the Leathermines

Back to Chapter 14

 

Laun was in the tub when Falmir came to the room.  Laun did not care if he saw her naked.  He did.

A screen was set up between them and he sat as they talked.  Laun was clean, but it felt good to be in the water, it taking the weight of the baby for a while.

“...for the third time, I had run all the way back to my room before I realized that I had left the book on my father’s desk.”  Falmir sounded both happy and wistful.

Laun laughed a little.  “I had a good time reading it.  I have to admit I was slightly insulted when I saw it was a children’s book, but I really enjoyed it.  Thank you.”

“I just pointed at a shelf and told the servant to take the books to you.”  There was a pause.  “I didn’t send you any state secrets, did I?”

Laun laughed again.  “None so far, Sire.  Except for your like of a certain flower.”

There was another pause.  “I have no- oh!”  He sounded a little embarrassed as he said, “I did use violets as bookmarks, didn’t I?”

“That explains why most of the scented stuff in this room had that flower, before I banished it.”

“Did it?  I just put things in here I knew she...”

Laun waited for him to continue.  “Sire?”

“It’s nothing.  You have found one of my weaknesses, Thorn.”

“I wasn’t even looking for one, Sire.  I am sorry if I brought up bad memories.”  Laun hoped that her concern showed in her voice.

“Not all are bad.  I just miss Tressa.  I should have been here when she was bedridden.”

“As Prince of the realm, and having your own household to run, I am sure you were more than a little busy.”

Laun heard a stifled sigh.  “No.  I should have been here.”  

There was a deepness in tone and thought in the statement that shook Laun.  She had been finding that her enemy, her father, was more than rage and a need for power.  She had empathy for him, the loss of loved ones, but it also fell cold for part of it as she still had the ghosts of her own household to contend with.

“Sire, I have been taught that you celebrate the lives that have touched you.  It keeps them alive for just that much more and you can remember how they were without regretting too much that they are no longer with us.”  Laun splashed in the tub a little.  “I hope you can do that for your sister.”

Falmir was quiet for a while.  She heard him get up and he walked around the screen.  He kept his eyes on the wall, but she knew he could see her.  She brought her knees up slightly and put her hands on her knees.

Laun saw him work his jaw for a moment before saying, “I wish you would denounce my father and pledge to me.”

“I cannot do that, sire.  You know that if I did it too readily, you would not be able to trust me.  I may be your adversary, but I have promised to not raise a hand to you, and I intend to keep that promise.”

He nodded at the wall.  “I should be getting back...”  He turned, his eyes taking in her in the tub.  And he stopped.

Laun knew he was looking at the scars.  Especially the one on her breast.  “I have not shown you my collection, have I?”  Laun motioned and one of the servants was there to help her out of the tub.

Falmir started to turn away.  Laun used her command voice without realizing it and said, “Stay.”  He stopped turning and watched as she was helped out of the tub.

There were loopcloth towels to dry her but she allowed just a swipe against her skin before she padded towards Falmir.  She took his hand and placed it on her shoulder wound.  “This one I received while battling some of the hired bandits.”  She had her hand move his to her hip.  “This one was while I was escaping from those bandits.”  She moved his hand to all the visible scars she could remember, landing his hand on the one on her chest last.

“This is the one I got when I was defending my people at the Festival.  If I hadn’t been wearing the chest piece with the Salam-Dir blazon, it would have been worse.”

Falmir stepped closer and put his other arm around her, bringing her into an embrace.  “I heard of a woman who had supposedly taken out two squads of the mercs.  I hadn’t believed them.”

Laun put her head on his chest.  She could hear his heart and a slight rumble as he spoke.  “One squad.  At the most.  Remember that merc commanders always up the numbers for deadpay.”  She liked the feel of the cotton under her cheek and the smell of...

She pushed herself away slightly.  “You used the currying soap.”

He colored slightly and looked down to her eyes.  “You seem to have started a trend.  One of my servants had some on the shelf this morning.  I thought I might as well try it.”

Laun stepped away and reached for the towel the servant was trying to hand to her without watching them touch.  “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Falmir turned slightly as she dried herself.  “I had forgotten.  When I was warded, we would wash the horses and then our selves.”  He laughed once.  “I hear the word has started to spread and there is now a glut of the Rosemond oils and crap being sold by the servants.”

Laun saw at least one face behind him react.  “It will take a while to have an effect, but I hope that this is not just a trend because your favorite prefers this.”  Laun pointed to the still wet and lathered soap sitting on a little tray next to the tub.

“Favorite.”  He mulled on that and went to the other side of the screen to sit again.

“You have treated me as a...doxy?  I think that is the word.  I think it confuses people when they cannot plainly put a person or circumstance into something they know.  And, I have to say, I confuse most people without the circumstance we are in.”  Her arms went up and the white dress was being put on her again.

“I have treated you as an honored enemy.  A noble.  And a woman.”

Laun was using a ribbon to tie her hair back as she walked from around the screen.  “I thank you for all of those.  I hope I have treated you such as well.”

His eyebrow went up.  “Considering that I have seen a knife in your hand and you have not tried to use it on me, I think you have restrained yourself well, Thorn.”

Laun curtseyed slightly and motioned for the stool from in front of the vanity.  She sat facing him.  She also waved the servants out and they closed the doors behind them.

He sat with his arms across his chest.  “Yes, Lady?”

Laun smiled.  Her head tilted slightly to one side and she put her hands palm up on her lap.  “I am going to tell you something of myself.  I have...talents.  My training is not complete, but I believe that Sand Master can attest to some of them.”

Falmir’s face froze.  “What has he told you of-”

Laun raised one hand and waived it to dismiss what Falmir was saying.  “What you have done to his apprentice is of no concern to me.  When he comes to you with what you have asked for, then you will resolve the matter.”  He narrowed his eyes.  Laun put her hand palm up on her lap again.  “We have a wager.  I also have an... appointment with Ithian this evening, with your permission.”

He had a smile tempered with a sneer.  “Which one of you was working fast?”

“Sire, he asked me if he could come to see me.  I did not ask for his attendance to me.”  She looked at her hands and then back up to Falmir.  “I offer you a slight change in our wager.”

“What kind of change?”

“I ask for a piece of information to dangle in front of him tonight.  Something that he may have been trying to wrangle out of you.  A minor thing, and it does not even have to be a truth.”

His eyes narrowed.  “Why.”  Flatly said with a suspicion loud behind it.

“Yes, I am with your father in this conflict.  But you are family and this is also my kingdom.  He was too...eager.  I think that the Ambassador has been using some of his talents to gather and spread information that is bad for the Midlands.  I do not want to see the kingdom taken over by Rosemond because of his actions.”

He nodded, slowly.  “I think I understand what you are asking.”

Laun leaned back slightly.  “It will make it easier for me to get the information you are looking for out of him if he thinks I have a little of what he is looking for.”  Laun looked slightly to the side towards the closed door and said, “And you will be able to trace the information back to him if you find it coming back to you.”

Falmir nodded.  “Let me think about it.  I will think of what he has been asking about.  You are still not pledged to me.”  Laun bowed her head and looked back at him.  “I will think about it.  What do you want in exchange for planting this information in his way?”

Laun smiled.  “I wish to see the kitchens of the Palace.”

He looked at her and nodded after a moment.  “You are right, I would not have let you go without something like this.”  He was quiet.  Falmir thought of her request, and how she sounded like his sister as well as looked like her.  It took a moment before he nodded and said, “If you can make it work, you shall see the kitchens.”

Falmir stood and offered his hand to her.  She stood before taking it and slipped into a warriors grip with him, palm to elbow.  There was some surprise, but the grasp was strong between them.

“Now, Father.  Yell at me.”

“What?”

“It is the audience.  They have been able to hear some, but not all.”

Falmir smiled, an animal glare coming down to her from him.  “Subtleness was never one of the qualities I have been told I have.  Well played, Thorn.”

They parted and Falmir took in a breath.  He stopped.  “About what?”

Laun shrugged.  “Does it matter?  Perhaps the Ambassador.”

He nodded.  He was at full volume and Laun had to sit in her surprise as he bellowed, “Then sleep with him!”

“Sire!”  Laun’s voice was not as loud, but the shock in her voice was not all play.

He went to the door and said loudly, “It’s not like he can knock you up.  But if I find that you-”  He opened the door and tried to look surprised at the servants scattering on the other side.

The servants had indeed heard some of the words, but nothing that made sense.  With the yelling and Falmir storming out of the room with Laun looking stunned on the stool, the tableau showed much more friction than there really was.

Falmir was almost out of the room when he turned and pointed at her.  “You eat in this room.  You sleep in this room.  You will stay in this room until I say you can leave.”  He turned again and the door slammed behind him.

Laun sat on the stool for a moment.  She had a rush of adrenaline going through her and she was shaky.  It was not just him yelling at her.  That had been very loud and had scared her.  It was bald-face lying to him and trying to get him to give her information.  If he gave her something, she would be able to use it somehow with the Ambassador.  And for herself.

Several of the servants came into the room, most with concern on their faces.  Laun had her hand on her chest and a stricken look on her face.  She turned away from the servants around her and would not meet their eyes.  

She left the bathing room and went out and sat at the window bench.  She looked out over the Capitol City.  It was not quite noon and the shadows were at their shortest.  She could see the streets being patrolled clear of people.  The ones not with soldiers filled with people.  There was a good look into the small walled estate of one of the nobles, a small group in light colors milling about.

Laun was trying to look put out, upset by Falmir’s storming out.  But she wanted to know who owned that estate.  The need to know.  It was getting her deeper into the political nature of the Palace than she wanted.  But her constant questions had kept Falmir off balance.  That could be used for an advantage, little as she had in her position.

One of the servants came to Laun holding a cup with milk in it.  Laun accepted it, but did not let the girl leave.  Her hand was on the servant’s wrist and pulled her to sit on the bench next to her.

“Why are men so possessive?”  Laun was not expecting an answer and did not get one.  Laun did not have to pull from too far down to get emotion as she said, “They believe that they own you, can control you.  They don’t know how to do anything useful, except when they decide to.  But then they take whatever authority you have and use it against you.”  Laun drank some of the milk and smiled a little smile.

“At least he is not as harsh as I had feared.”  Laun looked into the milk.

The servant did not speak, but she did put a hand on Laun’s leg.  It was a timid touch.  Laun smiled at her.

Laun tried to be quiet as she read and looked out the window over the next few hours.  On occasion, she would look down and see some sort of activity in the estate she had spotted earlier.  Her back hurt from not moving and her feet were starting to feel tight, even though she was not wearing slippers.

Laun was bored.  She ate a little fruit when it was brought up, but mostly drank milk.  She read and finished the storybook.  One of the servants rubbed her feet.

It was about three chimes when a servant came in carrying a book.  He handed it to Laun and left.  There was a folded piece of paper stuck into it with a scrawl on it she could read, but she opened the book on the page the paper was stuck into and unfolded the thrice-folded paper.

There were two messages.  The one that had been on the outside of the paper was, “Read this.  You need it.”

Laun looked at the page that was open and saw that the section was about courtly manners expected within noble families.  Laun smiled.

She looked at the other scrawl that had been on the inside.  “Her name was Durana.  She had black hair and grey eyes.  He will ask if I have mentioned her.  I wanted to marry her ten years ago.  This is true.  What he wants to know is if she disappeared and married Haldred because she was heavy with my child.  I never slept with her.  He has been trying to make me say that Haldred’s son is mine.  You were born first.  This is all true.”

Laun had a small smile, but then she took the paper and started to rip it up.  “Make me read this?  How dare he!”  She threw the paper on the floor and turned from the book open on the table.

Laun thought of the information he had just given her.  If it was all true, she could understand how the Ambassador might try to use such against Falmir.  Though he could use the same with Laun.  But not as well, since she was her own landed noble, and her mother had been disowned by her family before she was born.

Another servant came in about twenty minutes later.  He was holding a small chest and a sealed envelope.  Laun waived the items to the table and thanked the servant before he left.  She ignored the items until almost four chimes.

She opened the wax sealed envelope carefully, the Rosemond emblem pressed into it.  Inside was a message from the Ambassador.

“Lady Laun-  I am looking forward to meeting you for your lessons this evening.  Please accept this token of my regard and I hope that you believe that it does not take this to make you beautiful.  Ithian  7bells”

Laun opened the chest and smiled.  She pulled out the silver and boarshair brush and the polished rosewood combs and felt how new and unused they were.  Underneath was a small selection of hair sticks and pins, one with a small red rose set in the end.  There was also a small two-pronged hair pin that chimed.

Laun smiled and reached for the chatelaine.  She used the little scissors and pried one of the bells from it’s holding wire.  She moved the remaining bells and metal flowers around until it was not obvious one of the bells had been taken off.  It was a simple little bell and the tongue came out with only a little twisting.

She felt that it was only right that there be some indication that she was trying to get information from him.  She was sure he knew what the clapperless bell meant.  But...how to attach it to herself for the meeting?  She did not have grey ribbon.  She did still have some of the silver, though.

About three hours.  About enough time.

Laun had a smile on her face that one of the servants saw and backed up a step.  Laun reached for the pulp paper and the charcoal stick.  She made three lists and started drawing something.  Her hands started to get smudged and she stopped herself from wiping them on the white dress.

“One runner, please.  To the kitchens.  Talk to the person truly in charge and go through it with them.  Let them make changes, but bring me the changes.”  The servant curtseyed and ran off.

“Next runner, please.  To the stables.  Bring the items right up.”  

Laun looked at the last list.  “Where did the dresses from last night come from?”

One of the men stepped forward.  “Lady, the laundry keeps everything until it is called for.”

Laun nodded.  She handed the list to him.  “Color is important.  The fabric, not so much.  And promise them that what is not used will be sent back immediately.”  He bowed and went off.

“I would like five of you who are willing to be here and possibly active in tonight’s...entertainment.”  Several stepped forward, enough to choose from. 

Laun looked at her hands and stood, looking around.  “I need to wash.  And I need a few things done in here, too.”

 

Onto Chapter 16