A/N: Thanks, guys, for all the reviews! I've been dealing with midterms and haven't had much time to work on this. I appreciate the reminder to update, however (DarkAutumnLeaves) :-) Time just passes, and I don't realize how long it's been!

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Chapter 13

I slept very little that night, in spite of the fact that there was nothing I could actually do about the fact that Orthallen had been in my house. But the questions just would not leave me alone. How did he get here? Was Nestor involved in the plot against Elspeth? How long ago had it been since he'd been here? Where was he now?

As soon as the first rays of the sun crept in my window, I rose, careful not to awaken Lucia, who hadn't wanted to sleep by herself, and made my way over to the desk. I took a sheet of paper and my own pen and began to compose a letter to Selenay, telling her what little I knew. As I finished, I could hear the servants stirring, getting ready for a new day.

It was going to be a long day, I knew, and the sooner I prepared for it, the better it would be. I did not want to dress up, but I knew that Treven was right. I had to establish my authority before I relaxed it, even in the form of my dress.

Shrugging into the simplest of the gowns I owned, I made my way downstairs just as Ila was passing by.

"Good morning, Ila," I said.

"Good morning, m'Lady," she replied.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked.

Ila nearly sighed with satisfaction. "Aye, m'Lady. And you?"

I decided it would not do to let her know about my sleepless musings, so I only smiled back. "The bed was very comfortable," I replied. And it was.

"And the little m'lady?" Ila asked.

"She still sleeping," I said. "I expect we'll hear from her soon, however."

"Aye, m'Lady. If you'll excuse me, I'll be seeing to breakfast."

"Of course, Ila. Thank you." I stepped off the bottom stair and made my way to the dining room. I was surprised to find that Treven was already there, working on a cup of tea. He glanced up at me as I entered the room.

"Morning." He looked at me more carefully. "By the One! Jaelle, did you sleep?"

I shook my head, suddenly aware of the omnipresence of servant ears, even when they couldn't been seen. "Shall we go check on the Companions before breakfast?"

Treven was clever enough to understand my meaning, and he immediately rose. "Good idea," he said.

He followed me out of the dining room and we headed for the door. I saw Elsa and told her where we were going and that we might take the Companions for a brief ride before breakfast, and asked her to tell Ila. She agreed, and we left the house.

We walked together in silence until we reached the stables. Treven seemed content to wait for me to speak, but I didn't feel comfortable until we were out of earshot of the stables.

"No, to answer your question," I began, "I didn't sleep."

"What happened?" Treven asked.

I told him of the incident with the servants the night before. "As I was going up to bed, I heard Kae say to Elsa that they hadn't had anyone sleep in those rooms since Orthallen was there."

Landon stopped short in his trot, as did Althea.

:Orthallen: they both cried in unison.

"Are you certain, Jaelle?" Treven asked.

"Yes, I am certain," I replied. "I know what I heard." I reached down and brushed a twig from Landon's mane. "I've heard of this man. He's been wanted by the Crown since Elspeth was a child. I've written a letter to Selenay, telling her what I know."

"He's the most wanted man in Valdemaran history," Treven said. He mused in silence for a while. "What was he doing here? Was Nestor involved in the plot all those years ago?"

"Be careful," I warned. "Those kind of questions will keep you up at night."

Treven shook himself from his musings and turned to me. "You be careful, Jaelle. You don't know if the servants are involved in this. You could get into serious trouble if you go asking the wrong questions to the wrong person."

"Don't worry about me," I said.

He moved Althea around Landon to face me, so close that our left knees were touching. "Well, I do worry about you. I have to leave you today, and I don't know when I'll see you again."

My breath caught in my throat at his words. Neither of us had really expressed how we felt, and being so busy, I hadn't really thought about it—

:Perhaps you should: Landon suggested.

I had no time to contemplate his words. Treven leaned in and kissed me, taking away what little breath I had left.

"Don't do anything stupid," he said, pulling away. "If Alberich is concerned, it's probably for a good reason."

"You're one to talk, circuit-rider," I replied with a smirk.

"I'm serious, Jaelle."

I reached out to touch his cheek. "So am I. Besides, Alberich is sending someone here to continue training me—all of us, really."

He kissed me again. "Just be careful."

"I will," I replied. "I don't suppose you could Truth Spell all the servants before you leave?"

"No," Treven said, "not without raising suspicions."

:I might be able to help: Landon said. :Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't think of invading someone's mind, but if the servants have knowledge of Orthallen, we need to know without risking exposure to ourselves.:

"Landon may be right," Treven said. "I'm glad you'll be together—for a while, at least. You may want to hold off on sending that letter to Selenay until you find out a little more."

I nodded. "Probably wise." I looked at my watch. "We should be getting back. Breakfast should be ready, and Lucia will probably be up."

The Companions trotted back and we left them in the able care of Jahn and returned to the house. Lucia was just beginning to stir, Ila told me, so I went upstairs and helped her dress and by the time we came back downstairs, breakfast was ready.

We ate in somewhat of a hurry. There was too much to do to dawdle. Treven was leaving later that morning, and he was going to Three Rivers. I wanted to give him the list of supplies that the estate was going to need. I had everything written down for the families, but I still needed to ascertain what the servants and the house needed.

After breakfast, Treven went upstairs with the men to see what exactly they would need to remodel the servants' quarters and the stables. I stayed downstairs with the women to determine how many bolts of cloth we would need for clothes, leather for shoes and boots, and what we needed for food supplies. Lucia was amusing herself by exploring the house.

It was nearing lunchtime and we were almost finished. I wouldn't have even noticed the time except that there was a knock at the door. Elsa went to answer it and returned to the Great Room a moment later with a man in tow.

If I didn't know better, I would have sworn that Alberich's twin was standing in front of me. I rose to greet the strange man.

"I am Lady Jaelle," I said. "May I help you?"

"My name is Marin," he said, bowing, though it was clear that he wasn't used to doing so on a regular basis. Of course, neither was I. "Alberich sent me."

I smiled. He certainly didn't waste any time in sending him. "I've been expecting you. Thank you for coming so soon." I turned to the women there, who were all staring at the newcomer. "Marin is here to train us in weaponswork."

There was stunned silence.

"All of us, m'Lady?" Ila finally asked.

"Yes, Ila," I replied. "All of us."

The women just blinked at each other and then at me.

I tried unsuccessfully to hide my smile at the stunned expressions on their faces, and motioned for Marin to precede me out of the room. "I'll show you to your quarters."

He did not reply, but once we were out of the room and far enough away from the servants, he turned to me as we walked towards the staircase. "You should not allow your servants to permit strangers to enter your house, Lady Jaelle. Nor should you have accepted my story without asking for a letter of reference. How do you know that I am who I say I am?"

I was stung by his reprimand, but then annoyed. Was I to be suspicious of everyone? Could I trust no one? In the books, I knew that Kero had taught Elspeth to think that way, but I wasn't the heir.

:He's right, though: Landon said, nearly startling me. Not being able to sense his presence in my mind, I couldn't tell when he was "listening in" or not. :Sorry. I forgot to tell you I was here: he continued. :But he is right. You may not be the heir, but Alberich seems to think you need protecting. Marin is only doing what he should be doing.:

A heavy sigh escaped from my lips. I hated it when he was right.

I turned to Marin. "Forgive me. One of the Companions was talking to me." We approached the staircase. "I will concede your point, but must I be suspicious of everyone?"

"Until the danger that Alberich seems to sense passes, it would be wise to do so," he replied, and then looked at me. "And still, you have done nothing to verify my identity."

I opened my mouth to reply, but then saw Treven approach the top of the staircase. Very well, then, I thought, folding my arms across my chest. If he wants me to do something... "Herald Treven," I called. "Please come down here."

Treven raised an eyebrow at my use of his formal title, but he only started down the stairs.

I waited until he was near the bottom before I continued. "I want you to put a second-stage Truth Spell on this man." I shot Marin a glance, but he didn't even flinch at my announcement.

Treven's eyes widened. "Jaelle, I–"

"Just do it," I said.

His eyes unfocused for a moment and I guessed he was talking to Althea. Then, with a slight shrug, he murmured something indistinct and a moment later, a blue glow appeared around Marin's head.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Marin," he replied.

"Why are you here?"

"Alberich sent me to train the household in weaponswork."

"Are you here to cause harm to anyone?" I asked.

"No," he replied.

I nodded to Treven and he banished the spell. "What was that all about?" he asked.

Marin looked at me. "Well done, my Lady, but you won't always have a Herald around to help you."

"What's going on?" Treven demanded, and by his irritated tone, I knew I had best answer him.

"Marin was chiding me on allowing him into the house without verifying who he was," I reported.

"Ahh," Treven replied, nodding thoughtfully. "Good," he pronounced, and rather forcefully, too.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "If you'll follow me, sir," I said to Marin, pointedly ignoring Treven, "I'll show you to your rooms." I slipped by Treven on the stairs, and led the way to the second floor. "Where are your things?" I asked.

"Outside," Marin answered.

"I'll have one of the men help you bring them up to your rooms," I said as we reached the top of the stairs.

"Do you have a salle?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Lord Nestor had little use for arms training, I'm afraid." We made our way down the hall. "I am sending an order to Three Rivers for supplies today, however. If you can tell me what you will need, I can add that to our list."

"I will need to see the grounds first," Marin said, "before I can determine what I will need, so you may not wish to wait for me."

"As you wish," I said, stopping in front of a door. "These will be your rooms." I had decided to put him in the suites next to mine. One couldn't be too careful. I opened the door and preceded him into the outer room. Everything was freshly laundered and had a clean, crisp smell to it. "Are they acceptable?" I asked, turning to him.

"Quite," he said, giving it a close, careful scrutiny. If he were like any of the weaponsmaster characters in the books, I suspected he was assessing its tactical strengths and weaknesses.

Well, I thought, that's what he's being paid for, I suppose. Which reminds me...

"I can show you the privy and bathing rooms," I said, "and then we can discuss the payment for your services." I had asked Treven about appropriate payment on our way up here, not knowing a thing about it myself.

Marin nodded, and once those things were taken care of, I returned downstairs to find Treven waiting for me.

"I must go," he said.

I felt my heart sink.

"I have the lists of supplies from both the women and the men, and the list you drew up yesterday for the families. I'll drop them off at the proper places once I get to Three Rivers."

"Thank you," I said, and felt the lump in my throat close out any other words.

"Walk me to the stables?" he asked.

I nodded, and we left the house. He took my hand in his as we silently made our way around the house. Althea was saddled and waiting for him when we got to the stables. Jahn finished adjusting the bridle.

"Thank you, Jahn," Treven said.

Jahn just gave a curt nod and left us alone.

"How long will you be gone?" I asked Treven as he proceeded to double check Jahn's work.

"A few months," he answered, tugging on the saddle. He seemed to be pleased with Jahn's skills and turned to me. "But it's nearly autumn, and winter comes early. If I'm caught in some storms, it may be longer."

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Please be careful," I whispered. He was going to be spending a few weeks in Sorrows, but not the Sorrows I knew. There was no Vanyel here to send him food if he should be trapped. No one to keep the trees from destroying his Waystation should there be a storm.

"I will," he murmured into my hair.

I held back tears, and was amazed with myself that I needed to. Were my feelings really so strong? I would never have thought that it would have been so hard to say goodbye.

"Will you write?" I asked, pulling away and dabbing at my moist eyes.

"Of course," he replied. "I also wrote down where we would be and approximately when, so you can write to me ahead of time and send the letters to the towns and I'll get them when I get there."

"I'll do that," I said.

He smiled, and then leaned in and kissed me for a long moment.

"I think I—" he began and then stopped, as if unsure of his words.

"What? You think what?" I prompted. Something deep inside me told me that he was going to tell me he loved me, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear that or not.

The moment passed, however. "I think I should go now," he said. He swung up into the saddle, and Althea seemed to give a little jarring kick before settling down.

Part of me was frustrated. But part of me was relieved as well. I didn't even know what I felt, to say nothing of being prepared to deal with his feelings.

"Be careful," I said.

"Tell Lucia goodbye for me."

I nodded. He held my eyes for a long moment, and then Althea trotted away. I felt a presence behind me and turned to find Landon standing there.

"I didn't think it was going to be so hard," I said.

:You'll soon be so busy, the time will fly and he'll be back before you know it.:

"For what?" I asked, watching their figures grow smaller in the distance, the tears filling my eyes. "Another day or two? And then back to Haven, or off on another circuit?" I turned back to Landon. "I can't afford to fall in love with him, Landon! I can't! I can't live like that!"

He stepped closer and rubbed my cheek with his nose. :Nor can you afford to suppress your heart: he said. :It's not easy for Treven either, you know. He didn't want to leave.:

I just sighed and brushed the tears away. I felt a headache coming on, one I doubted would go away soon. "I just need a good night's sleep," I said.

:Why don't you go rest: Landon suggested, nudging me with his nose in the direction of the house. :There's not much more you can do now anyway, not until the supplies arrive.:

He was right, I supposed. Lunch and a nap might do me some good. I nodded and kissed his nose. "Call me if you need anything," I said. "And feel free to hang around in my mind. Maybe you can make sense of all the insanity up there."

He whickered a laugh, which made me smile in return, and we parted company. Marin was strolling around and surveying the grounds, and Ila was getting lunch ready when I returned to the house. Lucia was still off playing somewhere in the house, so I set about to find her.

As I walked down the hall, however, I saw a door I had never noticed before. Curious, I went over to it just as Tera, one of the older female servants, was passing by. I stopped her.

"Tera, what room is this?" I asked, reaching for the knob.

"Oh, that was the master's study," she said in hushed tones. "No one was ever allowed in there."

That brought me up short. "Has no one been in here, then?" I asked. "Even after he died?"

Tera's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no, my Lady! Lord Nestor threatened to beat us if we so much as touched the knob!" Her voice dropped and she drew closer. "We've all been scared to go near it, even after he died. He spent most of his days in that room, and we don't know but his ghost haunts it."

"His ghost?" I said. "Nonsense." I reached out and grabbed the knob and turned it, pushing the door in.

It opened.

It was dark inside and musty smelling. "Are there windows in this room?" I asked.

"Aye, my Lady," Tera said, staying well away from the open door, but peeking curiously inside all the same.

My eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and I could make out some filtered sunlight peeking out from behind what had to be curtains. I moved slowly through the room, careful not to run into any furniture. I reached the windows and threw back the drapes, blinking in the sudden sunlight.

I turned around and gasped.

It was a library. There was a large desk, cluttered with papers, and a fireplace near one end, and several chairs, tables, and comfortable-looking couches scattered about the room, but most of the room was taken up with floor-to-ceiling shelves of books.

"I think I'm in heaven," I murmured to myself. So many books! And all mine now!

:If this was his study: Landon cut in, :and he never let anyone inside, he may very well have left some kind of information on Orthallen being here. And who knows what other secrets he might be hiding.:

"You're right," I whispered, looking over the place with renewed interest, my headache and hunger forgotten. I could hear Landon chuckling in the back of my mind. I was on a mission.

Tera had gathered enough courage to step inside the room, which, as I gave it a careful scrutiny, was filthy with dust and dirt. By now, several of the other servants were also crowded around, curiously peeking inside a room that had before been forbidden to them.

"Tera," I said, "please tell Ila that I shall take my lunch in here. I want to clean this room from top to bottom."

"Yes, my Lady," she said, curtseying.

"And tell her that if she'll please give Lucia her lunch, I'd appreciate it." I looked at the other women who had crowded around. "After you eat your lunch, and if you have no chores to attend to, I'd appreciate some help."

They looked at each other and then back at me, and then they all broke into a spontaneous chorus of "I'll help, my Lady!"

I smiled at their enthusiasm and accepted their offers and went to change my clothes. If I was going to do this, I was absolutely not going to do it in a gown, protocol be hanged. I shrugged out of my dress and into my jeans and a t-shirt, put my hair up into a ponytail, and went back to the study.

I gathered all of the papers on the desk into one neat pile and set them aside. I would go through them later. Ila came in a moment later with a tray of food, which she nearly dropped when she saw my drastic change of attire.

I smiled sympathetically. "These are much more suited to cleaning than a gown."

She set the tray down on a table and stared at me. "What are they? I've never seen anything like that."

"Do you know that I'm not from your world?" I asked.

Ila was silent for a moment. "We'd heard rumors, my Lady, but it all seemed so fantastic, we didn't really believe them. But—"

I smiled at her. "It's true. I'm not from your world."

At that point, Lucia came flying in, followed by most of the female servants. I gathered her up into a hug and while we ate lunch, I told the women how I came to be here, and how I acquired Lucia and my new rank as Lady.

We set about to working after that, sweeping and washing the floor, cleaning the furniture and dusting the shelves, though not exactly in that order. The dust was so thick in the air that Lucia left the room, and we ended up opening the windows in order to keep from sneezing all the time.

We were hard at work, and nearly finished, when the sun was setting and Elsa came to the door.

"My Lady, there is a lady Healer here to see you."

I dropped the rag back into the bucket of water and rose, stretching sore muscles. I had forgotten that Three Rivers had sent a Healer that morning. Mindful of Marin's rebuke, however, I sent Elsa to obtain some documentation from the Healer. She returned with an official letter from the House of Healing in Three Rivers, witnessed by one Herald Vina.

:It sounds safe to me: Landon said, "reading" the letter, so to speak, as the words of it went through my mind. :It seems like a standard official letter, and I haven't heard word from Vina's Cheston that anything went awry with sending the Healer.:

Good enough for me. "Send her in," I told Elsa.

She returned a moment later with a young woman who was dressed in Greens. I went over to her and handed her back her letter. "I'm Lady Jaelle," I said. "Please pardon my lack of formal attire, but we've been cleaning."

The young woman smiled. "I'm Healer Alana, and I understand the necessity of function over frills. How can I help you?"

I offered her a seat and told her of the families on the estate. Several times in the telling, she shook her head in disgust. "How would you like to handle this?" I asked. "You must be tired from your journey. Would you like something to eat? I can show you to your room if you'd like." At the mention of food, my stomach growled. I'd worked up an appetite that afternoon.

Alana nodded. "I'd appreciate that. I had to do an emergency Healing this morning, and haven't had time to really replenish my energy. If I could eat and get some sleep, I'll be ready to go first thing in the morning."

"Of course," I said. I turned to Kae. "Will you show her to her room? It's the one across from Marin's."

"Yes, my Lady," she replied, and led the young Healer from the study.

"I'll find out from Sara how long it will be until dinner," Ila said, and she set about giving instructions to the rest of the servants on removing the rags brooms and buckets from the room.

I closed the windows and, once the servants were gone, fell exhausted into a chair.

:So how was your first full day as Lady: Landon asked.

"I want to go to bed," I stated.

I heard him laugh in my mind. :It will get better. You'll get into a routine soon enough.:

"Do me a favor, will you?" I asked, looking about the library. "Find out what people know about Nestor and Orthallen. It may be nothing, especially given how secretive he was, but the sooner we know something, the better."

:I'll start on it tomorrow: he replied. :I'll come around the house more. You might want to "encourage" the servants to come visit me as well. It's easier for me to read them if they're touching me.:

"I'll do that," I said. I looked around the room once more, my eyes falling on the stack of papers Nestor had left. "I have a feeling I'm going to find out more than I ever wanted to know about Lord Nestor and his friends."

:Funny: Landon replied. :I have that feeling, too.:

I suddenly realized that I was no longer hungry anymore.