CHAPTER 1131: DISCUSSIONS BEFORE DINNER

Ashlynn deliberately kept the meal she shared with Loman Lothian light, not only because there would be a much more substantial feast to follow in the evening, but because it gave her an excuse to keep her reunion with her brother-in-law brief.

She’d expected the encounter to be tense, but even she had underestimated how many of the wounds in her heart Loman would expose, or how much his unconscious habits and unthinking actions would remind her of his brother, Owain.

The awkward and occasionally volatile lunch had lasted less than an hour, but by the time it was over, they’d at least found their way to be civil with each other. It was clear that each of them were still nursing wounds that went deeper than any of the physical hurts they’d suffered. And while they hadn’t been able to return to the tentative affection they’d once possessed in the days leading up to Ashlynn’s marriage to Loman’s brother, they’d at least established a mutual respect for each person’s genuine desire to help the people of Lothian March to live better lives.

Now, Ashlynn had taken the time to escort Loman back to the chambers he shared with Sir Hugo Hanrahan and Lord Liam Dunn, not only as a courtesy to her brother-in-law, but because she had a small window of time to meet with each of the young lords before the evening’s dinner.

When she sent them to Hanrahan to observe the battle, she’d given each of them a choice to make once they understood the true scope and scale of the conflict between the forces of the Vale of Mists and Lothian March. Now, it was time to hear their decisions.

"We’ll speak again at dinner," Ashlynn promised Loman once they’d reached the sitting room shared by the young lords. "I know this is hard for you," she added, fighting back the reflex to glance at his missing left arm and keep her focus on his hazel eyes that still brimmed with hurt. "I can’t promise that you’ll be among friends for dinner tonight, but at the very least, you’re among people who don’t want to be your enemy."

"You’ve been kinder to me than I’ve deserved, Ashlynn," Loman said awkwardly. "I understand that the Vale of Mists has become your home, and you care for the people here," he said carefully. "They’ve certainly cared for you more than my brother did, so... I’ll do my best to respect them, if for no other reason than that they sheltered you when no one else would. I know it isn’t much of a promise..."

"But it’s honest," Ashlynn said, biting her lower lip as she regarded the wounded young priest. He’d become far more volatile than he’d been when she first met him, but after everything he’d endured, from learning how murderous and conniving his own brother could be to facing bitter defeat at the hands of one of Ashlynn’s witches and Sybyll’s brutal punishment afterwards... Loman’s volatility was understandable, even if it made building bridges of peace much more difficult.

"I won’t tell you not to speak your mind," Ashlynn said after a moment of thought. "But I will remind you that many of the people you’ll share a dinner table with are as powerful as Heila and Sybyll in their own ways. Some of them are even stronger. If you feel like your words might be... provocative," she said delicately. "Consider saving them to share with me in private afterward."

"Some forms of disrespect aren’t tolerated by the Eldritch, any more than they’d be tolerated by your father," she explained. "So while no one wants to be your enemy..."

"They won’t hesitate to punish me if I step out of line," Loman finished for her with a bitter chuckle. "Even though I’m your brother-in-law?" he asked. "Surely they would give me some grace on account of my relationship with you."

"I wouldn’t count on that, my Lord," Sir Hugo said as he set down the book he’d been reading and rose to greet Ashlynn and Loman. "Lady Ashlynn had plans for Sir Rain Aleese. She wanted his help in brokering peace with his father, the Baron Aleese. But when Sir Rain stepped out of line, no one stopped Sir Ollie from beating him senseless in a duel between knights, even though it made Lady Ashlynn’s plans harder."

"Ollie has a right to defend himself and to demand the respect due to a man of his station," Ashlynn said, as though it were common sense. "Sir Rain crossed a line that he shouldn’t have. Even if I’d been there, I wouldn’t have stopped Ollie from doing what he did."

Privately, Ashlynn doubted that Ollie’s scuffle with Sir Rain had changed anything about the young lord’s attitude. Sir Rain was loyal, if nothing else, and he was unlikely to cooperate with her no matter what she’d done. He’d lashed out and caused trouble, first for Ollie and then for her, as a way of making his position clear, and in a ham-handed way of trying to pull Hugo and Liam to his side.

It hadn’t worked, and Ashlynn had left Sir Rain in a jail cell and Madame Zedya’s tender mercies ever since the knight made his last disastrous attempt to provoke Ashlynn to violence.

"Just... think carefully before you speak, Loman," Ashlynn advised before turning her attention to the young lords in the sitting room. "I’m sure that Lord Liam can give you some helpful advice while I speak with Sir Hugo," she added as she gestured for the displaced Hanrahan lord to follow her out of the sitting room.

"With me?" Hugo said hesitantly, even as his body started moving, catching up to her with quick, long strides before matching her pace once he’d reached a respectful distance behind her. "I didn’t think I’d get to speak to you before dinner tonight."

"Some things are best discussed in private," Ashlynn said as she led the way through the winding corridors of the ancient fortress toward one of the castle’s many small gardens. The evening had already begun to roll down the hills into the riverside valley where the ancient fortress nestled, and the air was crisp and cool enough to prevent them from lingering outside for very long, but if all went well, this conversation wouldn’t take very long at all.

"Before you left to accompany your cousin, Sybyll, I offered you a choice," Ashlynn said as she led Hugo into the quiet garden, filled with trees that had shed their leaves for winter and plants that lay dormant, waiting for spring’s warmth to call forth their colorful blossoms once again.

"You cannot return to Hanrahan, at least, not as a place to live," Ashlynn said as she took a seat on a small bench, gesturing for Hugo to join her. "Perhaps in a few years, that will be different, once Sybyll has had a chance to solidify her rule over her domain. But right now, there are too many men who would try to use you as a pawn, rallying behind you to place you on your father’s throne, whether you want them to or not."

"I know," Hugo said with a heavy sigh. "My father is dead, and as much as I tried to make it my home, I didn’t grow up in Hanrahan. I, I hope that Dame Sybyll is able to do more for the people of Hanrahan than I ever was, but... It was never my home to begin with. I’d like to visit again some day, but I understand that right now, it’s best for everyone if I stay away."

"I’m glad that you understand," Ashlynn said gently. "So, have you considered my offer? The Vale may seem strange at first, but there are many places here, far behind the eastern walls, where a man can live a quiet, peaceful life if he chooses, and even if you can’t return to Hanrahan at the moment, you aren’t an exile. You could have a good life here if you wanted to build one in the countryside," she said suggestively.

"I’ve considered it, my Lady," Hugo said solemnly. "And your other offer as well, of living in the city you’re building here and finding a place among its people. But, after seeing what Dame Sybyll is doing in Hanrahan, I think I know what the right choice is, at least for me..."