Chapter 13
Tyrell glanced at the study door as he sipped his tea. What had seemed like hours ago (but was actually only about ten minutes prior), Lia had disappeared into the halls of a home that had already claimed seven maidens.
And here he was, sipping tea and making small talk like a perfect specimen of masculine courage. Tyrell died a little inside.
“It’s such a shame Julian isn’t here!” Lord Salamar sighed.
“He’s not?” Tyrell asked, snapping his attention back to his host. “I thought he left Iseldis yesterday—”
“Just long enough to leave us his princess,” Lady Salamar explained. “But dear Julian had to go to attend to some business before the wedding.”
“So Princess Tavia’s here?” Tyrell asked, sipping his tea and glancing back toward the hall.
“Of course!” Lord Salamar explained. “She’s been preparing the East Wing. They’re going to move in there together once they are married.”
Lady Salamar took her husband's hand and smiled at him. “I’m so happy one of our sons decided to stay with us.”
“Well . . . I understand he has . . .” Tyrell searched his mind, and then turned slightly green. “Attachments to this place.”
“Yes, yes,” Lord Salamar smiled. “He always has some project or other underway in the old Leviathan hall. I don’t think he’s ever going to finish.”
Tyrell choked on his tea. “Project?” he asked. “What kind of project?”
Lord Salamar laughed. “We don’t know. He never lets us in there.”
“But dear Julian’s always been that way,” Lady Salamar smiled. “Very private. Doesn’t want his parents nosing about in his business.”
“I’ll say not,” Tyrell mumbled.
“See! Tyr understands!” laughed the old lord.
Tyrell forced out a tiny chuckle.
“It’s no trouble,” Lady Salamar added. “I prefer Charybdis Hall for entertaining anyway. The light is so much better over there and of course, there’s always Scylla Hall if we need extra space.”
Tyrell thought of the one hall in his father’s manor that they referred to as The Hall and suddenly felt like a peasant. If this castle was large enough to have three halls, it could hide any number of dangerous mysteries.
Again, he glanced at the door.
“Are you alright, Tyr?” Lady Salamar asked. “You look a little pale.”
“I was just wondering where Lia went,” he said.
“Maybe she got lost,” the lady answered. “Shall I send Martha to look for her?”
“No! Um, no, not yet, thank you,” Tyrell smiled. “I’m sure she’ll be back by and by.”
“Tell me, who is her father?” Lord Salamar asked.
“Yes, and how did you meet?” his lady added.
Tyrell looked back at the old couple and blinked.
That’s right. They had somehow decided that Tyrell and Lia were married.
Tyrell bit his lip wondering whether or not to correct this assumption.
If he did, it would probably lead to more questions, the kind that were probing for a scandal.
The last thing Tyrell needed was to be known as the kind of young nobleman who went traveling alone with the female servants.
This was exactly why he didn’t want Lia following him!
Well, that and because he didn’t want her to die.
“I’ve . . .” he started. When did he meet Lia? Did he ever really, officially? He supposed he knew her as long as he’d known Princess Tavia. She was always with the princess, ready to do her bidding. Until very recently, Tyrell didn’t think of Lia as a woman who existed in her own right.
“Princess Tavia introduced us,” Tyrell explained. “I don’t remember exactly when.”
Lady Salamar squeezed her husband’s hand more tightly. “Oh, how lovely! You two seem so well suited to each other.”
“Yes . . .” Tyrell answered. “She’s very caring and . . .” he glanced back toward the hall. “Incredibly brave.”
The Salamar’s leaned in, expressions begging for more of the story, basking in the second-hand romance.
“She’s very pretty,” Lord Salamar pointed out.
Tyrell felt his cheeks flush. “Yeah . . .” he realized. “I suppose she is.”
His anxiety was reaching its peak—he didn’t know how much more of this he could endure.
“But you still haven’t told us what family she’s from,” the lord pleaded.
Tyrell opened his mouth, wondering how he could possibly dodge this question. Then, like the answer to a prayer, Lia appeared in the doorway.
The tension left Tyrell’s muscles so quickly, he almost immediately dissolved into a puddle.
As she took her seat on the sofa beside him, he asked her a thousand questions with his eyes. She responded with a very subtle nod. She knew something, something she was going to tell him as soon as she could.
“There she is!” Lord Salamar exclaimed. “We worried you got lost for a moment.”
“I apologise,” Lia smiled kindly, taking her seat beside Tyrell. “I got lost.”
“Tyr was just telling us all about how you met!” Lady Salamar exclaimed.
“Yes, and to which family you belong,” her lord added.
She raised her eyebrows at him, so Tyrell very subtly shrugged.
“Um, yes, Lia,” he begged. “Tell Lord and Lady Salamar all about how we met.”
“Oh,” she breathed, understanding sparkling in her eyes. “I’ve known Tyrell for years.”
She reached over and took his hand with a tenderness that almost fooled him into believing her love. His heartbeat quickened as he forced a broad smile on his face, hoping whatever Lia said next wouldn’t contradict his story.
“I’ve known Tyrell all my life,” she smiled. “He used to come to the palace with his brothers and sisters and play with the children there.”
“So you’re Princess Tavia’s cousin!” Lord Salamar exclaimed. “I never could keep the whole royal family in my head..”
Tyrell hoped he wasn’t starting to sweat. If the old lord asked too many questions about Lia’s family, everything was going to fall apart. Luckily, Lia didn’t give him the chance.
“You know what I noticed about him?” Lia beamed. “He let all the palace children play with him. It didn’t matter if they were royal or servants or guests. He was a perfect gentleman to everyone.”
Lady Salamar had such a dreamy look, Tyrell thought she was going to swoon onto the sofa.
Lia squeezed Tyrell’s hand and turned a face on him that was similarly dreamy. Tyrell was so grateful she had come back, because her acting was superior to his in every way. Why, the way she was looking at him, had him believing she was madly in love.