Ashes of Roses (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms Book 4) (9 page)

Perhaps a frown passed over my features, for I heard Gabrinne give a little laugh and say, “Oh, no need to be jealous of that one, Ashara. That is the Crown Princess Lyarris, and although I’ve heard she and His Majesty are very close, she is certainly no rival.”

“I am not jealous,” I said immediately.

“Oh, well, that is good,” Gabrinne replied, amusement clear in her tone.

Wishing to distract her, I asked, “But how does this all work? For we are seated far from the high table, and so are most of the other girls here. How on earth can His Majesty meet all of us?”

“Simple enough. At the end of each course, we are to move to the next table, and therefore will circulate around the room. Eventually we will end up at the Emperor’s table, although only a few of us will be seated close enough to actually converse with him.”

As I did not want her to know how ardently I desired to be one of those lucky few, I said lightly, “Well, then, we must try to get you close. For I exchanged words with him yesterday, so it is only fair that you should have the chance.”

She shook her head then so that her raven curls bounced about her shoulders. “Good gods, Ashara, do you not recall that I have no wish to marry the Emperor?”

Belatedly I did remember she had said words to that effect, and also that she had someone better in mind. Who that could be, when Torric Deveras appeared to be the very peak of manly perfection, I had no idea…but it seemed that inquiring on the subject might be a good way to distract her.

“That is correct — you did say as much.” I slanted her a curious look. “So who precisely do you have in mind?”

“Duke Senric Torrival of Gahm,” Gabrinne announced proudly.

Of course I had heard of him, although I did not think I had yet seen him. But… “Isn’t he quite old?”

“Old?” She snorted. “He is older than we, true, but still in the prime of life. He is forty-one, I believe, or thereabouts.”

That still sounded quite old to me, surely more than twice Gabrinne’s age. Then again, age differences such as that were not all that uncommon in noble matches…although usually it was not the young women who sought them out. “Is he here?”

“Yes, he is standing near the high table as well. There — the tall man in the dark grey doublet.”

She apparently remembered enough of her manners not to point, but the jerk of her chin toward the spot where he stood was not all that less obvious. I let my gaze travel in the direction she had indicated, and saw a man of a height with the Emperor, although a good deal older. His profile was to us, and I saw a fine hawk-like nose and strong chin, and dark hair cut somewhat shorter than was currently the fashion. Perhaps there was a glint or two of grey in those heavy tresses, but certainly he did appear, as Gabrinne had protested, in the very prime of life.

“Ah, he is a very well-looking man,” I told her, and she smiled at my approval. “I am surprised he is not married already.”

“He was, but she died in childbed some years ago, and has never sought another wife. I suppose he must have loved her a great deal, to wait so long to marry again, but I daresay enough time has gone by. Besides, I am sure I can make him forget her.”

These words were said with such conviction that I had no doubt Gabrinne would succeed in her schemes. Would that I had her confidence!

“And does your father know of your plans?” I inquired.

A toss of her splendid curls. “No, but really, I think he will be quite happy with a duke, once he gets over the disappointment of my not being Empress. Gods, that’s the last thing I want! You cannot call your life your own, when you must live at court and do everything just so.” My expression must have fallen, for she hastened to add, “That is, I am sure
you
would not mind, because I can tell you’re at least half in love with His Majesty already, and love can smooth the way in such things. But otherwise I think it must be a dreadful bore.”

I had to confess to myself that I had never thought of life at court in such terms. Seen from far away, such an existence appeared glittering and perfect. But Gabrinne’s words gave me some pause, for I realized that the Empress must be the center of all attention, and that everything she did and said must be perfect. Put in such a way, it did seem that it could be something of a burden. On the other hand, I thought I would suffer a great deal to be Torric Deveras’ wife…and besides, I doubted the Empress had to scrub floors or black anyone’s shoes.

A lift of my shoulders that I was fairly sure did not fool her at all, and I said, “This is all entirely academic, for of course I don’t believe that I will be the Emperor’s choice.”

Gabrinne’s dark eyebrows shot upward at that remark. “You are entirely too modest. I saw how he was looking at you, and if there’s one thing having five older brothers has taught me, it’s that I can tell when a man is interested in a woman.”

“Five!” I exclaimed, hoping to move the conversation toward safer topics. “That is quite the number.”

“It is, and even worse when you are the only daughter in addition to being the last child of six. To be sure, I do believe my brothers have worn my parents down enough that they won’t mind too terribly when I tell them I have no intention of marrying the Emperor…they’ll only be glad that I made such a fine match as the Duke of Gahm with no assistance from them. After finding wives for all my brothers, they are quite done up.”

I could only imagine. Since I had Janks in my own household, I wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with having a young man about the place, but five of them at once must be quite the strain. “Well, I am glad that you will have some opportunity tonight, as the Duke is here, and appears to have a seat at the high table, so perhaps you will have a chance to speak with him when we move there.”

A quick glance in that direction told me that it seemed the members of the Imperial family were taking their seats. As soon as they were all sitting, it was time for us to choose our own spots at the table and sit as well, since we were assigned to the table only, and not to any particular seat. This was accomplished with a minimum of fuss, for of course the seating arrangements here did not matter — it was only when we reached the high table that our location would be of any importance.

Luckily, Gabrinne seated herself between me and the end of the table where my two stepsisters sat, and on the other side of my newfound friend was a very tall girl who did quite a good job of blocking any view of the two of us. Because of this, I found my nerves easing a bit as the servants came ’round with great jugs of wine and filled our goblets, then retreated so they might bring forth equally oversized tureens of soup, which they ladled into our bowls. The scent that rose to my nostrils was as toothsome as any I had enjoyed in Claris’ kitchen, and I gathered up my spoon.

Immediately Gabrinne’s hand was on my wrist. “Not yet,” she whispered. “We must wait until all at the high table have had their first taste, and then we may begin.”

Chagrined, I set down my spoon and placed my hands in my lap, following her lead. Thank goodness I had found a friend as knowledgeable about such things as she was kind, or I would surely have made quite the fool of myself.

At least we sat on the side of the table that had a more or less clear view of the Imperial party, and so I was able to watch as they had their first taste of the soup. The Emperor nodded, apparently giving his approval, and then it seemed we were free to begin our own dinners.

“So what happens if the Emperor does not approve of a dish?” I whispered to Gabrinne.

She shook her head, grinning. “I have never heard of such a thing. Whether that is because he is too polite to show his disapproval publicly, or because his cooks are so excellent that turning down any of their dishes isn’t even a possibility, I do not know for sure.” Her expression turned sly. “You will have to tell me which theory is correct, once you are Empress.”

There being no way I could sensibly reply to that remark, I lifted my spoon once again and tasted the creamy concoction within the bowl. Some kind of cream of leek soup, I thought, but with a subtle, pleasant tang I could not place, one that was noticeably absent from Claris’ own recipe. Although that taste reminded me of how hungry I was, how my noon meal had consisted of only bread and cheese, and half an apple, I made myself eat slowly and delicately, taking my cue from the other young women around the table, who seemed to barely take two or three spoonfuls before abandoning their soup altogether.

“Why are they eating so little?” I asked Gabrinne in an undertone, for I noticed she had taken hardly more than the rest of the girls.

“Their gowns are laced tight, and we have three more courses to go,” she replied frankly. “You are slender enough that such a thing is probably not a hardship, but I cannot say the same for the rest.” My expression must have still been one of concern, for she added, this time in a murmur that no one else could possibly overheard, “There’s no need to worry about it going to waste. The excess goes back to the kitchens for the servants, and if there’s any left over after that, I’ve heard it’s distributed to the poor.”

I knew I must be content with that explanation, although it seemed odd to prepare so much excess, only to give it away. My stepmother had always been parsimonious with her food, unless she was having company. I had always guessed that she preferred to spend the money on gowns for her daughters or new trinkets to clutter up the house, rather than something as lowly as foodstuffs.

Perhaps a half hour later, a soft chime sounded throughout the chamber — the signal to move on to the next table, apparently. “Do I take the silverware?” I asked Gabrinne in a whisper.

“No, of course not. See, they are already coming to bring fresh pieces. Just move along!”

I did as she bade me, hanging back a little so she was in the lead, and I might follow in her shadow. This first time I had been lucky in sitting so far away from my two stepsisters, but I could not count on that good fortune indefinitely. As we approached the table where we would take the second course, things became somewhat more complicated, as I had to dodge what appeared to be a veritable army of servants laying out new flatware for us.

Even so, Gabrinne and I made it safely to the table, and I waited while she sat down before I did so as well, catching in the corner of my eye the wine color and sapphire of my stepsisters’ gowns as they took their own seats a comfortable distance away. Not quite the opposite end of the table, unfortunately, but there were still at least fourteen or fifteen young women separating us, and that seemed a safe enough barrier.

Now I understood how these things worked, it was easier to sit and wait as the servants came ’round with a dish of field greens and nuts and raisins, with a tangy-sweet sauce that was a perfect complement to the slightly bitter taste of the greens. Easier still, because I saw that the next table was the one where the Emperor sat, and so my wait would be over soon.

Don’t be silly
, I told myself, f
or the odds are almost one hundred to one that you will be able to sit anywhere close to him. No, you will most likely perch at one end. The most you can hope for is that your stepsisters will take no note of you
.

This course appeared to be more involved than the last, for the dish of field greens was removed promptly and replaced by medallions of chicken in a light, savory sauce. I had been following Gabrinne’s lead, so at least I had not made a fool of myself by rising once the salad had been taken away. I also began to see why the girls had been so circumspect about their portions, for truly one could only have a few mouthfuls of each course, or risk being full before the main dish was even served.

“And we are very lucky, for the next course is the largest, and so the one that takes the longest, and it is for that one that we’ll be seated at the high table,” remarked Gabrinne after she had taken two very delicate bites of chicken, then laid her fork down on her plate. “Plenty of time for you to speak to the Emperor, and for me to renew my acquaintance with Lord Senric.”

“So you do know him?” I asked.

“Oh, everybody knows everybody else. That is,” she amended, and shot a rather guilty glance in my direction, “the dukes and the earls, mostly. My father has known Lord Senric for many years, and he has visited our estate several times. He never took any particular notice of me, but it has been several years now since he last visited, and most likely he does not know that I am now a young lady ready for the marriage bed.”

I choked on my wine at these bold words, and she grinned and shook her head.

“Why so modest, Ashara? That is why we are all here, is it not?”

“I — well, perhaps, but — ”

“But nothing.” She drank some of her own wine before adding, “I have kissed a young man several times, and I must confess that it was quite pleasant. I can only imagine that it will be even better with Lord Senric, for he will have had much more practice.”

What I was supposed to make of any of those pronouncements, I was not certain. Of course I had never kissed a young man, much less participated in any of the activities I had accidentally spied Mari and Janks sharing that one notable day. Even so, I thought of the Emperor kissing me, of his arms going around me, and a shiver fluttered its way down my spine.

My voice deliberately prim, I said, “And I imagine that your parents would not like to know that their daughter thought nothing of speaking of such things.”

Gabrinne only laughed, and raised her glass of wine toward me in a mock toast. “Ah, you may say that, but I saw the look on your face just before, and it was anything but proper. You were thinking of
him
, weren’t you?”

Since I could not deny it — well, deny it without Gabrinne spotting the lie immediately — I only looked away from her and took another very small bite of a chicken medallion.

“As I thought.” She pushed her plate away and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin of linen so fine that in my household it would have been used for a gown, not a bit of cloth to wipe one’s hands with. “It looks as if the servants are preparing to clear away this course from the high table. We will need to look sharp, for I am not sure exactly how they are going to determine who sits where.”