Chapter Sixteen #2
“No longer, according to your father,” Roi said, moving past her and going to the enormous wardrobe that had been part of the chamber when he first took possession of the castle.
“He is asking me to bring my army and meet him in a village called Colesborne. You can see from the missive what else he says—that Cirencester has already burned two villages near their property boundary.”
Diara was genuinely baffled. She sat on the edge of their bed, missive in hand, as Roi began to pull out pieces of clothing to pack.
“Did Mathis not say that Cirencester paid my father a visit before Beckett’s funeral?” she said.
“That is what the knight said.”
“And now Cirencester is attacking my father?”
Roi came over to the bed and began to lay things out.
“Mathis told us of the meeting, but he did not know what was said,” he replied.
“It is possible that Cirencester threatened your father or tried to coerce him, but your father is a stubborn man. He must have refused, and now, Cirencester is retaliating. The only thing I do not understand is why he seemed happy after Cirencester’s departure from Cicadia Castle.
To me, that does not speak of a worried man. ”
Diara sat there, shaking her head, until she finally turned to him. “I do not like this at all, Roi,” she said. “You do not know my father. He holds grudges. He becomes inflamed if anyone opposes him. You saw him when he went to Lioncross and bullied your father. You said so yourself.”
“I did.”
She stood up from the bed. “Something is very wrong here,” she said. “Cirencester would never attack my father.”
Roi looked at her. “Do you think it is someone other than Cirencester?”
“I don’t know,” she said, working herself up into a state.
“Riggs Fairford is a wicked man, and his son, Flavian, is even worse. They were very upset when my father would not agree to a betrothal between Flavian and me, but that was so long ago. That is the only thing I can possibly think of that might make him angry enough to strike.”
Roi appeared doubtful. “I cannot believe he would show his disappointment so long after the suit was refused,” he said. “Moreover, you are married now. If they were still pursuing you, that is now ended. And wasn’t all of that several years ago?”
“Before my father went to France.”
“Then I am sure this has nothing to do with a rejected suit,” he said. “Cirencester would not decide to attack your father four years after his suit was refused.”
“But I have only been married for a couple of weeks.”
That brought Roi pause. “You think that Cirencester may have held out hope for a betrothal until you were legally married, and now he is furious?”
Diara sighed heavily. “As I said, I do not know,” she said. “But he visited my father before we were married and attacked him only after we were wed. Coincidence?”
“It has to be.”
“Then if that is not the reason, something else must have prompted the attack.”
“Like what?”
She didn’t have an answer, and because of that, she was close to tears. “I do not know,” she whispered tightly. “But I do not want you to go.”
He frowned, as if she had said something ridiculous. “I must go,” he said, turning back to the wardrobe. “I am your husband and obligated to answer your father’s call. You know this.”
She didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t taking her seriously. “My father has not had trouble on his lands in almost twenty years,” she pointed out. “And suddenly, he has an attack two weeks after I marry? An attack in which he summons de Lohr aid, no less?”
Roi looked at her. She was genuinely upset, but he thought it was more because he was going to face a skirmish and she was afraid in general.
He thought that perhaps she was simply making up phantoms of suspicion where there weren’t any.
Removing a small leather satchel from the wardrobe, he tossed it onto the bed as he made his way over to her.
“This is the first time you’ve had a husband go to war, is it?” he said, his eyes glimmering. “I would have never known.”
She didn’t like being teased. “I know you think I am being foolish, but I do not have a good feeling about this,” she said. “Nothing is making sense about my father, and it is frightening me. What about my catching him in your father’s solar?”
“What about it?”
She threw up her hands in exasperation. “It was very odd.”
“I think he was just being nosy, my love.”
“He is up to something, and I do not know what it is!”
Roi didn’t want to dismiss her again so obviously.
Clearly, she felt strongly about the situation, and he wanted to respect that.
But he also thought she was simply being overdramatic because he was departing for a conflict and she didn’t like that.
Furthermore, she didn’t like the fact that her father clearly hadn’t forgiven them for refusing to marry when he wanted them to, so her paranoia had the better of her.
She was seeing trouble everywhere.
“My dearest angel,” he said patiently. “Even if he is up to something, as you have put it, what harm can he do us? The man cannot touch the de Lohr empire, and he knows it. He would be foolish to try, although I do not know why he would try. He has everything he wants—you are married to a de Lohr son and he has his alliance. Why in the world would he be up to something that would harm us?”
Diara couldn’t put her feelings into words.
There was nothing tangible except for the fact that she knew her father and knew how he could be.
But Roi had a point—her father had what he wanted.
There was no reason for him to be scheming about something.
Aye, that was all quite logical, and she knew that.
But she still had a suspicious feeling deep in her belly.
However, she didn’t want Roi to think he’d married a fidgety, silly bird. She wanted him to see her as she really was, as she had been since their introduction. That was the true Diara, a woman of reason and strength, but when it came to her father and his questionable character, she was nervous.
But she couldn’t prove anything.
“You are correct, of course,” she said, forcing a smile. “I suppose that I am simply nervous that you are going into battle and we have only been married a couple of weeks. I was hoping we would have more time before I bade you farewell as you headed to an armed conflict.”
He smiled at her. “There is no need to be concerned,” he said.
“I am taking five hundred men with me and Adrius. I will leave Kyne here with you, to command in my absence. I will be well protected and I will be very careful, I promise. But you must let me do what I was born to do and what I am trained to do. You married a knight, Lady de Lohr. You must let me be what I am.”
She nodded quickly. “Of course,” she said. “I did not mean to suggest you become less than you are.”
He went to her, taking her in his arms and kissing her gently.
“You did not suggest that at all,” he said.
“This is the first time we have been separated, and you are understandably uneasy. I do not want to leave you, either, but your father has asked for help. How would you feel about me if I refused?”
“Upset, I suppose.”
“Exactly,” he said, releasing her. “I will, therefore, go and see what this is all about, but I am sending a missive to my father to have his men join me. Your father will have thousands of men on his doorstep in a few short days.”
“Good,” Diara said, relieved. “Then you will have help.”
“I will have a lot of help,” he said. “Now, pick up the clothing I’ve laid out and come with me. My saddlebags are in the armory, and I would like your assistance.”
Diara nodded quickly, though she ran to her dressing table first and braided her hair quickly to get it out of the way. “I would be honored to help you,” she said as her fingers flew. “Is there anything else to bring from this chamber?”
Roi looked around. “I do not think so,” he said. “Mayhap an extra pair of boots.”
“Shall I get them?”
“Nay,” he said, already moving for the wardrobe. “I will get the boots. You get the clothing.”
Diara tied off her hair swiftly, a lovely blonde braid hanging over her shoulder as she rushed to collect his clothing off the bed.
They headed from the chamber, Roi taking the lead as he led her down the stairs and out of the keep, crossing the bailey just as Dorian was taking a ride on her new horse, bareback, waving to her father and stepmother as she did so.
Diara waved back, casting Roi a long look to remind him that he’d denied his daughter that particular pony only a couple of days ago.
Her husband’s sheepish smile had her laughing all the way to the armory.