Dreams of Lilacs by Lynn Kurland

Author:Lynn Kurland [Kurland, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781101599129
Publisher: Jove
Published: 2014-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Gervase dismounted in the stable, handed his reins to a stable boy who only smiled and led his mount off, and marveled that he was still standing and not looking for the nearest place to sit down.

It was progress.

Of course, that progress was with his body only. His humors were so foul, he could scarce bear to be in the same chamber with himself. He supposed there was at least one benefit to that, for his own vileness had driven him outside almost constantly for the whole of the day before and since sunrise during the current sojourn in the hell that was his life.

“Ger?”

He looked up to find Joscelin loitering uselessly in the courtyard. He scowled at his brother.

“What do you want?” he snapped.

Joscelin only looked at him mildly. “I thought to see if you might want to train. We could repair to the garden where you could humiliate me without witnesses. Perhaps that means nothing to you, but I would surely appreciate it.”

Gervase closed his eyes briefly, then nodded and walked with his brother back to what had suddenly become a very gloomy place indeed.

A miserable hour later, he was beginning to suspect that the garden would be better used as a place for someone to bury him. It was a certainty that he wished he could simply lie down and make an end to the agony of using muscles that had lain fallow for far too long.

“How terrible was it?”

Gervase realized his brother had stopped forcing him to defend himself and was simply leaning on his sword and breathing easily, not gasping as if he’d been running for the whole of the morning.

“How terrible was it?” Gervase wheezed. “Must I describe it for you?”

“Since you didn’t seem inclined to divulge details yestereve nor did you allow me to come along to witness the events for myself, I thought you might want to.”

“You thought amiss,” Gervase said, though he supposed the least he could do was entertain his sibling who had taken the time to spar with him that morning. He nodded toward the closest bench. “Let me hobble over there, then I’ll tell all.”

Joscelin followed him, then sat with the ease of a man who hadn’t spent a trio of months in bed, reflecting on the sight of his thigh bone protruding through his flesh. “Do tell.”

Gervase blew out his breath and glanced heavenward. “I suppose the only mercy was that the front door was shut when he left me in the dirt.”

“No windows, then?”

“Oh, several,” Gervase said, shooting him a cross look, “which I imagine you already know. I suspect the entire household was standing with noses pressed up against the glass, breathlessly privy to the spectacle.”

“No doubt,” Joscelin said cheerfully. “Was there spirited speech involved?”

“Aye, when he accused his sister of potentially spending her time languishing in my bed,” Gervase said grimly.

Joscelin’s smile disappeared abruptly. “Surely not. What did you do?”

“I attempted to knock most of his teeth out of his damned head.”

“Well,” Joscelin said, “there is that.

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