Duty: a novel of Rhynan (24 page)

Tomas stifled a groan so that the young man could not
hear it. “Dentin?” he called back to where Lord Dentin was still
arguing with his underling.

“Tomas?” Dentin dismissed his man with a wave of his
hand.

“There is a disagreement about our traveling pace
that I need to see to. Could you escort Brielle?”

“With pleasure,” Dentin replied with no indication
that he enjoyed the prospect more than any other. As he guided his
horse to fall into step with mine, Tomas nodded to me and rode off
toward the back of our company.

“Your first marital spat?” Dentin inquired with mock
innocence.

“Hardly. Are you a married man, Lord Dentin?” I
fluttered my eyelashes at him.

He shot me a confused look. “I haven’t found a woman
willing to put up with my history.”

“Then you know that it couldn’t be our first.
Besides, it was hardly a spat.”

“Anyone listening would think you counted many years
as a couple.”

“I think it is safe to say we have established a
friendship at least at this point.”

He nodded. “Many marriages cannot even boast
that.”

We fell into silence for a half mile. Content in my
own thoughts, I prayed for Tatin and Captain Parrian. I wondered
how I could prove to the king I was not in collusion with my
cousin. Orwin wronged me more times than I could recall. My late
childhood memories crowded forward. Fight upon fight came to mind.
We scarred each other in so many ways, some physical and some
mental.

I rubbed the scar behind my ear from the time he cut
my saddle cinch. Father whipped him for that one. The only time I
had ever seen my father lift a hand against any of his fostered
boys.

“Headache?” Dentin asked.

I shook my head. “Old scar from the first time Orwin
tried to kill me.”

“Kill you?”

“I was thirteen. Orwin had lived with us over a year
at that point. Mother was dying, and Father realized Orwin refused
to be reformed. Father petitioned King Trentham to issue a special
decree and allow me to be his heir instead of Orwin.”

“I didn’t know that was possible.”

“I am not sure there was a precedent, but my father
grew desperate. Orwin made no attempt to hide his scorn of my
father and hatred of me.”

“What did Orwin do?”

“He wasn’t supposed to find out, but somehow he did,
probably through Tyront or one of his other friends. They all took
great joy in spying on the rest of us and reporting back
interesting tidbits of information. Once Orwin heard, he notched
the cinch on my horse’s saddle so it would break if stressed
enough. He knew I loved to jump my horse. The groom missed the cut.
I jumped a hillock, the leather broke, and I fell. My head struck a
rock. I lost my senses for a few hours only to wake with a massive
headache and my horse long gone. I walked home to find the whole
village in hysterics. My horse wandered home saddleless and no one
could find me. My mother had to be sedated with a special
draught.”

“Did he try again?”

“No. Trentham decided Father’s petition was not
urgent enough to set a precedent and rejected it. Orwin returned to
simply making my life miserable.”

“So you hate him?”

“Hate?” I considered the word. “No, I don’t think
hate describes it. Once father died, Orwin left Wisenvale. He
became a yearly pest I dealt with after the first harvests when he
came to claim his portion. I argued with him every year. He always
won. There wasn’t much I could do beyond yell. He was the earl and
I was a nobody.”

“You were still a gently bred lady.”

I laughed. “He only saw the girl in braids who shamed
him in front of his gang when he was fifteen.”

“What did you do then?”

“He called my mother a horrible name. I gave him
matching black eyes.”

He considered it all for a moment. “It sounds as
though you would need some pretty strong incentive to assist him in
any way.”

“He could offer nothing that would make me even
consider it.”

“Title?”

“I outrank him already. Tomas is an earl and the
king’s favorite.”

“Through Orwin’s arrangement. Some might say you owe
him.” He lifted his eyebrows at me.

“He sold me body and soul to save his own neck from
the noose.”

He studied me. I ignored his scrutiny.

“Reevaluating your conclusion about my
loyalties?”

“I grow more certain that nothing would persuade you
to assist him in any way. But I am at a loss to prove it to the
king. We can only pray that Orwin didn’t know of Tyront’s plan to
implicate you and eliminates all doubt himself.”

“I hate the thought of depending on him for
anything.” I shivered.

“The more I know of the man, the more I agree.”

Tomas appeared at my other side. Dentin greeted him
with a question.

“Are we slowing to accommodate the king?”

“We are separating. Our company will travel ahead and
the king’s will follow.” Tomas grimaced.

“The advanced guard encountered Orwin a mile or so
ahead. The King’s men took down one of his companions but didn’t
they gain any information from him before he died.”

“So, Orwin might be heading for Kyrenton.” Dentin
turned to me. “Does he know Sir Jorndar well?”

“I have no idea. He knew the previous Lord Irvaine
well enough to be blackmailing him so I suppose he might know
Jorndar.”

Dentin lapsed into silence.

Tomas spoke a moment later. “Once we arrive, we will
assess the situation, evaluate the best way to lay siege, and begin
building siege works. The king expects to assault the walls in a
week’s time.”

“Ambitious.” Dentin adjusted his grip on the
reins.

“Perhaps not. We are all experienced at this sort of
thing now. Also, we will have plenty of resources. The forest
around Kyrenton is plenteous enough to build siege works for a
dozen vargars.”

“Then it will come down to resources.”

I spoke up. “Then best prepare to winter in tents.”
Both men frowned at me.

Dentin took the bait. “Why?”

“Kyrenton vargar has food enough to feed themselves
through two winters.”

Tomas groaned. “What we prayed for has now come to
haunt us. They shall feast and we shall starve.”

The camp for the night was infinitely more luxurious
than I was accustomed to after the days spent on the trail between
Wisenvale and Kyrenton. Tomas’ tent offered privacy and relative
security from the curious eyes of the men. Between Wisenvale and
our first camp, the cot became a bed wide enough for two sleepers.
I made a mental note to find out who to thank for the switch.

However, I quickly discovered not everything had
improved. I remained with Dentin when Tomas needed to meet with the
supply master. A few moments later, Dentin was called away to
mediate an argument between two of his men. I was once again
fetching my own dinner.

I set off toward the mess tent hoping meat was on the
menu. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Passing through the dimness
between the fires, I fell into wondering how Loren and Elise were
doing on their first night together. Quaren probably wished he
could be there as well.

“Did she really ride through the battle lines?” A
young man’s eager question caught my ear.

I stopped and looked around. The nearest campfire was
beyond a copse of trees and brush.

“She nudged past me, hair wild and skirt hitched up
so she could ride astride like a man.”

I stepped off the trail toward the trees in time to
see the second man, fair haired, rub his sword’s edge with a
whetstone. The sound sent my skin into goose bumps. He continued to
stroke the metal as he continued.

“I have never seen a woman look so focused. She
didn’t even flinch when the charge sounded.”

“Bold, that one is.” A graying soldier commented from
the far side of the fire. He rubbed oil into the leather of the
saddle across his knees. The strong smell of liniment stung my nose
despite being ten feet away.

“Too bold perhaps.” The blond man spat into the
bushes. “Makes one wonder who is the master in that mating.”

My cheeks warmed. I had shamed Tomas.

“Hush your mouth, Bitden. You will gain yourself a
reprimand with that kind of talk.” The older man smacked the fair
one with a cloth. “Irvaine is master enough to show her what is
what should it need explaining.”

“She seemed compliant enough at their wedding,” the
young one pointed out from the shadows opposite the gray one.

“You won’t catch my wife parading through battle
lines,” Bitden muttered. He paused to check the edge of the blade
with the pad of his thumb.

“Your wife don’t do nothing beyond bearing children
and demanding money and you know it.” The old man groaned as he
shifted his saddle to work the other side. “A strong woman doesn’t
mean her husband’s weak. It means he knows how to show respect
where respect is due.”

They ceased talking. I turned to continue toward the
mess tent and jumped in surprise. Tomas stood in the shadows only
four feet away. His frown was so deep I could see it in the dim
light from the men’s fire.

I opened my mouth to explain, but he shook his head
sharply. Grabbing my arm, he half-dragged me back to our tent. He
barely paused to untie the flaps before pushing me through them.
Following and pulling the canvas closed behind him, he then rounded
on me with a glare.

Sudden awareness of his size hit me. He weighed two
of me, was mostly muscle, and lived by his reflexes. Still fully
armed and partially geared for the battlefield, he towered over me
with anger contorting his normally controlled features.

“Where is Dentin? Why isn’t he with you?”

“There was an argument over sleeping arrangements. He
had to mediate.”

“So you wandered off?”

I straightened my shoulders out of habit. “I was
hungry. Last time you told me to fetch my own dinner.”

“Last time you weren’t accused of treason. I don’t
know what Dentin was thinking. If it happens again, find one of
us.”

“I cannot be trusted alone?”

“Not if you are going to do such foolish things as
obvious eavesdropping.”

Shame flooded my face with heat, but I ignored it and
fed my rising indignation instead. “I was listening to a gossipy
conversation about me, hardly a state secret.”

The anger in his eyes didn’t even flicker. “I know
that. You know that. There is no guarantee a king’s agent who spots
you lingering in the shadows will report that detail along with
your suspicious behavior.”

I hadn’t considered that. I closed my eyes and took a
deep breath. “I am sorry. I wasn’t thinking that way.”

“You better begin.”

I winced at his tone.

He closed his eyes as he labored to slow his
breathing. Gradually his fingers relaxed and his head fell forward
so his chin lowered toward his chest. He still didn’t open his
eyes. “You scared me.”

“You feared I was a spy for Orwin after all?”

His eyes opened, dark and vulnerable. “No.” He
stepped close so that I had to look up to meet his gaze. His bare
hands slipped up to bracket my face, calloused palms brushing my
cheeks and fingers lacing through my rioting hair. “I feared losing
you.” His thumb stroked the tender skin beneath the corner of my
mouth. My senses focused on the delicate pressure. Warmth infused
his gaze enticing an answering heat in my cheeks.

I was at a loss as to how to respond. “I am
sorry.”

He leaned in and kissed me. My hands found his
forearms as my balance shifted.

“Where have you two been?” Dentin demanded as he
swept the canvas aside. He strode into the tent, pulled off his
gloves and tucked them in his belt. “I thought you said you were
going to keep the physical affection to a minimum.”

Resting his forehead against mine, Tomas took a deep
breath. “This is our tent.” He released my face and stepped back to
confront Dentin. Apparently unwilling to completely break our
connection, he pulled me up against him with a possessive hand on
my hip. “What do you want?”

“I was dealing with an issue among my usual
troublemakers when a messenger from the king arrived with a missive
for you. I figured you would want to know about it.” He tossed a
thin parchment packet on the table.

Tomas released me to pick it up. He tilted it toward
the lantern to read the address better before opening it. As my
husband read the contents by the light of the lantern, I grew aware
that Dentin was eyeing me.

Once he had my attention, he nodded toward the space
outside the tent opening. “The men nearby were leery of disturbing
you two because it sounded as though you were having a marital row
a bit ago. I was surprised to find you two so pleasantly
engaged.”

“Not that a fight would have stopped you,” I pointed
out in an effort to avoid the question. It wouldn’t help matters to
drag my foolishness out before Dentin. I doubted he would be as
forgiving as Tomas.

“I wasn’t about to wait all night to find out the
contents of that.” He nodded toward where Tomas was frowning at the
letter.

“Messages from the king aren’t expected?”

“Not personally addressed to Tomas with the king’s
personal seal.”

Tomas muttered what sounded like a curse. “Dentin,
read this and tell me it doesn’t say what I think it does.” He
shoved the three pages of parchment into Dentin’s hands. “He can’t
be serious.”

Dentin moved to stand in the light so he could read
it. Tomas began pacing. I suspected it had something to do with me,
but I wasn’t inclined to wait.

“What do you think it says?” I asked as Tomas strode
past.

“Mendal wants me to have you under constant guard
between here and Kyrenton, and in chains when left alone.”

Dentin grimaced as he flung the letter onto the
table. “He will grow as paranoid as Trentham at this rate. She is
accused of collusion not attempted assassination.”