Dark Moon Defender (Twelve Houses) (68 page)

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Authors: Sharon Shinn

BOOK: Dark Moon Defender (Twelve Houses)
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Ellynor couldn’t think of anything to say in answer to that, so she just offered another polite smile. Kirra tilted her head to one side and studied her, making no attempt to be surreptitious about it.
 
 
“You’re not at all what I would have expected,” Kirra said abruptly. “If I were fashioning a woman designed to appeal to Justin? It never would have been you.”
 
 
That was so rude that Ellynor merely opened her mouth and stared back.
 
 
“Why is it that all the big men always fall for the dainty girls?” the mystic added, sounding aggrieved. “The taller the man, the tinier the woman he wants. Have you ever noticed that?”
 
 
“Not really,” Ellynor said in a choked voice.
 
 
“I just—I would have thought Justin would have chosen someone more like Senneth. Or even more like me.”
 
 
Ellynor sat up even straighter on the bed. “I’m sorry if you think I’ve stolen him away from you,” she said stiffly. “You might—perhaps—I suppose the two of you were in love at some point. But I—”
 
 
“In
love
? With
Justin
?” Kirra exclaimed, her incredulity so genuine that it was impossible to doubt her. “Gods, no. We can’t stand each other.”
 
 
Just like that, Ellynor’s heart grew light and joyful. Still. “That can’t be true,” she said. “You came here on his behalf. You must have a relationship of some sort.”
 
 
“He’s my brother,” Kirra replied.
 
 
Ellynor merely looked at her.
 
 
Kirra smiled and spread her hands. “He’s my brother. He takes me for granted. He teases me. He scolds me when he thinks I’ve done something stupid. But he would kill anyone who tried to hurt me—if I didn’t kill that person first,” she added scrupulously. “I never had a brother before, and sometimes I don’t like it. But now I’m stuck with him and he’s stuck with me. If he’s anything like the rest of my family, it means he’s with me for the rest of my life.”
 
 
Ellynor was nodding, slowly, finally comprehending, finally believing. “I have two brothers, and you have described it exactly,” she said. “I would not want to try to imagine my life without them.”
 
 
Kirra laughed. “Is that why you don’t like me? Because you’re jealous?”
 
 
“I don’t dislike you,” Ellynor said quickly.
 
 
“Because there are a lot of reasons people dislike me, and some of them are valid, but you can’t hate me over Justin,” Kirra said. She sounded remarkably cheerful. Ellynor thought she probably always did. “You’ll have to find something better than that.”
 
 
“I’d rather find a reason to be friends,” Ellynor said.
 
 
“I was joking,” Kirra said. “Of course we’ll be friends. All of us. You’ll never have a peaceful moment again in your life.”
 
 
CHAPTER 34
 
 
THAT night, Ellynor joined Justin’s friends and Faeber’s family for a lively dinner in the pleasantly appointed dining room on the ground floor. It was odd and a little overwhelming to be among so many strangers at once, and for most of the meal she made herself quiet and small in the safe space between Justin and Senneth. But she listened closely and watched carefully, drawing quick conclusions about the others at the table.
 
 
Faeber and his two sons she already knew to some extent, and trusted; she was glad to see that in this setting they still seemed to be thoughtful and likable men. Marney was capable and competent, serving excellent food with a minimum of fuss, and seeming not at all put out to have a houseful of people to care for.
 
 
Tayse was rather frightening, a large man with dark hair and a somber expression. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, everyone, even the flighty Kirra, listened to what he had to say. It was clear that Justin respected the other Rider above anyone else in the room. Most of his comments, and all of his questions, were directed at Tayse. Ellynor knew only the tiniest bit about their history, which Justin had sketched for her this afternoon. She hoped, for Justin’s sake, that the big man was kinder than he looked.
 
 
She liked Cammon immediately, but Justin had told her she would. She had the sense that she would be entirely comfortable around the taciturn and unassuming Donnal.
 
 
If she were to spend time with these people. If she really were to upend her life and follow Justin back into his.
 
 
The dinner talk was mostly about people she didn’t know— great lords, local bullies, missing friends. After a while, Ellynor gave up on trying to follow the sense of the words, and instead concentrated on the bonds between individuals. Kirra was the bright light, the laughing jester who had them all smiling. She and Justin argued three separate times before the meal was over, but Donnal watched her the entire time with a look of amusement and adoration. Cammon gave everyone his close attention, his gaze flicking from speaker to speaker in turn, seeming to absorb and ponder everything the others said. Tayse was the one they all looked to when the topic turned to strategy or plotting for the future. But Senneth was the heart of this small group, Ellynor decided, the sun they all revolved around. They might have separate relationships with each other, but she was the one they all loved.
 
 
Halfway through the meal, Justin set down his fork as if he’d just remembered something. “Senneth! I never asked! What did the king say when you showed up at Ghosenhall with the marlady?”
 
 
Senneth laughed. “Oh, we didn’t go to Ghosenhall. I thought it might be a little too inconvenient for Baryn to have to explain why he was giving Sabina sanctuary. So I took her to Brassen Court instead.”
 
 
Justin looked amused. “So that Kiernan could try to make up an explanation instead?”
 
 
“Because I don’t care if Kiernan’s inconvenienced,” she said dryly. “Anyway, I thought she would be safe there.”
 
 
“She was a strange little thing,” Justin commented. “So afraid. But trying so hard to be brave.”
 
 
“I never liked her much before,” Senneth admitted. “But apparently the day she decided to escape from Lumanen Convent was the day a courageous new Sabina Gisseltess was born—and she has a certain fragile charm, I’ll admit.”
 
 
Ellynor glanced between them. “Sabina Gisseltess? The wife of the Lestra’s brother?”
 
 
Justin nodded. “Yes, she came to Neft one night in secret. Apparently she’d been staying at the convent with her husband and had some fear he was going to kill her, so she managed to escape one afternoon. I don’t know how she got past the gates.”
 
 
“I helped her,” Ellynor said, her voice almost a whisper. “Small woman—blond—right? She was just standing there, looking so lost, and I told her she could walk outside with the rest of us—and she did. Then she disappeared into the forest, and there was
such
a commotion at the convent when they realized she was gone! I wondered what happened to her. And then, lately, well—everything else has made it slip my mind.”
 
 
Kirra was laughing. “So
you
set the marlady free? And Justin kept her safe? You two have a strange sort of magic, don’t you? You’re connected even when you don’t realize you are.”
 
 
“This seems more like coincidence than magic,” Tayse said.
 
 
Kirra pointed a finger at him. “You only say that because you don’t understand magic.”
 
 
It wasn’t until Marney cut and served four pies for dessert that Ellynor realized Faeber’s wife had done all the work of preparing the meal. Surely in a house this size, with a man of Faeber’s rank, there were normally servants. As Marney put a wedge of pastry before her, Ellynor glanced up.
 
 
“Have you been cooking for all of these people ever since I brought them down on your house?” she asked. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t think of the extra work I would be making for you.”
 
 
Marney laughed. “We normally have a maid, a cook, and a couple of footmen, but I thought all of them should have a holiday while our unconventional houseguests were in residence,” she said. “It seemed the fewer witnesses, the better.”
 
 
“Donnal and I have been helping in the kitchen,” Cammon said. “I used to work in a tavern, so I know all about cooking and cleaning.”
 
 
“And Donnal’s just naturally good at any chore that needs to be done,” Kirra said.
 
 
“Well, I’ll help clean up tonight,” Ellynor said.
 
 
“Certainly not!” Marney exclaimed. “You’ve been doing the hardest jobs of all—saving a life, and mending your own.”
 
 
Ellynor smiled. “I’m tired of lying around doing nothing,” she said.
 
 
Justin had finished his pie in about three bites. “I’ll stay with you, if you want,” he offered. “I can scrub pans, too.”
 
 
She gave him a sideways look. “Something tells me you have other plans.”
 
 
He grinned. “Need to start working out again. Thought Tayse and I might practice a little swordplay.”
 
 
One of Faeber’s sons sat forward. “That I’d like to see,” he said. “Two Riders in training.”
 
 
“Well,
this
Rider won’t be much to look at for a few weeks,” Justin said ruefully. “But you’re welcome to watch.” He glanced down at Ellynor. “Unless—”
 
 
She was laughing. “No, no. Go fighting. You won’t be happy again until you’ve got a blade in your hand.”
 
 
“Until I’ve got a blade in my hand and I can
use
it,” Justin added.
 
 
Accordingly, once the meal was over, most of the men retired to Faeber’s barn. Senneth and Kirra disappeared upstairs, deep in consultation. Marney, Ellynor, Cammon, and Donnal carried dishes to the kitchen and began to clean.
 
 
“What do you want to do with this leftover meat?” Cammon asked as he organized the dishes on a sideboard by the sink.
 
 
“Save it. I want to make soup tomorrow and take some to serra Paulina.”
 
 
Ellynor looked up from scraping a plate into the garbage pail. “Serra Paulina? At the Gisseltess house? What’s wrong with her?”
 
 
Marney looked surprised. “You know her?”
 
 
Ellynor nodded. “I visited her a few times when she was sick. They thought she was going to die but I—but she didn’t.”
 
 
There was a shrewd expression on Marney’s face. “Oh, that’s what happened, is it? I had talked to Jenetta every day for a week, and every morning I expected to hear that her mother had passed on. Then one day, her mother was well, and no one could understand it.” She sighed. “Though I’m not sure such a miracle is possible this time. Jenetta’s at Nocklyn Towers for some event, and the housekeeper came by this morning to tell me the old woman has taken a turn for the worse. I’m going over tomorrow to see if there’s anything I can do, but—well. She’s old and sick and frail. It might be her time.”
 
 
Ellynor was quiet for a moment, remembering serra Paulina’s gruff kindness. The old woman had aided Ellynor in her clandestine romance and seemed to exult in every last minute of life she could wring from her final days. Ellynor clenched her hands a moment, feeling the weakness in her fists. Was she strong enough to heal the old noblewoman a second time? She wasn’t sure she was strong enough to make it up the stairs on her own.
 
 
Marney was surveying the welter of plates and pans. “Eleven healthy people can certainly go through quite a number of dishes, can’t they?” she said.
 
 
“Yes, but you don’t have to be the one to clean them,” Cammon said. He took her arm and urged her toward the door. “You go rest. We know where everything belongs by now. You’re exhausted.”
 
 
“I’m not,” Marney claimed.

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