Realms of Infamy - James Lowder [31]
The creature inside me raged, trying to escape my body-prompted not by anger, but by lust. Such was the beauty of my wife at that moment.
"Would you share some wine with me?" I asked her, my voice trembling as I fought to keep it soft.
"Sharven, you sound so strange. Are you all right? If you're ill we can-"
"No, not ill, just excited. After all, this is my first feast as head of the estate." I kept my back to her as I slipped the potion into her goblet, then poured our wine. I watched her carefully to be certain she drank it all.
By then, the first of our guests had arrived. I went down to join them, Atera walking joyfully at my side.
As we greeted our guests, the potion began to do its work. Atera's face flushed, and her voice grew high and sharp. "She's a bit anxious, but I think the wine did more than relax her," I confided to one of the guests. I heard him repeat the comment to his wife. Soon the entire room assumed Atera was already tipsy.
Lord Romul and Lady Laudrel were among the last to enter the hall. As Atera went to greet them, I hung back. I could not get too close, not with the beast inside me looking through my eyes at my enemy, demanding to be released.
Some time later, Atera and I took our places at the table's center. Lord Romul sat to Atera's right, then Lady Laudrel. After all her planning of the evening's feast, Atera only picked at the food. Her attention became, as the potion directed, fixed on Lord Romul. Soon she seemed openly infatuated. I pretended not to notice, not even when her hand disappeared from the table, resting no doubt in his lap. A few of the guests near us began to whisper to one another.
The farce could not continue much longer. I gave the signal and the music began. I asked Lady Laudrel to dance.
Lord Romul would give too great an insult if he refused to ask Atera. Red-faced and cautious, he led her onto the floor. As I danced with the stout Laudrel, I watched Atera and Romul carefully. She pressed close to him, whispered in his ear. I saw his confusion. No, he had never expected his conquest to act so boldly.
With a firm grip on Atera's arm, Romul led her back to the table. She pulled him beyond it to the tapestry that hung from the wall. In spite of the shadows, I and a number of others saw her kiss him. I pushed Laudrel aside so roughly that she would have fallen had someone not caught her.
"What is the meaning of this!" I bellowed.
Laudrel followed my gaze. She saw her husband's embarrassment, heard Atera's startled cry. "Your wife is… not well," Romul said.
"Well enough to kiss you. Is this the first time or only the most obvious of many?"
My guests began muttering. Most sided with me. Others, seeing Romul's confusion, were not so certain of his guilt. Laudrel began to cry.
"She is gone from the house far too often, and when she rides, she always heads north," I went on.
"To visit me," Laudrel mumbled. Atera, fighting the effects of the potion, nodded. No one paid any attention to either woman. Fine people that they were, my guests were eager for blood to spill.
"I demand satisfaction," I said. "I will defend the honor of my wife!"
I saw his resignation, yet still he attempted to placate me. "Your wife is ill, I tell you. And your sword arm is weak. Isn't there some other way to settle this?"
"Honor will make me strong." I heard the murmur of my neighbors. Most were pleased at my response.
Romul sighed. "Very well. But you must loan me a blade. I brought none."
I surveyed the crowd. There must be no hint of treachery in our duel. "Does someone have a blade for Lord Romul?"
Five were offered. As I expected in one his age, he picked a light, thin sword more geared for fencing than battle. One of the other men offered me a similar weapon; I took it. There would be no accusations of poison when this was done.
We squared off in the center of the hall, where only moments ago we had been dancing. As metal met