“He used the wood chips,” Lord Briscalar proudly announced. “Heisa good boy.”
“Better there than on my bed.” I left the rail and started toward the stairwell with the lord and Farris trotting beside me.
“Yes, getting that out of the bedding would prove to be quite the task.”
We went to my suite, and he shut the door behind us, striding into the bedroom and opening the closet doors, revealing gowns of every color imaginable. I didn’t have enough days left at sea to wear them all, but I could take them to shore and wear them at court.
The moonlight gown shimmered from where it had been tucked off to the side.
“I think this one for such a special day?” Lord Briscalar emerged from the closet, holding up a gorgeous cream-colored gown made in a simple design. But the way the fabric shimmered . . . The capped sleeves would accentuate my shoulders. And the cut. The bodice was low enough to tease without making me feel uncomfortable. Whoever had crafted it understood how to dress a lady.
Merrick, actually.
“It’s lovely,” I said, and he laid it on the bed.
“My lady . . .” His gaze slid to the floor. “Were you accosted on the way to the port? You should have trunks full of gowns. At least three lady’s maids in attendance. I’m more than delighted to serve you, but this oversight is egregious. What was your family thinking?”
“I’m rather independent about things like that. And I’m new to ladyship.” I undid Farris’s improvised collar and tossed it and the belt onto a chair.
His new collar, dark blue speckled with red stones I prayedweren’t real in case they fell out, plus a delicate chain leash lay on the table.
Another beautiful gift from Merrick. If presents equated with character, he was doing well in that regard so far.
Farris hopped up onto the bed, circling around before settling, placing his snout on his front paws with a sigh. He watched us, his nose twitching and his ears darting this way and that.
“New to ladyship?” the lord asked. “I’m not sure I know what you speak of. From what King Merrick shared, you’re the sister of the High Lord of Weldsbane. Your father was—”
“The king and High Lord of Bledmire. Yes. He’s dead, thankfully.”
His breathing stuttered. “I’m sorry?”
“He wasn’t . . .” Perhaps a bit of discretion was advised. “He was a challenging father.”
“I, of course, heard rumors about King Ivenrail. That’s why we’re here now, is it not?”
To solidify the truce between Lydel and Evergorne Court and give us extra forces for the battle, the Evergorne king had been promised a bride. I’d volunteered, and I still wasn’t sure I’d made the right decision.
“His death was fortuitous; I suppose you could say.” I wasn’t telling him anything more than that.
Lord Briscalar’s shoulders relaxed, and his face smoothed. “Such an unfortunate situation, my lady. He must’ve been out of his mind.”
For his entire life, but sure.
“Yes, yes, it was quite tragic,” I said. “I wasn’t raised by myparents. There were issues when I was a child and instead, I grew up in a border fortress, believing I was an orphan. I trained dragons, and we rode them against creatures attacking the villages in the valley below.”
“My goodness!” His fingers flapped at his throat. Like the days before, he wore a tunic with ruffles around the collar and his wrists, though he’d worn green today instead of red. “How truly horrifying.”
“It was.” Stark, cold sadness made my shoulders droop. “I had wonderful friends. Someone I . . .” Discretion was advised here as well. If I told anyone about Kinart, it would be the king and only if I felt he needed to hear that information. I wouldn’t hand anyone a weapon they might use against me. “It was a decent life. I’ve lived with my brother, the high lord, only recently, and he’s amazing.”
“The one they call the Beast.” If his eyebrows kept lifting, they’d slice through his hair.
“He’s not beastly to me or his wife, Tempest.”
“You speak of the High Lady of Lydel,” he said with complete reverence. “She saved everyone.”
“And restored the much-needed balance.”
“Perhaps you can do such a thing for Evergorne.”
