Tibryn wanted to give the old sot that instead of me.’
‘Well, may our goddess bless him for it!’ Bevyan’s voice sounded oddly wary. ‘I wouldn’t have thought he’d do such a thing, Burcan that is.’
‘But he did, and now I’ll be marrying Braemys, my cousin, you know?’
Bevyan’s arm tightened fast and sharp around her shoulders, then released her. Lilli stepped away and looked at her foster-mother, whose face had gone as bland as her uncle’s had, a few minutes before.
‘Is somewhat wrong with him?’ Lilli said.
‘Not in the least. A decent young man and quite well-spoken, he is.’ Her voice wavered ever so slightly. ‘Well. I’ll wager you’re glad to have it settled, dear.’
‘I am, truly. And this way I’ll be staying at court, and I’ll still be able to see you, now and again.’
‘Just so, and that will be lovely.’
But the distant look in Bevva’s eyes – it was fear, Lilli realized suddenly – bespoke thoughts that were far from lovely. She hovered, wondering what could be so wrong, until Bevyan broke the mood with a little laugh.
‘It’s so noisy here,’ Bevva said. ‘Shall we go up to my chambers? Sarra will want to hear all about your betrothal.’
With that, both Bevyan and the evening returned to their normal selves. Up in Bevva’s suite various court ladies joined them for a long gossip. Lilli felt like a cat lying down for a good nap by a fire, all safe and warm at last. Here in the company of other women she could forget, for at least a little while, the black ink and its secrets.
In the morning Bevyan’s suspicions woke with her. While she dressed, they seemed to sit on the edge of her bed, muttering in low voices, ‘Could it be? Could it really be?’ One never knew what Merodda might be thinking; she did, after all, lie as easily as a bard sang. Finally she could stand it no longer and went to Merodda’s chambers, just to hear what she could hear, she told herself, just to prove herself wrong. When Merodda’s maidservant let Bevyan in, she found the lady washing her face. In the corner of her bedroom stood a crockery basin on a wooden stand. Dressed in a plain white shift, Merodda was dabbling a thin cloth in strange-smelling water.
‘I’ll be with you in a moment, Bevyan. I shan’t be able to talk while I’m doing this.’
‘Of course. I’m in no hurry. Is it a herb bath, dear?’
Merodda gave her a brief smile for her only answer, then wrung out her cloth and began wiping her face with it. Every now and then she’d dip a corner of the rag back in the basin, but Bevyan noticed that she never let it get too wet and that she kept her lips tightly closed the while. No doubt the stuff tasted as bad as it smelled. When she finished, she laid the cloth at her windowsill to dry, then rinsed her hands with clean water from a crockery pitcher that stood on the floor.
‘Now then,’ Merodda said. ‘What did you wish to speak with me about?’
‘Lilli told me about her betrothal last night.’
‘Ah, did she? What do you think of Braemys?’
‘He’s a very decent lad. A bit close kin, perhaps.’
‘Oh, Burcan wanted a cousin marriage. It’s the lands, of course. With my sons dead, my poor dear Geredd’s lands came to Lilli. It’s a nice holding.’
‘It is, indeed, and worth the Boar’s keeping.’
Merodda picked up a bone comb and began combing her hair, starkly gold in the sunlight. Another herb potion, or so Bevyan supposed, kept it that girlish colour.
‘I did foster the lass,’ Bevyan said. ‘I’m not merely prying.’
‘Of course not! And you did a fine job, I must say. Lilli’s turned out to be a lovely child with very courtly ways.’
‘My thanks. I’m so glad you’re pleased.’
‘And I am.’ Merodda hesitated, glancing away. ‘I did the best I could for her, with this marriage. I hope you believe me about that. I did the best I could.’
‘What? Of course I believe you! No doubt your brothers did the real deciding, anyway. I’m just so glad that Tibryn didn’t send her off to Nantyn to be beaten to death.’
‘That was my worst fear.’ Merodda looked at her again, and never had Bevyan seen a woman more sincere. ‘It truly was.’
‘Then we can both thank the Goddess – and Burcan – that it didn’t happen.’
‘Ah. Lilli told you about the way he intervened.’
‘She did. It was very good of him.’
For a moment they considered each other.
‘It was,’ Merodda said at last. ‘But Braemys is a decent lad. Lilli will be very well provided for, and I’ll be able to keep her near me at court much of the time. She’s my last child, after all, the last one these wars have left me. I know that you can understand how I feel.’
‘Unfortunately, I can. You know, dear, I’d never do anything that would ever harm Lilli.’
Merodda nodded, then hesitated, studying Bevyan’s face. It was a habit of hers, to peer at someone so intently you would have thought she was reading omens in their eyes. Bevyan had always assumed that she was nearsighted and nothing more, but this morning the scrutiny bothered her.
‘I shouldn’t take up more of your time,’ Bevyan said.
‘Oh, Bevva, don’t be foolish! It’s good to see you. In fact, may I ask you a favour?’
‘Of course.’
‘Come with me on an errand. I’ve got to consult with the heralds on an odd matter. Unless perhaps you know: is there a clan named the Red Wyvern among the Usurper’s following?’
‘I have no idea. I vaguely remember hearing the name once, years and years ago, but that’s all.’
‘Then let me dress, and we’ll pay the heralds a visit.’
Merodda smiled; Bevyan smiled; the suspicions began their nattering again. And yet what was she to do, Bevva asked herself? Come right out and ask: Lilli is Burcan’s child, isn’t she? You’re marrying her off to her own brother, aren’t you?
In one of the side brochs the King’s heralds lived and had their scriptorium, where they copied over and preserved the genealogies of the various clans and their intermarryings as well as the devices proper to each. When the two women arrived, a servant trotted off to fetch the chief herald himself, leaving them in the sunny room. A row of tables with slanted tops sat underneath the windows, while on the walls hung small shields, each about a foot high, the official record of each device. Merodda began circling the room and studying the shields, but what caught Bevyan’s attention was a glass sphere filled with water that sat upon the window ledge. She was just puzzling over it when the chief herald himself, Dennyc, trotted in with low bows for the Regent’s sister and her companion.
‘Ah,
