Free All Fall Down by Christine Pope Page B

the both of us. Now I thought perhaps it was a dislike of the female sex that had made him look upon us so unfavorably.  
    “And after you have done that, see if you can round up my daughter and that decorative but not very useful lady’s maid you suggested for her.” His eyes caught mine, and this time his expression was rueful and a bit amused. “We have a feast to prepare for.”
      “Yes, my lord,” I said, with a completely uncharacteristic meekness. Then I gave him a small curtsey and fled the chamber, all too aware of his keen gaze following me as I left the room. Still, I felt triumphant as I descended the stairs in search of Ourrel. If nothing else, at least this was one matter in which I had persuaded Lord Shaine to see my side. Perhaps, in time, I could make him see how wrong my presence here was, and how it would be better for him to free me.  
    Now if only I could push away the pang of sadness that thought caused, for in my tenure here, I had grown attached to so many of them: Auren and Elissa, Merime, even the overly correct Ourrel and the enigmatic Lord Shaine. I guessed it was simply because I had spent more time here than almost any other location since the time I’d left the training house of the Order to make my way in the world. It was normal that I should form such attachments…which was why we were told never to stay more than a month or so in each place. Otherwise, we would feel overly responsible for our charges, and not have the strength of will to move on to wherever we were needed.  
    At least, that was what I told myself.

Chapter Five

    I never knew exactly what transpired between Dorus and Lord Shaine. But within an hour of my own conversation with his lordship, the steward had left the castle, taking with him a good riding horse from the stables and leaving behind a swirl of rumors and speculation. For my own part, I was merely glad that the furor of preparations for the evening’s festivities kept me safely away so there would be no possibility of crossing paths with the villain.
    Merime had the kitchens well enough in hand, and Ourrel stepped in to oversee the final decoration of the hall, but Elissa was definitely over-matched by the strong-willed Auren, who was none too happy to learn at such a late date that her future husband might be arriving in the next few hours.
    “What was Father thinking?” she fumed, leaning on her crutch as she watched Elissa pull a variety of gowns from the wardrobe. “Why now? Look at me!”
    I assumed she meant the crutch, which she still needed to help her get up the stairs or over the rougher patches in the gardens. Indoors she could do well enough without it, but I feared pointing out that fact would not meet with a particularly favorable reception at the moment.
    “Perhaps he was trying to be accommodating to the other families,” I suggested. “There could be snow any day now.”
    “How do you know?” she asked scornfully. “Can you smell it?”
    In fact, I almost could. Although I was hundreds of miles from my own homeland, I had done enough outdoor traveling through all seasons to feel the change in the air, to sense the shift in wind currents—indeed, Auren’s deprecating words notwithstanding—to smell the increasing dampness in the atmosphere.  
    “What about this one?” Elissa asked, a note of desperation in her voice. She held up a lovely high-waisted gown of deep blue, its neckline and detachable sleeves covered in a twining pattern of leaves and flowers.
    “Blue makes me look sick,” Auren replied, her scowl deepening.
    I wondered why she had the dress at all, if she disliked the color so much, but now was not the time for argument. Giving a quick glance at the time-marker candle that burned steadily on the girl’s dresser, I saw we had little more than an hour to get her ready by the time Lord Shaine had specified.  
    With a small shake of my head, I stepped past Elissa and began taking inventory of the contents of