Stormcaster (Shattered Realms #3)(96)

They stood in a shabby little group—their faces closed and guarded. He recognized some of them: Lady Matelon and her daughter. Christina Heresford and her four younger children. Her husband, Ross, had been killed in the war with the north. Her eldest, Rafe, was with the rebels at White Oaks. Patrice DeLacroix, mother to the unfortunate Estelle, and wife to Pascal, who had joined the rebels. Danielle Oberon, cousin to DeLacroix. She’d taken full advantage of the family’s rise when DeLacroix was Montaigne’s favorite.

Several flinched and looked away when they saw Destin. His face was well known at court, his reputation throughout the empire.

Do they think I’m going to torture them? Interrogate them? Murder them?

Well, yes. Why wouldn’t they?

Granger came up beside him. “The count is forty-five, Lieutenant. Twenty-eight adults and seventeen children.”

Lila wrote that number down, although Destin had noticed that she was taking her own count.

“Lieutenant Karn,” Lady Matelon said, fixing on him immediately. “I won’t say welcome, because that would be dishonest, and I try to tell the truth as often as I can.”

Christina Heresford came up beside her and patted her arm. “Now, now, Marjorie, just because we’ve fallen on hard times doesn’t mean that we should forget our manners.” She looked up at Destin. “Can we offer you some gruel, Lieutenant?”

“We’re all out of gruel,” a voice called from amid the crowd.

“Some bread and water, then?” Heresford arched her brow. “Tell me, Lieutenant, is it true that bread is still wholesome if one cuts the mold off?”

Destin was struck by the iron-spined defiance of these women, kept belowground for months, aware of how tenuous their position was. Strong men do choose strong women, he thought. It’s only the weak that are threatened by them.

“Thank you,” he said, “but we’re actually here for another purpose. Is everyone here? Is anyone missing?”

“There are two babies asleep in the nursery,” Heresford said, folding her arms. “Shall we wake them up?”

Destin shook his head. That makes forty-seven, he thought.

He turned to Marina. “Your Majesty?”

“I bring some good news,” Marina said. “We’re here to invite you to a party.”

You could have heard a pin drop in the chamber.

“A party?” Lady Matelon looked at Lady Heresford. “Who the hell is inviting us to a party?” It seemed that her time underground had surfaced the grit in the thanelee.

“His Majesty is entertaining the ambassadors and nobility from the down-realms,” Marina said, “and he would like you to be there.”

“Why?” DeLacroix said, her body stiff with disapproval. “Is he going to stage an execution for his guests?”

“Let me remind you that King Jarat was not responsible for Lady Estelle’s unfortunate death,” Marina said.

“Gerard is dead,” DeLacroix said. “I expected that, as Jarat’s mother, you would exert more influence over—”

“I offer the king counsel,” Marina said, a little sharply, “but, like his father, he makes his own decisions. I would argue that your influence is limited as long as you are locked up out of sight. This could be an opportunity to forge a new relationship with a new king.”

“He can forge a new relationship with us by freeing us and allowing us to rejoin our families,” Lady Matelon said.

“That is unlikely to happen anytime soon,” Destin said. “But this would afford you a little freedom. It could be a start.” Destin knew he should stay out of it. He was no diplomat, and their hatred of him ran deep.

“Why would the king send his spymaster to invite us to a party?” Lady DeLacroix said, tilting her head at Destin. “Are you going to handwrite the invitations, too?”

“The lieutenant is here to protect me from all of you.” Marina rolled her eyes, and several of the ladies laughed. It helped that Marina was popular with the ladies of the court. Despite her limited influence over the king, she was a person who could find a way to get things done behind the scenes. Destin knew for a fact that she had intervened on behalf of many in the room over the years.

“Does he mean to parade us before his guests wearing these clothes?” Heresford swirled her filthy skirts. “Is this really the kind of image he wants to present to his underlords?”

“No, I don’t believe he does,” Marina said. “I have arranged for you to get some new clothes, if you have nothing suitable. To be honest, I asked for this. I am so damned tired of making conversation with every deadly dull merchant, noble, and official who passes through the city. I could use some help.”

Lady Heresford laughed. “You poor thing.” They all knew, to varying degrees, what her life had been like with Gerard. Speaking to dull merchants was the least of it.

“When it comes to the rebellion, I don’t think it will make a big difference politically. Everybody with a brain in his head will understand why you’re there.” Marina smiled sadly. “I have missed all of you so much.”

Heads were nodding all around, accompanied by a murmur of “We’ve missed you, too.”

“What about the children?” somebody asked. “Are they invited?”