The Assassin in the Castle: Enemies to Lovers Historical Fantasy Romance (Crown of Lies Book 2) by H.P. Mallory & J.R. Rain

Author:H.P. Mallory & J.R. Rain [Mallory, H.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rain Press
Published: 2022-10-13T16:00:00+00:00

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I liked Maria more or less instantly (partly because I’d eavesdropped on her) and supper made me like her more. She had an easy openness to her, welcoming people into her home and making them feel more like family than guests. Of course, Nicolo was her family, but I wasn’t and yet, by the time supper was over and young Cady was cleaning and putting the dishes away, I felt entirely at home.

We kept heavy subjects off the table over supper, perhaps because Maria didn’t wish to explain to the two children she still had at home, who these people were. But that omission made our evening feel more natural; we talked of everyday things, and so I got to know Nicolo’s new family through thoroughly mundane things.

Ranolf was a carpenter, whose workshop adjoined the house; like stonemasons in Woodfall Gath, there was always work for a carpenter in Simnel, and Ranolf was skilled at his profession, both as an artisan and an artist. He had built the house in which we now sat but had also crafted the toys that Peri played with and the ornamental owl that watched us from the mantelpiece.

I enjoyed watching how he interacted with Peri, and with Cady (a somewhat petulant twelve-year-old who wanted to move out with her older brother); stern but gentle. Ranolf’s blue eyes lit up when Peri told a joke or when Cady asked an intelligent question of these strange new guests. I imagined Ranolf to be a good provider and a good father, and I hoped Nicolo thought the same.

Peri was a curious six-year-old with wide blue eyes like those of his father, though in other respects, I thought he more resembled his mother. Peri seemed almost fascinated by Nicolo, barely sparing me a glance but fixating on the tall, well-dressed man, so unlike the villagers he was accustomed to. He kept telling jokes to try to please this intriguing stranger.

“Knock, knock?”

“Who’s there?” asked Nicolo.

“Daisy the interrupting cow.”

“Daisy the interupti—”

“MOOOO!”

And we all fell about laughing, which made Peri laugh all the more for having made us laugh. His repertoire also included ‘Daisy the interrupting goat’, ‘Daisy the interrupting dog’ and ‘Doris the interrupting horse’. I wasn’t sure why the horse could not be Daisy, as well, but did not deign to ask.

When he was not joking, Peri was a constant fount of questions, forever pressing Nicolo for information.

“Is that your horse?”

“Yes, it is.”

“What’s his name?”

“Proteus.”

“Why?”

“Because I liked it.”

“Did you buy him?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I needed a horse.”

“Why?”

“To travel long distances more quickly.”

“Why?”

Later in the meal, I caught Peri imitating Nicolo, trying to move and sit like him. How quickly a child can pick a hero.

The older Cady was less direct, but I realized early on that her focus was on me. I was a woman of the royal court (sort of), and what twelve-year-old girl would not be fascinated by that? I didn’t like to tell her that as women of the royal court went, I was a terrible example and

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