Free Autumn Lord by Susan Sizemore Page B

Jacques, she decided as she saw the looks Alys and the man seated beside her
    gave the old wizard. Diane had noticed the man yesterday because of his red hair. Seated next to the
    redhaired Alys, it was obvious the two were related. Brother and sister, she guessed, from the
    resemblance and their ages. Both were young and attractive, though the man had a narrow scar on his
    left cheek.
    Alys pointed at Diane. "You don't mean to seat that at my lord's high table, do you?"
    "Of course," Jacques replied, and led Diane to one of the benches. After she was seated, Jacques
    turned to speak mildly to Alys. "Be a good girl and don't cause any trouble."
    "Don't give me orders, old man," she countered. "Your days at Marbeau are numbered."
    Jacques gave a loud laugh, then ignored Alys as he sat down beside Diane. In the suddenly quiet
    room, he gestured to a servant.
    The man hurried forward and put large flat loaves of bread down on the table in front of them. Another
    servant dumped a ladle of some sort of stew thing onto the bread. Was Simon too poor to afford dishes?
    Diane wondered as she stared at the greasy concoction before her. She'd been eating cheese, chunks of
    bread and dried fruit whenever Jacques or Simon remembered to feed her at all. This was her first
    encounter with Marbeau's cooked cuisine and she had no idea what to do. She wanted to ask for some
    utensils. Since she didn't have any voice, she tugged on Jacques's sleeve instead.
    Unfortunately, he was distracted by Alys's brother before she could get his attention.
    "My sister does not want the foreigner at her table."
    "It's not her table, Sir Thierry."
    Diane quickly broke off a piece of bread on the edge of the loaf and stuffed it into her mouth. Since
    she couldn't get involved in any argument concerning her, she figured she might as well eat her dinner
    while the others talked. Besides, if she concentrated on the food maybe she could pretend she didn't
    hear any of the ugly things said about her.
    Jacques watched as Thierry Turpeney's eyes narrowed. The man reminded him of a fox, cunning
    enough, but vermin just the same. Thierry wasn't quite as given to indulging his tempestuous nature as his
    sister, but he had too many strong appetites and hated to be thwarted.
    Jacques wished Simon hadn't left Thierry in charge of the castle's defenses, but understood his friend's
    reasons. It was a way of seemingly showing he trusted this pair that had once been so close to Denis.
    Simon said it was easy enough to trust the Turpeneys when he never planned to be more than a day's
    ride away from Marbeau, and Jacques himself actually remained in charge of the castle, the more trusted
    of the guards knew it, even if Thierry did not.
    He held up a hand in a conciliatory gesture just the same. "I meant to say that Lady Alys may head
    Simon's household, but it is the custom for the wizard of Marbeau to offer the baron's hospitality to his
    personal guests— whether they be low or high born." Jacques looked toward the man seated at the far
    end of the table. "Is that not so, Father Andre?"
    The priest looked past the rim of the large winecup he held. His voice was barely audible when he
    replied, "That is so, I believe. Or so I've heard. I don't recall—"
    "There, you see? The priest confirms that I have a right to have Diane by my side."
    "Lord Simon would approve?" Thierry questioned. "Having the foreigner at the high table is no stain
    on the honor of Marbeau?"
    "None whatsoever."
    The young knight seemed willing enough to be mollified. In fact, as he looked Diane over carefully he
    showed an interest Jacques did not like. The young woman was quietly eating her meal, her face turned
    away from the conversation. It looked to Jacques that Thierry was aware of the elegance of her
    high-cheekboned profile.
    "What of my honor?"
    "Oh, leave be, Alys. There's no harm in this."
    Jacques should have been pleased when Thierry spoke to his sister, but the smirk on the man's face
    did