The lonely son almost touched the horizon when Martin slipped out of bed and eased himself into his clothes. Sara was asleep. She had a long few days with making sure all their guests were comfortable.
He walked out of the room, carefully closing the door as Derio gave him a bow. “Good morning, Martin. Breakfast is ready for you below.”
“Thank you, Derio. Have my carriage ready quickly. I shall not require much for breakfast,” Martin said.
“Very well.”
Martin was distracted while he ate. The moment he was done he was outside in the cool spring morning air. The sun hadn’t risen yet, though it was beginning to be a lighter blue color. Martin climbed into the carriage and drew the privacy blinds down as he meditated to prepare himself for the day. It wouldn’t be long, but he needed every bit of nourishing spirituality he could. He grabbed all his concerns and worries about Inessa and shoved them to one side. He couldn’t be distracted by her situation today. Adosina and Elias would appear, and he needed all his mental capacity to be present. He would deal with Inessa after the holiday was over. He would find out whatever little secret she was hiding, because he was certain she was hiding something.
Martin opened his eyes as the carriage came to a stop. He heard the chatting, and when he opened the carriage door, he saw the line stretching through town. It was going to be a long day.
***
Pablo was still with his family. Indenuel was starting to miss him, but he was glad his head servant was spending the time with his family. Indenuel particularly missed Pablo because he always made some sort of greeting before the servants drew back the curtains if Indenuel was sleeping in longer than usual. Indenuel hated being woken up by a windowful of sunlight.
He gave a snort before covering his eyes deeper in his pillow. “Sun’s up already?”
“Yes sir. There is a line of people outside the gate. We have moved a desk and chair outside for you to receive them, as requested. As soon as you’re ready, we will have the guards send them in one at a time, or a small group if they came as such.”
Indenuel got dressed, ignoring the offer of a bath. He’d have one at the end of the day. He was quite sure he’d be exhausted. “And Tolomon will be there?” Indenuel asked.
“I would be surprised if he wasn’t, sir,” the servant said.
“I know. I just want to make sure.” As long as Tolomon was there, he would feel safe.
***
Martin expected Adosina and Elias to show up, but he didn’t expect them to be one of the first. Granted, with Adosina’s titles she would have been one of the firsts, except she was with Elias. Which probably meant Adosina left soon after they had come home from the ball and did not bother to tell Martin about it.
It was fine. Better to get this done and over with so he could focus on other things.
Adosina and Elias took turns addressing the High Elders concerns. Martin stayed quiet the entire time, not in the mood to fight his daughter this early in the morning over something he felt they fought about all year.
They talked about their love for each other and their belief that God would want them to be married. They both passionately described how much they were meant for each other. This had been going on now for three years. He could sense the High Elders, as well as himself, simply humoring them as they talked of how certain their young love could weather the storms of life.
Once they were done, Navir nodded. “Dalius has taken careful notes of your beseeching. We will deliberate and let you know as soon as possible.”
“I’d like to add this to your notes,” Elias said, pulling a couple pages out of his pocket. Dalius reached for them, but Elias turned and headed toward Martin. Martin watched him, the poor, humble farm boy who had stolen his daughter’s heart. He took the pages but did not look at them. “I know you do not approve because you think I cannot give her much of a life, but I can promise your daughter will be rich with love.” Martin made no reaction. The humble famer’s words were nothing but poetry. “I have already promised her my life, and she has promised me hers. We have everything we need to be happy. We just need your blessing.”
Martin placed the pages unceremoniously next to him. “You are saying all the flowery words you need, but after forty-three years of marriage myself, words don’t feed you if there’s no food in the house.”
“I’m a farmer, sir. Food is my job. And I am not afraid of work,” Elias said.
“And I have known Adosina a lot longer than you. She is stubborn. She is vain. She thinks too highly of her dresses.”
Adosina’s cheerful, passionate face finally dropped.
“I know all this, sir,” Elias said. “More importantly, I know she is willing to give it up for our happiness.”
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“Her political mind is what brings her happiness. She loves discussing politics and finding new ways to make the world a better place. She has been ridiculed for it because of her gender, and yet she persists.”
“I know. It is another quality I love about her,” Elias said.
Martin gave a forced smile. “A woman of high class is criticized enough for having a political mind. There are few who actually listen to her, and the same thing which gives her unbridled happiness also gives her the strongest grief. It would become so much worse if she were just a wife of a farmer. No one would give her a second thought.”
Now it was Elias’ smile that dropped, though he did not look away. Martin hadn’t seen Elias much, but he was always there, like a spirit in whatever conversations he and Adosina would have. He was always happy, if quiet, but this time a flash of anger crossed his face.
“That is not a problem with my class, sir. That is a problem with yours.”
Adosina gave a tiny gasp. Martin narrowed his eyes. Navir looked as though he was about to say something, but Martin gave him a small shake of his head before turning his attention back to Elias. “Explain yourself.”
Elias looked as though he was holding a lot of emotions back as he gave a pained smile. “There is nothing more to explain, sir.” He was clearly being careful, though the anger was still there.
“He won’t say another word, because his father is too afraid you will use this to strip them of their lands and give them to someone else,” Adosina said, her voice dangerous. It was at this that Elias finally turned his gaze away from Martin. Adosina stood beside Elias, the anger clear. “I told Raul such a thing hasn’t happened for a hundred years because it is such a barbaric way of holding power, and I know the man you are.” There were tears in Adosina’s eyes. “You are not cruel like that. You would never do something so evil to someone of a lower class just because they said the truth.” Adosina was glaring darkly at Martin. “Would you?”
Martin matched her glare. “Of course not.” His voice was prickly.
“Pity,” Adosina said, sarcasm infused in her voice. “Because I hoped if I said what was on my mind, my titles might finally be taken from me.”
“Enough, Addy,” Martin said.
“No, Api! You act as though marrying Elias will be banishment! I will still come visit you on Sabbath days! I will still listen to your sermons!” There were tears running down her cheeks, and she struggled to keep the sob from escaping her. “I will still be your daughter. I will still anger you with my foolishness, and I will still pick fights with you because we are both the same kind of stubborn. Elias is everything I ever want. He smooths out my stubbornness, he listens to me, he makes me a better person while assuring me that somehow, I am doing the same for him!”
Martin stood, glaring at Adosina. “You will not be happy with his kind of life!”
“You cannot make that decision for me!” Adosina screamed back, her voice echoing off the walls. There were tears streaming down her cheeks, breathing heavily, glaring right back at Martin.
Martin did everything in his power to keep his voice steady. “Go, Adosina. We will let you know the answer to our decision as soon as we come to an agreement.”
Adosina glared right back. “I already know what your decision will be. You take away my titles right now, or Elias and I elope, and you never see me again.”
Elias winced, finally looking up from his shoes to gauge Martin’s reaction. “Sir, I would never-”
Adosina grabbed his hand to keep him from talking, and it worked. Elias was surprised, his gaze shooting to their hands.
“You are not engaged to be wed, unhand him or you will both spend the night in the dungeons,” Martin said.
“The only thing keeping me from kissing him right now is knowing you will not hesitate to give him five lashings. Because that’s the kind of father you have become,” Adosina said darkly. Elias quietly eased his hand out of hers, glancing at the four High Elders with obvious fear.
“It looks as though you really have found a man who is better than you,” Martin said. “A man respectful of societies wishes. You two will not elope. Of that I am certain.”
Adosina glared at him. “We will be back next year. And the year after that, and the year after that. I will wear you down, father. If this is to be a battle of the wills, so be it.”
She spun around and marched out of the room. Elias started to watch her go, shocked. Martin could almost read Elias’ expression as he glanced at them. The sudden fear at the thought of being alone with the High Elders jolted his legs to work again and he rushed after her. The door closed, and Martin rubbed the bridge of his nose. Silence descended into the room.
Martin dropped his hand before passing the pages to Fadrique. “I believe these were supposed to go to Dalius.”
Fadrique took them and passed them down the line until Dalius placed them on top of his growing stack of papers.
“Martin? Do you need a moment?” Navir asked.
“No. We don’t have time,” Martin said, adjusting in his chair and straightening his High Elder robes. “Bring in the next one.”
***
A line of sweat glistened on Indenuel’s forehead as he finished another healing. He didn’t know how many more healings he had in him. Martin’s offer, though given as a jab, was starting to sound more desirable as the day wore on.
“Indenuel,” Tolomon said out of the corner of his mouth as Indenuel wiped the sweat off his face. “Please don’t push yourself. Don’t repeat what happened with the Oraminians.”
“I won’t.” He took a sip of wine. “I am easing the burden of the High Elders. I know they have a lot to deal with today.”
“I’m almost certain all these people are coming to you because you don’t ask the questions they do before using their gifts,” Tolomon said.
Indenuel glanced up at Tolomon, then looked out among the crowd that was only growing. “I know my limitations. If it gets too hard, I’ll get their names and where they live and visit them over the next few days. I’ll be alright.”
Tolomon heard something before he had. He didn’t notice anything was wrong until he heard the noise, and then it only grew with shouts and a woman pleading.
Indenuel stood and jogged over to the gate. Tolomon followed with his sword already out. A fight was about to break loose if they didn’t do something. Two guards had a woman’s arms pinned, forcing her to her knees. The woman’s black hair had streaks of grey in it.
“Let her go,” Indenuel said.
“She isn’t allowed here, sir,” the guard said.
“Why not?”
The woman looked up and Indenuel saw her blue eyes. Indenuel winced. The guards paused, waiting for him. “Unhand her at once. Oraminians are our ally. You cannot treat her like this.”
“Please, Warrior, they turned me away before I could even get to the King and Queen. I only need a moment,” the woman said. If Indenuel hadn’t spent months around the other Oraminians, he probably wouldn’t have understood her, her accent was so thick.
“Let her go, or I will have Tolomon force you to let her go,” Indenuel said to the guards.
The guards glanced at Tolomon with unease before they obeyed.