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Elwyn straightened the little green enamel tea set. Then she straightened it a little more. Finally she poured some tea and pushed a steaming cup in Andras’s direction.
“I suppose you’re wondering why I asked you to meet me here,” she said. Her voice was soft, almost gentle for once.
They were in the old inn by the waterfall—the same one Andras and Rada had stopped at on his first day in town. He looked around at the paper screens and the little Shangian painting of a smiling cat on the wall. “It’s a nice place,” he said.
“It’s alright, I suppose. I wanted to see you away from the compound. Away from my uncle and all the guards and servants.” Elwyn fiddled with her cup, turning it in her hands. “First of all, I wanted to thank you for stopping me from...doing what we almost did at the hot springs yesterday.”
“It wasn’t easy,” he said. It felt like the polite thing to say under the circumstances.
She smiled briefly. “No it wasn’t, was it? Listen, Andras, I’ve been thinking. I’ve been really unpleasant to you, and I’m sorry for that.”
“Don’t mention it,” he said, though he was glad she had.
“It’s sort-of a habit with me,” she sighed. “I don’t warm to people easily. You may have noticed.”
“I may have.” He grinned as he raised his teacup.
“I’ve been angry at you for things your mother did, and that’s not fair.”
“I appreciate your saying so.”
“She was very kind to me when I was a girl. And when my stepmother came to Myrcia to marry my father, Flora looked after her. To all of us—me and Rohesia and Edwin and Alice—your mother was almost like a member of the family. Right up until...well, you know.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“But none of that is your fault. Look, here’s the thing.” She folded her hands in her lap and sat up straighter. “It was really stupid of my uncle to use that potion, but let’s face it: he’s not going to stop. Both of our families want us to get together, and they’re going to keep pushing this. So, I wanted to talk to you. This way we can decide together what we’re going to do.”
“You mean whether we should get married or not. Do you actually want to?”
She tilted her head to one side. “Do you want to?”
“I asked you first,” he said, leaning back in his little wicker chair.
“Well, my uncle is right—the alliance would be very beneficial. I don’t trust your mother, but there’s no doubt she could be a powerful ally. And as for the personal aspects...,” she cleared her throat, “I don’t find you completely unattractive. So what do you think?”
If they had only had this conversation a few days earlier, his response would have been enthusiastic and immediate. He had come to Briddobad expressly to marry this girl, and now it seemed like she was, at long last, willing to entertain his suit. It should have been easy for him to decide. But the only problem was that he couldn’t stop thinking about Donella. He wanted to see her again; he felt he owed it to her. But somehow she had disappeared from the valley. No one seemed to know where the mysterious “Sir Donald Graham” had gone.
“Don’t be an idiot,” he told himself. His goal was finally in sight. All he had to do was smile at Elwyn, tell her he wanted her, and they would be married. But what would happen then? He’d be stuck for life with a woman whose passion extended just far enough to admit she didn’t think he was ugly. And meanwhile, Donella loved him! She had come all this way by herself through a forest full of bandits to tell him that.
But now she was gone, and here he was with Elwyn. He didn’t deserve Donella’s love, and he didn’t deserve her forgiveness. If he was being practical, there was really only one possible option. He took a deep breath and said, “I think we ought to get married.”
She nodded, eyes on her cup. “Yes, I suppose we have to. Sad, isn’t it?”
“Pathetic, yes.” He drank his tea, wishing it were something stronger.
As if reading his mind, Elwyn called for the servant girl and had a bottle of whiskey and glasses brought in. When they had the liquor, they toasted their upcoming betrothal, in much the same way as they might have toasted the memory of a dead friend.
After a second round, Elwyn said, “I suppose it’s only fair to tell you I like girls as much as I like boys. I assume you’ll have no objection as long as I keep things discreet. The preosts would say that makes a mockery of our vows, but I think they’re pretty much a mockery already, don’t you?”
“Fair enough,” he said, pouring more for each of them. “And I like boys as much as I like girls. So there will be no hard feelings.”
“Good. Same-sex affairs are alright. What about the opposite sex?”
He took a long drink. “That’s fine, too, I guess. If it’s fine with you, I mean.”
Earstien, but this was the most depressing conversation he had ever had. He had never imagined sitting down with his future wife to plot the failure of their own marriage.
Quick footsteps echoed up the hall, and there was a frantic knock. “Blast it all,” said Elwyn, “why can’t people leave us alone for ten fucking minutes?”
Andras opened the door to find Lady Rada, red-faced and out of breath.
“Oh, you’re here, too!” she cried. Looking past him at Elwyn, she added, “The guards at the palace told me you were here, my lady.”
“Of course they did,” muttered Elwyn. “What do you want?”
“I know I don’t have any right to ask,” said Rada, “but I need your help. And yours, too, Andras, if you’d be willing.”
“You’ve got some nerve to even...,” Elwyn started to say. Then she stopped herself and let out a weary sigh. “No. I know it wasn’t really your fault. Not really. I made stupid assumptions, and then you honestly thought you were doing the right thing to help me and my family.” She poured a third glass of whiskey and slid it toward Rada. “It seems to be a day for apologies. I’m sorry I was such a bitch to you.”
Rada ignored the whiskey and went straight to Elwyn’s side, hugging her and sniffling out an apology for, “Everything I did and everything I couldn’t do.”
“It’s not your fault,” said Elwyn, whose eyes were also starting to get teary. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s my uncle’s.”
Andras felt he was only understanding half the conversation. “Your uncle’s fault for putting that potion in the wine, you mean?”
“Yes,” said Rada, wiping her eyes. “But you should probably know, Andras, that I was the one who gave him the potion to begin with. I’m very sorry for what happened between you and Donella.”
Elwyn gasped. “Wait...Andras and who?”
“Princess Donella,” said Andras.
“You mean my cousin, Donella Gramiren?” cried Elwyn. “The tall blonde who looks like a Krigadamite warrior but couldn’t hurt a mouse? She’s here?”
“Yes, she is. Or she was.” He took a deep breath and a quick sip of whiskey. Rada looked like she wanted to say something, but he ignored her. It was his responsibility to tell this awkward bit of news. “She found me at the spring right after you left. She’s the one who ended up drinking that wine with me, and we, um....”
“Fucked?” said Elwyn, crossing her arms. Andras couldn’t tell if she was angry or amused. Or possibly both.
“Um, yes.” Andras took another, much longer drink of whiskey.
“What was she doing here to begin with?” asked Elwyn. “This is a dangerous place for Gramirens, and I can’t believe my Cousin Broderick would send her as a spy.”
Again, Rada tried to speak, but he cut her off. “Well, you see...um, she came here because she wanted to keep me from marrying you. She’s...well, she sort-of confessed that she loves me. We’ve been friends for a long time, you know.”
Elwyn raised an eyebrow. “You mean you were going to marry me after she said she loved you and you slept together? Andras, no offense, but you’re an asshole.”
“Yes, I know,” he said. “But she’s gone away now, and I don’t know if I’ll ever—”
“No, Andras, wait!” cried Rada, waving her arms to get his attention. “Donella is still here. The Earl of Hyrne is keeping her in the cellar of the palace. That’s why I came to find you, my lady. I want your help to get her out of there.”
“I’ll help,” said Andras. “But it’s a bit much to ask Elwyn to join us, isn’t it? I don’t think it’s quite fair, do you?” He looked at Elwyn. “I’d understand if you didn’t want to.”
Elwyn was quiet for a few moments, sipping her whiskey. Then she said, “No one knows what it feels like to be a captive princess more than I do. And I remember that someone once helped me escape a marriage I didn’t want.” She smirked, then brought her fist down on the table, making the bottle jump. “We’ve got to get her out of there, or my uncle is going to do something awful to her. Probably marry her to Edwin. Or marry her himself.” A shudder. “She might be a Gramiren, but she doesn’t deserve that. And I don’t want my little brother sucked into a terrible marriage by a love potion. It’s bad enough my uncle would do that to me. I’m not going to let him do it to Edwin.”
They quickly came up with a plan. Rada would prepare an escape route—a ladder over the back wall of the compound. Andras would find someone to keep horses waiting on the other side, so they could get away quickly. And Elwyn would get the keys to the basement storerooms where Donella was being kept. It was a good start, though Andras had spent too much time as a soldier to think the plan would work perfectly.
As they were about to leave, Elwyn stopped him. “Just to be clear,” she said, “our deal is off. I’m not marrying you.”
It was like he could breathe again. And yet, their marriage had been the whole point of his coming here. It felt odd to let it go so easily. “Are you sure?”
She smiled. “Yes. Donella would have wanted to sleep with you even without a magysk potion. I wouldn’t have. It’s as simple as that.”
“But what about the alliance?”
“Your mother wants revenge on Cousin Broderick for throwing her over. That should be reason enough for her to help us.” Standing on her toes, Elwyn kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Now, let’s go save your lady love.”