Eventually we came upon a sizable city called Helmfirth. It was the capital of the Duchy of Trent, through which we’d apparently been passing since our exit from the Dreadwood Forest. Well, de jure, Trent contained the forest, but none were willing to live there.

I didn’t blame them.

Timoth's reasons for taking the Dreadwood Forest road soon became evident as we strolled deeper into the Trent city centre. This was an old city, perhaps as old as Haelling Cove, and adequately maintained stone structures predominated the further into the city we walked. There were markets as at Trackford, but there were also towering statutes of ancient horsemen, meticulously kept botanical gardens, and above all, a castle.

As in Haelling Cove, the city lay outside the castle walls, which were significantly higher than those of my hometown. We preferred not to venture inside the bailey: after the excitement of Trackford and the altercation with Khad we were disinclined to seek out the Trent nobility, but as Cha would have it, word reached them of our presence.

We trudged the streets with two riderless horses in tow, looking for a low profile inn for the night when we were approached by a half dozen horsemen streaming from the castle gate. Four of them were clearly soldiers, and the other two were silk-clad noblemen. All wore green and black, which I gathered to be the colours of the House of Trent.

'Count and Countess of Ebonreach, welcome to Helmfirth,' the eldest noble said. He was in his fifties, slightly older than Father by the look of his drooping cheeks and receding hairline. 'I am Duke Wiseria of the House Crower, and I rule the counties from the Dreadwood Forest to the Mountain Duchy. This is my son, Duke Wilbern.'

Timoth kicked his horse forward to shake their hands. I moved Lilac closer but did not deign to touch them.

'I am Count Timoth Tfaeller, and this is Countess Saemara,' he said, gesturing at me as if there was some other noblewoman nearby they might have mistaken me for. I smiled pleasantly in my practised manner.

'You shall stay in the keep tonight,' Wiseria declared. 'If I had known of your coming in advance, I would have prepared a great feast.'

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. The last thing I wanted was another Trackford.

Though I did want to try my hand at getting to know the Dukes. The young one, Wilbern, his father had called him, was fairly handsome, in a boyish sort of way. He had steel grey eyes and a thick mop of hair that looked to be rather unruly.

Yet, when he smiled at me, he bared his teeth in a most vicious fashion, as if he were merely biding his time until he could bite my flesh from my bones. It reminded me of the blue-haired nymph.

I remind myself that I’d been sent from Hollowhold with the specific purpose of meeting young, marriageable noblemen. The Duchy of Trent was close enough to Ebonreach that it could assist in the defence of the Haelling, and powerful enough that a marriage between myself and Wilbern – if he was the inheriting son – would bring much prestige to the House of Tfaeller. As such, I decided that it was time to make my presence felt.

'Alas, we are weary from days of riding on horseback. We would prefer a more intimate affair, if such a thing is possible.'

'Of course, my lady,' this time it was Wilbern who responded.

With the coldness and frictionlessness of ice he removed the leather riding glove from his right hand and rode his horse alongside Lilac. He took my hand in his, and kissed the back of my palm. All this from a man who was doubtfully even out of his teenage years.

I found myself blushing once more. He continued, 'why not just the two of us? I shall take you to the most stylish restaurant in Helmfirth!'

Thankfully, his father interjected. 'Not now, Wilbert. Both the Count and the Countess are our guests, and I think a modest dinner in the keep would be amenable to all. I shall have the staff prepare a table for four. Your men can eat in the soldier's mess.'

I saw Timoth stifle a sigh, but I was enervated by Wilbert's attentions. I suddenly found myself imagining our wedding; the prosperity that our marriage would bring to Ebonreach; the improved protection that our union could bring to the Haelling. I could bear a man such as Wilbert many children, I’d already decided.

I tried to keep my mind on the present, but I was powerless to resist Wilbert's charms, as I had been with Khad.

Khad. All it took was one memory of him to bring myself back to reality. I knew nothing of Wilbert. Perhaps he was a violent drunk, or a limp-wristed fop. If my beauty was as enthralling as his words implied, then he would pursue me. I resolved to keep my attraction a secret, and make him reveal his intentions first.

'It would be our pleasure to dine with you and your son,' I replied, hopefully before Timoth's silence became awkward. Even if a wedding didn’t eventuate, making friends with the nobility in neighbouring duchy was an end in itself.

'I'll have a servant take you to the dining hall. The keep can be like a maze to newcomers. You may stable your horses in the castle,' Wiseria stated.

'That is appreciated, Duke,' Timoth replied.

Wiseria and Wilbern turned their horses aside and led their escort back into the castle with a casual familiarity that gave me pangs of homesickness. This city was the most like Haelling Cove that we'd passed in our travels, despite that it was the furthest distance away. Everything, from the way Lilac's hooves clacked against the cobblestone streets, to the smell of fresh haulings of carp, gave me a longing to be home. It was almost as bad as when I thought I might die impaled on the end of a bone spear or a clawed fingernail.

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We stopped at the stables, which were much larger than those in Haelling Cove, and possessed of several times as many stallions. I was confident that Lilac would be well-treated in such a grandiose environment, yet Timoth refused to give the two horses he had been leading to the stablehands. I approached him to see what was the matter, and he explained.

'I promised I'd see these horses back to Haelling Cove. I will find a traveller heading in that direction, and pay him well to ensure that they find their way back to Father's stables,' he explained. I could tell from his tone and his determined expression that there would be no dissuading him, and in any case, I wouldn’t have wanted to. He mounted Bonny and took the two horses back down the road into the town.

That left me in charge of the party.

I knew that I stank of horse and sweat, and that was not how I wanted to present myself to Wilbern. I turned to the soldiers who awaited my command.

'You have this evening to yourselves. The Duke has invited you to dine in the soldier's mess. Try not to get up to any mischief, and be ready to depart at first light.' Then, to Daegwin, 'you are to come with me. I must prepare for my dinner with Duke Wilbern this evening.'

She nodded dimly, and I briefly longed for Gwaeda. She knew exactly how to prepare me for such an event. I didn’t linger on this for too long, for I feared that her absence was my fault. Perhaps I'd find a new attendant to replace her at Hollowhold.

I also wished that Wilbern had been permitted to take me to dinner at one of the exquisite restaurants that I was certain dotted the Helmfirth inner city. Though I had no doubt that we would receive a perfectly adequate dining experience within the keep, I always felt awkward when Timoth watched me doing girlish things.

At times, I wondered if he saw me more as a brother than a sister, and if I had disappointed him in recent years by growing into a lady. It was, of course, something we would never stoop to discuss.

We were directed by castle guards therein to my room for the night. It was bereft of character, furnished with single wooden bed against the back wall and a bath in its centre.

I had Father's soldiers bring my chests into the room. No doubt, as a Duke, Wilbern was a man who would not date any common street chaff. It was time to prove my breeding.

'Daegwin, prepare a bath,' I said.

Again, I lamented Gwaeda's absence. A second servant would have enabled me to relax on the bed. Instead, I found myself rummaging through my clothing.

I decided not to wear my racy dress in such high-born company, and settled for a plain white dress. It was loose and puffy at the shoulders and laced below the waist, and brought out my skin tones. I placed a pair of cream-coloured heel shoes atop the bed as Daegwin carried buckets of steaming water into the tub. Once filled, I discarded my clothing.

'Wash those, would you?' I commanded her, adding the last two words to soften the sentence, bearing in mind Gwaeda's counsel that I did not show generosity of spirit.

Daegwin took my clothes and I stepped into the bath. She’d overfilled it slightly, and I had her scoop up a pale's worth of water to prevent it from spilling onto the stone floor. It was warm, perhaps overwarm, but for once I didn't mind. My body had been through hell in the past few days, and I would not allow imperfection to ruin this experience.

The wall-mounted torch flickered and I had Daegwin replace it. As she did so, I submerged my entire body in the water. I rubbed my face, clearing it of any dirt that had attached itself to my cheeks. The warm water ran through my hair, soaking it, and flooding my skin with the sensation of a million pleasant needle pricks. I had never had such a rejuvenating bath, and when I finally emerged, Daegwin draped a towel over me and helped me dry my recently shortened – yet still fairly lengthy – hair on a second towel.

The time was ticking by, and I soon found myself clad in the white dress and cream heels. The dress fitted less well than it had previously, and I realised that I'd lost weight on our trip. I didn't mind being slim, but if I lost any more weight then my body would become that of a peasant.

To make matters worse, despite my hunger, I feared overeating in front of the Dukes. I had to be ladylike.

I made a mental note that, upon reaching the mountains, I would lock myself in a room with perhaps twenty trays of food and not emerge until I'd eaten all of them.

I applied my skin ointment for the first time in some days, and had Daegwin help me select some jewellery.

'The mainsails, my lady?' she suggested, but I shook my head.

'Something simpler, I think.' I replied. The Crowers were true nobility, and I would dress as they expected, as I’d been trained.

'Simple is best, my da used to say,' Daegwin said. Her words were careless, but she paused, as if to consider them. I didn't want to get personal with her, but she took my silence as an invitation to continue. 'Dad didn't want me to go on this trip. He said that I already gave up my life for my work, and that leaving would only make things worse. I told him that I wanted to do it, while I'm still young, you know? Before I get a husband, like Gwaeda. Then he changed his mind, but only to speak cruel words. He said that, actually, I should go to Hollowhold. That I was already leaving the family, and I might as well make it plain.'

I said nothing, and fidgeted awkwardly with a pair of gold stud earrings. I hoped she'd remember what company she was in before I had to bring her back to task with harsh words.

If we hadn’t experienced the horrors of the Dreadwood Forest together, I would certainly have rebuked her already. Those events had rendered us equals, as two mere humans who were scared of being little more than prey. I did not mind her being a little bit more familiar, especially as we were the only two females on the journey, but I had to ensure she remembered her place. She was a servant, and I was her master.

Eventually my silence spoke more than my rebuke ever could have. She bowed her head and rubbed her eyes before fidgeting with my earrings.

'These are lovely, my lady. I think they complement your dress.'

'Thank you, Daegwin,' I said.

I intended my words to have a double meaning, that I was thanking her both for her assistance with the earrings but also for remembering her station without prompting. If she did understand, she made no indication, and I put away the rest of my earrings. Simple gold studs would adorn my ears, matched by a diamond encased in gold that dangled from my neck.

Daegwin applied some makeup to brighten my cheeks and darken my eyes, and at last I felt like a lady. I felt ready. I was determined that something good would come from this, even if it was only a boost to my self-confidence. I had been plagued by doubts of late, what with Khad's venomous words and Wargwa's death.

I needed a win.