Free Court Duel by Sherwood Smith Page B

all
    his Court friends that he was going home at last, and probably
    with whom.
    I gulped in a deep breath and once again tried to
    concentrate. "But unless there's a kind of threat in that last
    bit about taking up the threads of her life, I don't see any
    real problem here."
    He picked up the quill again and ran the feathered part
    through his fingers. "One of the reasons my parents are both in
    Remalna-city is to establish someone of superior rank there
    until the question of rulership is settled."
    "You think Arthal Merindar wants to be queen, then?" I
    asked, and again thought of my letter and why she might have
    written it.
    Unbidden, Shevraeth's words from the day before our
    departure sounded in my head: "... but you'll still be
    approached if you seem even passively my enemy." Cold shock
    made me shiver inside when I realized that the Marquise of
    Merindar might have attributed my refusal to come to Court to
    unspoken problems between Shevraeth and myself—which
    would mean her letter was meant either to capitalize on my
    purported enmity or to make him distrust me.
    So did he?
    "What is she like?" I asked.
    "Like her brother, except much better controlled. She's the
    only one of the family who is still a danger, but she very
    definitely is a danger."
    "She might be saying the same of you," I said, resolutely
    trying to be fair. As before, I had no proof, and last year I
    had gotten myself into trouble for making quick judgments based
    merely on emotions, not facts. "Not that I think all that much
    of the Merindars I've met so far, but they do have a claim on
    the throne. And their marquisate, like Renselaeus, takes its
    name from the family even if it isn't nearly as old."
    It was impossible to read his expression. "You think, then,
    that I ought to cede to her the crown?"
    "Will she be a good ruler?" I countered, and suddenly the
    shock was gone. My old feelings crowded back into my head and
    heart. "
I
don't know. Why are you asking me? Why does
    my answer make any difference at all, unless showing me this
    letter and asking me these questions is your own way of making
    a threat?" I got up and paced the length of the room, fighting
    the urge to grab something and smash it.
    "No," he said, dropping his gaze to the papers on the desk.
    "I merely thought you'd find it interesting." He leaned
    forward, dipped the point of his pen into the ink, and went on
    writing.
    The argument, so suddenly sprung up, was over. As I stood
    there watching that pen move steadily across the paper, I felt
    all the pent-up anger drain out of me as suddenly as it had
    come, leaving me feeling tired, and cold, and very, very
    confused.
    Shevraeth and I did not speak again; he kept working through
    his mail, and I, still tired and cold, curled up on a cushion
    and slipped into uncomfortable sleep.
    Waking to the sound of Bran's cheery voice and a bustle and
    rustling of people, I got up, feeling horribly stiff. Though
    I'd tried to stay with exercise through sword practice, I
    hadn't ridden that hard all winter, and every muscle protested.
    It did my spirits no good at all to see Shevraeth moving about
    with perfect ease. Resolving that I'd stay in the coach the
    rest of the way, crowded or not, I greeted Bran and Nee, and
    was soon reunited with dry clothing.
    The four of us ate dinner together, and Shevraeth was
    exactly as polite as always, making no reference to our earlier
    conversation. This unnerved me, and I began to look forward to
    our arrival at Athanarel, when he would surely disappear into
    Court life and we'd seldom see one another.
    As for the wager, I decided to forget about what had
    obviously been some kind of aristocratic joke.
    SEVEN
    SO ONCE AGAIN ON AN EARLY SPRING DAY, I WAS ensconced in a
    coach rolling down the middle of the Street of the Sun. Again
    people lined the street, but this time they waved and cheered.
    And as before, outriders joined us, but this time they wore our
    colors as well as the