It can be a weighty burden, too. However, he told me he shall be going back to camp presently. We still have a long journey ahead of us, and he is not accustomed to traveling at so slow a pace. I think he is just restless and impatient to reach our destination. There is no need for concern.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
“Good night, Captain.”
“Good night, Lord Aedan.”
As Aedan left them, he wondered if restlessness was really all it was.
Michael had always been restless and impatient. Perhaps the prospect of taking a year off from campaigning was something he was not looking forward to. Yet he seemed to have meant what he said. Faelina had made him genuinely happy, and for the first time, Michael seemed willing and ready to slow down. Perhaps it was just the idea of being back in Boeruine, at Seaharrow, that was troubling him. Aedan was not looking forward to it himself. But politics demanded it. And they would not be there long before the army came out to make ready for the march on Thurazor.
One more campaign, thought Aedan. Maybe two, at most, if Michael truly was intent on going after Rhuobhe Manslayer after he was done with Gorvanak of Thurazor. It seemed a tall order for one summer, but after that, a year without campaigning would be a welcome respite. He was looking forward to it.
He had seen quite enough of war.
**chapter four**
The preparations for the holding of Summer Court at Seaharrow had Derwyn in a frenzy of activity during the weeks prior to the arrival of the emperor’s party. The years of war had seen most of the duchy’s resources occupied with the campaigns, as well as the supplying of the army and the garrisons.
The maintenance of the castle and the town had not been seen to properly in quite some time, and Derwyn was determined that Seaharrow would look its best when the emperor arrived.
Stonemasons had been gathered from all over the surrounding area and imported from as far away from Diemed and Alamie to repair the cracking mortar that had loosened from the winter freezes of the past nine years.
They had erected extensive frameworks of wooden scaffolding against the castle walls, clambering over it like ants to repair the damage caused by almost a decade of neglect.
The staff of servants hired from the people of the town was tripled to ensure that the interior of the castle was thoroughly swept and scrubbed clean. All the rugs and tapestries were aired and beaten to knock out the dust; worn furniture had been replaced; the arms displayed upon the walls were taken down and polished. Stalls in the stables had to be repaired, along with fresh posts and rails installed for the corrals and new thatch for the roof. The wall sconces for the torches were cleaned and the walls behind them scrubbed to remove soot, and the braziers were scrubbed out and polished so that they would smoke less. The bedding in every room of the castle had been changed, the frames laced with fresh, taut rope to provide good support, the mattresses stuffed anew with fresh straw and pillows with fresh goose down.
The uniforms of the guard needed mending, so Derwyn had ordered new ones made and had insisted that every member of his castle guard clean and polish his chain mail meticulously, replacing any broken links.
Armor was polished and weapons rendered clean and sharp. Inspections were conducted every day, and the guard was drilled repeatedly to ensure that they executed their maneuvers with perfection.
Classes of instruction were held for the servants added to handle the arrival of the court, and the cooks drilled their new assistants to make sure the kitchens would run smoothly. An additional staff of gardeners had been taken on to weed and prune and fertilize, making certain the gravel paths winding through the gardens were immaculate, and cleaning out nests of field mice and insects. Squads of grimy ratcatchers roamed the castle halls at night with their squirming sacks slung over their shoulders, and even the dungeons were cleaned out in case the emperor should decide to inspect them.
In town, the sheriff’s men roamed the streets to make sure citizens had swept them and cleaned up any refuse. Wagons hauled garbage from the alleys out of town, and every shop owner, gaming-hall manager, and tavernkeeper was ordered to make his establishment immaculate. Not even during Arwyn’s time had the town been so extensively refurbished.
Everywhere one looked in the weeks preceding the arrival of the emperor, thatchers repaired roofs, carpenters installed new doors and shutters, and farm wagons brought in barrels of wine and ale, loads of game, and bushels of fresh produce.
Laera saw very little of Derwyn during this time, but that suited her perfectly During the day, while he was running off to town to check on progress for the preparations to receive the emperor, she spent time with Rodric, a younger, more handsome, and better lover than her husband. At night, Derwyn came back exhausted and fell right into bed, fast asleep within moments. Then Callador’s portal would appear, and she would pass through it into his sanctum at Battlewaite to continue her training in sorcery.
Even without Callador to tell her so, she knew she was making rapid progress. In all her life, she had never found anything to interest her as much as
magic did. Her amatory diversions were merely that, diversions, something to add the spice of risk to an otherwise dull and dreary life.
Once she had discovered sorcery, however, she felt she had found her true calling. She looked forward to the nights when she could go to Callador and resume her training, and in turn, the old wizard enjoyed having such a gifted pupil. But the night before
