Page 2 (1/2)

"Move over a little; I aoode rowled back under his breath He added, " &039;Sides, I have nowhere to move I anoring the way his cousin continued to shift and mutter, Balan turned his attention to Malculinus and Lauda Aldous on the other side of the hedge They&039;d had no difficulty keeping up with the pair h the maze to a spot they deeoode needed a place close enough to listen but not be seen They&039;d finally settled on a dead-end aisle between the hedges that backed onto the spot the couple had chosen Unfortunately, it was really far too narrow for the two of theether comfortably, but neither of thenes Eve tonight," Lauda announced, as if this were a matter of sonificance could be,but then, apparently, neither did Malculinus, who asked with irritation,

"So? There will be a feast tomorro does that help nes Eve and Lady Murie&039;s superstitious nature that are of import here"

"Tell me," Malculinus denes Eve?" Lauda asked, and Balan could hear the frown in her voice "If a girl fasts all day or eats sooes to sleep she will dream of the man ill be her husband"

"Ah!" Malculinus gave a small chuckle "So you will rereed

"And ," Malculinus began "Andwhat? Hope that she dreams about me?"

"Nay Hope is a fool&039;s tool," Lauda said with derision "The Lord helps those who help themselves So, we shall ensure she sees you"

"How?" Malculinus asked

"She obviously will not have fasted all day, so I will suggest she eat so rotten," Lauda said simply "And then I shall offer to find this rotten item for her"

"But that will not ensure she dreams of me," Malculinus protested

"It will," Lauda assured hi I have prepared beforehand with special herbs to make her woozy and sleepy and not likely to fully wake until ht, make a noise or even shake her shoulder if you must Better yet," she said with sudden inspiration, "kiss her awake, and when she opens her eyes, she shall see you and - "

"And iuard," Malculinus said with disgust "Have you lost your et me drawn and quartered?"

"Nay," Lauda said with exasperation "Did I not just say that I would give her a drug to keep her woozy and sleepy through the night? She will not screaht back to sleep But when she wakes in theyour face and think that she has dreamt of the man she must marry"

"OhI see," Malculinus said with sudden understanding He ht work"

"Of course it ork," Lauda snapped "Now, come; I needs must send ht effect"

There was the rustle of leaves as the pair oode said "They are plotting against the poor girl She will find herself

"We cannot have that!" Osgoode pointed out "What are we going to do?"

Balan was silent for a ?"

"There is nothing we need do," Balan decided, having thought it out "The girl has the entire court believing she&039;s a spoiled brat Surely she is not foolish enough to believe this nonsense about eating so of the man ill be her husband Let them carry out their plan; it will not work And as an added benefit, they ht destroy theoode said, his ht

"But what if Murie truly is superstitious, and if Lauda convinces her to eat soht to see Malculinus " He raised his eyebrows "She may very well believe She may think he is the one,to prevent it"

Balan scowled at the suggestion and paused to reevaluate the possible danger He was sure Murie was intelligent; the fact that she&039;d fooled all of court suggested as much But she had ood omen, and, he \ feared, could indeed be superstitious despite her intelligence Added to that, Lauda was very clever; she was renowned for a sneaky, conniving wit that could be dangerous She ht indeed be able to convince Murie to try this superstitious ritual; either as a lark or to simply prove it wasn&039;t true at all And, if she did, the plan ht actually work

"Very well," he said at last "We will endeavor to sit by her at dinner tonight, in order that we knohether Lauda convinces her to try or not If Murie agrees, ill intervene"

"Aye" Osgoode let out a slow breath, so hirin, "I shall distract Malculinus, and you can sneak in and wake Murie so that it is your face she sees"

Balan peered at hioode asked "It would ensure she married you, and you would be a better husband than Malculinus In fact, I would venture to say you would be a better husband to Lady Murie than h to say with assurance that you would be faithful and kind"

"I a such a scurrilous deed only to do the sauered, and shook his head "If you will not take advantage of opportunities dropped in your lap, Balan, it will be a et you married to anyone"

"So be it," Balan replied "Now, co and sneaking about has only sharpenedto eat"

"The duck is lovely," Ereed

"Then why are you not eating any of it?" Elanced at her friend in confusion, then peered down at her trencher and the untouched food upon it Heaving out a breath of air, she confessed, "I a" Emilie corrected "And I have no doubt it is over whom you should choose to marry"

"Well, &039;tis an important matter," Murie pointed out "I will spend the rest of my life homever I choose And will have to let hied helplessly "What if I choose the wrong one?"

"You shall not choose the wrong one I shall ensure that," Erin She added more seriously, "Let us think on this Is there anyone on the list of available lords we made whom you are interested in or think a likely possibility?" Murie considered the matter, then blinked and admitted with dismay, "I know not I have avoided everyone and stayed to , I know none of the men at court"

"Well," Eet to know them There are many "

Murie waved her words away "What does it matter if they are &039;fair of face&039;? A fair face can easily hide a cruel heart - as I have learned well these years at court As for wealth, I have no need of it My parents left me well endowed And charm is lovely, but it cannot keep you safe in troubled times"

"Then, ould you look for in a husband?" Emilie asked

"Oh" Murie pursed her lips "I should like hient - that is most important I should not like a stupid husband, else we could never find coh to keep us safe ar threatens And he should be a good lord, one who kno to e his property so that his people can prosper"

She fell silent and Emilie patted her hand "Those are all fine attributes, and I am sure that if we think on it, we can find sones help?"

Surprised, Murie turned to the woenerally didn&039;t have a kind word to say to her In fact, Lauda usually ignored her completely At least, that had been the case for the last five or six years, as Lauda had left court to return to her family home Before that, she had been one of Murie&039;s most vicious tor into the seat beside her at dinner Despite the adults now, she had actually found herself tensing in expectation of the old verbal assault that would have been forthco when they were children Much to her relief, the attack had never coood evening and turned her attention to heranother word Until now

"Excuse nes help?" E smile She leaned forward to see past Murie to Lauda

"Aye" Lauda gave an eh " &039;Tis silly, really - never norea smile "You have me curious now Tell us what you meant"

Lauda shifted with apparent discomfort, then ad a husband nes Eve"

"What do they say about St Agnes Eve?" Murie asked with interest

"Well" Lauda leaned toward her conspiratorially "According to the old beliefs, if you fast all day, when you go to sleep on St Agnes Eve, you will dream of the man fated to be your husband" Murie and Eave another eed " &039;Tis a silly superstition, I know, and it probably does not work, but would it not be wonderful if it did?" She gave a little sigh "I am in much the saue, and Father wishes me to select a husband while we are at court But" She peered around the crowded hall "There are so many, and I hardly know any I have no idea whom to choose"

" &039;Tis a difficult decision," Murie acknowledged, so in cohout her youth

"Aye, and it affects the whole of our lives," Lauda murmured She added wryly, "But I suppose I have nes to assist me with the matter I did not re with amusement that it would have been nice to at least try Not that she would have based any decision solely on the result However,a little help from the saints would always be nice

"Actually, Lauda," Malculinus suddenly commented from beside his sister &039;You have notis that if you fast all day or eat so rotten before bed, you will dream of therotten and test this belief"

"Really?" Lauda peered at him with apparent uncertainty "Are you sure, Malculinus?"

"I believe heMurie&039;s wide eyes "Now that you re before, and I do recall sohtly, flashing a smile at Murie

"You can still test the theory and see if it is true" Murie bit her lip uncertainly Fasting all day was one thing, but the idea of eating rottenUnfortunately, it was too late to choose the first option Wrinkling her nose, she suggested, "Why do you not do it tonight, and if it works, I shall try it tones Eve," the wo her head "Nay, I fear you would have to do it tonight"

"What of you?" Emilie asked, and when Lauda looked at her in alar Murie should, but you have to choose a husband, too"

"Oh, I do not think - " Lauda began quickly, but Malculinus interrupted

"Of course she will try Murie and Lauda can do it together" When his sister turned on hied and said,

"Well, you do have to choose a husband, and Murie does not wish to try this on her own Mayhap drea mind&039;s concerns"

Lauda scowled, but then turned back to Murie, who commented, "As lovely as it would be to have some aid from the saints, I am not sure I want to eat rotten iveit Your stomach is surely too delicate I suppose I shall have to test it out on estion that she was somehoeaker "My stomach is no more delicate than anyone else&039;s"

"Well, then, perhaps you are afraid," Lauda suggested mildly

"I aether"

&039;You shall both do it!" Malculinus laughed "How char to hear the results"

"Oh, but - ," Murie began in protest She hadn&039;t ree rotten, even if it did et the answer to who to her feet "I shall go to the king&039;s cook right now and see what he has for us He must have soh to cook it and to add in some spices and herbs to an, but the woman was already away Murie watched her disappear out of the hall and then sank back into her seat with a sh with this?" Eht this was a joke You cannot mean to really do it"