“That’s a lot of food,” said Mr. Albeck, who was prodding at a plate of untouched meats and veggies. “I’m surprised you have such a large appetite.”
He gave his teacher a confident smile. “The kitchen staff worked hard to make everything. I don’t want any to go to waste.”
Over at his previous spot, Edmun’s eyes were trailing over Anice’s front in a disbelieving fashion, lingering on her breasts. “I didn’t expect you to have grown so much these past years.”
She looked pale. “Really? I haven’t noticed.”
Calum was busy whispering in Lessa’s ear, the girl just as uncomfortable as Anice. Antoine and Daniel weren’t paying them the least bit of attention, though Alistar doubted that they were unaware of how uneasy the girls were.
So these are my relatives.
Both Mr. Albeck and Alder were doing a poor job of hiding their disapproval, though they didn’t dare to speak out. It was when Alder was looking away from the young ones to take a long sip of wine that Antoine suddenly spoke out from across the table, addressing him.
“Alder. When are you going to leave this backwater county and come serve me in Valay?” Voice remaining level as he directed his silver eyes in Mr. Albeck’s direction, the duke added, “I’m not too fond of my new court mage, since I had to hire him last minute. You know that I don’t turn away capable hands.”
“You flatter me, Your Excellency.” Alder put down his glass and adopted an air of humility. “I couldn’t possibly take on such a heavy responsibility.”
“I’ve seen how your management style has helped to turn Distan into a decently-developed land. I could use someone like you in Vern.”
“Are you trying to poach him?” snapped Daniel, who turned to Alder and said across the table, “Whatever he offers you, I’ll pay twice as much. Your services would be much more appreciated in Calis.”
“I’m afraid that I’ll have to regretfully decline your generous offers. All of my closest friends are here in Distan, and I’ve grown to view this place as my home.”
“How can you—”
Antoine held up a hand, silencing his brother in a dynamic-revealing motion. “He’s spoken his peace. If he doesn’t want to, then we can only hope that he has a change of heart in the future.” Glancing at Mr. Albeck without any difference in his tone, he added, “At least he’s honest about his intentions.”
Alistar deliberately fumbled with his glass of wine, a drink that he didn’t much enjoy, and caused a clamorous spill that drew attention away from Mr. Albeck and onto himself. “Ah, my apologies,” he laughed as many sets of eyes momentarily settled on him. “I should have dried my hands before picking up the glass. How embarrassing.”
Antoine looked away as if nothing had happened, while Daniel scoffed and muttered about learning proper manners before going on to criticize the lack of female servants under Caedmon’s employment. This, despite the fact that the latter had fresh grease stains on his fine tunic of silver satin.
As Alistar was cleaning the wine with the most minimal amount of movement, Mr. Albeck sent him a brief, appreciative smile, though this quickly melded together with the mask of patience and forced civility that the man had been wearing up until this point.
The meal seemed to drag on for Alistar, as he only spoke to Alder and his magic instructor here and there about limited topics, as neither of the two men were much in the mood for conversation. The ones who did the most talking were the Silverkins, with Caedmon and the dukes entertaining a long conversation with Lessa’s parents, while Johan and Priscilla enjoyed an exchange filled with smiles and extensive eye contact. Evidently they were old friends, though Priscilla had a gleam to her bright blue eyes that told of her impressment over the young man’s recent rise to the position of count.
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Alistar felt pretty bad for Anice and Lessa. Neither of the girls seemed to enjoy their respective conversations with Edmun and Calum, though thankfully they managed to maintain a civil demeanour all throughout. Once the meal came to its eventual end, Antoine announced that he and his brothers had some important matters to discuss and then dismissed everyone present. After he did so, he made sure to suggest that Anice and Lessa take Daniel’s sons out to see the town, as Johan would also be joining in on the sensitive discussion. Everyone else was to reconvene for lunch, though the children were exempt from this rule and were otherwise expected to have their next meal in town.
Since the duke’s suggestion was basically akin to an order, the two girls bid the adults farewell and then began making their way toward the doors with Edmun and Calum, though they hadn’t made it far when Anice paused, strode over to Alistar and grabbed his hand.
“You’re coming too.”
She dragged him toward the others without waiting for a response, though he was glad for this. Antoine hadn’t mentioned Alistar when he’d told the others to go off into the city, so he had been deliberating on how to accompany them without risking any offence.
His cousins didn’t look too pleased at his inclusion, though neither voiced any complaints. At least, not until they had left Harold and Rayson behind at the eastern gates and had begun to walk down the long trail that led to Mayhaven, which was lined with healthy oaks on either side.
“Must you cling to him like that? It’s quite distracting.”
“Yes,” said a displeased Edmun, “one would think you were walking through a haunted battlefield.”
Hearing the boys’ words, Anice and Lessa let go of Alistar’s sleeves, as both had been holding onto the fabric in a subconscious bid for comfort. He could tell how nervous the two of them were based on a number of reasons, chiefly their forced speech, since they usually conversed in an uninhibited manner though now were only making mention of simple, unimportant things. Since leaving the manor house, they had only talked about each other’s clothes, about the trees on either side of the pathway, and of how delicious their breakfast had been. Neither seemed intent on maintaining conversation nor eye contact with the other Silverkins for long, which inevitably led to the other boys focusing their attention on him.
“Sorry,” said Anice, who despite letting go didn’t make any effort to increase the distance between her and Alistar. “We do this every time we head into town. Father makes sure that Alistar looks after us.”
Alistar prevented his lips from pursing, wanting nothing more than to reprimand Anice for her failed attempt at passing the situation off as normal. Neither of the girls had ever grasped at his sleeves in such a manner, and why Anice thought that claiming it as a casual thing would assuage the evident jealousy of their cousins, he hadn’t a clue.
“As you can see, these two are scared of everything.” Creating a bit of distance between himself and the girls, Alistar looked at Lessa and Anice as if to assure them. “Don’t worry, you two. Today we have some of the most talented Silverkins here to protect you.”
Surprisingly, these words proved enough to build the boys up, Edmun quickening his pace while Calum rested his right hand on the gem-studded pommel of his sword.
“Is that so?” said the latter. “Don’t fret, girls. We won’t let any dirty peasants harm you.”
“Why does it have to be peasants?” said Anice, whose immediate frown showed that she instantly regretted her words.
The older boy considered her with perplexed silver eyes. “What else is there in this county? Aside from your two families, there are only a handful of other nobles in the region. It’s no secret that nobody wants to live here.”
“My brother’s right. If we say yes, how many people in these parts can tell us no?”
Alistar could see that his cousins placed great importance on their social status, but the greedy glints in their eyes as they boasted about their supposed superiority was reminiscent of the looks that he had often seen in the red-haired guards back in Crystellum. He had recently learned that all of these individuals were related to Ragnus Melsian Lios, the lord of Melsian County in Loyarre where those wretched mines were located. Reading his cousins’ words and expressions, he was able to get a feel for what sort of nobles they were despite not having known them long.