The truth is, if roles were reversed, Kenric would come for me. I know this. How could he think I would do less for him than he would do for me? Kenric asks me where I think Aart is hiding.
I shrug, “He’s wherever rats go.”
Dark as it was, Kenric didn’t see how badly wounded Aart was. Or how much he was bleeding. Now, perhaps, with the dukes quieted down, I can return to something like the routine we had in Imelenora. Days spent doing whatever was required of us and nights spent with Kenric. I don’t want much. I want the turmoil to end so I can spend my time with my husband.
That means getting Oskar to appoint replacements for Aart and Basten, or maybe just Aart. That will depend on what Oskar decides to do or what Jellema can persuade him to do. If Basten is smart, he’ll blame the whole thing on Aart, and Duke Jellema becomes a power to contend with. He’ll have Keimpe, Nelis, and Basten in his pocket. It wouldn’t be much of a push to make him king. I haven’t spoken to Ina, but I’ll see if she wants to have tea at one of the tea shops. If she does, we might be able to speak quietly.
Oskar would be smart to accept Hedde’s help. He’s perhaps the most capable ruler in all of Centis. Oskar can use him to keep the other dukes in check. The dukes, in turn, are jealous of their power and will happily quash any upstart earls. The problem is that Oskar’s never been smart. I’m sure he was praised greatly as a child for his intelligence and acumen, but the sad truth is that those were empty words said by courtiers to curry favor with a crown prince and future king.
All of this is a problem for tomorrow, though. I snuggle next to Kenric and doze off. I wake up sometime in the night with Kenric carrying me to the bed. Apparently, even Oskar isn’t crass enough to demand that Kenric galivant around town, gambling with him, after all that. I wake in the morning, considering how to manage these miserable, greedy men. I’m under no illusions that Nelis or Basten will remain under Jellema’s thumb forever. I think Ellisar has used me as bait to goad them into foolish action.
He'd have known what their laws were like. I’m certain that he planned this, that meddling toad. No matter what I do, he always finds a way to sour it. Perhaps Inaba is right and leaving Ellisar behind is for the best. If I were a gambler, I’d bet there’s something in that contract that says that his emissary has to approve any shipments of Fey goods. Since women don’t hold power, they’ve assumed that this will be Kenric. By displacing Kenric and controlling me, they think that they’ll control the trade.
They don't care about me. They only care about the signature. The contract requires the Fey Emissary to approve all imports. Under their barbaric laws, a wife has no voice. Her husband speaks for her. They think that if they replace Kenric, they will become the voice that controls the Fey gold. Then they can divert all the trade to themselves and cut Oskar out. Ellisar would never accept Kenric’s signature on anything. Kenric isn’t a member of the Fey court, even though Ellisar offered him a place.
If they were to wave Kenric’s signature on anything, Ellisar would laugh at them. If they try to wave their own signature, Ellisar will come here looking for me. We might not be close, but he’d never let the humans lord over me if they were to manage to take me prisoner and hold me. His army would come hunting. It would be humiliating for me but he’d never let them think they had that much power over any of us. I don’t know that any of these dukes realize what a dangerous game they’re playing.
If they let me sign, I can do it in such a way that any Fey handling that document knows it’s a forced signature. None of Ellisar’s officials would accept it. They’ll call it a forgery and insist that they produce me to validate it. It would, once again, be humiliating for me. That’s not an insolvable problem, though. Turn me lose and watch me take this place apart. A nudge of illness here, a touch of madness there, a few glamours, a few compulsions, and the whole house of cards starts falling.
These dukes play a fool's game, but without telling them I can work magic, I have no way to explain to them the depths of their stupidity. That path is unwinnable. I’ll keep my own council on that and quietly do what I need to keep them in check. I’d prefer to do it without any obvious magic. Their own stupidity is sufficient. Nelis is proof of that. All I need to do is keep maneuvering until we’re released from court. Let Kenric play cards with Oskar. At least then, Kenric will be surrounded by Royal Guards.
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Given that he was snatched right here in the palace and held captive here, I’m hoping Oskar’s personal guards are better trained than the palace guards. I’m still thinking through all this when Kenric rolls me to face him. Kenric’s eyes darken, and he looks at me like I’m the only thing in the world that matters.
“Good morning, Lady Kenric. I trust you slept well,” he rumbles.
Gods above! He’s in full seduction mode this morning. His hands are already all over me. Melina knocks, and Kenric groans, loudly.
I can hear Melina’s snicker. I doubt Kenric can hear it, but I can.
“What is it?” I call to her.
“Duchess Ina is here to see you,” Melina says.
I mutter some bad words into Kenric’s chest before I shove myself out of bed and throw on my nightgown and a robe. I open the door and peer out.
“Víl?, get dressed. What are you still doing in bed?” Duchess Ina says.
I turn around and frown at the window, which is lighter now, but still not showing signs of dawn yet.
I turn back to Duchess Ina, “What are you doing awake at this ungodly hour?”
Ina snorts, “Víl?, darling, if you’re going to skulk about the palace, this is the best time to do it. Even most of the staff are still asleep.”
I glance over my shoulder to Melina, “I need something for some pre-dawn, pre-breakfast skulking since that appears to be on today’s agenda of approved lady-like activities.”
Melina chuckles and pulls out a dark blue dress and Ina nods, “That should do.”
I’m dressed by the ladies and my hair is pinned up and tucked under a matching dark navy blue henin.
I accompany Ina, who loops her arm through mine. We exchange gossip and pretend to be planning a surprise party for her eldest son.
Ina leads me out into the gardens, where Hedde, Duke Jellema is waiting. “Was your offer serious?”
I nod.
“Can you do it?”
I nod again.
“Why?”
“Like a dog with a treat, I simply wish to sit in the corner and savor my treat in peace. Unfortunately, everyone seems to want to steal it from me. One will be worse than the father. Another is lazy and lazy men make terrible kings. The last should have been the first.”
Duke Jellema studies me for a time, “You are content with Kenric.”
It’s a statement, not a question.
I nod. “He’s the only reason I’m here. I’d rather have stayed in Imelenora or perhaps Ikedena with my aunt."
"If dukes agree to leave you alone, will you drop this?”
Even if I drop it, there’s still the matter of Basten’s replacement and Aart’s replacement. Everyone still thinks Aart is hiding in his rooms to avoid facing the tongue lashing I’m ready to give him. It also doesn’t stop whatever Ellisar has set in motion to deal with this upstart backwater kingdom who thinks they can challenge Fey power.
Why Oskar assumed that he could ever challenge Ellisar is beyond me. Centis isn’t even a bump on eel’s behind in tide pool that's next to the ocean of our trade partners. Even most of the human kingdoms consider Centis to be backwards bumpkins at best and downright distasteful at worst. The only kingdom they hate more is Vupis because the whole place is a theomachy. The king is the high priest of their strict, austere religion. Centis is seen as a small half-step up from Vupis.
Having Hedde take over as king now, with power vacuum of the two absent dukes would have been ideal. He could have appointed men who would be loyal to him. That would give him a tight leash on four of the five dukes including his own replacement. That would give Centis a better chance to ride out the coming storm. I can’t say that to either of them, since I’m not supposed to know about it. Kenric told me in the strictest confidence. At best, if Hedde were king, I might be able to make Centis a client kingdom.
At least then Hedde and Ina would likely survive this mess. Hedde has been good to his word and Ina has been extremely helpful. As things sit now, they most likely will not. That makes me a bit sad. I was hoping Hedde would take my offer and we could dispense with some of this foolishness. It seems that he’s not going to take it. Why is he loyal to Oskar? Oskar bedded Ina. That has to rankle. I can’t imagine a scenario in which it doesn’t rankle. If not as husband, at least his manly pride.
With all of these things in mind, I nod. There are things I can control and things I cannot. I’m smart enough to know the difference. This is something that I cannot control so I won’t try. I leave them to it, and let them reap what they have sown. On one hand, Hedde and the other dukes haven’t tried to curb Oskar’s predatory instincts and this makes them at least partially guilty for all that Oskar’s done to the women of the court and to Grethe. On the other, Oskar is king and they can’t over-rule him.
No matter, I can bring that oaf, Oskar, to heel, just as I would a disobedient dog. I have centuries of experience dealing with Ellisar and I’ve even managed to bring him to heel a time or two. If I can bring Ellisar to heel, I can bring this petty little human king to heel. I need to plan and wait for things to play out so that I can hobble and muzzle him. He’s not going to like it a bit, but I will make that particular meat puppet dance to my tune. Oh, he’s going to fight it. He’ll squirm and curse.
- What do you think happens next? Who’s walking away—and who’s not?
- If you could write the next line, what would it be?