I wanted everyone out of this part of the keep so that she and I could pretend we’d brought Lavonia up and taken her out the back door.
“Cora,” I said. “Please help Betty and Matilda with the trays this morning.”
She blinked but didn’t argue. Kitchen girls rarely carried trays to the hall.
All three of them left, and Ester met my eyes.
And so, because Sebastian was preoccupied with the deaths of his father and brother, he never learned that I’d already released Lavonia.
After leaving the kitchen, I went to my room and wrote to my father. I held nothing back regarding what Allemond had done to lure out Jarrod and Rolf and then have them murdered. I asked him to bring the matter to the council and to seek justice.
I didn’t know if anything would come of this. Allemond and my father were men of the same ilk, and they didn’t view the Volodanes as equals. But I wrote with passion and laid the case out clearly.
Once it was finished, I wanted to show the letter to Kai, so that he would know what I’d written. I owed him that much. He’d been overruled and pushed aside. Though he’d been wrong in wanting to launch an open attack against the Monvílles, I still felt he’d been right in wanting to ride for the wise woman. Whether Jarrod would have approved or not, we should have tried every option available.
I went first to Kai’s room, but he wasn’t there. Then I made my way downstairs to the great hall. It was empty, so I walked into the courtyard and headed toward the barracks. Sometimes Kai could be found there.
As I reached it, Daveed came out the main door. His head was bandaged.
“Are you well?” I asked.
His animosity toward me was gone. Perhaps he was grateful I’d justified his actions last night.
“I will be.”
“Have you seen Kai?”
“I saw him go toward the barn earlier. He’s in a bad way.”
Turning, I went to the barn and slipped inside the large front doors. The smells of hay and leather reached me. Light filtered down from high windows, showing dust floating in the air. Looking across the open area in the front section, I saw Kai sitting on a crate with his face in his hands. His body wracked once.
I went to him.
All thoughts of showing him the letter vanished. He was in too much pain. Sebastian might not be in mourning, but Kai was. He had cared for his father and Rolf. Worse, I feared a rift between him and Sebastian.
“Kai?” I whispered.
He didn’t look up.
“No matter what has happened,” I said softly, “Sebastian only did what he thought was right. You have to forgive him.”
“Why?” he asked so quietly I almost didn’t hear it.
“Because you love him and because he’s all you have left.” I paused. “Except for me.”
His body wracked again, and I reached out for him. He was so tall that even while sitting on the crate, his head was nearly level to mine, and I pulled him against me. Thankfully, instead of drawing away, he buried his face in my neck, grasped hold of me with both arms, and wept.
I held him as best I could.
Chapter 12
We buried Jarrod the next day, and Sebastian became the Lord of Volodane Hall.
As Kai, Sebastian, and I sat down for dinner that night, Kai asked, “Now what do we do?”
I thought it a good question.
“Nothing,” Sebastian answered, sounding surer of himself than anyone I’d ever heard. “I’ve no interest in raising the status of our family or landing a seat on the Council of Nobles. Do you?”
“No.”
“That was Father’s dream, and Rolf’s, not ours,” Sebastian went on. “I only wish to live in peace and not have to deal with anyone or anything I find disagreeable.”
Kai frowned. “You mean live in peace except for taking revenge upon the Monvílles?” His head swiveled toward me. “You wrote to your father?”
“Yes. I had a messenger take the letter yesterday.”
Again, I didn’t know what would come of that, but I hoped Allemond would at least lose his seat and face sanctions. This wouldn’t be enough for Kai, but it would be something.
The days began to pass, and I awaited a response from my father. About three weeks after I’d written, a letter for me arrived. I was alone in the great hall, going over the menus when Betty brought it into me.
“Message for you, my lady.”
“Thank you, Betty.”
It wasn’t from my father, but from Lady Violette Cornett.
My dear Megan,
While I’d only recently heard of your marriage, I just now learned of the deaths of your new father and brother. I send my deepest condolences. Allemond Monvílle is devastated by the tragedy, and he is still uncertain how the dispute broke out between his men and the Volodanes’.
Please take this invitation in the spirit with which it is meant.
Lord Henri and I are having a house gathering the week after next. I know you are in mourning, but Volodane Hall might seem an isolated place right now for you and Sebastian and Kai. Please do come and join us if you feel you can be comforted by companionship.
With warm regards,
Violette Cornett
I held the letter in my hand, allowing the contents to sink in. Allemond Monvílle was passing the incident off as a sudden dispute between his guards and the Volodanes’. He was probably asserting that Jarrod and Rolf had somehow been caught in the middle. I didn’t know Violette Cornett well, but she knew my family and had hosted my parents on numerous occasions.
Her words struck me as sincere, and I did believe she wished to offer us comfort. I had little doubt that Sebastian would accept such invitation. But it also sounded as if Violette was in the intimate circle of the Monvílles. What if we were to attend this gathering and the Monvílles should be present?
Kai would go mad.
If he killed Allemond, the repercussions would probably mean his own death.
I wrote Violette a kind refusal, saying we were not up to socializing yet.
Then I burned the invitation without ever showing it to Sebastian.
In spite of his announcement—about doing nothing—after the burial of Jarrod, Sebastian soon began making changes. He announced to me one morning that we’d be having a guest for lunch, and so I asked Ester to make a fish pie.
Just before the midday meal, a stocky man in a leather jerkin and heavy boots arrived.
Sebastian introduced him to Kai and me. “This is Ethan Porter. He’s to be our land manager and tax collector. Megan, he’ll be living here at the keep. Normally, he’ll eat in the kitchen, but you’ll need to have a room made up for him.”
Kai appeared startled. From what I understood, the Volodanes had always overseen their own lands.
For the remainder of lunch, Kai and I were ignored as Sebastian explained to Ethan about the various villages, tenant famers, and crops. The man seemed quite competent, but I still struggled with the idea of turning over such an important element of running the estate to what basically amounted to an employee.
“I’ll be back in few days to settle in, my lady,” Ethan said to me after lunch. “Thank you for the fine meal.”