“Where is my wife?” I asked without preamble.
“She recently retired to your apartments, my lord,” he responded.
I frowned. “And Sir Dorian? I thought she would be entertaining him since he just arrived.”
Peter coughed slightly, not from any illness but to signal that he was speaking on a sensitive topic. He continued, “Lady Rose indicated that they needed some time in private before Sir Dorian’s more general reunion with everyone. The Countess bade everyone avoid bothering them until dinnertime. She has set the cook to preparing a special feast this evening to welcome him and the other knights.”
Considering she hadn’t seen her husband in months I wasn’t too surprised and I certainly didn’t begrudge them their privacy. “Sounds like I should do the same and see my own lady wife first as well,” I observed. “I’ll be with my family if any needs me, but I’d prefer not to be disturbed until dinner time, if possible.”
“Of course, my lord, I will see that it is so.” Peter said as he dipped his head deferentially. I moved on, heading for the stairs that led upward to the living areas of the castle; in particular the suites that housed important guests, the Thornbear family, and in theory, myself and Penelope.
Elaine followed closely beside me and I paused for a moment to address her, “You’re free for the rest of the day, Elaine. I don’t plan to exercise my more esoteric abilities again today.”
Her face was a picture of disappointment. “But, Your Lordship, you really shouldn’t… I am more than happy to serve,” she protested, while at the same time casting her eyes downward. At times her submissiveness was tiring, while at others it was… distracting. She really was a lovely girl.
Girl? Ha! She’s grown into a woman. Now, if I could just get her to open her eyes to the wider world around her and realize her own strength, I thought to myself. “I’m sure you have better things to do with your day than follow me around, and I myself am looking forward to some quiet time with my children. Go! I’ll see you at dinner,” I told her firmly. Turning away, I headed for the stairs, my body language communicating my expectation that she had already acquiesced. Over time I had learned that a large part of the art of command was based upon confidence and learning to project it. Even so, my magesight could see her lips curve into a faint pout as I left her there.
I pushed that thought away and climbed the stairs, my long legs taking them two at a time. I was looking forward to seeing Penny. She and the children were still, and always had been, the brightest part of any day for me. Well most days… I won’t lie, she had her bad moments, but then again, so did I.
Chapter 2
The heavy oak door in front of me had a guard on either side of it. Neither of them were Knights of Stone. There were too few of them to spare for simple guard duty… even for my family. Instead they were among the more trusted members of my guard, men who would probably be promoted to more senior positions later. Only those who showed potential were selected for this posting. I knew both of them on sight.
“Jerod, Douglas…,” I said, to acknowledge their presence. Both of them greeted me and nodded in return. Jerod moved to open the door for me and I stepped into the antechamber of my family’s suites, waiting for him to close the door behind me.
Once the door was shut, I moved to the main door, the one that was supposed to lead into our private rooms. At certain times during the day we would leave it open, and any guests we invited into the antechamber could see our rooms. We would also leave the door open for cleaning staff occasionally. The rest of the time, especially in the evening, the door was kept firmly closed… and with good reason.
I lowered my personal shields and placed my hand against the door, allowing the hidden enchantment to recognize me before I grasped the handle and pulled the door open. This was important, for if I opened the door without doing that first I would have found only our mundane and empty apartments behind it. Instead, the doorway opened onto an expansive entry hall leading into my true home, a home I had built in secret, many miles from Cameron, deep within the Elentir Mountains.
Hidden in the doorframe were the runes of an enchantment very similar to the one that made my magical pouches and message boxes function. In this case though, the runes created a much larger portal, one that remained active whenever the door was closed and sometimes when it was opened, but only if the person opening it had been recognized. If the door was opened normally, or if it was forced when it had been locked, the portal would shut down and any would be thief or kidnapper would find only our empty apartments.
The portal was kept active, even when the door was closed, for one express purpose… it allowed us to hear knocks at the door when the staff or a messenger needed us. Thus far I was certain none of the staff had figured out our little secret, although I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn a few of them suspected we were sleeping elsewhere.
Stepping into the hall, I took a moment to clean my boots with the brush set there for that purpose. Unlike the castle, Penny was the only person cleaning our private home, and she got rather cross if I tracked mud in. My boots were already clean but I ran the brush over them anyway… she had a sixth sense in some regards, and if I skipped the ritual she would know. I grinned to myself at that thought.
My arcane senses had already alerted me to a small form creeping stealthily up from behind the coat rack, in what should have been my blind spot. Rather than react, I kept to my routine, pretending that I hadn’t noticed. Several methods of escape ran through my mind, but I rapidly discarded all of them. Sometimes the simplest responses were best. I waited, seemingly oblivious to my stalker.
After a moment, my attacker leapt upon me in a sudden rush. “Boo!” screamed my son, as he landed firmly upon my back and wrapped his arms and legs around me like some deranged primate.
“What the… holy hell!” I screamed in alarm, as I jumped up wildly, nearly dislodging the small boy on my back. I spun around to exaggerate my surprise, while Matthew laughed and hooted at his victory.
“I got you! You were soooo scared!” he yelled loudly.
I pried him loose and set him on the floor, allowing me to glare imperiously down at him. “I beg your pardon!” I protested, “I am the Royal Wizard and Count di’Cameron, scared is not in my nature.” I grinned as I said the words.
“You were scared!” he argued, but there was laughter in his voice as he said it. He knew I was playing. On impulse I snatched him back up and swung him around before planting a kiss on his cheek. He was a gangly boy, all arms and legs, with just a hint of the chubbiness he had possessed in his days as a toddler. Somehow, despite my dark hair and Penny’s soft brown tresses, his hair was merely a dark blonde shade.
Before I could set him down another child appeared and charged toward me. “Daddy!” Moira cried, as she slammed into my waist. She began attempting to scale me and the three of us wound up doing an odd dance, as I tried to assist her with one arm while holding onto Matthew with the other. Eventually I managed to balance the load, with one child in each arm, yet even so, their combined weight almost made me stagger as I walked.
I wonder how long I’ll be able to keep carrying two at the same time, I thought silently. I hoped it would be a lot longer, but if not I had many ways I could cheat. Magic could be handy in many ways.
Moira kissed me soundly on the cheek, and I could feel something sticky on her face. Jam would have been my first guess. She smiled slyly, her blue eyes glittering under wild dark hair, and then she reached over to pat Matthew’s arm. “You’re it,” she declared calmly.