The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2)(78)
“I am more anxious than I expected to be,” Suzenne whispered softly. “My fingers are shaking. Can you help me with the veil?”
“Gladly,” Maia answered, walking over to the gossamer veil nestled in a box the Aldermaston’s wife had provided earlier. It was just past sunset. Suzenne’s parents awaited her inside the abbey, as did the Aldermaston and his wife. Sabine had decided to spend the night in the abbey in the hopes it would help her understand the Medium’s will as she wrestled with the monumental doom facing the realm.
Maia removed the veil carefully, and carried the pretty confection over to her friend. She grasped Suzenne’s shoulder tenderly. “You look beautiful, Suzenne. Dodd will be so pleased.”
Suzenne flushed, unable to conceal a nervous smile. “What a foreboding wedding night,” she murmured. “My parents are not exactly rejoicing over our decision, but your husband’s promise to bring us to Dahomey with you was received with pleasure. They did nothing more than offer their concerns. I am grateful for that.”
Maia smiled and was about the settle the veil over Suzenne’s head when her friend stopped her. “Maia?”
“Yes?”
Suzenne began to stammer timidly. “You said . . . you were married in Dahomey . . . in the middle of your husband’s army, if I recall. Did you . . . um . . . consummate . . . the marriage later since you did not that night?” She could not look at Maia, as if hoping she had not trodden on an unsafe topic.
Maia bit her lip and blushed. “We have not, Suzenne. I can be of no help to you in that.” Her cheeks flamed despite her best attempts to appear unaffected.
Suzenne nodded in understanding and wrung her hands as Maia fixed the veil over her golden hair. Once it was in place, Suzenne’s face could barely be seen beneath the gauzy veil.
A knock sounded at their door, and Maia hurried to answer it. She saw the Aldermaston’s steward there, and behind him, Collier.
“A mist has settled over the abbey this evening,” Tomas said, his cheeks dimpling. “The Aldermaston sent me to bring Suzenne to the abbey for the ceremony. Everyone is already assembled.”
Suzenne rose from the chair and joined them at the door. Maia hugged her and touched her cheek through the veil, feeling love for her friend and sadness for herself. She wondered what the morrow would bring for them all.
“And I am here,” Collier interrupted, offering his arm to Maia, “because I understand you are still holding vigil. With your grandmother and friends otherwise occupied tonight, I thought I might keep you company?” He offered her a charming smile, which made her flush. She wanted his company, but had been too ashamed to ask for it.
“Thank you,” she said gratefully.
They walked together, following Tomas and Suzenne to the doors of the manor house. The grounds were indeed wreathed in damp mists, which was peculiar since the mists normally came at dawn. The air was thick and cool and wet and had a sharp, metallic taste. Dewdrops gathered on her face the moment they emerged into the night air. They could not see the abbey through the fog, even though it was very close.
They walked together until they reached the outer doors of the abbey, and again Maia felt an oppressive feeling warning her not to go farther. She stopped, clinging to Collier’s arm, and watched until Suzenne disappeared behind the pewter doors of the abbey. The walls loomed above her in the mist, and although they were invisible in the mist, she had walked the grounds enough times to visualize what they looked like.
“Would you like to walk in the garden?” Collier asked.
“That would be nice,” Maia replied, feeling awkward with him so soon after Suzenne’s wedding preparations. Much had changed between them since his humiliation of Deorwynn and Murer in the morning. It felt as if the day was a hinge on which the world was turning, and she could hear the groaning creak of a door about to close. “I would like my cloak, though. It is so unusual, this cold and damp.”
“Certainly.” They started walking back the short distance to the manor. “You are quiet this evening. Are your thoughts as intense as mine after such a day?”
“Yes . . . and I am also tired,” Maia said, feeling a fog of sorts inside her head. “I have not slept in quite some time. The abbey has a strange feeling to it tonight.” She gazed back at it and saw that even the pewter doors had vanished in the mist. A fleeting fancy slipped into her mind, and she wondered if the abbey would disappear when the mists left in the morning. She could hear different sounds—it was only just after sunset, and learners were walking the grounds preparing to celebrate Whitsunday the next day. The maypole had been erected and the colored streamers affixed. The kitchen overflowed with treats. Yet despite the symbols of festivity, the fate of Muirwood was oppressive and dark. A new Aldermaston would take charge the next day if the Medium allowed it to happen.
“It does feel strange,” Collier said, scratching his throat. He glanced around uncomfortably. “I feel as if we are not alone. It is a little unsettling.”
They reached the door to the manor and walked down the hall back to her room, both walking faster than necessary as if by silent agreement. Maia opened the door and hurried to fetch her cloak, her arms trembling. She had never felt so dark and gloomy as she did at that moment. Collier stood by the open door, his expression pensive.
The sounds of boots came clipping down the hall. Collier turned and looked, his expression immediately going sour. “What is it, Carew?” he asked, frowning slightly. Maia fastened the cloak around her neck, and when she reached the doorway, Captain Carew had reached them.