‘I don’t know how long I’ll stay,’ said Erik. ‘Owen and the Prince haven’t told me what my next position is to be. I replaced Calis in the fallback, but now that phase is over.’
‘I suspect something similar,’ said Erik’s half-brother. ‘It appears you’ve done quite well.’ He glanced around the ancient halls of Darkmoor Castle. ‘I hope I acquit myself as well when the time comes.’
‘You will,’ said Erik.
They walked around a corner, and Erik almost stumbled. Coming along the corridor was a stately procession, an older woman in regal raiment, followed by two guards and several lady companions. She stopped for a moment when she saw Manfred, but when she recognized Erik, her eyes grew enormous. ‘You!’ she said with a near-hiss of contempt. ‘It’s the bastard. The murderous bastard!’
She turned to the nearest guard and said, ‘Kill him!’
The stunned guard looked from Mathilda, mother of the Baron, to Manfred, who motioned with his hand for the guard to step away. The guard nodded to the Baron and stepped back. Manfred said, ‘Mother, we’ve been all over that. Erik has a pardon from the King. Whatever has gone before is over.’
‘Never!’ said the old woman with a hatred that surprised Erik. He had imagined her distaste for him, from the years when his mother demanded Erik’s father acknowledge him to the murder of her son, but never had he experienced anything like this firsthand. Of all the men he had faced in battle, none had regarded him with the pure, naked hatred Mathilda von Darkmoor revealed in her eyes.
‘Mother!’ said Manfred. ‘That’s enough. I’m ordering you to desist!’
The woman turned her gaze upon her son, and Erik saw instantly that her hatred wasn’t limited to Erik alone. She stepped forward, and for an instant Erik feared she would strike her son. In a strident whisper she said, ‘You order me?’ She looked her son up and down. ‘If you were the man your brother was, you’d have killed this murdering bastard before he got away. If you were even half as much a man as your father, you’d have married and had a son by now, and this bastard’s claim would mean nothing. Do you want him to kill you? Do you want to lie in the dirt while this killer takes your title? Do -’
‘Mother!’ Manfred roared. ‘Enough!’ He turned to the guards and said, ‘Escort my mother to her quarters.’ He told his mother, ‘If you can compose yourself, dine with us tonight, but if you can’t maintain a shred of dignity before Prince Patrick, do us the courtesy of dining in your room! Now go!’
Manfred turned and began walking, and Erik followed, but he glanced over his shoulder. She never took her eyes from him, and each step of the way Erik knew the old woman wished him dead.
Erik was so intent on the woman he almost knocked Manfred down when he turned the corner. Manfred said, ‘Sorry about that, Erik.’
‘I never imagined. I mean, I thought I understood . . .’
‘Understand Mother? You’d be the first.’ He waved for Erik to follow and said, ‘Your room is down here, at the end of the hall.’
When he opened the door and Erik entered, Manfred followed. ‘I picked this one for two reasons,’ said Manfred. He pointed to the window. ‘It’s a quick exit. And this is one of the few rooms in Darkmoor that doesn’t have a secret passage leading to it.’
‘Secret passage?’
‘Quite a lot of them, really,’ Manfred said. ‘This castle was enlarged several times since the original Baron built the first tower keep. There had been some quick exits should the castle fall, then some additional rooms added with back passages so the lord could visit his favorite servant in. the middle of the night. Some of them serve a useful purpose, so servants can move through the castle without getting underfoot, but for the most part they’re deserted old byways, useful for those who wish to spy on their neighbors or for assassins.’
Erik sat down on a chair in the corner. ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome,’ said Manfred. ‘If I may suggest a bath and change of clothing? I’ll have the servants fetch you some water straight away. The clothes in the wardrobe should fit.’ He grinned. They were Father’s.’
Erik said, ‘Do you delight in upsetting your mother?’
Manfred’s face took on an edge of anger. ‘More than you’ll ever know.’
Erik sighed. ‘I thought about some of the things you said about Stefan, when you came to visit me in jail. I guess I never appreciated how hard it must be for you.’
Manfred laughed. ‘You’ll never know.’
‘Do you mind if I ask you something?’
‘What?’
‘Why does she hate you? I know why she hates me, but she looked at you the same way.’
Manfred said, ‘That, Brother, is something I may or may not choose to disclose someday, but for the time being, let us just say that Mother has never appreciated the way I choose to live my life. As the second son, who would not inherit, it was only a source of some slight conflict. Since Stefan’s . . . demise, the tension has increased significantly.’