Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

Cicadia Castle

T he messenger had been wearing de Lohr colors.

Ananda happened to be crossing from the stable area toward the keep when she saw the messenger at the gatehouse. It was about midday beneath a fine and clear sky, and she had been busy inventorying the livestock in preparation for future meals. It was a mostly normal day in a series of abnormal days that had been clouded with the departure of Diara and Roi. That entire situation was still a mystery to Ananda, mostly because her husband seemed so upset over it.

To her, that didn't make any sense.

Robin was the one who had pushed the de Lohr betrothal. He had been the one who hounded the family after the death of Beckett. Everything that had happened was because he had orchestrated it, and God only knew, he liked to control everything and everyone around him.

That was the husband she had come to know.

But ever since that evening when he had fallen and hit his face, something had been eating away at Robin. He was normally a social man and tended to get out quite a bit, but ever since that day, he had mostly stayed in his solar. Whenever Ananda tried to speak to him or bring him food, he would snap at her and tell her to get out. He wasn't in any mood for conversation, and he certainly wasn't in any mood to explain his problems to his wife.

Therefore, she had no idea what was wrong.

Ananda wasn't the plotting sort. She wasn't the type of wife who schemed or tried to trick her husband. She and Robin had always had a good partnership, or so she thought, but the de Lohr betrothal had changed something in him, and she wasn't sure what it was because he wouldn't talk to her.

There had been, however, an interesting visit from Lord Cirencester the day after Roi and Diara had left for Lioncross Abbey Castle. Riggs Fairford made an appearance, something the man did on occasion, since his seat wasn't far from Cicadia, but this visit seemed to be different. It didn't seem to be a social visit because he had entered Robin's solar to talk to the man and ended up spending about twelve hours in the chamber. When he had finally emerged, it was simply to get on his horse and leave. Normally, he would have remained for a few days, indulged in Robin's fine wine, eaten his share of good food, and departed for home when his gluttonous body could take no more.

But this visit had been different.

Ananda had no idea what to make of it.

So, she simply went about her business, and that included doing an inventory of the livestock on this day. As she crossed toward the keep, she noticed the de Lohr messenger at the gatehouse, and, curious about his appearance, she changed directions and headed toward the gate. As she drew near, Mathis left the messenger and approached her.

"My lady," he said, holding out a vellum envelope. "A missive from Lioncross Abbey. It is addressed to both you and Lord Cheltenham."

Ananda looked at it. It was a big yellow envelope with the blue wax de Lohr seal on it. She flipped it over to see that, indeed, her name was on it.

"I wonder what it is," she said. "Did the messenger say anything?"

"Nay, my lady."

"My name is on it."

"It is, my lady."

Even so, she was hesitant to open it. Robin opened all of the missives that arrived to Cicadia, but this one did have her name on it. She supposed that it was her right to open it before her husband did.

She proceeded.

Ananda, fortunately, could read. In a country where reading was not particularly encouraged for women, her mother had taught her, and she, in turn, had taught Diara. She continued to read the missive, her face lighting up when she was about halfway finished.

"Ah!" she said. "What lovely news."

"My lady?" Mathis said.

Ananda glanced at him. "It is an invitation to Diara's marriage to Roi," she said. "I was not sure when they intended to do it, but it seems that it is only a day or two away. I must tell my husband immediately."

With that, she dashed away from Mathis. He wasn't so excited by the news as she was. In fact, he was rather depressed. It wasn't as if he knew he had any chance with Diara, still, but news of her coming marriage somehow stomped out any embers of foolish hope he might have entertained. She was truly getting married, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Nothing but mourn what he'd hoped was his future.

Ananda wasn't oblivious to the fact, but much like her husband, she felt that Mathis wasn't a prestigious enough husband for their daughter, so his feelings in the matter were inconsequential to her. Diara was to be married shortly, and what Mathis felt or didn't feel didn't matter to her at all. All that mattered was that this wedding they'd hoped for, first with Beckett but now with his father, was imminent.

She ran all the way to the keep.

Once up the steps and into the cold and musty entry, Ananda went straight to her husband's solar. Without knocking, she burst into the chamber, the missive held high like a flag.

"Word has come from Lioncross Abbey, my husband," she announced. "The wedding is to be at the end of the week!"

Robin had been seated at his table, that vast and cluttered thing, studying a map of his southern lands. A cartographer from Nice had made the maps for him years ago, and they'd held up well. He looked up from the map without any outward reaction as his wife's words settled in his brain.

The wedding is at the end of the week!

He couldn't even muster the anger for her breaking into his sanctuary without knocking.

All he could feel was disappointment.

"So it comes," he muttered softly, sitting back in his chair. "They waited until after the funeral, just as Roi wanted to."

"Aye," Ananda said, rushing to the table and extending the invitation to him. "See for yourself. Lord Hereford has asked for the honor of our presence at the mass. We must leave immediately."

Robin looked at his wife, who was practically twitching with joy. Everything she had hoped and planned for her little girl was finally about to happen, and her happiness knew no bounds. That wasn't what Robin was feeling at all.

However…

He had known, at some point, that the announcement would come. Quite honestly, he had expected simply a marriage announcement, that the ceremony had already taken place and that his daughter was happily wed to the son of the Earl of Hereford. That was what he had been anticipating, so the fact that he was now invited to the wedding made the situation rather interesting.

The truth was that he was studying his maps for a reason. He was trying to determine the best location for a staged attack from his good friend to the south. His conversation with Riggs was still foremost in his mind even days after he had taken place. Nothing had changed. They had concocted a foolproof plan to rid himself of his daughter's new husband, and now, it was simply a matter of creating the situation that Roi, as his daughter's husband, would be morally obligated to engage in.

Robin had been planning to make amends with the already-married couple, but now he could simply do it at the actual wedding. What better way to lure Roi into a false sense of familial security than with a father-in-law who pretended to be incredibly grateful for the relationship? Robin knew that remaining distant and unhappy wasn't the way to solve his problem. Moreover, what son-in-law was going to want to fight for a man with whom he shared a bad relationship? Therefore, Robin was going to have to swallow his pride and pretend to be Roi's friend again.

But that was far from the truth.

He would never again be friends with a man who had gone against him. He would never again be friends with a man who shamed him in front of his own child. He would most definitely never again be friends again with a man who struck him in anger. It didn't matter that Robin had deserved it. He was never one to accept responsibility for his own actions, so understanding that he deserved what he received in the form of a flying fist had never been an option.

Now, he was going to do far worse to Roi than what Roi did to him, and in the end, his daughter would have a brand-new, controllable husband in the form of Cirencester's son. It was time to begin the performance that would convince the world that Robin was happy about the marriage, and that performance started with Ananda.

"Let me see the missive," he finally said, holding out his hand.

Ananda promptly handed over the envelope, and Robin read it, just once, before returning it to her.

"It is a joyous occasion," he said, forcing a smile. "Of course we shall leave immediately. Begin your packing and we shall leave at sunrise."

Ananda's face was aglow. "Our daughter is finally to be wed," she said, grasping his hand and giving it a squeeze. "To a de Lohr, no less. I cannot tell you how happy I am."

Robin kissed her hand and let it go. "As am I," he said. "To know that she is marrying my old friend brings me such comfort. Roi will be good to her. I pray she is worthy of him."

"But she will be," Ananda insisted. "She is young and strong. I can already feel those grandchildren in my arms."

With that, she rushed off, calling for the servants to bring forth the trunks from storage. Robin listened to her shouting as she faded away, off to pack for her daughter's wedding, off to experience what every woman dreamt of.

It was enough to give him a bad taste in his mouth.

Robin dutifully sent a servant for Mathis and Pryce, informing them that they would be escorting him and Lady Cheltenham to Lioncross Abbey on the morrow, to the wedding of their daughter. Leaving Eddard in command of Cicadia, Robin intended to take a hundred men with him in show of support for his new de Lohr in-laws. He gave normal orders for a normal event, giving no hint of what lay beneath.

But a good deal lay beneath.

The beginning of the end of Roi de Lohr.