The Red Wyvern: Book One of the Dragon Mage. Katharine Kerr
‘Well, we all are, dear, but the gods will end it when they will and not before. There’s so little that we womenfolk can do.’
Lilli turned to her with a look so furtive that Bevyan forgot what she’d been about to say.
‘Lilli, is somewhat wrong?’
‘Naught, naught.’ Yet she laid a skinny hand on her pale throat.
‘You’ve been ill, haven’t you, dear?’ Bevyan said.
‘A bit. I’m fine now though, truly I am.’ Lilli turned her back and looked out over the chamber. ‘Sarra, there you are! Did you have a decent journey?’
And what was the child hiding? Soon enough, Bevva knew, she’d unburden herself of the secret. She could wait until Lilli was ready to tell her.
The dun, it seemed, held more than one trouble. At the evening meal in the great hall, Peddyc was seated at the King’s table as a mark of honour, while Anasyn went with a pack of unmarried lords. Bevyan and Lilli sat together at one of the tables for the noble women and shared a trencher, though they talked more than ate. Although the young king came down early, escorted by Regent Burcan, the Queen made a much later appearance, sweeping into the hall in a crowd of young women. Queen Abrwnna was a pretty girl, about Lilli’s age, with striking green eyes and coppery hair that in the uncertain firelight shone with streaks of gold among the red. That evening it seemed the Queen had been weeping; her eyes were bloodshot and her full mouth screwed up into a most decidedly unpretty scowl. As the retinue walked by on their way to the table reserved for the royal womenfolk, Bevyan noticed that one of the Queen’s serving women, also young and lovely, had a scowl of her own and a rising purple bruise on the side of her face.
‘Oooh, that’s nasty,’ Lilli whispered. ‘I take it Abrwnna found out about Galla and Lord Aedar.’
‘Some sort of love affair?’
‘Just that, and I’ll wager Abrwnna’s ever so jealous. There’s a sort of fellowship of young lords devoted to her, you see – the Queen that is, not Galla. They all wear her token into battle, a bit of one of her old dresses I think it is. Anyway, she absolutely hates it when one of her serving women dallies with one of them – her sworn lords I mean.’
Bevyan laid her table dagger down and considered the Queen’s retinue, settling itself at table.
‘How interesting,’ Bevyan said mildly. ‘How many of these lords are there?’
‘Only six. It’s ever so great an honour to be taken among them.’
‘No doubt. I do hope their devotion’s an innocent one.’
Lilli blinked in some confusion.
‘Well,’ Bevyan went on. ‘The King’s wife absolutely has to be above suspicion. How else will men believe that she’s carrying the true heir once she’s with child?’
‘Oh, that!’ Lilli smiled, her confusion lifting. ‘Well, the King’s but five summers old, and he won’t be getting her with child soon anyway.’
‘Exactly.’
‘Oh.’ Lilli turned solemn. ‘Oh, I do see what you mean.’
During the rest of the meal, Lilli pointed out the various lords of the Queen’s Fellowship, all of whom were reasonably good-looking and generally wealthy. Bevyan told herself that she was turning into a small-minded old woman, but she couldn’t help but wonder about the safety of this arrangement when she saw the various lords bowing over the Queen’s hand and kissing it. Upon the virtue of the Queen rested the honour of the blood royal; not for her the small freedoms of other noblewomen. As the wife of a mere tieryn, Bevyan’s own rank would hardly allow her to admonish the Queen. She did her best, therefore, to put the matter out of her mind.
Toward the end of the meal, Bevyan and Lilli were sharing dried apples when a page came trotting over. He bowed low to Bevyan, then turned to Lilli.
‘Your mother wishes to see you,’ he announced. ‘In her chambers.’
Lilli turned dead-white.
‘What’s so wrong, dear?’ Bevyan said softly.
‘Oh, she’ll want to talk about my marriage.’ Lilli turned anguished eyes her way. ‘I hate it when she does.’
Plausible, yes, but Bevyan had fostered too many children to miss a lie when she heard one. Lilli got up and ran across the great hall. As she watched her go, Bevyan was thanking the Goddess in her heart for her decision to come to Dun Deverry.
And yet, that evening Lilli had inadvertently spoken the truth. When she arrived at her mother’s chamber, she found both her uncles waiting. For the occasion the table had been spread with a white cloth; candles gleamed and among them stood a dented silver flagon and pottery goblets. Burcan sat across from Merodda in a cushioned chair while Gwerbret Tibryn stood by the hearth, where a small fire burned to take off the chill.
‘Come in, child.’ Merodda pointed to a footstool placed near her chair. ‘Sit down.’
With a curtsy to her uncles, Lilli did so. Both Burcan and Tibryn considered her for a long cold moment.
‘It’s time you married,’ Merodda announced. ‘You’ve been out of fosterage for what? Two winters now?’
‘It’s been that, Mother.’
‘Very well, then. We’ve been discussing the matter. We need to determine how best your marriage could serve the clan, you see.’
They all seemed to be waiting for her to say something. Lilli pushed out a watery smile and clasped her hands tightly to hide their shaking. After a moment Merodda went on.
‘Your uncle Tibryn wants to marry you to one of his allies in Cantrae, up in the Northlands. Tieryn Nantyn.’
‘He’s so old!’ Lilli regretted the blurt the moment she’d said it and shrank back, expecting her mother to slap her.
Instead, Merodda laid a warning hand on her shoulder and squeezed, but not painfully hard. Tibryn glowered, his mouth set in a thin line under his heavy moustaches.
‘Worse than that,’ Burcan snarled. ‘He’s a brutal man who’s already buried one wife.’
‘So he did,’ Tibryn said levelly. ‘But who’s to say he had somewhat to do with her dying? Or have you been listening to women’s gossip?’ His eyes flicked to his sister and then away again.
‘And why shouldn’t she listen?’ Burcan snapped. ‘Lilli’s her only daughter.’
‘Your Grace?’ Merodda broke in. ‘To have her only daughter sent so far away would grieve any woman in her old age.’
‘Oh ye gods!’ Tibryn rolled his eyes to heaven. ‘You should have been a bard, Rhodi! The poor old woman and her daughter!’
‘Don’t be such a beast! I do want Lilli near court. You’re my eld brother and the head of our clan, but surely I’m not forbidden to speak as a mother?’
‘The gods could forbid it, and it wouldn’t keep you quiet.’ Tibryn allowed himself a short bark of a laugh. ‘So why would you listen to a mere mortal man? Nantyn is important to me. So far all the northern lords have held loyal to us, but this talk of the Usurper’s pardons is troubling a lot of hearts.’
‘There are other ways to bind a man to his gwerbret,’ Burcan said. ‘There’s that bit of land in dispute twixt him and me. I’ll cede it if you think it necessary.’
Tibryn turned toward his younger brother, seemed to be about to speak, then hesitated. Burcan looked steadily back at him.
‘If the matter vexes you as much as that,’ Tibryn said at last, ‘then very well.’
‘My thanks, Your Grace.’
‘And mine, too,’ Merodda put in.