"He might not have seen it all," Jaegar cautioned.
Or might be lying through his teeth to protect the honour of his ass of a lord, Sasha thought to herself. Still, she forced herself to remain silent. It would not befit anyone to be speaking ill of Lord Rashyd so soon after his death.
The calamity was beyond her immediate comprehension. No one in these parts liked Lord Rashyd Telgar, with his arrogant, northern ways and strict Verenthane codes. But for Krayliss to kill him… There were some who'd said that Lord Rashyd sat at the king's right hand. And others who'd said that the king, at Lord Rashyd's…
Tyrun heard Jaegar's caution and shrugged. "As you say," he said. "We have yet to discover what happened. But Krayliss has taxed the king's tolerance for a long time now, and there comes a time when even our tolerant king must put his foot down. In this, we are the heel of his boot."
"Our king," said Master Jaryd, somewhat tersely, "is vastly long on tolerance. He is a merciful man, a man of the gods, for surely they favour him. My father says that Lord Krayliss has preyed upon this mercy as a spoilt child preys upon the tolerance of a doting parent. Like the spoilt child, Krayliss deserves a spanking. With His Highness the Prince's blessing, I intend to administer it personally."
Jaryd downed a mouthful of ale with a flourish, lounging in his chair as an athletic man might, who wished others to observe the fact. Sasha observed him with a dark curiosity, having never seen this particular young noble faceto-face before. Jaryd Nyvar was a name known the length and breadth of Lenayin, and even those like Sasha who tried to avoid the endless gossip of Verenthane nobility knew something of his exploits. At no more than twenty-one summers, Jaryd Nyvar was the heir of Tyree. His mother was a cousin to Sasha's father-King Torvaal Lenayin-which made her and Jaryd related, she supposed. It was hardly uncommon amongst Lenay nobility-she was probably related to far more arrogant young puss-heads than Jaryd Nyvar. But it made her uneasy, all the same.
Every year at one of the great tournaments, Jaryd Nyvar would win personal honours of swordwork or horsemanship. His flamboyance was famous, his dancing reputedly excellent, and it was said he made grand gestures to the ladies before every bout. Sasha had heard it said jokingly that Jaryd's swordwork was so excellent because he'd spent most of his days beating off hordes of girls, and their mothers, with a stick.
Looking at him now, she grudgingly conceded the stories of his appearance were not too far-fetched. He was very pretty, with light brown hair worn somewhat longer than most Verenthanes, just above the collar at the back, and large, dark brown eyes that promised fire and mischief in equal measure. She had not heard of his command posting to the Falcon Guards. Perhaps his father grew tired of his pointless gallivanting and thought to put his skills to some decent, disciplined use. And his father, they said, was dying. Perhaps that added to the urgency.
"The Falcon Guard was posted to Baen-Tar for the summer?" Teriyan asked Jaryd.
"The latter half of the summer, aye," Jaryd agreed. He took a grape from the table and tossed it easily into his mouth. "We trained with the Royal Guard and others… gave them a right spanking too, I might add. Right, Captain?"
"Aye, M'Lord," Captain Tyrun agreed easily. "That we did."
"I've served in both Hadryn and Taneryn," Teriyan said, chewing on a slice of roast meat. "That entire border's full of armed men waiting for an incident. I wonder if the Falcon Guard will be enough. You're damn good, sure, but eighty men can't be everywhere at once. If this gets serious, there'll be hundreds runnin' around like headless chickens. Thousands, maybe."
"Three more companies are several days behind us," Damon said. "Each of those is promised at closer to their full strength-five hundred men in total. Most of the Falcon Guard were on manoeuvre about Baen-Tar. That's another hundred. We left in too much haste for anything more."
"We'd have gathered a Valhanan company on the way through," Captain Tyrun added, "but there's none standing ready at present. We did think it common sense to gather Yuan Kessligh on the way through, however. If he's willing."
He glanced toward the empty chair. Sasha shrugged. "I can't speak for him," she said. "But I'd be surprised if he weren't."
Jaryd slapped the table with one hand, delighted. "Wonderful!" he exclaimed. "To ride with Yuan Kessligh! I've dreamed of that since I was a lad-smiting evil-doers at Kessligh's side! That fool Krayliss won't know what hit him."
"Krayliss is the evil-doer?" Sasha asked, implacably cool. "We have yet to establish what occurred surrounding Lord Rashyd's death. Until such a time as we know for sure, Lord Krayliss deserves the benefit of any doubt, surely? Or has my father's law changed so drastically when I wasn't watching?"
Jaryd smiled broadly, in the manner of a masterful warrior challenged to a duel by a raggedy little farmer's girl with a stick. "M'Lady," he said, with a respectful, mirthful nod, "surely you know what Lord Krayliss is like? The man is a bigot, a… a rogue, a thief-a vain, strutting, pompous fool who is a blight upon the good nobility of Lenayin! And now, apparently, a murderer, though this will surely surprise no one who knows his type."
"I've met Lord Krayliss, Master Jaryd. Have you?" Jaryd gazed at her, his smile slowly slipping. "I've met Lord Rashyd too. And strangely, I find your description could just as readily describe him as the other."
"I too have met Lord Rashyd, several times," Jaryd said coolly. Sasha wondered if he'd ever conversed with a young woman on a matter that did not involve her giggling shyly with starry eyes. "He is… or rather was… a hard man, at times confrontingly so. But at least he was not a… a shaggy-headed, mindless, chest-thumping…" he waved a hand, searching for a new, derogatory adjective.
"Pagan?" Sasha suggested.
Jaryd just looked at her for a moment, realisation dawning in his eyes. Sasha shifted her gaze to Jaegar, beneath meaningful, raised eyebrows. Jaegar coughed, and sipped at his drink. From this angle, the spirit-mask on the left side of his face was not fully visible, but gold glinted from his ear, and upon his fingers. The long braid, also, was like nothing a respectable Verenthane would ever stoop to wear.
Anger flared in the future Great Lord of Tyree's eyes. "You put words in my mouth, M'Lady," he said accusingly. "I meant no such thing!"
"You young Verenthane lords put words in your own mouths," Sasha retorted, "and scarcely a thought before putting them there. Remember whose guest you are. They're far too polite to say so. I'm not."
"Shut up, both of you!" Damon snapped before Jaryd could reply. The young man fumed at her, all trace of cool demeanour vanished. Sasha stared back, dark eyes smouldering. "Please excuse my sister, Master Jaryd," said Damon, with forced calm. "Her tempers are famous."
"And her allegiances," Jaryd muttered.
"Oh pray do tell us all what that means?" Sasha exclaimed, as Damon rolled his eyes in frustration.
"I have many Goeren-yai friends, M'Lady," Jaryd said, levelling a finger at her for emphasis. "None of them admire Lord Krayliss even a jot. You, on the other hand, seem all too pleased to rush to his defence."
"I've heard those stories too," said Sasha. "The Hadryn and their cronies have never been friends to either me or Kessligh. They accuse me of sedition, of plotting against my father." She put both hands upon the table with firm purpose. "Are you accusing me of sedition, Master Jaryd?"
Jaryd blinked. Sedition, of course, was punished by death, with no exceptions. A person so accused, without reasonable proof, had obvious grounds for an honour duel. Those, also, ended in death. With very few exceptions. Jaryd started to smile once more, disbelievingly. No man about the table seemed to share his humour. Jaryd Nyvar, tournament champion of Lenayin, seemed barely to notice.