Chapter 45 Keris
Keris
“I bought you something.”
“You shouldn’t have,” Keris responded, not lifting his head from the book he was reading detailing the history of the conflict between Cardiff and Harendell. “Our friendship doesn’t rely upon material goods.”
Saam snorted. “Maybe not, but my longevity does depend on keeping you alive.”
“Zarrah won’t punish you if I meet my end on your watch.” Keris flipped the page, then cursed and snapped the book shut, nothing inside telling him anything he didn’t know.
As it was, he was having difficulty focusing, his mind going back to his parting words with Adrius before the man set off to Ithicana again.
Or, more accurately, to Adrius’s words. He’d confirmed the disease in Valcotta’s herds, but also that Zarrah was not responding to Aren’s letters requesting aid.
It made Keris sick with unease, because as angry as she might be with him, Zarrah would never take that out on Aren, whom she considered a dear friend.
There was something keeping her from responding, but with news from the south patchy due to a particularly bad storm season and the absence of traffic on the bridge, he’d been unable to learn more.
Please be safe, he silently pleaded, turning his head to the window and staring south, feeling torn between the welfare of the love of his life and the family he held dear. Then a yip caught his attention. “What in fuck is that thing?”
“A poison-sniffing dog.” Saam grinned and set the white creature on the floor. “Sit!”
It sat.
“That’s not a dog,” Keris said, eyeing it. “That’s not even a cat. That’s a fluffy rat.”
“She is a dog and her name is Fiona. She’s from the most preeminent breeder and trainer in Harendell, and there is typically a seven-year waiting list for one of their dogs.
Fortunately, Zarrah’s name goes a long way.
” Saam patted the animal on its head, then deposited a folder of paperwork on the desk.
“Her documents, as well as the jeweler’s certificate for the diamond collar she came with. ”
The fluffy white animal did indeed have a glittering collar around her neck. “That she…came with? Saam, precisely how much did you pay for this dog?”
“One cannot put a price on safety,” his friend replied, which Keris suspected was how this dog breeder had sold him on this thing.
“She is trained to identify three hundred and forty-two types of poisons, and the demonstration they gave me was very compelling. Don’t worry about the cost. One of the banks in Verwyrd gave me the coin. ”
“That’s not free gold!” Keris scrubbed a hand over his face. “They withdrew it from my accounts.”
Saam shrugged. “Fiona is worth it, trust me.”
Keris highly doubted that, but he also had bigger concerns.
Namely that he needed to make progress in his goal to undermine the alliance between Cardiff and Harendell.
Having Ronan withdraw his support would undercut Harendell’s ability to go on the offensive, especially if he stirred up conflict in the north.
The peace between the two nations was tenuous and new, and with James absent, probably dead, the only thing binding the two nations was Lestara.
Especially given that whatever profits in trade Cardiff hoped to gain in the alliance would be much reduced if Harendell held the bridge.
It was an alliance destined to fail eventually, Keris only needed to hurry the process along.
Which meant turning the nation against its new queen.
Keris exchanged stares with the tiny dog, but then the door to his suites flew open and William appeared.
“Veliant, my good man! Care to go on an excursion?” Then he caught sight of Fiona and grinned.
“Have you got yourself a Fitzgibbons? My God, mate, you have either choice dirt on them or bottomless coffers.”
Keris gave Saam a sour glare, but his friend only shrugged as William dropped to his knees next to the wriggling cotton ball, petting her with enthusiasm.
“Mother has a Fitzgibbons, of course, and Virginia had one for years. Ginny wept like a babe when he died. I should really get her another to make up for…” William trailed off, then shook his head and stood.
“At any rate, no sour feelings about Ithicana and the bridge, right? It’s just politics, and Mother has a way of getting me riled up.
No need for it to come between friends.”
William was looking everywhere but at him, and Keris nearly sighed at the sad predictability of the other man. At his need for validation. At his need to be liked despite constantly engaging in behaviors that made him profoundly unlikable. “Where is Princess Virginia?”
“At Whitewood Hall, our hunting lodge in the north. Ginny and Lessy don’t quite see eye to eye, and grief has a way of making my sister harsh with her tongue. I thought it best Ginny take some time away from the stir of the court to recover. Her ladies are with her.”
Keris’s eyes turned to the diamond collar around Fiona’s neck.
Virginia Ashford had been the ringleader of the Harendellian noblewomen who’d taken Lestara’s punishment as their personal mission, and it was no shock that Lestara had them all removed from court.
Though it was a bit strange that Alexandra had allowed her daughter to be sent away on account of Lestara’s pride.
It supported his certainty that Lestara’s life and reign would not continue after she produced an heir.
“Ginny’s behavior was abhorrent,” William continued, his eyes also having moved to the dog.
“Lestara has been a paragon of forgiveness, but she still finds seeing those women very upsetting. I’ve already made it up to Ginny by agreeing to wed her to Georgie, and once she’s on the Cavendish estates with a baby or two, she won’t mind not being allowed at court.
Even if she does, it’s your fault, Veliant, not mine.
You had everyone convinced that Lestara was to blame for what happened in Vencia, but the reality is that she was Petra’s victim.
Virginia wouldn’t have acted as she did if you had been truthful.
You just wanted to be rid of the harem so you could chase after Zarrah. ”
Keris’s eyes filled with the memory of Lestara glaring up at him from a mass grave, hair covered with the dirt he’d shoveled upon her, and it was hard to keep the sarcasm from his voice as he said, “No sour feelings though, right?”
William huffed out a breath, then slowly lifted his face to meet Keris’s gaze. “Bygones. Let’s head out of the city and find some fun.”
Keris retrieved his coat from where it was tossed across the back of a chair and followed William into the corridor, mechanically responding to the other man’s mindless chatter while he considered how he might leverage Virginia Ashford.
William’s friends met them in the courtyard, Cavendish among them.
As they started down the spiral on foot, William drinking and laughing with his courtiers, Keris fell in alongside Cavendish.
“I heard you’re to wed Virginia Ashford. ”
“Yes.”
“Then her exile from court must be a bitter medicine to swallow.”
Cavendish scoffed and shook his head. “Exile? Hardly. It’s temporary and understandable.”
“That’s not what William said,” Keris took a flask from one of the courtiers, watching the man run to the railing and howl like a wolf, already drunk. “He said that Lestara can’t bear the sight of her.”
“William says a lot of things. Those of us who know him well know when to take him seriously or not.” Cavendish shook his head as Keris offered him the flask. “Virginia will be back at court before the year is out.”
“I’ll pray that is the case.” Keris broke into a trot and caught up to William, pushing the flask into the king’s hand. “It’s a beautiful day in Harendell, Your Grace. Let’s live it up.”
It was no different from the strategy he’d employed against his father. A pocket full of silver, a deck of cards, and endless alehouses full of men more than willing to talk if he kept their cups full.
Shuffling the deck, Keris dealt the cards to the men before him, one eye on the bar where William was surrounded by his friends.
“You enjoying your time in the Sky Palace, Your Highness?” one of the men asked after looking at his cards. “Are they keeping you properly entertained?”
“It’s a bit quiet, to be honest.” Keris increased his bet. “I’ve heard it’s livelier when Princess Virginia and her ladies are at court, but they are at Whitewood Hall.”
“She’ll be back soon enough, I reckon. Miss Ginny likes to be at the center of things.”
It was the way all the civilians spoke about Virginia. Miss Ginny. As though she were everyone’s favored little sister, and Keris had not heard a word against her. “Apparently she’s at Whitewood Hall grieving.”
“My cousin is friends with the sister of Lady Elizabeth’s chambermaid,” one of the men muttered. “She said Lady Elizabeth was informed that she was not welcome at court.”
Keris made a noise to indicate mild curiosity.
“Is it the same for Miss Ginny?” the first man asked, his brow furrowed.
“Surely not,” Keris said. “She’s the king’s beloved sister.”
All the gamblers at the table went still, then their eyes shifted to where William was laughing at the bar, his friends encouraging him to chug the contents of a glass.
“The Ashford siblings were always tight as ticks,” one of the men grumbled. “Now James is missing and Miss Ginny is all but banished. It’s not right.”
Keris took a sip of his wine and frowned at his cards.
“The Cardiffian witch cast a spell on him, mark my words,” another said. “Must have cast a spell on Good King Eddie too. There ain’t no other explanation for it.” His eyes slid to Keris. “Did she try any of her witchery on you, Your Highness?”
Keris shrugged, seeing Cavendish’s scrutiny out of the corner of his eye. He spoke loudly enough that the man would hear. “I’ve eyes only for my wife.”