Laera shrugged. “So he went out to do some drinking away from the nobles of the court,” she said. “After the hardships of the campaign he just returned from, that would be perfectly understandable. He must have had too much to drink and simply took a room to sleep it off.
Nothing much of interest there.”
“Oh, but there is more, Your Highness!” said Maelina, clearly anxious to impart the news. “It seems Lady Ariel became concerned about him. she has always borne a great fondness for him, as you know-and she sent for that elf girl, you know, Sylvanna, the wizard’s sister? She asked her to go after him and see to it that all was well. And do you know what?”
She paused significantly. “Sylvanna did not return last night, either!”
“Indeed?” said Laera, raising her eyebrows. “Well now, that is interesting. You are quite certain of this?”
“Oh, yes, Your Highness. They both came back this morning. Together.
In the same boat. Can you imagine!”
“Oh, I can, indeed,” said Laera with a smile. “You have done well, Maelina.” She handed the girl a purse.
“Oh! Your Highness is most generous!”
“I shall be even more generous if you are able to report further on this matter,” Laera said.
“I shall try, Your Highness. Thank you. You may count on me.”
After the girl had left, Laera leaned back against her chair and chuckled with pleasure. So that fool Aedan was bedding the elf girl!
This was too delicious! The lord high chamberlain, the oh-so-veryproper Aedan Dosiere, was sleeping with an unblooded commoner, and an elf, at that! And he had the temerity to call her a wanton slut! No one had ever spoken to her like that before. No one.
And she had never forgotten it. She would have grown tired of him soon, anyway. In fact, she had already tired of him, but Seaharrow had been such a boring place and there was so little to do…. But the thought that he had been the one to break it off, and the manner in which he’d done it…. He would pay for that. He would pay dearly.
She didn’t think this was anything Arwyn could use to good effect, for he was only interested in military matters, but it still had definite possibilities.
Most delightful possibilities. She could completely ruin his reputation. But she would have to move quickly. Even now, Arwyn would be preparing to march on Anuire after her report of the previous night.
Michael’s army had come back from their
campaign weakened and demoralized and Arwyn was not going to hesitate to take advantage of it. She smiled. It was so easy to find out what she wished to know. All she needed to do was show concern for the welfare of the troops, ask some questions of their captains under the pretext of finding out if there was anything she could do to help their families, and they would begin blabbing.
Meanwhile, her own reputation as a princess who truly cared about her people was being spread, so that when Arwyn came to conquer Anuire with his army and she was “forced” to marry his son, the sympathy of all the people would be with her. She didn’t feel anything for Derwyn, but at least he was better-looking than his father, He lacked Arwyn’s massive, bearlike frame, but his slender form was pleasing, and he had inherited his mother’s looks, so that he bore only slight resemblance to his brutish father. There was a softness about him, and he would doubtless be a more giving lover than his father, who would have been impossible for her to control. Derwyn would be easy.
She knew he had always been attracted to her. She had seen him watching her and had seen the look on his face when Arwyn’s wizard, Callador, had magicked her to Seaharrow. He had been shocked to learn that she was spying for Boeruine, she could plainly see that, but at the same time, she had seen the way his gaze traveled appreciatively over her form. She had been irritated that Arwyn had allowed him to be present, for she had wanted to keep her role a secret from everyone but him, but perhaps it was for the best. Seeing her again had served to rekindle Derwyn’s desire for her, and she could use
that desire to bring him to heel. Men were such fools.
It was easy to make them do what she wanted.
She had learned her lesson with Aedan. Never let them know you want them. That gave them the upper hand. Give them a taste of passion, enough to make them want more, and then withhold it. Make them earn your favors. And whenever possible, make certain they have more to lose than you.
She had carefully practiced her seductive wiles over the years until she had perfected them. She had started with Leander, a young lieutenant of the house guard, who was putty in her hands within only a few weeks. She seduced him, and it did not take long before she was able to make him do anything she wanted. When she was through with him, she had induced him to desert, tearfully telling him that someone in the palace suspected their affair and that his life would be in danger if he did not flee.
With warm and tender kisses, she had bid him farewell, telling him she would always love him, and he had fled Anuire for parts unknown, leaving behind a promising career and the girl to whom he had been betrothed.
After that, she had refined her skills, careful to select only those men who could be of use to her.
One was the son of a prosperous leader of a
