Picking up her mood, the baby began to whine and fuss. Jill finished her dressing and left them alone.
Although Jill rode behind Rhodry for most of the way to town, when they came in sight of the walls she dismounted and walked on alone, getting a good headstart in case Vynas mysterious contact should be waiting at the town gates. Following the kitchen lasss instructions, Jill went past the market square, turned down the street by the saddlemakers, and saw at last the tavern with the wooden sign of an ox hanging over the door. At the doorway she paused, peering into the dim smoky room, which smelled of sour ale and roast meat. Near the hearth the man Vyna had described was watching a couple of merchants play at dice. A blond man, with the high cheekbones and narrow eyes of a southerner, he glanced her way and smiled.
Jill looked over her shoulder as if she were afraid of something, then beckoned him to follow her. As he set his tankard down she left the doorway and walked round back, to find no sign of Rhodry and Lallyc. In her heart she cursed them both and wished she were wearing her sword. When the fellow came up, Jill let out a little squeak and pretended to have a stone in her shoe. She knelt down, letting the hood fall around her face, and mimed getting it out.
Here, he said. Is someone following you?
Jill shook her head no.
Youre not Vyna! What is this?
She sent me instead. Jill got up slowly. Cook wouldnt let her leave the dun.
I dont believe a word of that, lass.
When he stepped forward to grab her, Jill charged, taking him so off-guard that she got a good punch in his stomach before he could defend himself. With a grunt he staggered back, then recovered and swung open-handed at her face. Hampered by the long dresses, Jill dodged barely in time.
You little bitch! What is this?
When he lunged again, she dodged sideways, then tripped over the hem of her dress and nearly fell. He grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her up, yelped as she raised a knee and got him hard between the legs, but hung on grimly and tried to pin her back against a wall. A shout Rhodrys voice the man let go and spun round to run for it. Jill slammed her fist into his kidneys, kicked him in the back of the knee, and shoved him to the ground just as Lallyc and Rhodry raced up.
You bastards! What took you so blasted long?
A crowd on the streets. Lallyc knelt down and disarmed their prey.
By then the noise had attracted a smallish crowd of its own.
Naught to worry about, lads, Rhodry called out. This stinking swine was trying to rape this poor innocent lass. Well just take him along to the tieryn.
Dwaen and half the dun were waiting by the honour hearth in the great hall. Although Vyna identified their prisoner as the man who met her regularly, nobody in the warband recognized him for a member of Lord Beryns troop. The tieryn questioned him, Rhodry mocked him, and Lallyc got in a few barbs of his own, but the prisoner never said a word, not even his name, merely smiled with faint contempt during the entire session. Finally, Lallyc glared at the man and rolled up a sleeve with exaggerated care.
Theres more than one way to get a man to talk, Your Grace.
Not in my dun! Dwaen snapped. I know what youre planning, and you can just put it out of your mind.
His grace is an honourable man, Rhodry broke in. But his life is at stake. Lallyc and me can just work him over some place where you dont have to watch.
You wont! I wont have a helpless man tortured. Its against the will of the gods, and thats an end to it.
The prisoner looked at the lord with eyes poisoned by contempt.
Well take you along to the gwerbret. Dwaen seemed unaware of the look. If you refuse to give evidence in the malover, then the laws state he can put you to death, and so well see how long you keep your lips laced. Lallyc, get one of the men to shut him in a shed. Keep him under guard, and make sure hes got food and water, decent food and water, mind.
Later that afternoon Lord Cadlew returned with ten men from his warband. As the two lords, with Rhodry in attendance, sat drinking in the great hall, Dwaen noticed Ylaena halfway up the spiral staircase and hanging over the rail like a child trying to see what the grown-ups are doing down below. Apparently Cadlew noticed her, too, because he blushed for no discernible reason.
Theres somewhat wed best settle before we ride, Dwaen said. Do you want to marry my sister? She wants to marry you.
Cadlews grip tightened on his tankard.
I realize shes far above me in rank, and never would I let such a thing come between us, Your Grace.
Dont be a stuffy bastard. I have every intention of seeing you two betrothed if it pleases you both.
Oh. Cadlew considered the ale in his tankard for a long moment, then got up, slowly and deliberately. Perhaps Id best speak formally to your mother.
It seems advisable, truly.
Cadlew looked his way, started to speak, then merely grinned. He dashed for the staircase, though Ylaena was gone, doubtless back to the womens hall to wait for her suitor there as formality demanded. Dwaen watched him running up after her till he ducked out of sight onto the landing above, then turned to Rhodry.
Well, there. If Beryn does manage to dispose of me, Cadlew will inherit through Ylaena, and Beryn will regret the day he ever made an enemy out of my friend.
I believe it, Your Grace. From what Ive seen of Lord Cadlew, hed get you a splendid revenge, but Id just as soon he didnt have to. Ive been thinking about the precautions we should take once we reach the gwerbrets dun. I havent forgotten that fellow in Caenmetyn who tried to hire me to kill you.
For all we know, Beryns planning on attacking us on the road. If hes got one of his men watching the dun from a distance, hell know when were riding out and lay another ambush in the forest. That reminds me wheres Jill?
Up in the womens hall, Your Grace. She told me earlier that the local gossip was truly interesting, whatever she means by that.
Like Dwaen, Jill had been wondering if Beryn was going to try another ambush, but the combined warbands, followed by a six pack of horses laden with gifts of food for the gwerbrets hall, reached Caenmetyn without incident. Although Gwerbret Corycs provincial demesne was a poor one by gwerbretal standards, his dun walls rose imposingly enough round a huge central broch surrounded by four squat half-brochs and a cobbled ward. While Dwaen, with Cadlew and Rhodry along for witnesses, went to the great hall to lay his formal complaint, Jill helped the servants haul all their gear up to the tieryns chambers in the main tower. While they worked, she made friends with one of the menservants and got him to introduce her to the various servitors, particularly to the head groom, a stocky fellow, mostly bald, named Riderrc.
It was easy for her to use her horse, a beautiful golden gelding of the breed known as Western Hunter, to get a friendly conversation going. While they discussed Sunrise in particular and horses in general, she asked casual questions about the various important officials in the dun, particularly the chamberlain, the most important of all.
Hes a decent enough lord, I suppose. Riderrc sucked his teeth in a meditative way. Fussy about every blasted detail, but no one bribes him for a favour, I tell you.
Hes a decent enough lord, I suppose. Riderrc sucked his teeth in a meditative way. Fussy about every blasted detail, but no one bribes him for a favour, I tell you.
Amazing! Many a chamberlains got rich selling access to his gwerbret.
Our Tallyc would choke rather than take lying silver.
Interesting. Well, Id best be getting back upstairs.
But Jill went to the kitchen hut, which was as big as a small house. In the thick smoke two cooks were frantically yelling at a squad of kitchen maids while the chamberlain himself supervised the carving of a whole hog, and serving lasses and pages dashed around filling baskets with bread and bowls with stewed cabbage. In that madhouse a would-be poisoner could slip all manner of things into the food and drink, but on the other hand, it would be near-impossible to ensure that only Dwaen and his retinue ate the tainted servings. Jill hoped, at least, that the murderer would draw the line at poisoning the gwerbret, his entire household, and several hundred riders just to finish off one man. For a few minutes she hesitated, wondering if she should tell Rhodry where she was going, then realized that she wouldnt be able to get him alone to tell him privately. With a glance at the lowering sun, she trotted off to the main gates, pausing only to identify herself to the guards so theyd let her back in, and headed out into the town.
It took her some time to find the thieves tavern again, curiously uncrowded for the dinner hour. She got herself a tankard of dark ale and stood chatting with the tavernman while she jingled a couple of coppers in one closed hand.
Do you remember the night that me and my man were in here? We were sitting right over there, and this fellow in a long grey cloak came in.
Remember it I do. I thought he was a strange one to be coming into a place like this.
Just so. You dont happen to know who he is, do you?
I dont, but he must have been a master craftsman, all right. There was fine wool in that cloak of his.
Or maybe a scribe or suchlike? He had soft hands, and he smelled like temple incense.
So he did. The tavernman spat into the straw to help his concentration. Never seen him before or since, so he cant live here in town. Ive lived in Caenmetyn all my fifty years, I have, and I know everyone in it.
When Jill returned to the gwerbrets palace, she snagged a page and sent him up to the womens hall with a message. Before theyd left Dwaens dun, shed asked Ylaena to write her a note to the gwerbrets lady, Ganydda, giving Jill a formal introduction. The lad returned quickly enough and escorted her up to the reception chamber, littered with a profusion of heavy furniture and silver oddments. At each long window hung a curtain of Bardek brocade in the gwerbretal colours of green, silver, and yellow. Ganydda, a slender woman with greying hair, startled-looking blue eyes, and prominent teeth, greeted her kindly and had a serving lass bring a cushion so that Jill could sit near her feet.
The lady Ylaena speaks highly of you, Jill.
My thanks, my lady, though doubtless she flatters me unduly.
How well spoken you are! You must forgive an old womans curiosity, but whatever possessed a pretty lass like you to ride off with a silver dagger? Hes awfully handsome, of course, but honestly, my dear! It must have been quite a scandal.
Not truly a scandal, my lady, because you see, my father was a silver dagger, too. I had no position or anything to lose.
Really? How fascinating! You must tell me all about it.
Although Jill normally parried such questions, that night she chattered about true love in general and Rhodry in particular until she could see shed won the ladys confidence although she avoided telling her why Rhodry was riding the long road. At that point she worked the conversation round to Tieryn Dwaens current troubles.
My heart absolutely goes out to Slaecca, losing her husband to that drunken little well, in a drunken little brawl, Ganydda said. And now to have her son threatened is really too much to bear. I pray that things wont come to open war.
It must be sad for Lord Beryns wife, too, the poor lady, seeing her husband put himself in danger after losing her only son.
Well, perhaps it would distress her. Ice formed in Ganyddas voice. One must always think the best thoughts one can about people, mustnt one? But then theres no doubt that Mallonas had a hard enough life. My dear Jill, wait until you see Beryn puffing and snorting at my husbands court, and hes a good bit older than her, you know.
Truly? Lady Slaecca never mentioned that.
Shes so charitable, isnt she? But he is, and Ive often wondered why she only had that one pregnancy, if you take my meaning.
Jill smiled and arched one eyebrow.
Oh dear, what if worst comes to worst? Ganydda went on with a certain relish. I wonder what poor dear Mallona will do. I cant see her fitting into the temple life, I just simply cant.
Doesnt she have a brother to go back to, my lady? The lady Ylaena mentioned one.
Um, well, a brother of a sort. Let me see, what did happen to him? He was the youngest son of a poor clan, you see, and so he ended up living just like a commoner, and his mother was so upset. He received a small inheritance from an uncle, and he became a merchant can you imagine it some said he was actually running a brothel down in Cerrmor, but I never believed it for a minute people will say the nastiest things sometimes.
But what about all her other brothers, then?
Well, you see, when this Graelyn I believe that was his name betrayed the honour of his blood, Mallona was the only one who spoke on his side, and she and her kin no longer speak, for all that its been ten years now. I think her father arranged the match with Beryn as revenge of a sort, although I shouldnt say that. I mean, he might have thought it a perfectly good match. After all, you cant tell one old man that another doesnt have much life left, if you take my meaning.
When Jill managed to make her escape from the ladys side, she headed upstairs to Tieryn Dwaens chamber. On her way she met a serving lass, carrying a tray with a silver flagon and goblets upon it.
Here, silver dagger, she called out. Youre with the tieryns party, arent you?
I am. Shall I save you a few steps and carry that up?
Would you? Some fellow from his graces retinue handed it to me and said to deliver it, but with all these guests Ive got so much work to do.
Of course you do. Rude of him.
Dwaen, Cadlew, and Rhodry were all sitting in the reception chamber of the suite, the two lords in chairs, Rhodry on the floor by the door. When she brought the mead in, Cadlew rose with a small bow and took the tray from her.
Splendid idea, Jill. We found a water jug in one bedchamber, but that wont do a man any good.
Well, my lord, Im afraid you dont dare drink this mead. Ive got the feeling its been poisoned.
Her feeling was confirmed when Rhodry dipped the corner of a rag in the mead, tasted a scant drop of it, and immediately washed his mouth out with the aforementioned water.
Crude, he remarked. Cursed crude. No one in their right mind would have drunk more than one sip of this.
Ah by the great hairy balls of the Lord of Hell! Dwaen was decidedly pale. Why would someone go to all this trouble to poison the stuff, then?