ledger room the other day.
“See for yourself. I’m not sure you’ll like it…but perhaps you will,” the half-elfin duke had said. One corner of his mouth shot up, his blue eyes dancing.
His friend had leaned forward in his ornate chair, handing him the small scroll Ansley had delivered.
King Nathal’s red wax seal was broken but visible.
What does the missive have to do with me?
Jorrin tapped his cheek with a long finger and then brushed a strand of his too-long coal black hair past a slender, tapered ear.
Leargan glanced at him before looking at the scroll again, ignoring the duke’s eager amused expression. He read the words again and again, eyes more frantic with each pass. Repetition didn’t help his comprehension...or his denial.
Sweat broke out on his brow, and he tugged at the tunic collar that lay nowhere near his neck.
Swallowed hard.
Jorrin,
You are the recipient of this missive as a ruse more than anything.
Young Ansley Fraser has been a daughter to me as much as my own little Mallyn. Her father, My Captain, Sir Murdoch Fraser, and I were raised together and I owe him my life many times over.
Ansley has been a member of my Riders for several turns, and at the age of two and twenty, it is time for her to settle down. She is well past the age for marrying and both he and I agree that Leargan would be a good match.
She is unaware of the reason she was sent to Greenwald.
This perhaps is the best course for the time being, but I shall leave that up to you and, of course, Leargan.
Knowing Leargan as I do, he may be resistant to my plans, and the order to marry. But I am sure Ansley’s fair countenance will be a sufficient persuader.
Murdoch and I shall depart Terraquist in two or three sevendays to arrive in fair Greenwald for their wedding.
Regards,
Nathal
He was supposed to marry her?
Leargan stared at the words. When they didn’t change in any way, he looked at his duke. “I can’t believe he’s doing this to me.” He muttered a few choice words and shook his head.
Jorrin chuckled. “You sound like Cera,” he said. “She, too, had an issue—however temporary—with the king’s plans .”
Frowning, Leargan met his lord’s eyes. “You had the advantage of already being in love with her, and she with you.”
“I’ll have to give you that one. Although, Mistress Ansley Fraser is no hardship on the eyes.” Jorrin’s gaze sharpened and Leargan forced himself to sit still.
“He’s ordering me to marry her,” he said, flicking the word on the scroll. “So it doesn’t matter if she was a bearded troll.”
The duke laughed long and hard. “Would it be so horrible? Ansley would fit right in. She already knows everyone, even Tristan. She’s very close to Cera and Aimil and seems very sweet. I realize you don’t love her, but do you think you could?”
Had Leargan not seen Jorrin with Cera and Tristan with Aimil, he wouldn’t have acknowledged believing in romantic love. He’d never planned on love for himself; he was a knight, a warrior.
He’d never had problems with getting a woman when he’d wanted one, but Ansley was different. Innocent, wellborn…his former captain’s daughter.
“She is beautiful.” The admission slipped from his lips after several moments of silence.
And she makes my heart do funny things .
Lord Aldern shot him a look, but said nothing.
“Somehow I don’t think she’d be any happier than I with King Nathal’s games. Although her father is in on the plan as well,” Leargan said.
“Perhaps not. But you don’t have to tell her now. Even the king says so.”
“Then when? After the wedding? Which is apparently only a few sevendays away,” Leargan said.
Jorrin’s lips twitched as if the duke was fighting another smile. “Keep the scroll. It’s more yours than mine. Why not show it to her? Maybe she’ll just agree to marry you when she reads it.” He cocked his head to the side.
“What would you do?”
“Oh, no. The king
“See for yourself. I’m not sure you’ll like it…but perhaps you will,” the half-elfin duke had said. One corner of his mouth shot up, his blue eyes dancing.
His friend had leaned forward in his ornate chair, handing him the small scroll Ansley had delivered.
King Nathal’s red wax seal was broken but visible.
What does the missive have to do with me?
Jorrin tapped his cheek with a long finger and then brushed a strand of his too-long coal black hair past a slender, tapered ear.
Leargan glanced at him before looking at the scroll again, ignoring the duke’s eager amused expression. He read the words again and again, eyes more frantic with each pass. Repetition didn’t help his comprehension...or his denial.
Sweat broke out on his brow, and he tugged at the tunic collar that lay nowhere near his neck.
Swallowed hard.
Jorrin,
You are the recipient of this missive as a ruse more than anything.
Young Ansley Fraser has been a daughter to me as much as my own little Mallyn. Her father, My Captain, Sir Murdoch Fraser, and I were raised together and I owe him my life many times over.
Ansley has been a member of my Riders for several turns, and at the age of two and twenty, it is time for her to settle down. She is well past the age for marrying and both he and I agree that Leargan would be a good match.
She is unaware of the reason she was sent to Greenwald.
This perhaps is the best course for the time being, but I shall leave that up to you and, of course, Leargan.
Knowing Leargan as I do, he may be resistant to my plans, and the order to marry. But I am sure Ansley’s fair countenance will be a sufficient persuader.
Murdoch and I shall depart Terraquist in two or three sevendays to arrive in fair Greenwald for their wedding.
Regards,
Nathal
He was supposed to marry her?
Leargan stared at the words. When they didn’t change in any way, he looked at his duke. “I can’t believe he’s doing this to me.” He muttered a few choice words and shook his head.
Jorrin chuckled. “You sound like Cera,” he said. “She, too, had an issue—however temporary—with the king’s plans .”
Frowning, Leargan met his lord’s eyes. “You had the advantage of already being in love with her, and she with you.”
“I’ll have to give you that one. Although, Mistress Ansley Fraser is no hardship on the eyes.” Jorrin’s gaze sharpened and Leargan forced himself to sit still.
“He’s ordering me to marry her,” he said, flicking the word on the scroll. “So it doesn’t matter if she was a bearded troll.”
The duke laughed long and hard. “Would it be so horrible? Ansley would fit right in. She already knows everyone, even Tristan. She’s very close to Cera and Aimil and seems very sweet. I realize you don’t love her, but do you think you could?”
Had Leargan not seen Jorrin with Cera and Tristan with Aimil, he wouldn’t have acknowledged believing in romantic love. He’d never planned on love for himself; he was a knight, a warrior.
He’d never had problems with getting a woman when he’d wanted one, but Ansley was different. Innocent, wellborn…his former captain’s daughter.
“She is beautiful.” The admission slipped from his lips after several moments of silence.
And she makes my heart do funny things .
Lord Aldern shot him a look, but said nothing.
“Somehow I don’t think she’d be any happier than I with King Nathal’s games. Although her father is in on the plan as well,” Leargan said.
“Perhaps not. But you don’t have to tell her now. Even the king says so.”
“Then when? After the wedding? Which is apparently only a few sevendays away,” Leargan said.
Jorrin’s lips twitched as if the duke was fighting another smile. “Keep the scroll. It’s more yours than mine. Why not show it to her? Maybe she’ll just agree to marry you when she reads it.” He cocked his head to the side.
“What would you do?”
“Oh, no. The king
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