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“Lord Orthallen, I need some advice.”
Orthallen eyed the newly elected Speaker for the East. “Of course, Lady Wyrist. What can I do for you?”
“Well, the Holderkin are in my territory, and I'm not sure how to handle them, since from what I hear, they won't respect me because I'm a woman.”
“That is true,” Orthallen said. “When do you next need to make an inspection of their lands?”
“I’m supposed to leave in a week. How am I supposed to make them work with me?”
It was a marvelous opportunity, really. Help the new member of Council and gain an ally. “I’ll go with you,” Orthallen offered. “I’m sure that I can help you gain their respect.”
***
It had seemed such a simple plan, really. But now Wyrist was laughing at him as they returned to Haven. “Her Majesty is going to never let you hear the end of this.”
Orthallen glanced over at the sixteen-year-old girl sitting next to Wyrist, looking incredibly frightened. “I hardly think this is something to laugh about.” Not that he was fully concerned about the girl. No, his political reputation was at stake. Here he was, a man in his fifties, suddenly with a young wife barely old enough to consent by Valdemar’s laws.
Not that she had consented. Nor had he, to tell the truth.
***
The Holderkin were so puritanical. Elder Mills had ignored Wyrist while working to impress Orthallen. But there had been nothing more than weak tea. So, Orthallen had discreetly sipped wine he had brought along in a flask.
But he had brought a stronger wine and drunk too much, loosening his lips. Speaking alone with Mills, he had started talking about how Selenay did nothing without his advice, how he was the power behind the throne.
And then Mills had opened up about his own problem with one of his daughters. “She was late in blossoming. She is sixteen, nearly seventeen, and just now fully developed, but she is too old, and no men will take her to wife, even with four fields as a dowry.”
Orthallen looked at the girl in question. The girl, Savia, was cleaning in a corner, obediently doing nothing but what chore she had been assigned. “I find that hard to believe. She's a beauty, and it is my understanding that your girls are well trained to cook, clean, sew, weave, spin, and even some medicinal herbs. I must confess, I find that most admirable, and she should be considered a prize, and at her age, she should be better able to bear healthy sons.”
“You would take her, then?” Mills asked.
“I could find a place for her in my household quickly enough with her abilities,” Orthallen replied.
Mills appeared to think this over. “It is a disgrace to have to shun a child, even a daughter, and send her out of our community, but a bigger disgrace to have a daughter so old and yet neither married nor in the temple. So be it. I give her to you. She is yours. When you leave, she shall go with you.”
“Now, about Lady Wyrist,” Orthallen said. “She likely won't be down often. There is far too much business in Haven. But she will still be speaking for your people. I have a compromise to present to you and the other Elders in the morning. If we can come to an agreement, and quickly, we will leave the day after.”
***
And that had been that. Orthallen had awakened the next day to a splitting headache and Savia there with willow bark tea, calling him “Honored Husband.” And Orthallen couldn't explain to her what he had meant without losing his grip on Mills, and thus the Elders, and thus losing Wyrist as an ally.
But he had arranged for Wyrist to send a male representative when she needed to check in on the Holderkin, one who Orthallen would make sure to educate in Holderkin ways. And Savia had asked no questions and said not a word when he did not bed her, likely assuming that the fault was all her own.
It really wasn't.
But he really needed a solution.
If nothing else, he could install her as a maid or a cook or something until he found her… Found her what? A husband? She would never accept anything but that he was her husband. So he would make her accept it. “Savia, I want you to listen to me and listen well.”
For the first time, Savia put her head up. “Yes, Husband?”
She really did look eager to please. Orthallen ignored Wyrist’s smirk and chose his words carefully. “You must know that it was not my intention to wed you, and you most certainly did not choose me. That means we are not properly wed. There was no ceremony and neither of us promised the other anything by way of vows. Therefore, the marriage is not valid.”
“Then why have you taken me with you?” Savia asked.
“Because it was better than upsetting your father. Instead, I will have you educated. You will live with Lady Wyrist so as to protect your honor, and you will learn to read, to write, to do your sums, at the very minimum. And then, depending on the results of that, I will either sponsor you at court or I will find you a position as a lady’s maid or something. Do you understand?”
Wyrist wasn't smirking anymore. But what choice did she have in the matter? Wyrist owed him. For that matter, Savia now owed him and, if he could position her correctly…
Yes. He could see it now. She could be very useful within the royal household, not to Selenay and to him. After all, Mills had assured him that she was very good at being quiet unless spoken to, at not being noticed unless needed.
Well, this may just work out after all.