The Born Queen - J. Gregory Keyes [12]
“I should go after her.”
“She wants to be alone right now,” Areana said. “I think you’d better let her. She was a solitary sort of person even before.”
“Yes.”
“Stay here. Rest. I need to go to the market to gather a few things for dinner. I’ll see if I can find something Mery might like. A ribbon or some drop.”
Ribbons and candy won’t help, he thought, but he smiled and gave her a kiss.
“I am a lucky man,” he managed.
“We all are lucky,” Areana said. “Even Mery. We have each other.”
“I’m not certain about that,” Leoff said.
Areana frowned. “What can you mean?”
“I had a letter yesterday from Lord Edwin Graham. Mery’s mother was his sister.”
“They mean to take her away? But the duke put her in our charge.”
“I’m not sure what he wants,” Leoff replied. “He’s sending his wife here to tell us. She’ll arrive on Thonsdagh.”
Lady Teris Graham was tall, taller than Leoff. She had unsettling sea-green eyes and a face spotted by rusty freckles, which made her dark, nearly black hair somehow surprising. Her face was strong-boned and long like her body, and she had come in a dark green and black traveling gown that looked expensive. She had two servants and two bodyguards with her, which also spoke of money. She was younger than he had expected. Areana had seated her in their small parlor, which up until then they really hadn’t used for anything. Then she went for tea while the lady sized up Leoff.
“You’re the man that wrote that sinfonia?” she said at last. “The one that started the riot in Glastir?”
“Yes,” Leoff confirmed. “I’m afraid so.”
“And the other thing, the play that the people liked so well?” The way she said “people” made it clear that it wasn’t a term that included everyone—not, for instance, herself.
“Yes, lady.”
“Yes,” she repeated drily.
Areana arrived with the tea, and they sat sipping it in uncomfortable silence for a few moments.
“How well did you know my sister-in-law?” Lady Graham asked abruptly.
Leoff practically could feel Areana stiffen and a warmth flush his face.
To his surprise, the lady laughed. “Oh, dear,” she said. “Yes, Ambria was a generous soul in some ways.”
Leoff nodded, not knowing what to say, his mind suddenly filled with the sensations of that night, the warmth of Ambria’s skin…
And, a few days later, her pitiful murdered gaze.
“Not to the point,” Lady Graham said, shrugging. “The thing now is what’s to be done with Mery.”
“I think she should stay with us,” Leoff said.
“Personally, I’m inclined to agree with you,” the lady said. “I’ve no use for another brat underfoot. It’s bad enough taking her brother in, but we’ll soon have him married off. Still, she is William’s bastard, and she is family, so my husband has other thoughts on the matter.”
“She’s safe here,” Areana said. “And she’s still heir.”
“And you will be her parents?”
“Yes,” Leoff said.
“In fact, perhaps. But technically, hasn’t Duke Artwair made her his ward?”
“That’s true,” Leoff said.
“One would imagine Artwair would have reason for doing that. And for giving you this lovely house on the grounds of his even more lovely estate.”
“My husband and the duke are friends,” Areana said. “The house was a wedding gift.”
“I’m sure it was,” Lady Graham sighed. “But he’s also keeping her close.” She looked up sharply. “What’s wrong with the girl, by the by? I’ve heard some very strange stories. Something about a music that kills?”
Leoff pursed his lips. The story had gotten around, somehow, but he didn’t know if he should confirm it.
“They say that Prince Robert forced you to write a melody that slays anyone who hears it, and that Mery played it and did not die,” she amplified.
When he didn’t react to that, she sighed and signaled for her maidservant, who produced a folded paper sealed with wax.
He took the proffered document and found Artwair’s seal on it. He broke it and read the contents.
Dear Friend, feel free to relate any and all particulars concerning Mery to Lady Teris Graham. She deserves to know the facts of the matter, and I trust her to be discreet.
—A.
Leoff looked up, feeling abashed.