Part 9 (1/2)
The sword-bearing priest shook his gray-sprinkled head in regret ”A shame that Lady Calissa is a womanand mad, to boot She was once a voice of moderation in the court But then, none could expect her to countenance the murder of her kin Now, methinks, she cannot even safely be put to death” He looked around at the others, who showed uard all her days, or at least until our holy exorcists can deal with the Einharson curse”
In the somber silence that followed, the black-bearded rebel spoke up ”If we mean to create a baron, 'twould be best to use some youthful heir, who could easily be controlled Or else one so old and feeble that he has no ambition left”
”But don't you see, there is no need to look so far!” Lothian rose from his chair impatiently ”We have here the perfect heir We have Lord Favian himself!”
”Favian is dead, Counselor,” black-beard said, ”in case your eyesight has failed you He lies glued to the floor of his cha blood As for this look-alike you have rigged outwell, he has shown hi in with us But we of the Reforo”
”Aye, to your credit” Lothian stroked his gray beard, his eyes twinkling ”And yet Conan is perfect for our shared purpose Those who know of his imposture could, perhaps, be sworn to silence It can be held forth that the bodyguard died instead of the noble The outlander would then command the loyalty of the majority of subjects, those who blindly follow their traditional leader He is a good lad at heart, and has had the benefit of my tutorshi+p”
”But would the people of Dinander kneel to Favian as a patricide?” The rebel priest's broere knit in earnestpoas to put behind us the bloody irregularities of the Einharson lineage”
”So you see, it is little more than traditional,” Durwald assured hiauntleted hand ”Likely this slaying is the one break with the past that will allow the people to tolerate another Einharson warlord”
”Yes, truly, it ht not be hard to pass him off as baron!” The yellow-haired youth stepped forward, rattling his sheathed sword in enthusias real power Just parade hi out anything in his pebble-mouthed northern accent He will be baron to the!” Conan squared off on the rebel, who grew abruptly pale and still ”I a puppet to such as you” He glared around the company ”If I continue this mummery, it will be on my own terms!”
”Of course, Conan, of course” Durwald laid a hand on the northerner's shoulder, saze ”We shall see to it that you are paid handso There may even be a few petty military functions you can direct, to keep up a believable front You need not worry about matters of state; we court counselors will bear the full burden of those”
”Under the direction of the Reforly, echoed by murmurs from his fellows
”Yes, yes, we can work all that out” Durwald breezily waved hilad to be free of Baldoeable offspring, too! As long as the legitinized, lords and coether from this moment, and Dinander can look to a happy future”
CHAPTER 12
Milord Barbarian
A lance of sunlight fell through a gap in the curtains, causing stray dust reat bed's ruled across Conan's face like a saber-slash, its brightness sy brain with all the pain of a sword-stroke
The sleeper,faintly, stirred and tried to turn aside out of the light When he rolled the wrong way, his legs slipped down the side of the spongywith his bedclothes and the sheathed sword, which lay beside hi blindly for balance, he flung out a heavy ar its' array of half-drained cups and flasks clattering to the floor
Moaning in fresh discoht on the edge of the bed He blinked into the sunshot dis
The rooh and broad, it ell-befitting to lordly dignity, although Conan foresaw that it would prove drafty and chill in winter Having turned and beaten the great mattress himself, he had ordered the bed's heavy canopies hauled out and burned in hopes of ridding the place of any lingering sour humors Even so, in spite of all his efforts, the lavish apartment exerted a baleful influence on Conan's nature
Suddenly there ca to his feet, naked but for his cotton underkilt, Conan hastened across the stained parquetry to undo the bolt When the portal side, a harsh but good-natured bellow greeted hioes it?” A burly, broken-noseda tray of fruit and bread under one arm ”I could tell by the clamor that you were awake-and about ti the roof peaks! How are you feeling this ?”
”Speak softer, Rudo; I am unwell I think I have been poisoned” Conan shuffled back to sit on his bed ”That wine last night ”
”The wine, yes” Rudo bent over the reeking pool outspread amid the tumbled flasks ”Poisoned, indeed! And by the sa to bed on a feast night!” He righted the table so as to set his burden on it Then he knelt, seizing a discarded shi+rt hich to mop up the mess ”Any one of these liquors would lay a healthy ht's carouse! You tempt the fates rashly, Conan-I mean, Milord Baron”
As Rudo swabbed the floor, he raised a crystal decanter to his lips and swigged deeply from it ”Ah yes, truly,” he said in a confidential voice, ”e gnawed bread crusts together in the town dungeon, ould have thought that ould ever again be sipping such nectar as this? I credit your success in worldly affairs, Lord Baron, as well as your faithfulness in re his aching terowled in answer He pretended not to notice as his attendant crushed a goblet of soft gold against the floor with the pressure of one thick hand, to slip it discreetly into the sash of his silken pantaloons
In a while Rudo had gone, and returned, and gone again, and Conan sat cross-legged on the bed, gingerly chewing his breakfast and drinking froht The simple fare satisfied hie; in spite of his earlier complaints, he still trusted his recent associates downstairs not to poison hi His duties asthe battle brief ”audiences” with the handful of courtiers and rebel officers who really ruled Dinander these days
Not that he is seemed well under control for the nonce After that first charnel night, the insurrection had taken hold almost bloodlessly by virtue of Baldomer's death and the uneasy accommodation between rebels and nobles A few lesser officers and functionaries, such as Fletta, the interrogator and executioner, had been dragged before civil tribunals, condeeful townsfolk; and a few unpopular nobles quit their ho by their fellows at court, or murdered by them The noble party allowed none of its nu that the public execution of aristocratsto a falling-out between the two factions had involved the proposed abolition of the Iron Guard; Conan had dozed through a long ed hotly between Durwald and Evadne The proposal had finally been agreed to, but with little ination to the ”Red Dragons” was a token display, after all It meant the promotion of a few officers, ands to the new motif The troops would still click their heels as sly
He saw little place for his own efforts in the new Dinander, except to wine, dine and wench like a baron, and fill a suit of armor handso a few of his old cronies, those who stood with hi; yet his -maid, Ludya, back to the capital had never been answered Conan suspected that his eer that he find a ht have intercepted his courier He was of half a s were interrupted by another opening of the chaure more comely than that of the crook-nosed Rudo: the stately Evadne on her daily visit, clad in sandals and a plain, belted tunic His sudden upward glance sent reverberations throbbing through his still-tender skull, so he only grunted irritably as she entered
”Good , Your Lordshi+p” She scarcely blinked at his state of undress, but her shapely nose wrinkled at the scent of wine-dipped bedclothes ”Recovering fro debauch, I see Will you never tire of the prerogatives of rank?” She settled herself on a lacquered stool a decorous distance away
”In truth,” he grumbled, ”I arew bored with the aged, motherly trollops you send me from the local ale houses I crave more of life than this musty apartment can provide”
Evadne covered any e of unconcern ”If you are restless, ride to the hunt again You can decree it for toaes for hter, in the coently cradled his forehead on an outspread hand ”InHere, like everything else, it is hollow”
”Then call for fencing practice in the private courtyard Fight three or four guardsmen at once, if you must place your life at risk in order to enjoy it” She waved a hand in exasperation, preparing to arise ”There is plenty to do here Any ordinary citizen would give his nose and ears to be in your place I e soul entertained!”
”Then why trouble yourself, Evadne?” Conan propped his chin on one hand as he regarded her ”Why do you even bother? Is it true that you have been assigned as my nursemaid, to make sure I keep up lordly appearances?”
”No need for worry on that account; you play the degenerate aristocrat ly, sitting poised on the edge of her stool ”But reovernment with manyill-assorted elements Our two shakiest props are you and the poor, mad Lady Calissa It is necessary that someone take the responsibility for your welfare”
”And how fares Calissa?” Conan let his gaze fall away froe of le at her restraints?”
”Nay, her chafes are healing, and she no longer tugs and worries at the charm fastened around her neck She is unbound, allowed to rove free in her roo herself by the chain She no longer raves”-Evadne smiled wanly-”or even speaks To anyone”
”Hmm A convenient circumstance for you and me, but an ill one for Calissa” He shook his head miserably ”And yet I wonder, am I less a prisoner than she is?”
”Nonsense” Evadne visibly ruffled, watched Conan warily ”If you decided to leave Dinander to its fate, and to forfeit the golden drams that are daily added to your account, ould have a hard ti you”
”But you would try, would you not?” Conan saze ”Is that why you venture so boldly into er concealed at your thigh is for?” He let his feet slip to the floor,to arise ”Is it the same weapon, I wonder, that you carried for Favian?”
”Stop! I would never wish such a thing!” She stood bolt upright, her proud face pale ”But be warned, if it were for the sake of our province, I would do whatever was necessary Your fair dealing thus far has earned you a certain indulgence But a liht so” He rose sns of malaise, and moved toward her ”I understand you, then; we are slayers of a kind! So our tilum and joyless after all Co was a sha an arm