“We also want to recognize several in our midst, some of whom have traveled a great distance to be here today.”
I slowed near the edge of the seating area with my tray balanced against my hip and stared as names and titles began to be read out.
Most were names I had no interest in. There were counts, lords, ladies, and dignitaries from places I’d heard about but never visited, and each stood and gave a wave to the assembly when their names were read. Then the announcer’s voice rang out again.
“Leopold the Fifth, Duke of Austria, and his son, Leopold the Sixth.”
My grip tightened around the handles of the tray.
The duke was an older gentleman with a broad chest, a thick beard, and the contented expression of a man accustomed to being welcomed wherever he went. Beside him sat a youngerman who looked to be close to Baron’s age. He was dressed well, though not as richly as his father, and he had the bored look of someone who would rather be anywhere else.
Leopold.
I made a mental note of his face, his dark hair, the restless way his fingers tapped against his knee, and the fact that his father leaned in often to speak to him.
I waited until the announcer moved on and the noise around them rose again before I approached.
“Drinks, good sirs?” I asked, dipping into a curtsy.
“Thank you, my dear,” the older Leopold said at once. He took a mug and nudged his son with his elbow. “Leo.”
The younger man looked over as though he had only just noticed I was there. His gaze flicked to the tray first, then to my face, and he straightened slightly.
“Yes. Thank you.” He accepted a mug, and I curtsied again before sweeping away.
As I turned, I heard the duke chuckle behind me. “See, Leo? This won’t be all that bad. Look at all the girls you have to choose from.”
I returned with drinks to that group several more times, making sure that every single person in the group had been offered a beverage. Each time, I tried to listen without appearing to listen, but there wasn’t a single word said about King Richard or where he was being held or any of the rest of it. I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed, even though I knew it couldn’t be that easy.
By the time Agnes finally waved me away and told me to go enjoy the party, my feet ached in my shoes and I was eager to find a seat. I kept an eye out for Baron but was once again let down. All the servants had been abuzz that he would be present, and I’d assumed he would sit with the nobles now that he had such a highly esteemed position, but I couldn’t see himanywhere. Had the rumors been just talk without any basis in fact?
Naturally, even if he was there, we wouldn’t be able to give any indication that we knew each other. But I still wanted to see him nonetheless. It had only been a couple of weeks, and I already missed him.
I scanned the noble seating again, then the edges of the field, then the clusters of guards near the entrances. No familiar head rose above the crowd. With his size, it wasn’t like Baron was hard to miss.
The excitement around me faded until it sounded distant and muffled and I tried to tell myself there were dozens of reasons he might not be here yet. He might have had duties elsewhere to tend to. He very well could be meeting with someone important or had simply been delayed. But the last time I had seen Baron, he had been leaving with two known enemies.
What if they hadn’t believed his story? They easily could have betrayed him, even had him hanged. Had he walked into a trap while I came here dressed up like a fool and handed out drinks, barely sparing a thought for him? Was I really that selfish that I hadn’t worried about Baron at all? Or had I just assumed that nothing would ever happen to him? What if he wasn’t the new sheriff after all?
I forced myself to breathe evenly and returned to where I had left Aalis.
She was still there, though Conrad had disappeared, and her face lit up the moment she saw me. “Oh, there you are, Izzy! I wondered where you had got to!”
“I was helping Agnes with drinks,” I told her.
Aalis’s jaw dropped. “I thought you were only saying that so you would leave me alone with Conrad!” Then she squeezed my arm, her grin spreading. “Which, thank you for doing, by the way. He asked me to accompany him to the dance!”
She let out a gusty breath of air and pressed one hand to her chest. “You will need to find someone to go with, and we can all get a table together.”
“I guess we’ll find out,” I said, still searching for Baron. I ought to focus on how to get the younger Leopold’s attention, as I had a hunch he would be much easier to manipulate than his father.
Trumpets blared again, and Aalis squealed again. “Oooh! It’s about to start!” Her voice rose so high that it rang in my ears. “Let’s find a good spot to watch!”
She dragged me toward the rope barrier and we actually managed to find a good spot.
Jousting was the first event.
Knights lined up at opposite ends of the field and their horses pawed at the ground, tossing their heads while their riders held their long lances. The crowd leaned forward as one as the signal came.