I frown at Kenric. “Is this kingdom so impoverished that it can’t maintain the royal residence properly? Are you really telling me we have to pay to fix it? This isn’t even our home. Why should we be forced to maintain it? If that’s the case, I need to send letters to Ellisar and the rest of the Fey court to warn them not to extend any credit and to insist on full, upfront payment for everything they want to buy.”

  “That’s what the steward told me,” Kenric shrugs.

  I call for Melina and ask her to bring my writing desk. I sit for a moment thinking about how to phrase what I want to say. I’m sure it will likely be intercepted, so I decide to write it in Old High Fey. As I write, I’m asking some pointed questions to Kenric about the financial state of Centis. Kenric is giving me answers and trying to downplay the castle's current state. I nod, make some noncommittal comments, and keep writing. I don’t care if he fixes the whole castle, just any part of it I have to live in. I sent Lilli and Pia to find Inaba or Usami because I have urgent letters to be delivered to The Hamadryad before it leaves.

  I’m just finishing the first letter to Amer because telling Amer is approximately the same as telling the entire Fey court when there’s a loud knock on the door. The steward bustles in, red-faced, sweating, and looking like he ran to get here. That tells me that I’m correct about being in these rooms to be spied on. That only makes me a bit angrier at the whole situation.

  The steward gestures at the fireplace. “If your fire were bigger, you’d be comfortable enough.”

  I frown slightly and return to my pointed questions about the financial state of the kingdom of Centis.

  I also decide to give him a dose of what he’s been forcing us to deal with. While the steward is here, I have Maria direct the maids to build up the fire. I’m going to send that man home covered in soot. Smirking, Larissa joins in and starts piling up more wood with tinder and kindling. There are a few seconds from the time fire catches properly before this fireplace belches out smoke and soot. While the steward is explaining the complexities of maintaining the royal residence, I see Larissa and Maria hastily beating a retreat to the other room.

  Gesturing to Kenric, I also move away from the fireplace, ostensibly to pour some wine for all of us. Kenric follows me dutifully to serve the wine. As if on cue, the fireplace belches, and since this fire was the largest we’ve attempted in this fireplace, smoke and soot come rolling out in a small cloud. Kenric looks at the steward and then looks at me, his eyes wide. The steward, in his best court dress, now looks like a chimney sweep along his left side.

  I politely hand him a glass of wine. “As you can see, we have had quite a bit of trouble getting a sufficiently large fire to remain comfortable.”

  The steward downs his wine, hands me the goblet, and turns on his heel to leave.

  He stops at the doorway, “I’ll see to it that they clear your chimney next.”

  Kenric turns to face me, eyes dancing with mirth. “I think the steward understands the scope of the problem now.”

  I hear all the ladies chuckling in the other room. I peek in through the adjoining door, and Mila is howling into a pillow. Maria has a satisfied smirk while Larissa grins widely at me over her teacup. “Perhaps after tomorrow we can all manage to be a bit warmer,”

  Melina suggests decamping to the inn for a day or two while all this happens, since it’s likely to create quite a mess. I nod in agreement. “That seems reasonable, but will there be any objections?”

  Kenric shrugs with a smirk. “I’ll just go see the steward while all of you pack everything up to spend a day or two at the inn.”

  I think for a moment before I ask. “Perhaps see if we can spend a bit longer and get the plastering done to seal up all the cracks and drafts? If they fix the chimney tomorrow, then any cleanup from that can be done on the second day. How long would it take a plasterer to plaster these rooms and have them ready for us to move back into?”

  Kenric shakes his head, “It’s not the plastering and painting that takes so long. It’s the time it takes for everything to dry. These rooms wouldn’t be ready for us until the middle of the month, if not later.”

  Mila grins at me, “It was lovely to see that smug twat get a slice of the comeuppance he’s due.”

  Snorting, Larissa agrees, “Any letter you send will simply be a garnish to the main dish, once your ladies return to Imelenora with their tale of the squalid conditions here – filthy rooms, broken down furnishings, disrepair of the simplest of amenities like the fireplace. That steward has nearly caused a diplomatic incident with his carelessness and thievery. You’re not the first lady that I’ve served in the palace. I can’t prove it, of course, but I’m certain that he’s been stealing from the maintenance budget, and that’s why everything is so run down and shabby.”

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  I sigh heavily and nod. “Before she left in disgust, Lady Halaema pointed out that much of the trim and many of the decorations that used to be here are missing. She felt that this was once a much more elegant space than it is now. She wondered if there was a plague, famine, or some other disaster that forced selling it.”

  Pia shakes her head and shrugs. “We haven’t faced such dire circumstances in Centis since King Oskar’s great-great-grandfather’s time. I can’t imagine that the kingdom is so hard-pressed that the steward would have to strip decorations from the palace and sell them to cover expenses.”

  Sipping her tea, Emily gestures to the walls with her teacup. “These walls used to be plastered. I don’t know why they stripped the plaster out instead of repairing it, if that was even the reason they stripped it out. If you look closely, you’ll see that there’s still some plaster clinging to the stones. I can’t imagine what the steward was thinking.”

  Larissa gives Emily a dismissive chuckle. “I can answer that. It was probably cheaper to strip everything out. He got funds to plaster it again, but since this was more affordable, this is what we’re left with. Bare walls that are ice cold. Bare stone floors that are also ice cold. The wooden floors that used to be here are gone, too. That’s why all the hearths, doorways, and similar features are so tall that I keep tripping on them.”

  I examine the doorways, and all of them are a few inches higher than the stone floors, requiring a step to cross the threshold.”Gods above! You’re right. I hadn’t even realized it. I thought they just built oddly here. It’s because there should be wooden floors to keep us off the cold stone.”

  Maria laughs at this.”I can’t say if Larissa is right about the steward stealing from the maintenance budget, but every time I come to the palace, it seems a bit more run-down. It’s not too bad right now. It just looks… tired and a little sad. A few more years of this, though, and parts of it might be too far gone to save. I won’t say it’s theft. What I will say is that maybe King Oskar should be paying more attention to how his home is maintained and less to the recently married ladies of the court. Either way, it’s led to your companions from Imelenora leaving, and that’s likely to have some consequences for this trade agreement that good King Oskar hasn’t fully thought through.

  While we’re discussing this, Inaba arrives with Usami in tow. I hand over the letters I’ve written and sealed. The wax seal isn’t the only seal on these letters; the ink is also a Fey creation that reveals only the intended message to the designated recipient. I embedded a tiny thread of magic in them that will break if anyone other than the recipient opens them. Anyone else will only see the most banal of letters home. One of these is to my father and mother. Since my father is one of Ellisar’s court officials, I will only share my thoughts with my family and let my father repeat them directly to Ellisar.

  Another is for Amer, who will gossip to anyone at court willing to listen about how backward and impoverished Centis is. Another is for Ruvaen so he can tell my battle-siblings. A few more are for my old war band. Another is for my Aunt Meria. I don’t want any of them caught up in any investments in Centis. They’re likely to lose whatever it is when this place burns because of Oskar’s challenge to Ellisar. Inaba and Usami take the letters and leave for Varpua to catch The Hamadryad before it can leave port so it can carry the letters.

  I smile weakly at Kenric. “The Hamadryad will be leaving soon and won’t return for a year due to the change in currents and winds. No backing out now.”

  Kenric catches me up and sinks into a chair. “I know you’re worried, my love, but once I get you to my home, it will be far more comfortable than this. I know I’m a lowly Viscount, but I swear my home will be much more to your liking than this miserable place. For one thing, the fireplaces work properly, as do our garderobes. We might not have the fancy water taps you have in Imelenora, but we have other ways of handling those things that don’t involve you hovering over what you thought was a fishbowl.”

  Sighing, I rest my head against Kenric’s chest as he continues comforting me.

  Suddenly, Kenric chuckles, “I never thought I’d say that my home is more comfortable than the King’s palace. My receiving hall may not be grander, and my keep is more geared for war than for show, but if these rooms are the palace’s standard, my keep is definitely more comfortable. When we arrive, we can discuss adding features that might make it more enjoyable for you. The attics and even some of the lower levels are packed with nearly anything you could need. It might need a bit of touch-up, but there are paintings, furniture, statues, rugs, tapestries, and gods only know what else. If none of that suits you, we can buy things or have them built.

  Sighing, I snuggle into Kenric and nod. “That seems reasonable. Part of the reason this place is so miserable is that it’s always so drafty, and everything is always freezing. Do you know I had to hold my inkpot to write those letters? Otherwise, it’s so cold that the ink is too thick to write with. I suppose that’s because they took the plaster down. I don’t think I’ve complained much. The duke’s palace in Varpua was nice enough. The inn here in Dobile was nice enough. I believe you when you say that your home is more comfortable this,”

  Kenric nods and kisses the top of my head. “You’ve been very patient with everything. I know that having your friends leave suddenly was a bit jarring, but I will do my best to keep you safe and comfortable, even if it’s perhaps not what you’re used to.”

  Pretending to weep a bit, I lean into Kenric’s chest.”I hate that they came all this way just to turn right around and go home. I’m certain that if this is your king’s palace, they expect your keep to be even more… rustic.”

  Kenric shrugs and smiles down at me.”We’re not barbarians. We might not have some of your conveniences, but our homes are generally snug and warm.”