He wanted me to think so. Indeed, for a time I tried to take his advice. I understood his motives soon enough.
We exchanged breeding cattle to strengthen our herds. His appeared healthy, but as soon as they mixed with mine, my herd fell ill with a strange disease. Mine died. His were less ill, and recovered. I sent an angry note to Lord Romul.
He came immediately and rode my fields with me. I kept up with difficulty, using my good arm to guide my horse. Eventually he pointed out clumps of speargrass on the edges of the fence lines.
'Have your fieldhands move your herds more often so they stay clear of that weed,' he said. 'It slowly poisons an animal if too much is eaten.'
'Your cattle didn't die,' I reminded him.
'Speargrass is a mild poison. My ranges are clear of it, so the poison wouldn't have built up in them. Still, I can't be certain the grass was the cause, so I'm willing to bear some of the loss. Come pick another dozen cows from my herd.'
And have the fever kill the rest! I railed inwardly. To him I stiffly replied, 'I'd rather settle in coin.'
'You'd be wiser to rebuild your stock,' he began, then, seeing the resolution in my expression, became resigned. 'Perhaps you weren't meant for the country life,' he said wearily and agreed to all my terms.
While Romul and I had been riding, Atera had visited with Lady Laudrel. When we joined them, I saw that Atera's face was flushed, her eyes bright. 'I don't think I've ever laughed this hard,' she said to me as we went in to dine.
Throughout the meal, Romul entertained Atera with tales of the hills and forests around Espar. I'd never seen her listen so intently to my stories, or laugh as pleasantly at my jests. It seemed that Romul did his best to charm her.
I mentioned this to Raven the following night. 'Old men long for youth,' he said. 'However, I have never heard Atera speak of Lord Romul as anything more than friend-or of you as anything less than well-loved husband.'
'What Romul feels may be equally important.'
Raven did not reply. He was right to be silent. This was a matter between me and my wife.
I confronted her in the morning. She appeared genuinely distressed by my suspicions. 'Lord Romul and his wife are the only people we ever see,' she retorted. 'They've been kind to me. I think highly of him, but nothing more.'
'Are you certain that's the only way you think of him?'
Atera did something quite unexpected. She slapped me and stormed from the room. I heard her call for a servant. Some time later, I saw her ride off alone, galloping north through the fields on the bay mare she had brought from Saerloon. North-the direction to Lord Romul's lands.
The money from Lord Romul arrived just after highsun, along with a note inviting Atera and me for yet another visit. Seething at the gall of a man who would seduce my wife under my very nose, I returned to my library and laid the note on the table.
Atera did not return until evening. She did not explain or apologize for her absence. That night, when I went to her chamber door, I found it locked.
'If that's the way you wish it, stay in there!' I bellowed through the door. I ordered the servants to bar it so she could not leave. After overseeing the work, I went to my library. There I fell asleep trying to make sense out of some old and incomplete instructions for turning copper into gold.
A strange rustling woke me, as if the pages of the books on the shelves around me had somehow come alive. Even the closed book on which my head rested vibrated at my touch. Fearful of what I might find, I opened it.
Bookworms! A dozen of them feasted on the pages of the text, their tiny bodies the same parchment shade as their meal. I shook them to the floor. Their color hastily changed to that of the flagstones, and they scattered as I stomped on them. When I'd killed as many as I could find, I moved to the shelves where hundreds were devouring my other texts. I shook them free of each text, stomping them as soon as they hit the floor. Soon the flags were slimy with crushed bodies. Yet the hungry horde continued its destruction.
Words gone. Knowledge gone. The power of that knowledge gone! Mere wealth could not repair my loss.
'Raven!' I screamed. 'Raven come here!'
As I turned back to the shelf nearest the wall, I glanced out the window and saw smoke rising from the stables, servants rushing to beat out the blaze. They were too late. When the doors opened, the fire flared. I heard the whinnies of the horses, the pounding of their hooves against their paddock doors, the cries of the stablehands. If I hadn't problems enough in the library, I would have gone to help.
As Raven and I labored to save the books, I saw Lord Romul's note lying on the floor. When I picked it up, it crumbled in my hand.
'Could he have sent bookworm eggs?' I asked Raven.
The wizard nodded. Hours later, after we had salvaged what we could, I went outside to see the ruins of my stables. Only three mounts had managed to escape the fire. Atera's bay mare was one of them.
'Quite a coincidence, don't you think?' I asked Raven as we examined the burns on the horse's left flank. I spoke coldly, finally convinced that all my suspicions were true.
'The mare was lucky,' Raven responded. 'I'm glad for Atera's sake.'
'But suppose it wasn't luck. Suppose Atera is a part of the plot and would not let her mount be harmed,' I insisted.
He paused before speaking, weighing his words carefully, 'Atera loves you. Yet, there are ways in which she could be made unfaithful against her will,' he said.
'Ensorceled! Yes, that must be it. She certainly hasn't been herself since we returned to Espar.' I felt suddenly glad I had guards at her door. 'Raven, what can I do to end these plots?' I thought of the pockmarked merchants and felt a thrill of excitement I hadn't experienced since Saer-loon.
His words disappointed me. 'I am not certain. Let me consider it,' he said. 'In the meantime, write Lord Romul and tell him you accept his invitation.'
'Of course! I must go see firsthand if he is gloating over my loss.'
I penned a cordial reply, then took it to Atera. As she read my words, I told her that jealousy had turned me into an idiot. 'I could never really doubt you,' I said. 'Forgive me.'
Tears came to her beautiful eyes. She embraced me. Our reconciliation was long and satisfying.
The visit to Lord Romul accomplished everything I'd hoped for. He and his wife had arranged a magnificent meal, even hired some local musicians to play through the dinner. I tried to appear relaxed as I waited for some clue as to why the nobleman had become my enemy.
I discovered the cause after the meal, when he took me aside to speak to me privately. 'Before your brother died, we had discussed the sale of your north fields that border my own grazing area. Since your livestock is so decimated and you have no interest in rebuilding the herd, I thought you might want to sell it to me,' he explained.
Decimated livestock! Yes, he'd seen to that! 'My father always said land is more precious than gold,' I noted evenly.
He looked at me oddly. 'So it is. But land is a tool like any other. It has to be used to be of any real value.'
'I'll keep it,' I responded, my tone convincing him I would not reconsider. 'Now, if you don't mind, I think Atera and I should leave.'
'I meant no offense, Sharven. I'm sorry if you misunderstood me.'
'No offense was taken. It's just such a long ride back,' I responded as pleasantly as I was able.
I hid my anger from Atera as well as I had from Lord Romul, venting it only when I was safely in Raven's chambers. 'It's my land Romul wants,' I told him.
Raven's long black robe brushed the floor as he paced. I'd never seen him so animated. 'That's hardly a surprise. Now, we must determine what to do about his schemes.'
We read well into the night. Eventually I suggested a plan so audacious that no one in Espar would ever suspect my hand in it I went to Atera and instructed her to send word to all our neighbors that we were holding a feast and wanted everyone to attend.
