Free The Pen and the Sword (Destiny's Crucible Book 2) by Olan Thorensen

chin
straps. He thought he could make out short muskets and swords attached to their
saddles.
    Over
beers that evening at the Snarling Graeko, he learned from Carnigan that the
symbol he saw was for the Keelan Clan and the hetman’s family. The big man
didn’t know who occupied the carriage, but another patron said the hetman’s
daughter had come to visit St. Sidryn’s.
     
    Beynom’s
House, Yozef meets Maera Keelan
     
    Two
days later, Cadwulf passed on to Yozef an invitation to mid-day meal at the
Beynoms’ the following Godsday after services. The house lay outside the
abbey’s main walls and atop a nearby low hill. Although spartan, the house was
tastefully furnished, and what it lacked in size, it made up for with a view. A
wide veranda faced downhill toward the abbey complex and the shore and the ocean
beyond. The day was perfect: a blue sky with isolated clouds moving in off the
ocean, carried on what on Earth would have been called a trade wind.
    The
two Beynom children still living at home were not in attendance, and four
people sat around a table. Diera introduced Yozef to the other guest, a slender
young woman with brown hair and penetrating green eyes. They ate under
overhanging vines with red-and-yellow-striped flowers that reminded Yozef of trumpet
vines. Culich and Diera sat opposite each other, as did Yozef and Maera Keelan.
The meal was typical: fresh rolls, butter and preserves, several cheeses, a
greenish-fleshed melon, tangerines, candied figs, a fruit juice mixture of
unknown composition, and kava.
    They
passed the meal talking of trivial matters, including the weather, the prospects
for crops that year, stories from the history of the Beynoms and the Keelans,
and probes by Maera Keelan to Yozef, trying to tweeze tidbits of information
about his past. He had gotten so used to deflecting or misdirecting that he
hardly noticed her questions, which was worrisome, because inconsistencies could
be picked up.
    Of
the four, the Keelan daughter’s dress was more formal. The Beynoms wore light
robes and sandals, while Yozef had not even considered appropriate dress. He
was wearing an everyday outfit, though freshly cleaned, and the plain leather footwear
he wore daily. Maera wore a white embroidered pull-over blouse with a low neck
that ended just where her chest rose. Below was a green skirt of shiny material
that changed colors, depending on the angle of the sun and the folds in the
cloth.
    Something
like silk ,
Yozef thought. Not everyday attire for Caedellium.
    He
answered Maera’s questions about his family. As usual, he stuck to basics
without giving details that might raise suspicions. He described his siblings,
parents, and studies in general terms. He didn’t elaborate on details, such as although
his younger brother played an instrument, it was in an amateur heavy metal
band.
    Yozef
deflected more detailed questions about his family by asking Maera about her
siblings. She described three sisters, with obvious love. Yozef thought he
detected special warmth for the youngest of the three, a hint of exasperation
about the next youngest, and a touch of . . . something . . . when she mentioned
the oldest sister being courted by suitors.
    When
the meal started, the Beynoms facilitated the conversation, though by the end
they quieted while Yozef and Maera interacted more and more. The hosts finally
excused themselves with calls of duty: Diera, to check on patients at the
hospital, and Sistian, to prepare for a ride to a neighboring village, where
the village chief had asked him to preside at a wedding that afternoon.
    Rising,
Sistian said, “Please. It’s a beautiful day. The two of you continue to enjoy
it and regale each other with family stories. Also, Yozef, Maera is interested
in learning more about your various shops and enterprises.”
    Somehow
finding themselves without the older couple’s presence changed the atmosphere, as
if they had served as a buffer or a framework for the two