Two hours later,I’m inclined to agree with Jac: I’d much rather be eating coal-roasted rabbit under the stars than endure another moment of Vanora’s sumptuous banquet.
I stare down at my gold filigree dinner plate. There is more food on it than I could ever possibly ingest in one sitting. The banquet table is piled with so many platters and serving dishes, it is difficult to see the brocade tablecloth beneath. Roasted tenderloins and stuffed turkeys, braised chops and honey-glazed hams. Baskets of fresh breads, a dozen different shapes and sizes. Steaming piles of husked corn. Boiled potatoes topped with crumbled bits of bacon. Baked carrots and turnips. Seared asparagus sprinkled with cheese shavings. Exotic purple-huedvegetables that do not grow in the Midlands—at least, not anymore. And that is just the food in my immediate sight line.
If this is a regular meal at the palace, what must a true feast look like?
The smaller tables for those who dine on the main floor are less stocked than ours, but not by much. Most of my dinner companions pick absentmindedly at their plates, as though the food is just another decoration in the lavish hall. More for show than actual consumption. It is ostentatious enough to sour the delicacies on my tongue.
So much waste.
Half the families I’d known in Seahaven were starving. The other Midland kingdoms seemed even worse off, from what little I’d seen of them.
“Hanging in there?”
I glance left at Jac’s hushed question. He looks just as uncomfortable as I am, tugging at the stiff doublet at his throat like an animal newly forced into domestication.
“Better than you, from the looks of it,” I say, suppressing a laugh.
“Earlier, you said I looked quite dashing in this fancy getup!”
“Earlier, you weren’t shifting around your seat like your breeches are full of fire ants.”
“She’s right.” Uther leans around me to join our low conversation. “Gods, man, have you spent so long on the range you forgot how to have a proper meal?”
“It’s not the meal so much as the company,” Jac mutters. He lifts his goblet, signaling for one of the circulating servants to refill it with wine. “I’d have more to discuss with a block of ice than half these pompous society types.”
“How long are we expected to stay?”
“Another hour at least,” Uther answers me. “Though if theopportunity arises, I may slip out sooner. Carys is home and I don’t like to leave her alone after so long away. Especially in her condition.”
“Carys?”
“My wife.”
My mouth drops open. “You’re married?”
“I am indeed.” His smile lights his gray eyes from within. “Four years now.”
“I had no idea.”
“Well, you wouldn’t, seeing as I never told you.” He chuckles. “Wasn’t much of an opportunity, between fending off cyntroedi and cutting down Reavers and rescuing you from Acrine and getting you back here in one piece.”
“Don’t let him fool you.” Jac scowls playfully at his friend. “He keeps Carys all to himself on purpose. Selfish, isn’t he? I think he’s afraid she’ll fall in love with me if he lets her get too close.”
“Yes, that’s exactly it.” Uther’s lips twitch. He looks back at me. “You’ll have to come by the house and meet her. We live just beyond the barracks, on High Street. She’s not able to wander very far at the moment.”
“Is she well?”
“Quite well. Quite pregnant. Due in less than a month.”
“Oh, Uther!” I exclaim loudly, grinning so wide it makes my cheeks ache. “Congratulations! That’s fantastic!”
Conversation at the rest of the table hushes for a moment as those dining around us hear my sharp exclamation and strain to listen in. I feel curious eyes on me from both ends of the table. With effort, I keep my gaze on Uther and lower my tone.
“Your first child?”
“Yes.” He smiles happily. “We’re very excited. Most of all since I’ll now be home for the birth. Carys is determined to thank you in person.”
“Me? Whyever would she thank me?”