Sinful Promises

Disclaimer: I own none of the stuff that Merecedes Lackey owns. But I do own Maire and Madame Louisa and the girls and the tavern... and other things that are to come later but would spoil the plotline!

Chapter 2

" Madame Louisa?" Maire asked, peeking into the vernerable woman's offices.

" Yes, Maire, dear?" Madame Louisa stood up from her desk, looking like an older copy of Darcie, only taller and wider in the shoulders.

" Darcie and I wanted to go to the market today, to see if there was any new merchants and jewel-smiths." Maire ducked her head coyly, as they were often the scouts for such tasks as this. " I got word from Leo last night that a wagon train stopped in last night for reprovisions."

Madame Louisa smiled, nodding. " Take all afternoon, if you wish. I've got a meeting and I'd rather no one interrupt me. Spread the word to the other girls, as well."

Maire nodded and closed the door again, nodding at Darcie and Melana and Tourmaline. " We're in the clear."

Tourmaline sighed, shaking her red haired head. " Honestly, Maire, I never figure out how she doesn't smell your lies. She always sees right through mine." Her amber eyes shone with envy.

" One, I'm more believeable than you are." Maire joked. " And two, ye get this wrinkle in the middle of yer forehead every time you start fibbing. 'Tis easy to pick up on."

They laughed and Melana shooed them out past the common room to the open air outside. Maire sighed and took in a deep breath, smelling last night's rain on the wind. It was days like this, in the early spring, that she wanted to just sit outside all day long and smell the breeze to see what images it would conjure up in her head.

Melana and Tourmaline were two of the older girls, in their mid-twenties at least. Tourmaline looked it, as she'd had a hard working life before she had found respite in Madame Louisa's house, but Melana was a run away noble daughter, preserved in all her apparent innocence. The two were best friends, as different as day and night, but then again, the same thing could be said about her and Darcie.

" So, should we get breakfast at the Rampant Gryphon first or wait until afterwards?" Melana asked, fingering the small pouch her of her gold royals, her allowance from her family.

" I'm not feeling particularly hungry right now." Darcie said, her eyes sharply scanning the crowd, but for what, none of them knew. " I say afterwards, when our feet are weary and our stomachs cry out for rest and food."

" Almost poetic, Darcie." Maire said dryly, having heard some of her so called drivel.

" But it does sound like a good idea. We can always pick up something small on the way there, if we feel we must."

" Thank you, Maire." Melana smiled appreciatively, and they set off on thier way to the market.

" Maire, look, there's Leo!" Darcie whispered. " Wait, no, don't look!"

But it was too late, Maire had already looked. Leo was standing at one of the jewelers stands, tall and shining in the sun, as he always was. It was a familiar sight to see him smiling jovially, but the woman with him was not. Maire's hands clenched into fists and she stiffened her back, leaning over a bit to possibly hear what they were saying.

" Darling, it is too much, I could not possibly accept it." The woman said, but looked in the polished bronze plate as Leo held the necklace of gold and rubies to her neck.

" I'll show her too much." Maire said, starting forwards.

" Maire-" Melana started to catch her, but Tourmaline held her back.

" I know for sure that Leo told Madame Louisa that he was unmarried, and his heart was set on Maire." She said, a fire burning in her own eyes. " Let us see if this is what it seems, and then we shall move in."

Maire strolled up to the stand, pretending to have an eye for a sapphire and silver set of earrings, though she didn't have peirced ears. " How much is this set, m'lord?" She asked huskily, turning towards Leo, and then pretend shock registered on her face. " Leo, 'tis you!" She threw her arms around him.

Leo had a look of his own real shock and horror on his face, trying to act calm with Maire wrapped around him. Finally he got her away from him, though there was no amount of space that could have hid the look of utmost adoration and worship on her face.

" I missed ye dearly, this morning. Woke up and ye were gone." She shook her head.

" I keep telling ye that ye are more than welcome to spend the night, darling."

" Maire, I-uh-I-" Leo stammered, and the woman behind him pushed him aside, taking in the veiw of Maire, who was simpering and sighing at Leo.

" Who is this, Leo?" She asked coldly, her aquamarine eyes darting over Maire.

" Oh, are ye one of Leo's cousins?" Maire gushed. " Which one are ye? Ye've got the look of Amarie, the tall one who married the farmer last spring. But I could also be mistaking ye for Lara, though why ye'd be in Valdemar instead of Rethwellan, I've not a clue!" She laughed, latching onto Leo's arm.

" You must have me mistaken for someone else, dear." The look on the woman's face could have frozen a firestorm. " I'm Leo's wife, the Lady Roshya VanHorne."

Maire stopped for a moment, thinking if it was a name that she knew, but it wasn't. She spared a glance in Leo's direction. " Oh, so ye're the lovely one he runs off to after he's done seeing me. I must say, I don't blame him." Now there were daggers in Maire's voice, and Roshya looked like she didn't know what to do first, be offended at the fact that her husband had been seeing a brothel girl, or be offended that said brother girl had just propostioned her.

" Leo, we should leave." Roshya said, grabbing his arm. " Now."

Maire gave them a little wave as Roshya stiffly led Leo away. She returned to her girls, a tired look on her face. Darcie pulled her into a hug, stroking the length of her braid.

" My poor poppet, I'm so sorry." She said, kissing her cheek.

Maire laughed sharply. " Don't be, I'm fine." She brushed her lips against Darcie's cheek and accepted hugs from the rest of the girls. " I always did wonder how in the name of hell he could afford to come to me every night."

" On his wife's coffers, so it seems." Tourmaline said stiffly, as she didn't hold well with the men that visted the house to get away from their wives.

" Dears, such long faces." Melana said, turning them all away from the jewel stand and to a rich cloth merchant. " Come, let us focus on something more tasteful."

Maire agreed with her, as she had just seen a tasty peice of work across the way. Too dark to be Valdemaran, too shabbily dressed to be Shin'a'in. The bright green sash wrapped around his waist marked him for outlander, and the rakish grin he flashed in her direction told her 'traveler with some more coin to spend.'

" The one with the long black hair and jaunty chin?" Darcie asked out of the corner of her mouth, concentrating on a bolt of scarlett satin.

" Aye. Very much to me likin'." Maire said.

" Aww, I was going to head for him." Tourmaline said, but then smiled at Maire. " But seeing as the horrible ordeal you just went through, I'd say you're more than entitled to your first pick of the day. Go get him, girl."

Maire straightened her hair, pulled down her bodice a little and took a deep breath, sauntering on over to the rakish man who was looking at the vests.