to see me attired as for the battlefield. How dull it sounds. I would much rather ride to the horns with my sword swinging in defense of my lands. I hoped I would do that someday. He prefers I let my generals do it.”
“Battle is its own kind of dull, my lady,” Jess said, pulling the last of the golden strands free. “Lord Matew’s people have done well warring only with words and bargains instead of steel. They have prospered in a difficult situation.”
“But I know the tedium of court,” Caitlin complained. She smoothed her dress of the rarest celestial blue, an odd undergown to wear with chainmail. “I would like some excitement before I am married. I love books and learning and music as much as he does, truly! Ah, well, but I wanted to try on my armor just one more time.”
Jess sympathized. In a way, it was an odd match. Kalb De lay in a flat and fertile plain. The lands grew bountiful crops if one so much as whispered the word “seed” to the soil. Because the land was so open, a strong defensive force needed to be maintained. She was proud to have been a recruit since she was old enough to swing a mace. By contrast, mountainous Rocky Ford had to import a lot of the staple foods the country relied upon. It lay just across the wild Ayla Noise River from the Grand Duchy of Kalb De. It was a land with many strange customs that had grown up because of its position at the crossroads between several countries. The capital city lay many miles inland, along a branch of the river flowing down from the sheer Kanka Key Mountains where giant grasshoppers threatened the passes. The ways were heavily guarded, so as to give safe passage to merchants and other travelers.
Matew’s parents, Baron and Baroness Ferio, were known as scholars and traders of note. Matew himself was a Doctor of Letters. There had not been a war in their small nation of Rocky Ford for twelve generations, but stirrings along their borders had made them seek out an alliance with a larger and more powerful country. Kalb De would welcome additions to its culture, and offer prosperity to its new province. As a sign of trust, the archduke and archduchess had traveled with their entourage to the Rocky Ford capital to sign the marriage treaty. Lord Matew was traveling in the opposite direction, coming to Kalb De to spend that time with his bride to be, the first time they would meet in person, though they had corresponded by messenger constantly since the match was proposed, seven months back. The mistress-of-arms had been left in charge of the castle, and would guard it well until the archduke and archduchess came home again.
Jess sat Caitlin down at the oval looking glass. It was magical, as were many of the young duchess’s possessions. Jess’s reflection showed her the right way to braid the girl’s hair in the latest fashion. When she faltered, the reflection undid the mirror image Caitlin’s hair again and again until Jess saw her mistake and got it right. Caitlin watched for a while, then played with the ivory miniature of Lord Matew in its frame of pearls. He was not the handsomest man ever, Jess thought, with his heavy brow ridge and large jaw, but the deepset blue eyes were drawn with a twinkle that the artist had managed to capture with love as well as skill.
“Won’t you rule over all when the time comes?” Jess asked. “It is your choice whether to be a warrior, or a diplomat, or both. That is the truth. He needs to accept who you are.”
“I want him to be happy here,” Caitlin said, with a kind look that reminded Jess of her noble mother’s gentle face. “I will rule, but I want him to be my partner, not my chattel. He must not feel that too much is being forced upon him all at once. It will be a great change for all of us, but more for him than for me. I am not having to move from my home. He is.”
“You are wise for your years, mistress,” Jess said with a rush of warmth. “Well, let’s get you ready to see him.”
“Mistress Caitlin?”
They both turned at the sound of Uthbridge’s voice. The wizard had grown wand-thin over the years. He could still climb the impossible staircase to his remote tower, but