I shut the door and wandered down the hallway to the next room.
A large brass serpent sat coiled within the doorway, a viper that must be three times the length of my arm. Even if my memory hadn’t immediately recalled a spell to explain its presence, I would’ve known that the snake could instantaneously transform and strike intruders. A warning saying as much was posted on the door.
A person could knock without harm, but anyone who touched the door handle would be bitten unless the wizard first called out, “Enter.”
My invisibility would be of limited use against a snake. They hunted by hearing as much as by sight, and their tongues let them taste the smell of humans. The creature would know my location by that skill alone.
The boots I wore during missions would protect me from a serpent’s fangs—I’d added a charm that made the leather all but impenetrable, but the rest of my body would be vulnerable.
Unless the wizards had unprotected windows, I would need to steal a shield, a falconry glove to protect my hand, and say a spell to thin and lengthen the dagger by several inches so I could cut off the snake’s head.
I went to the next room in the hallway. A second brass serpent guarded its door. It was just as large as the first, coiled with its head raised half a foot above its body. Oddly, its head and eyes seemed to follow me as I walked past it. I knew of nomagic that could account for this sort of effect—one that made a metal statue’s eyes move. I bent down for a better look at the creature. The snake’s face was concave, although why that made his eyes and face appear to follow me, I couldn’t tell. Must be some bit of trickery.
At any rate, I’d found two of the wizards’ chambers. I retreated down the corridor and went to the hallway flanking the other side of the king’s quarters. Three doors stood there with three serpents guarding them. All were the normal sort, like the first I’d seen.
The wizards’ rooms were foolishly close together. But then, they weren’t worried anyone would attack them. They stayed close to the king to be at his beck and call.
I leaned closer to one of the doors and wondered if snakes were the extent of the wizard’s protection or whether more metal beasts waited inside. Judging from the distance between the doors, the chambers were large enough to contain rhinoceroses.
Once I entered them, I’d need to be prepared for anything. Even if some beast charged me, my first priority would be to cast a stunning spell at the sleeping wizard so he couldn’t grab his wand and fight me.
I crept toward the front of the castle and realized my snooping had taken me longer than I’d anticipated. It was nearly time to dress for supper. I would have to check the windows after the meal to see if climbing through them was an option.
I returned to my room, changed into another gown, applied powder and lip rouge, and made Gwenyth redo my hair.
As she finished with my headdress, she said, “That wizard you know, Rowan, he was more than just an acquaintance, wasn’t he?”
“Ronan,” I corrected and didn’t comment on the rest.
She tsked in disappointment. “You shouldn’t set your cap for a wizard. You know what they’re like. There’s not enough heart in the lot of them to pump three drops of blood.”
I didn’t argue with her, or perhaps more disappointing for her, supply more information. Her gaze traveled over me, surveying me. “You look fair enough to make him regret jilting you.”
“Who says he jilted me?”
“If he were only someone who’d caught your fancy, you’d be happy while you readied yourself for supper because you’re a lady and thus worthy of his notice now. But you’re preening in revenge. Don’t deny it. I know anger when I see it.”
Really, Gwenyth was too perceptive. I took several deep breaths. “You’re right to counsel me to control my countenance. I need to appear confident and relaxed.” I would smile through supper if it killed me.
CHAPTER 13
Gwenyth and I joined Lady Edith and Joanne for the walk downstairs. Our lady’s maids would eat in a smaller adjacent dining room with other less noble guests while we ate in the main hall.
When we entered, servants washed our hands with warm rose water and showed us to a table. A harpist perched at the front of the room, playing for our enjoyment. King Leofric and Princess Marita weren’t present for supper. All the chairs on the dais sat empty.
Lady Edith informed me that we weren’t to see the happy couple until the wedding ceremony. I wasn’t disappointed about this as it meant I didn’t have to worry about royal decorum while I ate tonight. It was custom to only eat when the king ate, and at all other times sit with eyes fixed on him, lest he speak.
Supper at Paxworth was always a plain affair and over before sunset. The same was not true here. Servants filled our table with platters of cheese, venison, cooked pears, fine white bread, quail eggs, and baked chicken.
Lady Edith and I sat at one of the tables at the very back of the room, near the door where the servants streamed in and out, bringing food and drink. Our close proximity to themdidn’t mean they served us first. That honor was reserved for the nobles closest to the dais. From what I could gather, Lady Edith and I were seated among the less affluent highborn and the merchants who were so successful they merited invitations to the king’s nuptials. Their brocades, silks, and jeweled headdresses rivaled those at the upper tables. But alas, wealth alone wasn’t enough to warrant a seat near royalty.
Master Godfrey, a local merchant, along with his wife and family, had to resign themselves to our company. Their children, Bernard and Agnes Godfrey, were about my age. Agnes wore a green brocade gown with outlandishly long sleeves trimmed in lace. Bernard wore a golden brooch. Both had obviously been well-fed and Bernard’s thick cheeks made his face look childlike.
I wondered if the seating arrangement was an insult to the lesser nobles or simply a matchmaking technique, as affluent merchants often married their children to poverty-stricken nobles. With such a union, the merchants received a title for their descendants and the nobility received the fortune they needed to continue running their estates.
A Lord Percy of Gadalleigh sat to my side, and judging from his simple silk tunic, his financial standing was much like mine. He was tall, with a pleasantly handsome face and a quick smile. There was something endearing about the brown curls that fell in disarray around his face.
He flirted and complimented me as well as Agnes so that I was unsure whether he was interested in me or her or simply the sort who liked to garner the regard of women. I suspected the latter, but I smiled freely at him because I was all too aware of Ronan sitting with the Somertons and another lavishly dressed family at one of the upper tables. If Ronan ever cast his attention toward the back section of the room, I wanted to show him I’d earned an admirer.