Lady Ilena Read Online Free Page B

highest-ranking woman in the hall, it is my responsibility to honor an important guest by serving him, so I reach for his tankard.
    “You are the most beautiful ale bringer that I have seen.” His hand brushes mine, on purpose, I'm sure, as he hands it to me.
    I keep a smile on my face. “Welcome to this hall. Dun Alyn is honored by your presence.”
    Gillis is the last to arrive at the head table. When he is seated, Belert signals the servers, and the meal begins. Spusscio does not appear at his place beside me, and I do not see him anywhere in the hall.
    When Faolan's tankard is empty again, Sorcha leaps up to refill it, and once, when I have failed to notice that Belert's is empty, she refills his also. She tosses her head and smiles at me, clearly enjoying the opportunity to take over my duties.
    I remember Belert's words about hospitality and try to concentrate on being a proper hostess, but I still picture that gold bracelet gleaming in the afternoon sun.
    The evening ends at last. When Faolan, swaying from the ale he has consumed, moves toward me, I smile politely and hurry around the end of the table. When I look back from the door, he and Sorcha are walking away from the table together. Gillis has moved to a seat next to Belert, and the two of them are deep in conversation.
    I go into Belert's room and try to calm myself while I wait for him.
    When he arrives, he doesn't look surprised to see me. “I'm glad you're here, Ilena. We should talk about the meeting with Faolan tomorrow.”
    “His attention distresses me. I am uncomfortable around him,” I say, “and why does Spusscio hate him so much?”
    “Tell her, Belert!”
    I didn't hear Spusscio come in, and I jump in surprise when he speaks.
    He still wears his cloak, and he brings the scent of cold outside air into the room. “Or shall I?”
    “It is your story, old friend. Not mine.”
    He hangs his cloak on a peg beside the door before taking a seat on a bench across the table from me. The fire makes a comfortable crackling noise, and the darkness around us makes our small firelit space seem a friendly refuge.
    “My family had holdings north of River Dee, near Dun Struan's territory. My brother, Marrec, was younger than I.” He looks down at the table and we wait. When he continues, his voice is sadder than I've ever heard it. “He washandsome and the joy of my parents' lives; I'm sure they had feared that he too might be a dwarf, but we all rejoiced when we saw that he was growing normally. He was betrothed to Faolan's sister, the dower heiress of Dun Struan, when both of them were young.
    “My parents sent me to Gorre to study with Dubric, the head Druid of Britain. Though I could not be a Druid, my father was sure that knowledge would help me compensate for my size. Since there was no female heir in our family and my brother would be a chief of Dun Struan, I would rule our small fortress.
    “I came home early the spring that they were married and celebrated with all of our people and with those of Dun Struan. Faolan was young, but already a warrior; he seemed courteous enough, and his parents, like mine, were happy with the union. I returned to Gorre in the fall and had no news of things at home all winter.” He stops talking and turns to stare into the fire.
    “This is painful for you,” Belert says. “Go on to bed; I can tell Ilena the rest.”
    “I need to remember it,” Spusscio says. He turns back to face us and continues. “When I came into our territory in early summer, I stopped to greet one of our farm families. They told me what had happened.” He stops, and we wait in silence till he begins again. “Faolan's father had died of an illness in the winter. According to our customs, Marrec, ashusband of the dower heiress, became a chief at that time; he would assist his mother-in-law in ruling Dun Struan.
    “In the spring Andrina, Faolan's cousin from Dun Lachan, had come for a visit. One day the three of them, Marrec, Faolan, and