‘Then you think it has significance to her besides my being willing to risk my life just to marry her?’
For a moment all I could do was stare at him. Had I ever been that young? ‘Well, of course it does. Don’t you think so?’
‘Civil had said that she probably wanted “proof of my love”. He said that girls were often like that, asking men to do things that were dangerous or illegal or next to impossible, simply to prove their love.’
I made a mental note of that. I wondered what Civil had been asked to do and by whom, and if it had related to the Farseer monarchy or was merely a boyish deed of derring-do that some girl had demanded of him.
‘Well, I doubt it would be anything that romantically frivolous with the Narcheska. How could she possibly think that you loved her, after the way she has treated you? And she’s certainly given no sign of being fond of your company.’
For a flashing moment, he stared at me with stricken eyes. Then he smoothed his expression so completely that I wondered if I had been mistaken. Surely the Prince could not be infatuated with the girl. They had nothing in common, and after he had accidentally insulted her, she had treated him as less than a whipped dog whining after her. I looked at him. A boy can believe almost anything when he is fifteen.
Dutiful gave a slight snort. ‘No. She has certainly given me no sign of even tolerating my company. Think on it. She did not journey here with her father and uncle to meet us and offer us welcome to these islands. She is the one who thought up this ridiculous quest, but I notice she is nowhere in sight when it must be justified to her countrymen. Perhaps you are right. Perhaps it has nothing to do with me proving my love for her, or even proving my courage. Perhaps all along it was only to present a stumbling block to our marriage.’ In a glum voice, he added, ‘Perhaps she hopes I’ll die in the attempt.’
‘If we press forward with the task, it may block more than your marriage. It may send both our countries back to war.’
Chade entered on those words. He looked both worried and weary. He cast a disparaging look around the small chamber and observed, ‘Well, I see Thick has been afforded a chamber almost as lush as that allotted to Prince Dutiful and me. Is there anything to eat and drink?’
‘Nothing I’d recommend,’ I observed.
‘Fish and greasecakes,’ Prince Dutiful offered.
Chade winced. ‘Is that what the local market offers? I’ll send a man to bring us provisions from the ship. Foreign food will not ride well with me after this day. Come. Let us allow Thick some rest.’ He spoke over his shoulder as he led us through the connecting door to the Prince’s room. As he sat down on Dutiful’s bed, he added, ‘I do not approve of your putting the Skill to such a low use, Fitz. And yet, I must admit, you extricated us from a difficult situation. Please, consult with me before you use it in such a way again.’
It was both a rebuke and a compliment. I nodded, but Dutiful snorted. ‘Consult with you? Am not I to have any say in these matters?’
Chade recovered well. ‘Of course you are. I am merely conveying to Fitz that in matters of diplomacy he should not assume that he knows best which course we should set.’
The Prince opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment there came a rap at the hall door. At a gesture from Chade, I retreated to Thick’s room, drew the connecting door nearly closed and stood at an angle that allowed me to view a slice of the room without being observed.
Chade lifted his voice and asked, ‘Who is there?’
The visitor interpreted that as permission to enter. The door opened and as I set my muscles in readiness, Peottre Blackwater came in. He closed the door behind him, and then swept a Buckkeep bow to the Prince and Chade. ‘I have come to tell you that there is no need for you or any of your nobles to venture forth in search of food and drink. It is the pleasure of clans Boar and Narwhal to provide for you as generously as you did for our folk when we visited your Six Duchies.’
The words were spoken perfectly. It was a well-rehearsed speech. Chade’s response was as practised. ‘It is a gracious offer, but our people have already seen to their own provisions.’
Peottre looked distinctly uncomfortable for a moment, but then admitted, ‘We have already informed your nobles of our invitation, and are honoured that all have accepted it.’
Outwardly, both Chade and the Prince maintained a stiff silence, but Dutiful’s anguished worry rang in my mind. I should have cautioned all of them not to accept any offer of hospitality that was not conveyed through me. Will we be seen as weaklings now?
Peottre’s gaze moved worriedly from Chade’s face to the Prince’s. He seemed to sense he had mis-stepped. Then, ‘May I speak for a time with you?’ he asked.
‘Lord Blackwater, you are welcome to call upon me at any time,’ the Prince assured him reflexively.
A very slight smile twitched Peottre’s face. ‘Well you know I am no “lord”, Prince Dutiful, but only a kaempra of the Narwhal Clan. And even as that, I stand in the Hetgurd assembly with no warriors at my back. They tolerate me more for the sake of my sister’s husband, Arkon Bloodblade, than for any respect toward me. Our clan has fallen on very hard times in every way except the richness of our motherlands and the honour of our bloodlines.’
I privately wondered in what other ways a clan could experience hardship, but Peottre was still speaking. ‘I was not unprepared for what we heard from the Hetgurd this afternoon. In truth, ever since the Narcheska proposed her challenge, I have expected it. Arkon Bloodblade, too, saw that there were those who would be disgruntled by the test she has proposed. I wanted to tell you that we are not unprepared for this. We have made plans against it. The hospitality we offer, within this stronghouse, is but one safeguard we have put in place. We had hoped opposition would not be voiced so soon, nor by such a respected kaempra as the Eagle kaempra. It is our great good fortune that the Bear kaempra, who is allied with Boar, saw fit to dismiss the assembly so abruptly. Otherwise, discussion might have gone too far for us to mend it.’
‘You might have warned us of this opposition, Kaempra Peottre, before we faced the Hetgurd,’ Chade observed quietly, but the Prince cut through his words with, ‘So you think it can be mended? How?’
I winced at his eagerness. Chade was right. The man deserved a rebuke for having led us into a trap, not an unquestioning acceptance of his aid in getting out of it.
‘It will take time, but not too long – days rather than months. Since we returned from your country, we have spent much in both wealth and influence to buy allies. I speak bluntly, of course, of what cannot be openly acknowledged. Those who have agreed to support us must not swing too quickly to our side, but must seem to be persuaded by the arguments that Clan Boar will present in our favour. So, I wish to counsel you both to patience and to wariness until the Hetgurd is swayed.’