I suspected Sir Basil would've filled his cheeks with cheese cubes if it would've helped him get out of this change in the conversation. But the cheese tray was gone, and filling one's cheeks with soup didn't work in the same way.
"I ... er, admire him greatly, of course," he finally sputtered.
"Of course. And when you're on the throne of Reddengrad, do you hope to be like him? Is that the reason for our marriage, for you to gain favor with Lord Endrick?"
"Kestra--" Gerald started.
"It's a fair question!" I turned to Basil again. "Why did you agree to this marriage?"
Basil leaned forward. "Why did you, my lady?"
We stared at each other for a moment and then we began to laugh. Nothing forced or fake, but a real laugh, both of us conceding that we were only here because someone else had made it so. With that, the awkwardness dropped away and we enjoyed the rest of our meal with ease.
In fact, the only time it became uncomfortable after that was when I caught a glimpse of Simon fro
m the corner of my eye. He wasn't enjoying this meal at all. He was furious.
Good.
It's hard to know how long the supper went, but based on my growing impatience to finish the evening, I figured that I'd stood against the wall, watching Basil and Kestra flirt, for approximately nine hundred hours.
When Gerald finally suggested they end the evening, I pulled Kestra's seat back before he'd even finished his sentence.
"Your protector is anxious for his own night's sleep, I see," Basil said, laughing at me.
He could laugh all he wanted. I wasn't letting go of Kestra's chair.
"He knows I'm tired," Kestra said. "We arrived this morning from a difficult journey, and as you say, he's my protector. Whether I like it or not."
Basil stood when she did. This time, I noticed her hands deliberately clasped behind her back. With no hand to kiss, Basil gave Kestra a low bow, meeting her eyes when he rose again. A smile spread across his face as he surveyed her, top to bottom. Briefly, I considered the consequences if I smacked that eager expression off his face. What was he doing? Appraising her as his future queen? As his wife? Basil didn't know her, not after just one supper and not when she was hiding so much. He had no right to look at her that way.
I shifted my position to stand directly behind Kestra, making sure Basil saw me. I couldn't make Kestra leave, but the instant she took her first step, I would gladly escort her out the door.
"I'm staying here in Highwyn for a few days," Basil said. "Perhaps I can see you again before I return home?"
"Perhaps."
Was that a flirtation, a way of teasing him into another visit? Or was she politely avoiding any further connection to him? I couldn't tell, which frustrated me to no end, but I hoped it was the latter. She was already being forced to commit treason against Antora. Her schedule was full.
She curtsied to Basil and Gerald, then took my arm to walk out to the corridor. When I pulled her in another direction, away from her room, she huffed like a spoiled child. That was too bad. We needed to talk.
"You're being ridiculous," she muttered.
"You were ridiculous!" I hissed. "Why didn't we bring in a priest and marry the two of you right there?"
"You know why not! It's because in three days, he won't have me for a scullery maid, much less a wife."
"I thought you didn't want anything to do with him!"
"I don't, but if I were going to be forced into marriage, I could do worse than him. At least he's kind! A word, I'm sure, that has never entered your vocabulary!"
I was plenty kind. Just not to Dallisors. She would understand that, if she were anyone else.
But she wasn't. And it was becoming far too easy to forget that.
We paused for a couple of passing servants and then I led her deep into the gardens, still blooming with late-season lilies and dogbane that added a whiff of perfume to the evening air, a sweet contrast to the fight that was clearly coming. This late at night, nobody else should be out here. Still, we kept our voices low.
I started, "The person you met tonight is a fraud--tell me you saw that too!" I couldn't place exactly what was wrong with Basil, but something definitely was wrong. Was he too eager? Too friendly? Too irritating as he tried in every possible way to get close to Kestra? "The real Basil is ... different. You cannot trust him."