the last straw. The wealthy people of Duhlnarim were far filthier than even the pigs on the farm. He had decided, then and there, knee-deep in a dirty public bath, that he would far rather slop the filth of the animals than the filth of Duhlnarim's upper class.
His experience made him appreciate just how much work had gone into preparing the bath before him. Somehow, the absurdity of his location and the extra effort required to produce such a lavish thing made it feel that much better. He lowered himself fully into the water, closed his eyes, and took in a deep lungful of warm, humid air.
As the warm water relaxed his muscles, he let his thoughts drift back to Samira. She had always loved baths. She would certainly enjoy this one. When he got back, the first thing he was going to do was take a long bath with her.
He imagined her with him in the giant tub. He though back on baths he had taken with her before. The memories were so vivid he could almost feel her skin on his.
A hand caressed his shoulder and ran up the side of his neck. The sensation sent a warm tingle down his spine. It had been so long since he'd been with a woman, even his fantasies felt real.
The hand massaged the sore muscles on the back of his neck, and Ryder let out a sigh.
"If only," he said.
"Are you enjoying this?"
Ryder's eyes shot open. He spun around in the water.
On the floor beside the huge basin sat Giselle. She was wearing only a woven shirt, loose at the neck, that stopped just at the top of her naked thighs.
"Uh…" Ryder said, trying not to linger on the smooth arch of her hip, "hi."
Giselle smiled and raised an