A Choice of Secrets. Barb Hendee
Erik looked like my father. I looked like my mother. We had a sister between us in age, Chloe, who resembled a mix of both our parents.
I let Erik hold me for a while.
Then I struggled. “Put me down.” Once he’d set me back on my feet, I grasped both his hands, inspecting his fingers and wrists. “You are all right, not injured?”
He and Christophe had been on patrol for nearly three weeks.
“No, I’m fine,” Erik answered, “but look at you. What have you been doing? You’re covered in flour.”
“Making tarts, strawberry for you and peach for Christophe.”
With that, I turned to Christophe, grasping his hands in turn for inspection. “And you? You’re not injured? You’re well.”
He did not embrace me, but his eyes moved over my face. “I am well.”
Though both men were tall, Christophe de Fiore was a sharp contrast to my brother. While Erik’s nature overflowed with laughter and affection, Christophe was stoic and kept his thoughts to himself. He wore his dark hair cut short. His eyes were gray and his skin was tan. I’d heard once that he had to shave twice a day to keep his jawline from becoming stubbled. He and Erik were the same age, both having turned twenty-six the previous winter, but I’d known Christophe my whole life. The de Fiore lands bordered ours on the north. They were our closest noble neighbors and good friends to my family.
Turning back to Erik, I said, “We received your message that you’d be back today. Mother and I are planning a buffet banquet tonight, with dancing. While you were away, she made you a new tunic of red silk with gold thread, and I made Christophe a blue one, with silver thread. Do either of you want a bath ordered?”
“I do,” Erik answered. “And something stronger to drink than ale. We rode hard to get home today.”
“For goodness sake,” I said. “Don’t start drinking spirits until after dinner. You know Mother doesn’t approve.”
Flashing a grin, he was about to answer when the door opened again, held by one of our guards, and our sister, Chloe, walked in with the regal grace of a princess. I smiled at her, but she merely nodded in return—which is what I expected.
Chloe was the loveliest young woman I’d ever seen. She’d inherited our father’s height and coloring, but our mother’s small features and slender bone structure. Her long, blond hair hung down her back, and she tended to dress in narrow silk gowns of green or amber.
Erik did not call out to her, and she did not run to him.
Instead, she walked slowly, with her head high, to join us, nodding first to Erik, “Brother,” and to Christophe, “My lord.”
“My lady,” Christophe answered, but his voice held no warmth and I wanted to sigh.
Though he and Chloe had been betrothed for several months, they hardly behaved like two people on the verge of marriage.
When she looked down at me, Chloe’s features shifted to an expression of affection. “Look at the state of you. Have you been baking? You realize we do employ perfectly capable kitchen maids? You’ll need to wash your hair before dressing for the banquet.”
I drew in a quick breath and gripped her hand. “The banquet? Has Father—?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’ve spoken to him, and he’s agreed to let you attend. I’ll help you choose a gown.”
At this news, Christophe’s eyes moved over my face again, and a flicker of relief crossed his features. Was he glad for me? How kind of him.
“You’re certain?” Erik asked in surprise. “Father agreed?”
“Yes,” Chloe answered. “But it did take a little convincing. The way he treats her is absurd. Nicole is hardly a child.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Erik said.
Both happiness and nervousness rose up in my chest. This would be my first buffet banquet with dancing. As I was the youngest of my father’s children, and I looked like a copy of my mother, my father had not bothered to hide his favor of me. Unfortunately, this favor had also caused him to perpetually view me as a little girl—and to treat me as one. I was included at formal sit-down dinners, but he’d never allowed me to attend more potentially raucous events.
Looking up at Chloe in gratitude, I said, “Thank you. But I do need to finish the tarts. You know Cook always makes too many of the strawberry this time of year, and Christophe prefers peach. Afterwards, I’ll come to our rooms to dress. Please see what you can find for me to wear.”
She and I had slept in adjoining rooms all our lives, and as a result, we had little sense of privacy when it came to each other.
After nodding regally to both Erik and Christophe, she said, “I am glad to see you both returned to us safely. Now, if you will excuse me, I must go and choose my own gown for this evening.”
With that, she turned and walked toward the door. The same guard who had opened it for her still stood inside. Once she passed through, he followed after her and closed it from the outside. Chloe rarely had to touch a door.
When Erik glanced at Christophe, I couldn’t help noting a flash of concern…as Christophe seemed to hardly even notice Chloe had left the room. However would those two navigate a marriage?
“How long will you be staying with us?” I asked Christophe.
“Only until tomorrow.” His voice was low and quiet. “Then I need to get home to Whale’s Keep. My sister, Lady Mildreth, has been managing in my absence.”
“All right, then.” I headed for the door. “I’ll see you this evening. Mother has you in your usual guest room, and you’ll find the new tunic on your bed. I’ll order baths for you both.”
“You’d best order one for yourself,” Erik called after me. “And don’t forget to wash all that flour from your hair.” He was always teasing me, but I liked it.
Stepping out into the warm afternoon air, I looked around at the great circle of log buildings. Along with connecting paths, the grounds between each construction sported a mix of rose, herb, and kitchen gardens. Though I could not see the ocean, over the west side of the wall, I could hear waves crashing into the shore. We were safe here, protected. This place was a haven, and I wondered how Chloe could bear the thought of leaving it and going to live with Christophe. Was this the reason for her coolness to him? Perhaps I could ask her? In this regard, I wasn’t sure. Even between sisters as close as us, some things were private.
But her betrothal was of great importance to our family, and she knew it.
Our property spread inland and down the coast for miles, and the people in the villages under my father’s protection, who lived outside our wall, had come under a new threat over the past few years—one of which none of us could have foreseen.
The nation of Samourè was bordered on the south by the kingdom of Partheney, named for its capital city. The western coastline of the continent ran all along both nations. Under the rule of Queen Ashton de Blaise, Partheney enjoyed a strong border patrol. Few who were unwelcome would dare attempt a landing on their coastline.
My father’s lands, Montagna lands, were at the southwestern point of Samourè, reaching the border between nations. King Amandine, who ruled Samourè, lived in the northwest, but our standing army was small and soldiers could not be spared to patrol the Montagna coastline.
Until recently, this had never been an issue. My grandfather, followed by my father, had no argument with the few smugglers who landed now and then, so long as they went about their business and troubled none of our own people.
For the most part, our shores were safe.
My family retained only enough trained guards to protect White Deer Lodge and to accompany my father or Erik when they went to check on harvests or collect taxes. We had never