The Blight of Muirwood (Legends of Muirwood 2)

Lia watched as Colvin dipped his head and whispered to Ellowyn, motioning subtly towards the bowl and offered spoon. Ellowyn smiled enthusiastically, as if deferring to his judgment in the matter of whether she should taste it. He served her himself. Sowe and Bryn joined in, as did Pasqua.

Marciana clung to Lia’s arm, as if she could not stand to be apart from her for a moment. Subtly, she led Lia away from the others. “So this is where you have lived your life,” she said softly. “I am sure you begrudge not having a family, Lia. I know I would. But Muirwood is a beautiful Abbey. I love it here already. I was so excited to come, especially knowing that it would bring us together at last. If there is anyone in the world he speaks more highly of, I do not know who it is.” She stopped prattling, her eyes seeking out Lia’s. “You must know that I love my brother, that I regard him more than any other man. You saved his life, Lia. It was here, on these very stones that you tended him. It was up there, in the loft, where you hid him. He says I must beg your permission before he can show me Maderos’ lair, for that ground is forbidden to learners, and I am a learner. I know what happened in the Bearden Muir. I have told no one else, not even Ellowyn. I shall keep your secret as you kept his when that cruel sheriff hunted him. I must tell you how indebted I am to you.” She patted Lia’s hands and then kissed them. “Thank you, Lia. You saved his life. I owe you something for that.”

“I was not sure how I would feel meeting you,” Lia answered, overwhelmed with emotions. She kept her own voice low. “I thought, before the battle, that I might have to find you and tell you of your brother’s death. That would not have been a pleasant introduction. It makes me grateful to the Medium that it did not happen that way.”

“I agree! Colvin did tell me that you are adept with the Medium. Another secret I will keep hidden. Poor Ellowyn – she is so frightened of it. There was a Leering at the laundry where she served.” Her eyes glittered wickedly. “Colvin hates it when I call them that, but it is far more fitting than gargouelle. Why use a Dahomeyjan word when we are so far from that country? Some learners at her Abbey used to torment the laundry girls by making it spew water while they were washing clothes. And you know how fear hampers the Medium. Poor girl. I wish it had been you instead, Lia. I would have loved being your companion, your friend while you learned. But Ellowyn is a sweet girl. You will like her. She is shy, like Sowe. But you will help me draw her out?”

“Of course. You are not afraid? Of those who hate her Family?”

Her smile was infectious. “I do not fear, Lia. It does no good. First, my brother is a wickedly good swordsman. He trains every day, never satisfied with himself. Secondly, Muirwood has two hunters instead of one. And thirdly, one of my gifts of the Medium is the gift of warning. I have a sense for trouble before it happens. It is true. When I was a little girl, I was playing in the gardens. Two shepherd boys who worked our estate thought it would be silly if they tripped my ankles with their crooks. In my mind, I could hear their thoughts and felt them sneaking up on me though I could not see them. When I glanced back and caught them in the act, I ran screaming to my brother.”

“Did he lose his temper?” Lia asked, eager to hear the story. This is dangerous, she thought. Marciana can tell me stories of his childhood!

“He was all of twelve years old, but he acted like he was one and twenty. He warned those shepherd boys. He always warns first. You like hearing stories about him? Good! There are many he would not want me to tell you. And you must tell me your stories, Lia. I want to hear them. I want to know you better. I am jealous of Sowe that she knows so much about you, but she is too loyal to you to share anything interesting. From what Pasqua has said, you were a very naughty child. But you and I are alike, I think. I hope we can be friends?”

“Lia! It is almost gone!” Pasqua said. “Hurry over lasses, or you will miss it.”

“Here I am, stealing all your attention when you are probably starving. Come over and eat. We have the Aldermaston’s permission to be with you.”

Lia joined the others and Edmon approached gallantly with a spoon for her. “It must be excruciating torture for you to live in a kitchen like this with such an excellent cook. And she has taught you all her secrets, has she?”

“It has been a year, but I have not forgotten them all yet,” Lia said, tasting the Fool and enjoying it. It was always a favorite of hers. “You should try her sambocade too, Edmon. That will make you drool on yourself.”

“Posh, lass. Do not be making any promises to him for me,” Pasqua said. “When Whitsunday comes, he will get his chance to taste it all. If he can stop dancing, that is.”