The House Of Gaian

we join the ladies for some refreshments? Then you can tell me why you’re here.”
    Donovan looked back at the guard captain. The man said, “We’d prefer to stay out here, if it’s all the same to you.”
    Liam nodded. “Go on to the stables. You can feed and water the horses if you like.” He led the barons into the house while some of the guards took up a position in front of the house to watch the drive and the others took the horses and coaches to the stables.
    The refreshments were being set on a low table when the men entered the room. Now that the immediate crisis had passed, he realized he was still scared to the bone—and he knew why. So after inviting his guests to help themselves, he hustled Breanna out of the room, closing the door behind them.
    “Could you do that?” Liam asked urgently.
    “Leave guests to serve themselves?” Breanna replied. “Apparently, I can.”
    “No. Not that. Could you really summon a wind that could reach the sea?”
    She stared at him as if he’d just stripped off his clothes and started dancing on top of the refreshments. “
    Are you daft! Do you know how far that is?”
    Of course he did. That’s why it had scared him. “So what was that? A witch’s version of a pissing contest?”
    She pondered that before nodding. “Yes.”
    He closed his eyes.
    “Did you get the fire put out?” Breanna asked.
    “Most of it.”
    “That’s fine then. Come and have some tea. You look like you could use it.”
    Personally, he thought the men, at least, could all use a healthy dose of whiskey. Ah, well. He could serve that kind of refreshment later.

    “You did the right thing,” Donovan said two hours later, after Liam had told the other men how he’d been poisoned at his club, and how Padrick had intervened, not only saving him from the men who had been sent to kill him once the poison made him vulnerable but also getting him out of Durham—and getting him home. After he told them the contents of the letter his mother’s cousin had sent to her, revealing the truth about the “procedure” the eastern barons wanted performed on all women, the level of whiskey in the decanter dropped considerably.
    Liam shifted in his chair. The dining room didn’t have the most comfortable chairs, but it had the accommodation of the table that made it easier for the men to see each other as they talked. Besides, any other room would have made this conversation feel too informal.
    “I regret not being there for the vote,” Liam said, running a finger around the rim of his glass.
    Donovan shook his head. “Your absence—and Padrick’s— served better than your presence could have. Those two empty seats made too many barons nervous, especially after Hirstun said you must be too ashamed to show your face for the vote. Mother’s tits! Anyone slightly acquainted with you knew you’d show up for the vote after that speech you made, and if you didn’t, there would be a reason for it.
    When Padrick didn’t show up”— he shrugged, but he looked uncomfortable—“that told the rest of us how the western barons would vote, and we all knew we were no longer voting on the proposed decrees. East and west were now on opposing sides, and when the rest of us voted, we were indicating which side we were standing with.”
    Liam studied the other five men. “You all voted against the decrees.”
    “We wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t,” Donovan replied sharply. He raked his fingers through his hair, the gesture full of frustration. “All the midland barons voted against the decrees. So did most of the northern barons. The southern barons were almost equally divided. That isn’t the point.”
    “Then what is the point?”
    “The point is we’re going to war. The eastern barons are going to combine forces and gather arms and men, and it’s a good bet they’ll be supported by arms and men from Wolfram since that’s where the Inquisitors came from. The barons from Arktos might send even more men against us if the Black Coats have control of them as well. What have we got? Even if we use every guard from every village, it won’t be enough. Not if the eastern barons have Wolfram and Arktos fighting with them. Liam—” Donovan raked his fingers through his hair again—“things can be said on a journey that are confidential, and I’m not asking you to break another man’s trust. What I am asking ... There has to be a reason why the other western barons defer to Padrick. If