He chuckled. “I could not afford them any other way. They are accustomed to the finer things in life, and their kitchen bill in one week alone would allow us to stay at Squire Torquatus’s house for half a year.”
My face drooped. “One week? Ninety gilds in one week?”
“And they often exceed one hundred gilds, and even more so when a banquet is to be had.”
A grin slipped onto my lips. “I promise I won’t spend any more than twenty a week.”
His eyes twinkled as he inclined his head to me. “I thank you for that.”
Chapter 31
Our entourage trotted around the elaborate front garden and to the huge pair of doors that led into the central part of the palace. The portals opened, and a man nearing seventy strode out with the quick step of someone half his age. He wore a prim leather shirt with equally clean pants and shoes that had been shined to perfection. His thinning black hair was combed back, and the wrinkles on his face didn’t hide the faint hint of a smile his usually stoic nature suppressed. Secundus, too, emerged with the proper man, along with a gentleman I could only describe as ‘ageless.’
He was gaunt in appearance, with pale, almost stretched skin. His eyes were an equally gray color, as was his thick mess of hair that was tied in a long tail, which trailed down his back. He wore a simple black robe that stretched from the high collar around his neck to the soft slipper-like black shoes that covered his feet. He moved with the litheness of a tiger, and his long, slender fingers were clasped together in front of him.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looked like a vampire. It didn’t help that while the other two hurried out into the garden to greet us, he remained in the shade of the portico.
Secundus opened his arms to his king as Cassian hopped down. “Your Majesty! You have no idea how pleased I am to see you in such health!”
“And Lady Holt is in fine condition, as well,” Cassian mused with a teasing smile as he helped me down.
The lord’s lips tried to twitch backward in a sneer, but he mastered himself before the look became permanent. “So I see. How did you fare after our reluctant parting?”
“Quite well, though there is the unfinished job of the nethral pit,” Cassian mused as he turned his attention to the pale man in the shade. “Marius, would you send two dozen of the palace’s best men to handle the job as quickly as possible? Ensure they have the fastest horses and a few magicians with them so they might discover the pit faster. There are fewer nethral there at this time, so it should be easier to eliminate.”
Marius bowed his head and turned to go back inside. I swore he paused long enough for his eyes to linger on me, and then he disappeared silently into the palace.
Cassian’s attention fell on the elderly gentleman, and his face lit up. “Felix! It seems like another lifetime since we last saw each other!”
Felix couldn’t suppress his smile as he bowed his head. “Yes, Your Highness. I believe I have grown another gray hair since you left.”
Cassian laughed and clapped his hand on the man’s shoulder. “My sincerest apologies for that hair. I’m afraid I have a request which will add another to it.”
Felix lifted an eyebrow. “What is it, Your Highness?”
The king stepped aside and swept an arm in my direction. “This is Lady Holt. She will be occupying the room beside mine for the foreseeable future.”
The manservant lifted his eyebrow. “The room beside yours, Your Highness?”
I didn’t miss the pointed look Cassian gave his valet. “Yes. It will need new sheets, of course, but I expect the dusting has been kept up.”
Felix stood at attention and lifted his chin. “Of course, Your Highness. I shall see that the room is properly prepared immediately.” He bowed his head and hurried to obey his king’s command.
Cassian clapped his hands together as he turned to our entourage. “Now then, I expect all of you to get a good night’s rest! Visit your families and lovely ladies, and don’t return here until you are well-rested and fully recovered!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” they shouted back, as most turned their horses and trotted down the hill.
Titus maneuvered his horse over to us and grinned down at Cassian. “The room next to yours?”
Cassian inclined his head to him. “Yes, the room next to mine.”
“Well, then, I wish you two a good night.” He bowed his head and followed the others off the palace plateau.
I lifted an eyebrow at Cassian. “What was that about?”
“Titus often gets confused with the palace layout,” Cassian told me as he wrapped an arm around my lower back. “Now let us see to a bath and a change of clothes, and then I’ll show you your room.”
Cassian led me up to the second floor and the center room, where a pair of grand doors opened into a luxurious suite of rooms. The front room was a large sitting area, with a pair of doors at the back that I guessed led to the bedroom.
