All Fall Down by Christine Pope

Author:Christine Pope
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Dark Valentine Press
Published: 2012-09-04T10:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

I should have known my fears were baseless. As soon as Auren and I entered the hall, Lord Shaine stood up from his seat at the high table and came toward us. “If you would do me the honor, Mistress Merys?” he asked, and gestured toward an empty seat several places down from his own massively carved chair.

Nodding, I took the seat he specified, trying to ignore the sharp-browed glare Lady Yvaine shot at me. Though of course I could not have expected to be seated immediately next to Lord Shaine—that honor had been given to Auren, who sat on his right, and Lord Marten, who had the place to his left—still the position I occupied put me on a level with her ladyship, and I could tell Lord Shaine’s solicitude toward me had definitely raised her ire. But of course she could not publicly voice her disapproval, and so instead she settled for a few more baleful glances in my direction before the servers arrived with the food.

This was no feast such as Lord Shaine had offered his guests at Midwinter. Young Lord Larol and his family might be with us for an extended time, and Lord Shaine apparently had decided not to bother with the niceties for such a lengthy period. The meal we ate was simple enough—Merime’s pigeon pie, a dish of sweet tubers and onions, bread and butter.

In Farendon, we have a saying: “The most welcome visitor is unwelcome after four days.” I could tell that held true here as well. Lord Shaine might feel duty-bound to keep his daughter’s affianced groom and his family safe here at Donnishold, but I got the impression it was a duty he found more and more of a burden each day. His expression was pleasant enough, but he seemed little inclined to speech, and there was an uncharacteristic restlessness in the way he played with his knife and fork.

Although I certainly understood how he felt, I knew there was little he could do to remedy the situation. It might be weeks or even months before it was safe enough to resume contact with the outside world. It actually worked in our favor that the estates of Seldd were so isolated from one another; as long as we were careful, we could avoid contagion. Lord Shaine and his overseers had made sure that we had sufficient stores to last out the winter. The men would still go out and hunt when the weather permitted in order to augment the mounds of smoked meat, poultry, and fish that had already been laid down against the coming of the cold season. Now it was simply a waiting game.

Even as I sat and ate the simple but filling food, however, I felt uneasy. It somehow seemed wrong to sit there and feel warm and safe and satisfied when so many others might be suffering and dying at that very moment. Had I not taken a vow to succor the sick? Should I

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