Threads of Gold (Tales of the Latter Kingdoms Book 6) Read online

  And so I had come to the king’s apartments, which were quite richer than anything I could have imagined, with their floors of inlaid wood, and gilding on the carved beams overhead, and hangings of velvet and silk. His Majesty had not looked all that happy to see us, and his expression had grown sourer still when he regarded my pitiful offering.

  “If you have not hidden the rest of the gold,” he snapped, squeezing the ball of golden thread Lord Edmar had given him in his hand, “then why is there so little of it?”

  “Because that is all I was able to manage, Your Majesty,” I replied. My voice shook somewhat, and I did what I could to school myself to calm. After all, I knew he could not hurt me, not if he wanted more gold. Even less gold than he had expected was still better than none at all.

  “‘Manage’?” he repeated in incredulous tones. “What else on earth do you have to manage, Mistress Kelsden, other than one meager skein of gold each night?”

  I have to manage your ridiculous tyrannies, I thought angrily, which are just as bad as anything my father made me suffer.

  I had reclaimed some of my courage, but not quite enough to allow me to say such a thing out loud. Instead, I met his gaze as best I could and said, “I would not say that any of the gold I have provided is precisely meager, Your Majesty. But after yesterday’s tumult, and then not being given the peace and quiet I needed to work, I am actually quite surprised that I was able to produce as much as I did. If this goes on….”

  My hope was that the words would trail off in a significant manner, forcing the king to follow the veiled threat to its logical conclusion. Unfortunately, he was far too full of bluster for that.

  “Tumult? What tumult? And you are alone in your suite, Mistress Kelsden, so I cannot see what you mean by saying that you have no peace and quiet.”

  “I am not alone,” I said calmly. “Not any longer. Now it has been decided that I must have my lady’s maid with me at all times. Why, I am not sure, as guards have always been posted at my door, and the windows in my apartment look out on a sheer wall some fifty feet high. I doubt there is much chance of someone scaling that wall to find entry, and a lower chance still that I would attempt to escape that way. I cannot lie and say that I do not wish to go home, but on the other hand, I would prefer to do so with all my limbs intact.”

  The king’s expression was a study in outrage, while I got the distinct impression that Lord Edmar wished nothing more than to burst into laughter. Perhaps it had been some time before anyone had confronted His Majesty in such a way. Perhaps they never had…and therein lay the problem.

  “You impertinent — ” He broke off there, as if unable to come up with a phrase that adequately described my cheek.

  “I do apologize if you think I was being impertinent, Your Majesty. I was only telling you the truth of my situation.”

  He glanced over at the duke, as if imploring him to step in. With a slight shake of his head, Lord Edmar uncrossed his arms and came toward me. “Mistress Kelsden, forgive us, but I believe both His Majesty and I are having a difficult time understanding why the presence of your lady’s maid should discomfit you so.”

  “Because it takes a great deal of concentration to spin straw into gold. Why do you think I perform that task in the quiet hours of the night? Because it is the only time when I know I can work undisturbed. And if I have to worry about my maid knocking on the door, or asking if I want a glass of milk…well, then, you see the difficulty.”

  Once again the two men exchanged a glance. The king spoke. “But you must see, Mistress Kelsden, that your status has changed immeasurably. As the affianced bride of my son — ”

  I couldn’t help laughing outright at that description. “The what? I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but I think His Highness might have a different view of the situation, given that he is already happily married and clearly has no interest in me at all. So I cannot see that there has been much change in my status, when all is said and done.”

  King Elsdon’s jaw jutted in a way that I had begun to recognize did not bode well for me…or anyone else who might stand in his way. “He is adjusting to the idea. He will take you as his wife, for the good of the kingdom.”

  “Indeed?” I said dryly. “I must confess that I don’t precisely enjoy the idea of being ‘good’ for someone. You make me sound like a spoonful of cod liver oil.”

  The duke grinned, saying, “Ah, Mistress Kelsden, I think most men at court would agree you are far sweeter than that.”

  This remark did not seem to please the king, for he shot a venomous look at Lord Edmar before returning his attention to me. “He will see reason. As you will as well.” The entire time he’d been clutching my pitiful contribution to the treasury in his hand. Now he tossed it onto a side table, where it landed with an oddly musical sound. “Do not offer me such a meager showing again. Do you understand?”

  I nodded, too cowed to say anything else. Yes, he might be full of bluster and the most wrong-headed man I had ever met…but he was also the king. I dared not defy him openly.

  It seemed that Tobyn’s and my plan had failed.

  * * *

  All was not lost, however, for later that day Rashelle informed me that she would be sleeping in the servants’ wing that night. I expressed surprised at the abrupt about-face, assured her that the change had nothing to do with my opinion of her service…and exulted inwardly.

  She had more news to impart, however. It seemed that not long after my audience with His Majesty, the ambassador from Farendon appeared at court, more or less demanding an audience. News had reached him of the king’s plans for an annulment, and he wished to make certain that this was all merely rumors and gossip, and nothing of the truth.

  Although the small doses I had had of the king were more than enough, I could not help wishing that I might have been present during that conversation, if only to see what his excuses to the ambassador might have been. Yes, such actions weren’t entirely without precedent, but those previous annulments in my country’s history had come about after a much longer period, when some ten years had passed without an heir being produced. Prince Harlin and Princess Lorelis had barely been married three years, and she was a young girl hardly out of the schoolroom when she came here. Asking for an annulment in such circumstances must have sounded wildly precipitate.

  Gossip did spread at court like fire in a hay field — which I assumed was how Tobyn had somehow managed to hear of the king’s plans as well — but no one seemed to be talking much about the outcome of that particular conversation between the king and the ambassador, or at least they had not done so in front of my maid. What that meant, I couldn’t be sure. I could only be glad that I would be able to see Tobyn without having to worry about Rashelle overhearing our exchanges.

  I was waiting for him that night, watching the one corner where he most particularly liked to appear. As soon as he stepped forth from the shadows, I ran to him and threw my arms around him.

  “It worked!” I exclaimed. “That is, the king was very angry, but he must have decided that it was not worth the risk to get so much less gold than he had expected, and so Rashelle has been returned to the servants’ wing.”

  “That is very good news,” Tobyn said, but he did not sound particularly enthusiastic.

  I stepped away from him and glanced up at the hood which shrouded his face, wishing for the hundredth time that I might be able to see something of his expression. How much longer did he intend to conceal himself thus? Surely by now he must know that I cared only for him, and not what the pox might have done to his face. “What is wrong?” I asked. “I would have thought you would be pleased.”

  “I am. It is good to not have to worry about being overheard. But….”

  “But?”

  “Just that I am concerned, after hearing something of the outcome of the king’s meeting with the Farendonian ambassador.”

  That reply surprised me. “And how is it you know anything of that?”

  �
��I could say it is because I have my spies, but really, it is more that my clients number some of the wealthier ladies of the court, and they do like to gossip when they come in to discuss a commission. Lady Aurelis came with her attendants to order a new diadem, and she was all abuzz.”

  “But how is it that she heard anything at all? It is not as if the king and the ambassador had a shouting match in front of all the court, is it?”

  That question did elicit a chuckle. “No, of course not. You are sequestered up here in your tower, Annora, for otherwise you would know that very little happens at court that does not end up being the subject of that night’s dinner conversation. Perhaps a door was not shut all the way, and a servant overheard something. Perhaps the ambassador was grumbling as he took his leave of His Majesty. One way or another, these things tend to get out.”

  “Then I am very glad I do not really live at court,” I said with a slight shudder. “One could never call one’s life one’s own.”

  “Not really. Not in the way you are used to. At any rate, the interview did not go well. The ambassador seemed to make it clear that Farendon would never let such an insult to one of its royal daughters pass by lightly.”

  “They would go to war over such a thing?” Such a notion seemed incredible to me. Yes, an annulment would be quite the insult to Lorelis, but….

  “Wars have been fought over less.” Tobyn must have noted the worry in my face, for he reached out and took my hands, then gave them a reassuring squeeze. “I am not saying that is what will happen here, but I do think the ambassador’s response has the king rethinking his strategy.”

  “Well, good,” I replied. “For he is being quite mad about the whole thing. If what the ambassador said has made the king reconsider his actions, then he will have to abandon the notion altogether. Perhaps he will realize that this whole scheme of forcing me to stay and make gold for him is foolish, and he will let me go.”

  “That would be the best outcome,” Tobyn agreed. But in the next instant he was pulling me against him, holding me tight, his arms wrapped around me as if attempting to shield me from some hostile outside force.

  “What is it?” I whispered. “Why are you so worried?”

  “Because I fear losing this one option will only make the king that much more desperate. And desperate men can do terrible things.”

  I could not deny that. Right then, I wished our kingdom was just a little richer, just a little larger. Peace had existed between Purth and its neighbors for many years, but these things could, as the ambassador’s veiled threats seemed to prove, change in an instant. If we had Keshiaar’s mines or Farendon’s rich farmlands, perhaps we would have fared better. But a good deal of the kingdom was hilly and rocky, not suited for much more than grazing sheep. More fertile land lay to the south, where the estate Cordell had inherited most likely was located, since he had said it possessed a vineyard. Even so, Purth’s wealth was not nearly enough to compete with any of the neighboring kingdoms. King Elsdon’s desperate need for gold still seemed alien to me, and yet I thought I understood somewhat of where that desire had been born.

  And because I knew all this, I would not contradict Tobyn. I could only let him hold me in his arms as I tried to tell myself that comfort was enough, and all would be well.

  Unfortunately, my experiences of the past week told me I was being far too optimistic.

  * * *

  Despite my misgivings, nothing occurred during the next several days to make me think anything was terribly amiss. True, the king showed no sign of letting me go free, despite Master Jamsden’s appeals to the High Court. They could pass their judgment, but they did not have the power to force King Elsdon to do other than what he pleased.

  Because we did not want to upset him, Tobyn and I made sure that the amounts of gold spun in the night were at least equal to what I had produced in the past. Each morning, Lord Edmar would come to take it away. I could tell nothing from his brisk and breezy manner what confidences — if any — the king had shared with him, and I dared not ask. The unsettled nature of my existence then did worry me, but I did not want to press for too much information. That would only tell the duke I was not yet reconciled to my situation. Better that he think me meek and cowed for now.

  At least I saw Tobyn every night, and after the gold had been spun, we were able to steal a few kisses before he left. Being in his presence comforted me somewhat, although I still wished he could find a way to free me, one that did not involve the impotent wranglings of the High Court. Every time I asked, however, he would only shake his head sadly and say it was not possible.

  “For you know you would be long gone from here, if I but possessed the talent to make such a thing happen,” he told me. I could hear the regret and the impotent anger in his voice, and I knew he was uttering the truth, and nothing more.

  One thing he did bring me that was of some comfort was a letter from my sister Iselda. How he had gotten it from her, I did not know for sure, although I guessed Master Jamsden had been involved somehow. I had read it so many times that I practically knew it by heart, this one small connection with my family.

  Dear Annora, she had written, I am so glad to know that you are well. Father has been in quite a state this week, and I can see why, since you have told me that it is mostly his doing that you are locked up in the palace. I suppose there are worse places to be locked up, though. A dungeon, or a cave in a cliff, or an abandoned mine. What does it look like? Is everything made of solid gold? Are all the ladies very fine? I would love to see it for myself, although of course I should not like being locked up.

  I am trying to keep on with my studies, for I know you would be disappointed if I did not. It is hard to concentrate, though, knowing that you are off being held in a tower, like a princess in one of my stories. Do you think anyone will come to rescue you? I daresay I can’t think of anyone who would even know how to scale a tower wall, but of course you are older and have a larger acquaintance than I do.

  Maralys down the street has a cat who had kittens. Father has been in such a strange mood this week that he even said I could have one when I asked him, and you know how he feels about animals in the house. I am hoping he will not change his mind, for I have picked out the sweetest little gray and white kitty, and I would be quite sad if she ended up going to another home.

  Well, Master Amardon is here to quiz me on my sums. I must say goodbye now, for he will be cross if I keep him waiting.

  Your affectionate sister,

  Iselda Kelsden

  Each time I read this missive, it brought a smile to my face, for I could so clearly hear my little sister’s voice in my head. She did not seem overly distraught by my situation, but then, she was always one to see romance and adventure in everything. Good thing I had said nothing to her of Tobyn; news of a hooded man with magical powers being my suitor would have sent her into transports.

  But then, he did almost the same thing to me. Still he would not let me see his face, and I decided I would not let that matter. I had fallen in love with him, not what he looked like. Indeed, did not ordinary people change over the years anyway? Their faces became lined, or they grew plump. They were not, in appearance, at any rate, the same people their spouses had fallen in love with so many years earlier. Perhaps Tobyn was doing me a favor in forcing me to be in love with the man and not his face.

  What mattered far more was how my heart thrilled at the sound of his voice, so filled with yearning when he said my name, or how his arms felt around me, or the sweetness of his kisses. Even with all that, I knew he held himself back. We were alone together, and it would have been easy enough for him to guide me to my bedchamber so we could let matters progress further. He cared too much about my honor, though, to ask such a thing of me. Not that I would have minded. I had begun to understand that our kisses, as dizzying as they might be, were only a prelude to much more satisfying pleasures, although such things must be forbidden to an unmarried woman.

  And Tobyn had s
aid nothing of marriage, spoke very little of a possible future together. At times, I almost felt that he held back because he believed we could not have such a future, although he had not said anything of that nature to me, possibly fearing an argument. I would not bring up the subject, either, for really, our acquaintance was still so new. I knew my feelings, examined them when I was alone, told myself sternly that I must be very sure of them, for Tobyn still seemed reluctant at times, as if fighting with himself over whether he should surrender to the connection between us.

  More than a week had passed since I was brought here to the palace. Even though a span of ten days or so should not seem so very long, my life before becoming the king’s prisoner had begun to feel indistinct and dim, like something I had read in a book. Sevendre passed into Octevre, and I wondered if King Elsdon would ever relent and allow me to return to my family. Because he had apparently given up on making me his new daughter-in-law, I did not even have visits from Prince Harlin or his wife to break up the monotony of my days. At night I had Tobyn, if only for an hour or so, but during my waking hours I only saw Rashelle, who seemed less inclined toward conversation than she once had, perhaps because of some admonishments from Mistress Thranson.

  But then there came a knock at the door that afternoon, and there again was Lord Edmar.

  I gazed at him in some confusion as I set down my needlework, for earlier that day he had already come and retrieved the previous night’s gold from me. “Your Grace?”

  He bowed. I noticed that he was very finely dressed in a doublet of deep wine-colored velvet. “Mistress Kelsden, the king wishes to speak with you.”

  My heart began to beat a little faster. What had prompted this invitation, I could not say. Certainly Tobyn and I had labored to make sure that His Majesty would have no reason to find fault with the gold we brought forth each night. And with no one to chaperone me, my benefactor…the man I loved…had managed to evade discovery. So why the summons now?