Out of the Faold (Whilst Old Legends Fade Synchronicles) (19 page)

Coral swore at Kel under her breath.
Now her embarrassment was public knowledge and the
King
of all people was going to use it to his advantage.

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t make too much of a fuss about it. But I’ll tell you I wasn’t very happy he left his
men behind
while he came back here with his tail between his legs. I told him at the time I wasn’t pleased but he’d just saved us all from some unimaginable danger from the Sisters so I couldn’t be too harsh on him. But now, I’m going to use you to get my revenge
for
his indiscretion. I hope you don’t mind.”

She did mind, but she couldn’t tell the King that. She smiled her agreement. Her mother would kill her if she refu
sed to play a part in his ruse.

“Now, the girls. You have them with you?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They are having brunch. They will be at dinner tonight.”

“Good. But I’d like to meet with them outside all this pageantry. I hear they are quite precious. I’ve only got sons, you know. My wife wanted a daughter but passed before she bore me one.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’ll slip into the gardens this afternoon while you and the girls are
there. Please don’t tell anyone. I want it to
be a surprise.”

“I won’t, Sir,” she replied

“I may find another wife yet. Amias had better be careful or I might steal you away for my own.” And with that he stood laughing and led her to the door where another manservant waited to take her back to the brunch. She curtsied and rushed off, gl
ad to be able to breathe again.

The gardens were stunning.
It was a massive courtyard within the castle grounds, bordered by the castle walls on three sides. Windows and balconies looked out over the gardens from private rooms and offices.
The ladies strolled among the flowering trees and beds of brilliant blossoms, sitting on benches to revel in the beauty of the day. Pearl wandered off toward the sound of other children but Glory s
tuck close to Mother and Coral.

“Oh, can we get these for the garden at home?” Glory asked, pointing to some delicate white bell-shaped blooms. Then she’d point out a dozen more she wanted and Mother just laughed.

Other women, courtiers, wandered the gardens, watching them furtively then whispering, perhaps trying to recall who they were. An older woman approached in a lime green dress Glory stared at for all its frills, ruffles and beading. It seemed a little much for a walk in the gardens on a warm afternoon. She introduced herself as Lady Cecile Suz Tara Poton, wife to someone’s brother’s cousin’s uncle, as
Coral would be able to recall.

Glory and Mother curtsied sweetly but Coral just stood with her mouth hanging open, staring behind the woman. She let escape a strangled gurgle, startling everyone. Mother looked in the same direction and screamed in horror. Glory staggered and then the woman spun, covering her head inst
inctually, expecting the worst.

Approaching was King Fredrick carrying Pearl belly-down over one shoulder and a boy of the same age over the other, trailing a boy of approximately fourteen years who looked bored.

“Does this scoundrel belong to you?” He called out to Coral as Pearl’s puffy skirts blew over her backside in the most indecent way.

“Oh, yes, I believe she does,” Coral apologized, lifting Pearl off the King’s shoulder. “I’m sorry if she disturbed you.”

“I was the one who disturbed them!” he laughed. “Let me introduce you to my sons, Tomas and Jimm.”

“Prince Tomas, Prince Jimm,” Mother and the older woman breathed in unison and curtsied deeply. Glory
,
reviving from her shock, followed their example.

“I hope you are enjoying the gardens. Pearl tells me you have a lovely garden in
Wickton
,” he said to Mother.

She blushed and nodded, curtsying again. She remembered her manors and stated, “I’d like to introduce Glory
Beca Filomen Strenn, Your Majesty.”

Glory curtsied again, perfectly.

“Strenn? Are you relation of Duke Strenn of
Brynntown?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. My father is
Franc Benn Isha Strenn, brother of Duke Strenn.”

“Ah, then you are kin! This is wonderful news. I look forward to seeing everyone tonight at dinner.”

W
ith a motion of his hand he beck
oned Coral to him as he moved a few steps away from the others.

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“Jimm and Pearl were getting along quite well. Will you permit him to call on her for dinner? She could sit with him. And perhaps I’ll send Tomas for Glory, though I’d say he will be rotten company. He’s been gloomy lately.”

“It’s the age,” she told him. “I remember that age.”

He chuckled his agreement. “May
I have your permission as
guardian?”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“See you tonight, then, Brother Karl,” he said with a bow and to her grimace he laughed. “Lady Marden then if you prefer.”

“Thank you,” she smiled.

Later, Mother told Coral she was going to be thrown into the dungeons if she didn’t show a little more respect and curtsy and say ‘Your Majesty’ every second breath. Coral waved off the warning but inwardly kicked herself for being so informal with King Fredrick and his sons. She hadn’t had the formal training Ruby had had growing up. She had never been expected to be at court or presented as a bride to a nobleman. And now that was exactly who she was
going
to be.

Before dinner Glory begged Pearl to remember all her manners and appeared so nervous she’d be sick. Jimm came to the door with two guardsmen in tow to escort Pearl to dinner. Pearl and Jimm bowed to each other then exploded in
peals
of laughter and ran off to the great hall, to Mother’s dismay. Glory’s escort, Tomas, had arrived at the door in a formal j
acket looking bored and forced.

When Glory looked back at Coral, not knowing what to do, Coral called out, “Prince Tomas, have you heard the stories of our trip north and how Glory defeated a Sister all on her own?”

“You
did?” he asked, sizing her up.

Glory blushed. “Oh, she was awful.”

They walked out
together,
Tomas fully attentive as Glory kept chattering down the corridor.

Glory and Pearl had been invited to sit with the princes at either side of the King at his table at the head of the room.
Mother was appalled that Jimm and Pearl giggled and played with their silverware during dinner.
Glory was a perfect lady, who now h
ad the admiration of the prince. He
kept turning to her and asking questions
or offering her dishes to sample
. Coral noted with interest that King Fredrick kept glancing at the pair during dinner, often listening to stories too.

Captain Amias didn’t arrive. He did not attend the
dinner;
he d
idn’t send a letter to the King. Coral couldn’t help but look at the door all night. She caught Fredrick’s eye several times and on one occasion he frowned and shook his head.
He
had not arrived before they left for home a week later, and still hadn’t arrived by the time the King wrote her a letter a week after that. In it he said he was demanding Doran’s appearance
or there would be consequences.

She started to worry that something had happened to him. Something was wrong. Kel assured her Amias was probably just busy but she knew from the look on his face at times that he was worried too. He also sent messages that had no response.
If they didn’t get word from him within the week, Kel would
seek him out he assured Coral.

By the time he left
Danyc
for home
, three days after the King had dismissed him, his men had not yet arrived to report. He worried about them, the girls and Karl. Had they met danger that delayed them? Was someone ill with fever? It took all of what he had not to turn west and rush off to meet them to ensure all was well. But he knew if he did that he’d likely meet with
her
and h
e was still not ready for that.

Amias wasn’t as angry as he’d been. He reasoned that he’d over-reacted. She had no obligation to him so she was free to be with anyone she wanted. She could have bedded his entire squad and it should mean nothing to him. He had plans to marry another. She would have been a fool to fall for him or expect anything from him. He w
as a fool for expecting her to.

So he rode east instead of west, hauling with him the best stonemasons, planners, builders, and other tradesmen needed to build his new bride a stunning home. He was going to use the granite found along the coast, a beautiful pale stone with flecks of black, greys and pink. He would build it near the vineyards like the King asked. There was a spot at the crest of a hill overlooking the sea in the
distance that would be perfect.

He had to get his mind off of that troublesome woman and onto more practical business like getting to his father and building this new house. He’d go get his bride when he was ready. He again hoped she was homely and less than intelligent. Perhaps the King would give him duties that would take him away more often. He didn’t mind
being on the road with his men, u
nless they meet up with pretty Brothers in distress. And again his mind wandered to Brother Karl and he sighed to himself in disgust as they rode on.

Amias Doran threw his attention and back into building the new house. His planners and builders worked with him to design a grand estate home. Teams of horses were enlisted to haul stone from the shore
and they spent months laying the foundations and building the outer walls. He worked right along with everyone else, long hard days of back breaking work
cutting and shaping
stone
. His father oversaw the work with him, unable to help due to his weakened condition, but he stood back watching his son become a man
he could admire.

Letters came from the King asking his progress and requesting an estimate on when he expected to be done. Amias kept delaying saying it was not yet suitable for living. The King wouldn’t be put off forever. It was perfectly fine
for him
to live in his father’s house with his new bride. He just couldn’t bring himself to make
the decision to go get her yet.

He started to leave the King’s letters unopened until his father found them and became enraged.
One was an invitation to court, the date of which had passed weeks before. In the invitation it mentioned Coral Marden would be there. His father practically disowned him for not attending. The King had probably arranged an engagement party and gift. The next morning an apology had to be sent to the King along with a letter stating Amias would
be on his way within the week.

Amias left the construction of the house to the builders he had hired and walked up a steep embankment to a small copse of trees. He stood looking out over the glimmering water of the ocean in the di
stance. It was a beautiful spot, o
ne where a woman would like to go to read and daydream. He turned around to find it reminded him of the hilltop where they’d found the well and discovered the gods as they truly were. Inspiration led him to rush back down the hill, pick up a shovel, bark orders at his stone cutters and then return to start digging. He spent hours and hours throwing soil out of the middle of the clearing until he struck stone and couldn’t dig any longer.
Satisfied,
he returned to his men.

The next morning he hauled shaped granite pieces up the slope to the clearing and started arranging them in a circle around the hole. He built a square arch and lined the hole with stone pieces mortared into place.
It would be a quiet secluded spot dedicated to his gods where he could come and think and remember the time he’d spent with the girls and his Marshalls and Brother Karl.

A sadness swept over him as it began to rain and he turned once again to go back to the home he was constructing. In the
temporary smithy
on the grounds
he requested thin metal tubes of different sizes and lengths be made. He asked the glaziers if they had any coloured glass remnants from the pieces they were using for the house’s stained glass windows. Carrying a box of parts, he walked into the half finished master bedroom, lit the fire in the hearth and listened to the pouring rain outside while he constructed the glass and metal chimes that he’d hang among the trees.

It took three full days of pouring rain for the gods to fill Amias’ well and to sanctify the ground and trees around it. It took Amias three days to return and hang his wind chimes in the tree and discover, to his great pleasure, the pool filled
with brilliant
blue
water
. His heart quicken
ed.