gaudier than she liked, but for her purposes it would do nicely.
“All right, I’ll just have to put up with it,” she said with faint annoyance to the hovering landlord who had followed her to the door of the sitting room, making no effort to turn and look at the man. “Have that meal sent to me without delay, and don’t forget that I’m not here tonight if anyone comes looking for me. I’ve had a ghastly few days, and I need some peace and quiet with nothing in the way of disturbance.”
“Of course, Lady Eltrina, you may count on me as usual,” the landlord said smoothly, probably with a bow. “I’ll have the food brought to you as soon as it’s prepared, and in the meanwhile the tea in the service is fresh and hot. Thank you for gracing us again with your presence.”
Eltrina made some vague sound that apparently satisfied the man, as he quietly closed the door as he left. That was a great relief, as Eltrina was very tired of either standing in shadow or keeping her face turned away from people. There was only a single bruise on her face, but it wasn’t something one cared to advertise the presence of.
A deep sigh accompanied Eltrina’s careful lowering of herself into a chair, something she had to do even before she poured herself a cup of tea. She was still in pain, of course, thanks to her husband Grall and his beatings, not to mention the way he’d given her to every male servant in the house. Most of those peasants had been too nervous to do more than enter her before they lost control, but even so the time hadn’t been pleasant. But that very unpleasantness had been the key to her freedom, as one of those servants had been the kitchen boy who felt himself madly in love with her. She’d encouraged the boy’s feelings out of amusement, never dreaming at the time how important that childish love would turn out to be.
“Torlin, please help me!” she’d whispered when the boy had finally been allowed his turn, having no trouble making tears flow from her eyes. “He means to keep me like this until I die, which won’t be long in coming if I cannot regain my freedom. Give me your love one final time, to say goodbye if helping me escape is beyond you…”
“No, m’ lady, don’t say thet!” the boy had begged, tears in his own eyes. “I’ll help ya, ’r die in the tryin’!”
And so Torlin
had
helped her, sneaking back to untie her in mid afternoon, not long after Grall had left the house. She’d had trouble moving around, naturally, but hadn’t let the pain stop her from doing what was necessary. She’d crept up to her own apartment to dress, and after that had paid Grall’s apartment a visit. The man was a creature of habit, and so Eltrina knew that the first thing he would do when he returned would be to pour himself a drink from the excellent wine he kept only for himself in his sitting room. None of the servants was allowed to touch those bottles of wine, so he would serve himself. In the first glass coming to hand, which was also his habit…
“Which means that once he closes his eyes tonight, he’ll never open them again,” Eltrina murmured, delighting in the thought of that. She’d bought the poison she’d used quite some time ago, intending to employ it once she’d gained a high enough career position, but that time had never come. But the time to use the poison
had
come, and Eltrina had smeared it around the rim of the first glass of the small diamond arrangement of glasses Grall kept near the bottles of wine. He would drink from the glass and swallow the poison all unknowingly, and once he retired and fell asleep, the poison would slow his bodily processes to the point of death and then beyond. And then the poison would evaporate or something, she’d been assured, making it impossible for anyone to know it had ever been present. It was a tool of the great and powerful which she’d managed to wheedle out of an admirer, a tool which most people knew nothing
“All right, I’ll just have to put up with it,” she said with faint annoyance to the hovering landlord who had followed her to the door of the sitting room, making no effort to turn and look at the man. “Have that meal sent to me without delay, and don’t forget that I’m not here tonight if anyone comes looking for me. I’ve had a ghastly few days, and I need some peace and quiet with nothing in the way of disturbance.”
“Of course, Lady Eltrina, you may count on me as usual,” the landlord said smoothly, probably with a bow. “I’ll have the food brought to you as soon as it’s prepared, and in the meanwhile the tea in the service is fresh and hot. Thank you for gracing us again with your presence.”
Eltrina made some vague sound that apparently satisfied the man, as he quietly closed the door as he left. That was a great relief, as Eltrina was very tired of either standing in shadow or keeping her face turned away from people. There was only a single bruise on her face, but it wasn’t something one cared to advertise the presence of.
A deep sigh accompanied Eltrina’s careful lowering of herself into a chair, something she had to do even before she poured herself a cup of tea. She was still in pain, of course, thanks to her husband Grall and his beatings, not to mention the way he’d given her to every male servant in the house. Most of those peasants had been too nervous to do more than enter her before they lost control, but even so the time hadn’t been pleasant. But that very unpleasantness had been the key to her freedom, as one of those servants had been the kitchen boy who felt himself madly in love with her. She’d encouraged the boy’s feelings out of amusement, never dreaming at the time how important that childish love would turn out to be.
“Torlin, please help me!” she’d whispered when the boy had finally been allowed his turn, having no trouble making tears flow from her eyes. “He means to keep me like this until I die, which won’t be long in coming if I cannot regain my freedom. Give me your love one final time, to say goodbye if helping me escape is beyond you…”
“No, m’ lady, don’t say thet!” the boy had begged, tears in his own eyes. “I’ll help ya, ’r die in the tryin’!”
And so Torlin
had
helped her, sneaking back to untie her in mid afternoon, not long after Grall had left the house. She’d had trouble moving around, naturally, but hadn’t let the pain stop her from doing what was necessary. She’d crept up to her own apartment to dress, and after that had paid Grall’s apartment a visit. The man was a creature of habit, and so Eltrina knew that the first thing he would do when he returned would be to pour himself a drink from the excellent wine he kept only for himself in his sitting room. None of the servants was allowed to touch those bottles of wine, so he would serve himself. In the first glass coming to hand, which was also his habit…
“Which means that once he closes his eyes tonight, he’ll never open them again,” Eltrina murmured, delighting in the thought of that. She’d bought the poison she’d used quite some time ago, intending to employ it once she’d gained a high enough career position, but that time had never come. But the time to use the poison
had
come, and Eltrina had smeared it around the rim of the first glass of the small diamond arrangement of glasses Grall kept near the bottles of wine. He would drink from the glass and swallow the poison all unknowingly, and once he retired and fell asleep, the poison would slow his bodily processes to the point of death and then beyond. And then the poison would evaporate or something, she’d been assured, making it impossible for anyone to know it had ever been present. It was a tool of the great and powerful which she’d managed to wheedle out of an admirer, a tool which most people knew nothing
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