She took the cup from his outstretched hands. "What's your name?"

"Daynen, my lady."

232.

"Are you Eddoc's son?"

He laughed at this. "No, my lady. My father works the farm by the hill north of the village. When I lost my sight, he begged the lord to take me, because I was no use to him on the farm and he could not feed me."

Grace's jaw dropped. A man would cast his son out just because he went blind? But she shouldn't have been surprised. She knew the rules of this world, and they were harsh ones. Love was a luxury, not a necessity.

She started to speak, but Kalleth stepped into the 227.

"This way," Kalleth said without preamble.

Durge entered at that moment, and together the travelers followed Jastar. Now that Grace could get a clear look at the reeve, she saw he was a plain man: short and sturdy with a pockmarked face, just like most men on this world. He wore a tunic and hose of forest colors, with a brown gorget around his neck, the hood pushed back. By the sour odor he exuded, bathing was not as frequent here in the hinterlands as it was in Calavere. However, his face was cheerful if homely, and his bow and gesture for them to follow were polite, although Grace caught the trembling of his hand.

Poor man. This is probably the first time in his life that a baroness has come to stay at this manor, and here his lord is away.They followed the reeve up a flight of steps to the second story and found themselves in a hall that ran the length of the manor, doors on either side.

"This is your room, Sir Knights," ^astar said to Durge and Meridar, pausing before a door. He moved on, then gestured to another door. "And 233 I hope this chamber will please the ladies. It is the largest in the house."

As Grace followed down the hall a fly buzzed past her face, and she caught a whiff of a putrid scent. She wrinkled her nose and batted the fly away.

"There is a foul humor on the air," Durge said to lastar.

The reeve spread his arms in apology. "I fear the cook allowed a joint of meat to spoil in the kitchen, my lord. I am having difficulty purging the bad air from the house."

"I hope he had an easier time purging the bad cook," Lirith murmured.

Aryn moved to a door across the hall. "What of this room, reeve?" T'1,^ ---.- _--.----i ;/t/-- -r--;-] ---- 1--1-- i.1. .^ 1__.

228 mark anthony some trick of halls and angles the odor is strongest there, in Lord Eddoc's chamber."

Aryn hurried away from the closed door, then bent her head toward Grace.

"I hope for the reeve's sake that the air clears before his lord's return."

Grace could only nod as she concentrated on breathing through her mouth.

The knights retreated into their chamber and the women into theirs. The room was large, as promised, and surprisingly clean and odor-free. There was one large bed with a straw-tick mattress, which Lirith said she would share with Aryn, and a smaller cot, which would be Grace's. An oiled parchment window was shut tightly, and every few seconds it glowed with a flash of lightning. The rafters above creaked from the wind, but there was still no sound of rain. The storm was all heat and energy with no release. Grace hoped it would pass soon.

After a short while Durge came to the door to see if they were well settled. Before Grace could answer, Daynen appeared in the door behind 234 the knight.

"Forgive me," he said, gazing with blind eyes, "but the reeve asked me to tell you that supper has been set on the board."

By the time the women and Durge reached the manor's main hall, Kalleth and Meridar were already there, along with Jastar. They sat on benches at a well-worn table, and the reeve offered them a meal of bread, cold venison, cheese, and dried fruit with cream. It was simple enough, but Grace had had far worse meals. Apparently the cook had mended her ways.

Jastar was pleasant, if dull, company. He inquired after their journey, but he did not ask for details;Grace knew that, in the Dominions, a common man did not question the motives of nobles. Throughout the meal the reeve sweated profusely, until his tunic 229.

with knights and ladies was not something the man was accustomed to. But he performed well enough, and Grace hoped they'd be able to relay a message to Eddoc saying this. She felt bad for imposing on the poor reeve.

As they finished, Daynen entered the room to begin clearing plates.

Grace watched him work, amazed at how few mistakes the boy made despite his disability. Then another, smaller figure caught Grace's attention.

She slipped into the room as quietly as a shadow: a girl of no more than seven years. A sleeveless gray shift was her only garment, and her feet and thin, freckled arms were bare. A cascade of flame-red hair hid much of her face and tumbled over her shoulders. She started to help Daynen gather plates, and Grace stared, although she was unsure why. Something about the girl demanded her attention.

235.

"What's your name?" she said, as the girl took the cup in front of her.

The girl only shook her head, her face cast downward, and clutched the cup. Grace glanced at Daynen, then realized he could not see her questioning look. However, he must have sensed the pause and answered anyway.

"Her name is Tira. She can't talk."

Grace absorbed this information, then leaned forward in her chair.

"Hello," she said. "My name is Grace."

Still the girl did not look up. Grace reached out, cupped her hand under the girl's chin, and gently lifted her face. The child's fiery hair fell to one side. Grace nodded; she had expected something like this.

The left side of the girl's face was remarkably pretty: pale, smooth, delicately formed. The right, however, was covered with tight rivulets of scar tissue. These dragged down the corner of her mouth, and kc.,- """ A-^^--^A ,.,;