Return to Alastair (34 page)

“I wish I were old enough to remember my mother’s last day. Tahn says her touch was kind. I don’t think he would think of that if he had hurt her.”

“You’re surely right,” Netta said softly, not wanting to interfere too much in Tiarra’s thoughts.

“I would like to know if she suffered much,” the girl went on. “And if she at least had some happy moments in her life. But mostly I wish I understood about her and my father.” She glanced up at Netta. “No one ever told me if they married. But if there was no love, how did they have even one child, let alone two? And if they did love, then how could he have killed her?”

Netta thought of the days when she had feared Tahn, when he had seemed so fierce, even capable of horrors. But he’d been trapped in a world beyond his control. Had his father somehow been the same?

It was too much for her to understand. Tahn had softened, had learned what it was like to love and be loved. Could someone really grow in the other direction—could they love first, and then turn to darkness and blood?

“There may be no answers to such questions,” the old healer woman was saying. And even though Netta knew she was addressing Tiarra, she nodded as well.

26

W
ith a Trilett message in his hands, Saud turned away from the churchyard careful not to show the depth of his anger. Lionell would be furious. Lionell would blame him for this failure, though none of it had been his fault.

Tahn was in hiding. No one had disclosed where. But Saud felt certain he had not left the town. He’d never have left if Benn Trilett and his men had not come.

Why had Tahn come alone to Alastair, followed so soon afterward by the Trilett lord himself? What plan had they determined? He knew it would be a worry to Lionell. Benn Trilett had as much cause for vengeance as the Dorn did. And plenty enough means besides.

Saud mounted his horse and motioned to his men to follow him. They could do nothing else, now that they were watched by Trilett guardsmen. Such scrutiny was a humiliation Lionell did not need right now, when he wanted the other noble families to forget the past and join him in the celebration of his marriage. Saud could imagine his fits of rage. But more than that, fear. What had Benn Trilett planned? Some retribution? Even though he had spent a year talking peace?

At least Benn Trilett’s message still spoke peace. Though the warning could not be mistaken:
“I will consider any further aggression against one of my men as an attack upon myself.”

Saud glanced back to see the Trilett lord still watching, standing with a circle of his guardsmen. And Saud bowed his head to them just slightly, thinking such a gesture might lend credence to the things he’d told them. That it was all a mistake. That they had only come to fight the bandits that plagued Alastair. How could they be faulted if Tahn chose to arrive at such a time and make himself a plague as well?

They rode out swiftly, and Saud puzzled for a moment over Korin. He had chosen not to return with them. Something was afoot, something Korin knew about but was not telling.

“Sir!” the young soldier nearest Saud called. “What will Lionell do with this news? Will he punish us?”

“Shut up!” Saud ordered him. “There is no fault of ours here. And there’ll be no punishment, except of the Dorn when he is found.”

“How can we seek him now?”

“There will be a way!” Saud roared. “Or do you prefer to let him laugh that he has bested us?”

The soldier said no more. And Saud shook his head. Tahn Dorn was a man of narrow escapes and clever hiding places. He’d once hidden Lady Trilett. And he’d hidden himself so well that Samis had to hire a tracker and then lay a trap with archers to snare him. He’d hidden eight children in the wilderness and then somehow managed to convince Benn Trilett to adopt the lot of them. Some of the ex-mercenaries were afraid of Tahn. A few spoke of him as though he held a special magic, like an angel or a son of the devil who could not be killed by mortal means.

Such talk was ridiculous, of course. But now it only fueled Saud’s wish to see him dead. Even as a child, Tahn had escaped him. Saud had searched all of one long night with the baron’s orders to kill the boy when he was found. But only the morning’s tumult had revealed him, and by that time, Saud had grown frustrated and angry enough to order the steaming pot.

Still Dorn lived, mocking Saud’s skill as well as the baron’s orders. Benn Trilett be cursed! Saud knew he’d not rest until he found some way to settle this matter. For Lionell, certainly, because the pay was good. But even more now for himself.

He saw two or three bandits in the night’s darkness as they drew farther from the town. Cursed bandits! They had said they would join him against the Dorn, but they had been no help at all. He was about to pass them on the road, but then a sudden thought made him stop. Bandits will do what bandits do best. And there could be no fault to the House of Trent for that.

He would speak to them. There might yet be a way to catch the Dorn.

27

N
etta heard voices outside the cottage before anyone reached the door. Lucas was saying that Tahn had wakened briefly and they believed he would be all right. And then her father gave answer. She wondered if he knew yet that she sat at Tahn’s side. He would not be happy with her, but surely he would be able to understand.

She took Tahn’s hand in her own and held it as the door slowly opened. Benn Trilett entered first, followed by Lucas and Lorne. Netta saw her father’s eyes so full of concern, and then the look in them suddenly changed when he saw her. Despite the certainty she had felt, her heart pounded.

“Netta!”

“I had to come, Father. I needed to be here.” She could not keep the mist of tears from filling her eyes.

Her father only looked at her soberly and then turned his eyes to Tahn again. “We will speak of it later. How does he fare?”

“Better. Oh, Father—we nearly lost him. But he’s stronger.”

The nobleman Trilett stepped forward to the bedside, and the old woman moved to give him space. “Perhaps I should have forbidden him to come here when he asked me.”

“No,” Netta told him. “I wish we might have spared him the pain, but he would not have found his sister had he stayed.”

Benn Trilett looked toward Tiarra, and the girl bowed her eyes from his gaze. “I hope there is peace between them,” he said gently.

Tiarra didn’t answer.

“There is peace,” Netta spoke for her.

“I look forward to learning more about you,” Benn continued, still looking at Tahn’s sister. “But I expect I should tell you first that the baron’s captain says there has been no war tonight. Simply a misunderstanding. He says he was only trying to apprehend a ruffian all of Alastair considers a menace.”

“Oh, Father!” Netta exclaimed.

“Tahn did nothing wrong here,” Tiarra protested. “And they would have killed him. Tahn warned us about them.”

“I don’t doubt he was right,” Benn answered. “There’s more to this than what Saud tells. But nothing can be done about them now. At least they’ve gone and the baron knows better than to trouble me here.”

Tahn stirred awake at the sound of new voices. He opened his eyes slowly and looked around him. Benn Trilett stood before him in riding clothes. His face seemed clouded with cares.

“Well, son . . .” the Trilett lord was saying. But Tahn could not decipher the rest of his words. He studied the faces looking his way. Lucas and Lorne, Tiarra, Benn, Tobas, and the old healer woman. But on Netta he let his eyes rest. It was her voice that had called to him in the darkness.

“I love you,” he said, trying to put strength enough behind the words that she might hear them.

“I love you too.”

Her eyes were so clear, so beautiful, like the emerald stone of Tiarra’s necklace. She had taught him God’s love. And God wanted him to receive, to believe that in Christ’s sacrifice he was made worthy. Suddenly he felt he must trust enough to speak the words of his heart before any thoughts of doubt could get in the way. He opened his mouth again, and the words were strangely bold. “Marry me, Netta.”

He’d scarcely allowed himself to think of such things before, even though he knew that others around him thought of it often. He might never have asked her. But now he felt bidden of God to accept the things he’d been told. He was not unworthy, not in Christ. “Marry me,” he said again. “Please.”

For a moment she sat stunned. And then she laughed, just a little. She turned and looked at her father, and then she leaned and put her hands on Tahn’s cheeks and kissed him so softly. “Oh, Tahn. Such a moment you have for this! Yes, I would marry you! With my father’s blessing.”

That brought a tightness to Tahn’s heart. He’d forgotten he was supposed to go about this in the proper manner. He should have spoken to Benn Trilett first. He hoped the nobleman wasn’t angry. “My lord . . .” he struggled to say. “May I ask for your daughter’s hand?”

Benn shook his head. “What will I do with the two of you?”

“Make an announcement for them,” Tobas said with a laugh. “Start making plans.”

“Oh, Father!” Netta exclaimed. “Answer him! You already told me how you felt.”

“I never expected to find such folly in you, daughter, to run off against my wishes. And it is not like Tahn to be so bold in such matters as this. Perhaps the fever talks.”

“Please give your blessing,” Tahn begged him.

For a moment, Benn was quiet. “I would not have thought you to tell your intentions before all these people, Tahn. Sometimes it has seemed hard enough for you to express your feelings to one person alone.”

“God . . . touched me.”

Benn stood quietly looking at him. “Rest,” he said finally. “We will speak of this when you are stronger.”

“Father—” Netta began.

“Do not argue, child. You can see the shape he is in. Give him time.”

Tahn closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure if Benn Trilett’s words were meant to be kind or hard. He took a deep breath, feeling the peace of the river on him still. “My sister is here,” he struggled to tell them. “She has no one else.”

“Don’t worry for her,” Benn answered him. “I will see to her needs.”

Tahn nodded, too strangely weary to speak again. But he was happy. He had declared his love openly, regardless of the outcome. And he felt it was what God had meant for him to do.

As the sun rose, Tiarra lay against the covers the old woman had given her, watching her brother sleeping peacefully on the bed. The priest had come and taken the Trilett lord and some of his men to the church, where there would be more room to rest. But Tiarra had refused to go, and so had Netta Trilett. The rest of the Trilett guardsmen were outside. And Lorne was in the cottage with them, leaning his head against the wall beneath the window, probably asleep.

Tiarra had tried to sleep too, because the healer had told her to. But she had only lain a long time, thinking of all the things that had happened. Her brother had so easily gotten a promise from Benn Trilett concerning her, to see to her needs. But what would that mean?

Her eyes turned toward Lorne. He was tired. And she had known how upset he was to see what had happened in his absence. She hoped he didn’t blame himself at all, even for losing sight of her when first she’d gone to see the necklace. It certainly wasn’t his fault that he had cared enough for a little boy’s life to take his attention off her for a moment. He was a good man. A kind man to the street children, which was a rare thing as far as she had ever known.

Suddenly his steel blue eyes opened, and he turned toward her. Much to her surprise, she found his gaze more than a little unnerving.

“I—I hope you’ll forgive me for deceiving you,” she stammered.

“You’re a cruel sneak,” he said. Despite the words, he smiled at her. “But I’m glad you’ve changed your mind about Tahn.”

“It’s not hard now to see that you were right about him.”

“I heard about Martica. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right, sir. A long time I’ve known it was coming. Nothing could be done.”

“Will you go with us? Back to Onath when Tahn is ready?”

“I—I don’t know.”

“You know you’d be welcome, don’t you?”

“Perhaps. But perhaps no one knows what else to do with me. I have a house—Martica’s house. There’s no one else to claim it.”

“Why would you want to stay here?”

“I don’t know what I want.”

Lorne sighed. “Well. It doesn’t have to be decided now.”

She studied him in the increasing light of morning, remembering the things he’d told her about himself. His life had been hard too, though perhaps not like her brother’s. “Were you ever whipped?” she questioned softly.

Something changed in his eyes. But she wasn’t sorry she’d asked. She wanted to see whatever it was that worked in his thoughts. She wanted to know all she could about him.

“Only once,” he answered. “It was different for me. My father had already told me what my lot had become. He made me swear obedience.”

“To a killer?”

“He didn’t know what Samis was.”

“But he made you a slave.”

“He knew no choice.”

“But why were you whipped?”