Ashes of Roses (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms Book 4) (15 page)

True, they had never started precisely on time at any of the other events. I prayed that would be the case this evening, for a late arrival at a musicale would be so much more obvious than at an open-air reception.

There were no carriages in the great courtyard before the palace, and my heart sank. Still, there was nothing I could do but press on and hope that I could slip into a seat in the back row without anyone noticing. For the first time I was glad that Torric had planned to sit with Brinda Aldrenne; it would have been too dreadful if I had had to make my way up to the front row with everyone watching.

An impassive-looking footman directed me to the chamber where the musicale was being held. The plaintive, sweet tones of a harp, viol, and flute drifted out into the corridor, and I swallowed. So they already had begun.

I tiptoed into the room and surveyed the back row. Yes, there was an empty seat on the end — and in the chair next to it sat Gabrinne. That is, I thought it must be she, judging by the riot of dark curls hanging down her back. Thank the gods that the empty seat was in an inconspicuous location.

Moving as silently as I could, I approached the vacant chair and sat down. Gabrinne started, then leaned over and whispered, “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming!”

“I was delayed,” I whispered back.

“A delay that could have cost you dearly,” she replied, prompting a “shh!” from the pinch-faced girl sitting on her right side. Gabrinne grimaced, lowered her voice, and said, “I was supposed to give you this.”

I felt her shove a piece of heavy folded paper into my hand. Puzzled, I stared down at it, saw that it had been sealed with a blob of crimson wax, although the wax had no crest or other identifying mark. Even so, I thought I could guess who it was from.

Wincing at every crackle of the thick paper, I carefully broke the seal and unfolded it. I had never seen his handwriting before, of course, but it seemed uniquely his — heavy and slanting, every stroke strong and sure.

Beloved, I must see you alone. At the midpoint of the musicale, the captain of the guard will come in to call me away. When you see me leave, slip away as well. There is a hidden door behind the tapestry on the south wall; use that, and follow the corridor behind it. You will come to a secret place known only to the imperial household. Your friend has said she will cause a distraction so you may leave unnoticed. Be ready.

This astonishing missive caused me to raise my head and cast a questioning look at Gabrinne. She glanced down at it and grinned, then nodded, as if to indicate she was ready to do her part when the time came.

I hastily refolded the paper and placed it in the pouch my aunt had provided, then folded my hands on my lap and willed myself to be calm. The musicians played on, but I feared I did not pay them much mind, even though I enjoyed music very much and often wished I could hear more of it.

It was nerve-wracking, to say the least, to sit there and maintain a placid expression on my face, to pretend I had nothing more on my mind than the music filling the chamber. Some time later — it felt like hours, although I knew it could not have been that long — a severe-looking man wearing a steel breastplate over his black and silver doublet entered the room, bowed, and went straight to Torric where he sat in the front row. The two of them had some sort of whispered exchange, and then he rose from his seat, appeared to offer some sort of apology to Brinda and the other young women in the row, and went out.

A murmur of voices swept over the room, no doubt of everyone attempting to determine what on earth could have taken the Emperor away from such an important event. I sat rooted in my chair, knowing I should go, but also knowing I could do nothing until Gabrinne began her distraction, whatever that might be.

I was to find out soon enough.

“A mouse!” she screeched, and gathered up her heavy silk skirts and climbed onto her chair. “A mouse! Right there!” And she pointed a little farther down the row.

At once all the young women began crying out as well, either attempting to get on their own chairs so they would be out of harm’s way, or scrambling to exit the row altogether. While the commotion grew and the music lurched on, the musicians clearly unsure what to do, Gabrinne whispered sharply, “Go on! What are you waiting for?”

I needed no further prompting. As young women began to scatter in all directions and footmen began to converge to seek out the offending rodent, I ran for the tapestry hanging on the south wall and lifted it, then felt along the paneling until my fingers found a small recess. I pressed on it, and a door swung inward. At once I slipped behind the tapestry and went through the door, then closed it behind me.

The corridor was dim, but I thought I saw the faint glow of candlelight some yards ahead. Moving carefully, I made way toward the light and prayed this was the “secret place” Torric had written of.

And so it proved to be, as I emerged into a small chamber some fifteen feet square, with a table and chairs in a heavier, more antique style than how the palace was currently furnished. Torric stood there, holding two silver goblets, while a flask of wine sat on the table itself.

“You were late,” he said, and held out one of the goblets to me. “I began to fear all my plans would be for naught.”

I took the goblet from him. “A thousand apologies. I was…delayed.”

“Apparently.”

Luckily, I saw no anger in his features. “I came as quickly as I could, once I had the chance to get away.”

“‘To get away’?” he repeated, looking more closely at my face. What precisely he saw there, I did not know, but it must not have been good, for I saw his eyes narrow before he asked, “What are you not telling me?”

Too much, I fear
. I swallowed, then said, “It is nothing. Only — only my stepmother and I do not precisely see eye to eye on things. Of course I have said nothing to her of what has passed between the two of us, but I fear she has her suspicions. She wants everything for her own daughters, and as little as possible for me, and so she can be…difficult.”

Torric took a grim swallow of wine. “Difficult, you say? I can teach her true difficulty, if she is causing you any sorrow.”

His tone and expression told me he would be all too happy to intercede on my behalf, but of course I could not allow such a thing. “Oh, no, Torric, there is no need for that. After tomorrow night it will not matter, for we will have announced our engagement, and she will realize that I will soon be free of her control.”

“I do not like it,” he said flatly.

“I must confess that I do not like it much, either, but if I can endure her for another twenty-four hours or so, then surely it is not asking too much that you do the same?”

For a brief span of time he said nothing, and I worried that he would attempt to press the issue. Then something in his visage seemed to relax, and he gestured to the neglected goblet in my hand. “As you wish, my love. But drink with me — you have a look about you that says you are in need of some wine.”

“That much is true,” I confessed, and allowed myself a sip. I had had very little to eat that afternoon, what with all the hubbub in the household getting my stepsisters ready, and so I knew I could not have too much, or it would surely upset my head.

Torric was silent, watching me. I feared he would comment on my less than healthy swallow of wine, but he did not. Instead he inquired, his tone casual although his expression was not, “And which ones are your stepsisters? Have I paid any particular notice to them?”

“No, you have not — much to their chagrin.” I had to quell a smile. Perhaps it was cruel of me, but some part of my soul was very glad that Torric had taken no notice of them at all. It was the only victory I had had over them. “Their names are Jenaris and Shelynne. Jenaris is rather, well…rounded, and — ”

“Fat, you mean,” Torric said with a grin.

“I do not mean fat. She is rather plump, however, and Shelynne has an unfortunate tendency to squint, as her eyesight is not very good.”

That revelation prompted a chuckle from Torric. I raised an inquiring eyebrow at him, and he explained, “I do recall one girl who was always peering at me with the most peculiar expression. I thought perhaps she was touched in the head, and so kept my distance, but now I realize it was only extreme near-sightedness. That explains much.”

“At any rate, my stepmother is perhaps not the most impartial judge of their charms — ”

“I can see why.”

“ — and so she is not pleased when my stepsisters come home with tales of some red-haired girl who has charmed the Emperor. Luckily, they have not clearly seen me with you, and so there is always the possibility that it is some other young woman with red hair, and not me, but even so — ”

“I understand.” A certain glint entered his dark eyes, one that I did not entirely comprehend but which somehow made a flush rise to my cheeks. “Are you not glad that I am being so circumspect?” He waved a hand to indicate the hidden chamber where we now stood.

“‘Circumspect’ probably would have involved trying to stay away from one another until tomorrow night, but I suppose this will have to do,” I said primly.

“Oh, come, Ashara, are you not glad you are here with me? Could you really have waited until tomorrow night for this?”

And before I could even think of a reply, he had set down his goblet and plucked mine from my hand, and pulled me into his arms. Oh, how strong he felt, how impossibly tall and solid and real! Of course I did not protest, but let him touch his mouth to mine, let his tongue caress my lips before moving to taste me even more fully.

A searing wave of heat moved through my body, seeming to throb through my veins, warming me everywhere — yes, even there, at the very center of my womanhood. I could not protest, did not even wish to. This was what I wanted, the feel and scent and taste of him, his hands moving over my body, his mouth moving down my neck to elicit a gasp from me even as a delicious shiver rocked me to my core.

Oh, what I wanton I was! For I knew in that moment I wanted all of him, wanted him in the same way Mari must have wanted Janks. For a second I had a flash of memory, of her legs wrapped around him, of his body on top of hers, and I wanted Torric to do that to me, to push me down onto his bed and fill the emptiness inside me. If he had told me then and there that the secret passageway went farther, led all the way to his own chambers, I would have gone with him willingly. Not just willingly — eagerly.

But sanity took hold, and after a moment I pulled away from Torric. Not abruptly, but gently, so I could look up at him and smile. His own face was flushed, and I saw the need in his eyes…but then he nodded, as if reminding himself that I was a lady, and his affianced bride, and that to push things much further would not be wise.

“Truly your blood runs hot, Ashara,” he said in ragged tones, and then reached up to remove the golden circlet that contained his heavy dark hair so he might push it back off his forehead, as if he was in need of cooling.

I well understood how he felt, for though the neckline of my gown was fairly low, as befitted an evening dress, it still seemed suddenly stifling in the small chamber. “Yours as well, Your Majesty.”

He sent me a slanted look at the honorific, and then smiled and shook his head. “It is perhaps better that we stop there, for I have no intention of compromising you.”

Was it wrong that I felt a stab of disappointment at his words? In that moment I thought I rather wanted to be compromised. Ah, no, that would not be wise at all. I reached for my goblet and took a very unladylike gulp. “Then I hope it will be a very short engagement.”

“Extremely short,” he said at once. “Days. Hours, if I have anything to say about it.”

I stifled a laugh and went to him, this time slipping my arm around his waist so I might be close, although I did not attempt to initiate another kiss. That was far too dangerous. “I rather think your seneschal might have a word or two to say about that. He does seem to be quite concerned with following the forms.”

“Bother that.” Torric pulled me closer against him, and placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

Something about the touch of his lips against my hair sent another thrill through me, although this wasn’t quite desire. Perhaps it was just the tenderness of the gesture. After all, I had had very little tenderness in my life.

“If I could, I would have a priest marry us five minutes after we make the announcement at the ball,” he added, and something in the fierce, quiet tone of his voice told me he really would do exactly that, if allowed.

Odd how less than a week ago I would have been sure that the Emperor of Sirlende could order everything exactly as he willed. Now, after knowing Torric for only a few short days, I knew that things did not precisely work that way.

“Ah, well,” I said, making sure I did not sound overly concerned, “you would not want to deprive me of the joy of having a wedding gown designed, would you? Although I’m sure once you see my ball gown you will think I couldn’t possibly have anything finer made.”

This was, of course, another prevarication. Since I had had so little time to speak with my aunt, I really did not know what she had planned. However, judging by what she had managed to conjure for me so far this week, I had no doubt that my gown for the ball would turn out to be something truly magnificent.

He shook his head, and spun me to face him. His eyes, framed in those amazing thick lashes, seemed to bore into me. “My love, trust me when I say I am not particularly looking at your gowns. I am looking at
you
.”

Again heat rose to my cheeks, but I did not look away from that intent dark stare. “Well, if we are making confessions here, I have to admit that if someone asked me what you had worn any particular day this week, I am not sure I could have answered. I spent all my attention on your face.”

“Only my face?” he inquired, clearly amused.

“That, and other things,” I replied, and let my gaze wander from the perfect symmetry of his face to the broad, strong shoulders and chest.

“And here I thought you were so innocent and pure?”