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.It seemed Kadar had not gone so far after all; he almost collided with me as I exited the staircase and began to step into the corridor.I must confess I was rather preoccupied, and not paying much mind to my direction.Of course I had hoped to hear from my family, but I had not expected my brother to come here, especially with Lord Senric in tow.What his presence meant, I couldn’t begin to guess.True, Thani had been part of his household for some seven years, and the Duke had accompanied him to Marric’s Rest so he might be witness to my brother’s claiming of his inheritance, but that somehow didn’t seem explanation enough.Kadar caught me by the arm.“What are they doing here?”I lifted innocent eyes to his face, which had flushed with anger.“As I have had no communication with my family, my lord, I cannot say.I’m sure if we go meet them, they’ll be more than happy to explain the exact nature of their visit.”He let go of me and muttered something in the rough corraghar tongue under his breath.I had noticed that whenever he desired to swear he invariably did so in the language of his father’s people.Perhaps he meant only to spare my delicate ears from his invective, but I found his attempts amusing, considering I had grown up on a working vineyard and so had been introduced to some of the more colorful curses at a fairly tender age, thanks to the seasonal workers who came to harvest the grapes.But no doubt Kadar did all he could to ignore my rather plebeian beginnings.As they had arrived under the blue flag of truce, there was little Kadar could do save meet my brother and Lord Senric in the audience chamber and see how matters progressed from there.While their company had appeared large — some fifty men or so — it was not of a size to offer any real threat.Most likely their number had been chosen to give an impression of how much more Sirlende could throw in North Eredor’s direction if provoked.Kadar led me down the aisle to the two high seats on the dais.His hand was a firm weight on my forearm, a not-so-subtle reminder to both me and our visitors that whatever they might have to say, I was still legally his wife.That he had chosen the audience chamber for this confrontation was not lost on me.The simple courtesy due a member of his wife’s family and an exalted guest such as Lord Senric normally dictated a more intimate meeting in one of the smaller receiving rooms, where we could have sat down and taken some refreshment.Moreover, both my brother and the Duke were still soaked from their ride through the rain, their wet hair plastered to their foreheads and their cloaks dripping on the stone floor.But such niceties had apparently been ignored in the face of the Mark’s displeasure.If either Thani or Lord Senric was annoyed by such high-handed treatment, they did not show it.My brother looked a little grim, but I could see no emotion at all in the correct, impassive lines of the Duke’s face.“My lords,” Kadar said, after a significant pause.Both Thani and Lord Senric bowed — if not very deeply.Kadar’s mouth thinned.My brother spoke.“Your Highness, I have come on behalf of the Sedassa family, and indeed the Imperial court itself, to right the wrong that has been done my sister.”“‘Wrong’?” The Mark sat up a little straighter and cast a look of practiced confusion in Thani’s direction.“What wrong is this of which you speak?”I saw my brother set his jaw and couldn’t help but wince a little.I knew that expression all too well; it meant he was angry and likely to grow much angrier, even though he was doing his best to conceal those emotions.He said, “I will leave aside for now the injuries done to Lady Laranel’s retainers, as they suffered nothing more than a few bumps on the head and are fully recovered.But if you think that the Sedassas will countenance such an affront as the kidnapping of one of their own from her bed in the middle of the night, only to force her into an unlawful marriage — well, then, I think you do not know much of us at all.”Truthfully, I had not expected Thani to state the matter quite so baldly, but if nothing else the exalted presence of Lord Senric seemed to indicate my family had a good deal of support in Sirlende for attacking Kadar on his own ground.“I fail to see what is so unlawful about it,” the Mark replied, his tone indicating nothing but puzzlement at Thani’s strong words.Part of me wanted to laugh at his disingenuousness.I wondered briefly if he had been taking lessons in acting from some of Tarenmar’s players.“Perhaps we have been a bit precipitate, but love is often impetuous, is it not?”Thani looked directly at me.“You’re very silent, Lark — which is quite unlike you.I would like to hear what you have to say about the situation.”I opened my mouth to speak, only to find my throat dry, the plea I had thought I would make for Kadar to release me from this ridiculous marriage somehow strangled within me.I felt the weight of Lord Senric’s dark eyes on me, puzzled yet concerned.Why could I not say the words I had been practicing for the past month?Beside me Kadar shifted in his chair.His hand closed around mine, warm and heavy.Was he trying to warn me…or was he attempting to offer some sort of comfort?My brother did not miss the gesture, I could tell.His voice somewhat harder, he remarked, “I can see my sister fears to speak her mind freely in front of you.Understandable, I suppose.Very well.Then let me be blunt, your Highness.The Sedassa estate is prepared to turn over the sum of ten thousand gold crowns for her safe return.I believe that should compensate you for any inconvenience you might suffer at the loss of your consort.”A gasp I couldn’t quite hold in escaped my lips.I had known the Sedassa estate was one of the richest in Sirlende, but until that moment I hadn’t quite understood the magnitude of the wealth my family had at their disposal.Especially since my father had steadfastly refused to touch any of that money, and throughout my childhood our fortunes had depended on each year’s harvest, not the Sedassa riches.Kadar’s fingers tightened on mine, but he kept his gaze fixed forward.“A lofty sum for used goods, don’t you think? Even if I did agree to send her back with you, what man would want her now?”“I would.” Lord Senric stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with my brother.His gaze was level, direct and unflinching.“I would be honored to take her for my wife — if she will have me.”It would have been difficult to say who was more dumbfounded by this pronouncement, Kadar or myself.He released my hand as he abruptly stood, while I could only remain rooted in my chair, amazed that one of the greatest lords in Sirlende had offered the disgraced Sedassa daughter an honorable way out of her predicament.“I would like a word with my wife,” Kadar said, placing particular emphasis on that last word.“You are wet, your lordships, and no doubt wearied from your ride.My servants will see that you are settled.”“That is not an answer,” my brother replied, and crossed his arms.“No, it is not.But I would advise you to see to your comfort.It would not do for you to catch a fever because you lingered too long in those wet clothes
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