"Lord Quemanor left directly after I won the championship," Javier replied. "I told Genimo to bring Fedeles here."
"They haven't arrived yet but the night is-" Elezar cut himself off short as Genimo, two young women in violet gowns, and Fedeles appeared on the stairs. Fedeles was dressed as elegantly as any of the lords. Yellow vines climbed the deep green silk of his coat, while green vines curled across his golden vest and stockings-but there was nothing formal about his bearing. He danced from foot to foot beside Genimo.
When he caught sight of Javier and Kiram, he bounded down the stairs unannounced and plowed through the dancing couples like some child who knew no better.
"Well, Javier, ask and you shall receive," Elezar said. He shook his head at the disruption, but his expression was more amused than embarrassed. Atreau put a hand over his face as if he couldn't bear to witness such poor form. Nestor and Morisio gawked and Kiram imagined his own expression was much the same. Only Javier appeared utterly unfazed by Fedeles' behavior.
"Lunaluz the champion!" Fedeles threw his arms around Javier and hugged him fiercely. Javier returned the embrace gently. All around people openly gaped at the scene. Even the musicians seemed to lose their concentration and for a moment the ballroom was nearly silent.
"Announcing His Lordship Fedeles Quemanor," the red- faced servant on the stairs called out. "Lord Genimo Plunado, Lady Aranya Plunado and Lady Nisa Plunado."
Genimo led the two women, probably his sisters, down into the ballroom and introduced them to Lady Grunito, who pointedly ignored Fedeles' antics. Others followed Lady Grunito's example and in a few moments both the music and dancing resumed.
Fedeles turned his affection on Kiram, pulling him into a fierce and wiggly hug. "Kiri, Kiri. I saw you shining like a star on the battlefield."
"I heard you cheering in the stands."
"Dancing, dancing. Come dancing with me." Fedeles sang the words, still gripping Kiram's hand as he grinned and skipped in place. When he started to drag Kiram towards the dancing couples, Javier interceded.
"You know you can't dance with Kiram, Fedeles. Let go of his hands."
Fedeles stuck his tongue out at Javier, but conceded.
"I'll fetch a girl for you," Javier said.
"Linya Bayezar." Elezar indicated a plain-faced girl in a blue and white striped gown. "Her father is up to his eyes in gambling debts. He'll turn her over to the first rich man who asks according to Lord Urvano."
Javier studied the girl the way he studied an opponent before a duel. Kiram felt a sudden sympathy for her. He would never have wanted to have Javier turn that assessing glower on him. Luckily, the girl remained unaware that she had fallen under such harsh scrutiny. She and two older women laughed together.
"Why don't you let me ask her?" Atreau suddenly offered. "She looks kind, and I'm sure if it was put to her nicely she'd allow Fedeles to dance with her without being bullied."
Javier raised a brow. "Put it to her nicely, then."
"Always." Atreau led Fedeles across the room and after a few minutes of conversation with the older women and Linya, Atreau seemed to win the girl over. She allowed Fedeles to lead her out onto the dance floor when a new tune began. Remarkably, Fedeles danced beautifully, though his gaze seemed far away from his partner.
Atreau led one of the older women out to dance. He smiled at her, said something, and she blushed and beamed as if she were a young maiden.
"Wish I knew what he said," Nestor commented.
"I love prunes," Elezar suggested.
Kiram laughed despite himself.
Genimo soon joined them and introduced his sisters. Morisio escorted the older of the two girls out to the dance floor while Elezar took the younger. Genimo glanced only briefly to Kiram and then excused himself to dance with a plump young lady. The music swelled and the couples in brilliant colors swirled past.
Several lords approached Javier, complimenting him on his success at the tournament and then inquiring about his lands. One wondered how he planned to handle the new church tithes and another asked if the dry spring had affected his crops.
Javier responded with an air of easy, yet somewhat bored, assurance. His tithes would be paid as they always were, from his own coffers. He had no need to increase his rents on the church's behalf. The drought had not been long in Rauma and the harvests were plentiful. He smiled and made polite inquiries of his older peers. Throughout, Kiram couldn't help but note how the conversations always went dead whenever a man mentioned that his niece or daughter would like to meet Javier.
In response to one man who seemed particularly intent, Javier turned to Kiram and Nestor and asked, "Don't you think Ariz Plunado stands a good chance of winning a master's circlet in the next two years?"
"Genimo's cousin?" Nestor's confusion at Javier's sudden change of subject showed in his tone.
"He's really fast." Kiram picked up the thread. "And he's hard to predict."
"Quite," Javier agreed. "Though you did manage to out maneuver him."
At last the older man withdrew.
As a rule the lords who spoke with Javier extricated themselves soon after Kiram joined the conversation, though he didn't know if this was because he was Haldiim or if that's when it became obvious that Javier would not be drawn into meeting their marriageable female relations.
Elezar returned from dancing, but Atreau, Morisio and, surprisingly, Fedeles continued to claim partners from among the noblewomen. Pretty young girls with glittering golden complexions clung to Atreau. Morisio claimed shy young women who seemed delighted with his unexpected attention. Fedeles mostly inspired a motherly affection from middle-aged matrons, who nearly always accepted his outstretched hand. The music rolled on and couples laughed and danced past as Kiram looked on with envy.
He loved to dance, and if this had been a Haldiim gathering he would have been one of the first men out on the dance floor and one of the last to leave. But Haldiim festivities were very different from those of Cadeleonians. Haldiim music was generally much faster and the dancing rarely involved intimate couples. Haldiim dances drew entire families together to form rings or lines, while the music quickened and steps increased in speed.
The Cadeleonian festivities and the dancing in particular seemed to center on couples. Marriageable couples, Kiram suspected. As such, no woman in her right mind would want to dance with him, and he didn't know the steps in any case. Still, it looked fun.
A sunken old gentleman scowled heavily at Kiram as, once again, Javier ignored the mention of a lovely, young granddaughter and asked Kiram if he'd ever been to the Ammej Bridge in the Haldiim district of Anacleto.
"Many times," Kiram replied. Javier had really been serious when he claimed he'd brought him along to be his human shield, he realized. "It's only a few blocks from my family house. I can't imagine any Haldiim in Anacleto who hasn't used the bridge. It's huge. Have you ever been?"
"No, I've only visited Anacleto once and I was quite young. My mother couldn't abide the Haldiim section of the city. I've read about the bridge though and I've always wanted to see it."
"I crossed it once," Nestor said. "Elezar and me both, when we went shopping for sweets for our father." He turned to Kiram. "That would have been at your mother's shop, you know. I wonder if we could have seen each other, then. It would have been four-"
"Five years ago," Elezar corrected.
The old man took his leave with a stiff bow to Javier.
"Should you really have been so obvious about snubbing him?" Kiram inquired.
"Should he have been so obvious in his attempts to insinuate his knock-kneed granddaughter into my bed?" Javier countered and Kiram could see that he was both bored and annoyed.
Before Kiram could respond Nestor gripped his arm. "Look! She's here!"