The Shamer's Signet by Lene Kaaberbol

Author:Lene Kaaberbol [Lene Kaaberbøl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781782692287
Publisher: Steerforth Press
Published: 2019-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Marte took me down to the Marble Parlor, and I was glad to have her there. I had no particular wish to face Valdracu again. I don’t know what he wants you for, Sascha had said, and I didn’t know either, but my stomach turned itself into a small hard ball just wondering about it.

There was a fire in the huge marble fireplace, and in front of it sat Valdracu, comfortably ensconced in a stuffed armchair. He too had bathed, I could see. The trader’s clothes had been exchanged for a fur-lined black velvet coat, black breeches, and embroidered gray felt boots with pointed toes. He looked completely different—highborn and foreign. No one would take him for a common peddler now. One thing hadn’t changed, though—he still wore the thin metal chain around his waist.

Behind the armchair stood Sascha in her turquoise silk dress, combing out the damp tangles of her master’s hair with a silver comb. She gave me a single furious glare and then carried on as if I didn’t exist.

“Come here,” said Valdracu.

I didn’t hang back on purpose. It just took a while before my legs obeyed me, and Marte had to give me a gentle shove.

Valdracu rose and circled me, like someone judging the worth of a horse.

“Very good, Marte,” he then said. “She will do.”

Marte curtsied and turned to leave. On the threshold, she paused for a moment.

“Dina hasn’t had her meal yet, Lord,” she said. “There wasn’t time.”

Valdracu raised an eyebrow. “Has she made you her caring friend already? You need not worry. I shall allow you to feed her as soon as she has worked for her keep.”

Work? What did he want me to do?

Valdracu turned to me again.

“You see, Dina, in Dracana we all work. Most of us work very hard indeed, and there is no room for shiftless idlers. I could make use of you at the looms or in the forges, but it has occurred to me that you may serve me better in another way. Sascha, will you fetch the mill-house girl?”

“Yes, Lord.” Sascha put the comb down on a small lacquered table next to the armchair. It already held the remains of a fine meal, judging from the chicken bones and the ruby dregs of wine at the bottom of the glass. My stomach turned over. But perhaps some of the pangs were really just from hunger.

“I’ve sent a messenger to my cousin, the Dragon Lord,” Valdracu continued. “I’m sure he has plans for you, but he is a busy man, and we may not hear from him right away. Meanwhile, you belong to me. Your time here need not be unpleasant, as you can see from the room you’ve been given. I punish sloth and incompetence severely, but I can be equally generous to those who serve me well, and I may even be able to shield you somewhat from my cousin’s intemperate ways. You would do well to serve me, Dina. Your small Highland friend might benefit as well.

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