Shalador's Lady

in bloodshed.”
    “That’s ridiculous!”
    “Is it?”
    Lower lip trembling, she walked away from him. The fact that he stayed at the carriage instead of accompanying her to the tables of goods told her plainly enough that he wouldn’t serve her one minute past his contract. And that made her angry as well as sad. Kenjim used to think she was a “delight to the senses.” Now all he did was criticize.
    They called this a craftsmen’s courtyard? Kermilla looked at the half-empty tables and the sullen landen faces. They watched her with a look in their eyes that made her nervous. Maybe Kenjim was right. Maybe this wasn’t a good part of town for her to be in. But giving in now would mean taking orders from a male who was supposed to serve her, and no Queen with any pride would do that.
    She joined Correne, who had been studying a selection of leather belts.
    “This one would be acceptable,” Correne said. “The buckle is almost pretty.”
    The leather was lusciously soft and meant to accept the sweet curve of a woman’s hips, and the pewter buckle was in the shape of an arbor and bench, a highly suggestive piece implying the pleasure that could be sampled in a garden—if a woman wore it in the right place.
    “This is a fine piece, Lady,” the landen said. “The price is thirty silver marks.”
    “Thirty!” Correne said. “You think I would pay a landen thirty silver marks for anything ?”
    Rage flashed in the landen’s face, quickly masked but not quickly enough.
    Brok and Garth stepped up to the table.
    “You trying to give the Ladies trouble?” Brok snarled.
    “Gentlemen,” Kermilla said firmly. “There is no reason to be uncivil because of a simple misunderstanding.” She looked at the landen and used the same tone that effectively cowed the landens in sheep-shit Woolskin. “I’m sure this man didn’t realize a Queen was interested in the belt, and it is customary that when a Queen expresses interest in an item, it is given to her as a gift. ” She picked up the belt and handed it to Correne. “Therefore, haggling over the price isn’t necessary. Is it?”
    The landen looked at Brok and Garth. Then he shook his head. “No, it’s not necessary. Please accept this belt as a gift, Lady.”
    “The guards are coming,” Garth said. “Let’s go.”
    Something in his voice had Kermilla walking back to their carriage. And something in Brok’s voice when he looked at a weaver and said, “Tell your little bitch to keep an eye out for us,” made her shiver.
    Then the guards rode up and surrounded them—hard men with honed tempers.
    “What is the meaning of this?” Kermilla demanded.
    “These two Warlords were forbidden to come into the landen part of town,” a guard said. “The penalty for disobeying the Queen’s command is exile. Or death.”
    “No!” Kermilla’s heart pounded. How could this man be such a brute? He had no business threatening her boys. None! “You can’t do that.”
    “The Queen’s command—”
    “I outrank Cassidy, and I say these men are free to come and go as they please!”
    The guard looked at her, and there was no indication he was going to yield.
    “Your Jewels may outrank Lady Cassidy’s, but she rules Dena Nehele.”
    “For now,” Kermilla snapped. “Come spring, I will be the law here, and I won’t forget who caused trouble for me and mine.”
    A humming, terrible silence.
    “Warlord,” Kenjim said politely as he stepped up to stand at her left. “The Ladies were not aware of this command when they asked these two Warlords to stand as additional escorts.”
    “Garth and Brok were aware of it,” the guard said. “They almost blinded a young girl. That’s why they were banned from this part of town.”
    “If Lord Bardoc and I had been aware of this, we would have opposed those Warlords coming with us,” Kenjim said.
    Kenjim’s anger was a scalding heat against her skin. Kermilla took a half step away from him.
    “We’ll escort you all back to the line,” the guard said. “And we’ll take Garth and Brok back to their father’s house. This will be reported to the Master of the Guard. If he feels that more needs to be done, he’ll take care of it.”
    If more needs to be done? Kermilla frowned. What did that mean?
    “Fair enough,” Kenjim said.
    “Fair enough?” Kermilla stared at Kenjim in disbelief. Then she glared at the guard. “You won’t report to anyone. Grayhaven is Theran’s town.”
    “Last I heard, it was