April 17, 1176
"Your stepfather sure is a character," Bernardo mused as a chuckling Tarien strode off toward the castle entrance. They did seem to get along, those two--and in spite of her mother's frostiness, Hilla suspected a secret fondness there as well. Not that she was getting any ideas; she was still young, after all, and as if a cultured, well-traveled foreigner would ever want to settle down in dull old Naroni. Besides, they hadn't even known each other a week yet!And yet, she felt like she'd known him forever. "Nothing on yours, from the sounds of it."
Bernardo laughed. "Oh, they'd get along famously, I'm sure. If my stepfather had been at the wedding yesterday, Sir Tarien wouldn't have been dancing on that table alone."
"Mmm. Thank you for coming, by the way."
"Likewise, thank you for inviting me. I'm still both honored and astounded that of all the men who would have given their right arms to escort you, you thought to ask me." He pulled her a little closer and nudged his head against hers. Even through her own hair she could feel the silk of his. "I'm glad yesterday wasn't too uncomfortable for you."Hilla sniffed. "You did get a good look at my brother, did you not? I don't think he left enough discomfort for anyone else--except maybe his wife."
"Well, he was caught in a whirlwind." With his free hand, he reached across the bridge of their adjacent laps and caught his fingers between hers. Hilla didn't care much to have anything between her bony fingers--particularly another set of bony fingers--but his were the exception. They fit into those awkward grooves like pieces of a puzzle. "One day he's courting one girl, and the next he's betrothed to another girl, and then the next he's marrying a third girl after her brother caught them mid-coitus. If that doesn't make a man uncomfortable, I don't know what would."
"Oh, I don't know... seeing either of the first two girls again?"
He stared at her for a minute, seemingly trying to decide whether or not he was supposed to laugh. He broke down after she cued him with a snicker of her own. Whether he meant it or not, she was relieved; what good was laughter if it wasn't shared? "You know, for a woman with a scandal in her immediate family, you seem to be in good spirits.""Oh, this is nothing. You should have been here when my mother moved in with Tarien--while they were both most unmarried, mind you." He laughed again--and not like he was indulging her, but like he genuinely found her amusing. She hoped she had enough jokes in her to keep him from getting bored. "Seriously, we love a good scandal around here every once in a while. They keep things interesting."
"I'll say." A bold sort of grin tugging at his mouth, he laced his arm beneath her knees and hoisted her onto his lap. "So. First your mother gets a scandal, and now your brother has one. Is it your turn next, I wonder?"
"Maybe." His gem-like eyes were alight with intrigue. Not immune to it herself, Hilla rested her brow against his and edged the angle between them to a decrease. Her nose brushed his and his breath was warm upon her lips. "I suppose we'll have to wait and see."NEXT CHAPTER:
7 comments:
Yes, I know it's not a Naroni day, but after leaving Realmspeaker where I did--and with A@D so close to completion--I kind of felt the need to make a few changes to the schedule and figured I'd better announce it at the site with the most traffic. Details can be found here.
That and I have a lot do to this weekend, so I figured back-to-back Naronis would make things a little easier on me, just because the outline is more set in stone and the sets I need are already built.
Oh, the preview.
...What would Halford say about all of this?
Halford? Oh my. That is a question. Maybe he would be laughing hysterically ... but this is his children's happiness at stake.
And so it's Cord and Riala. Well, I'm sure Riala will be good to him -- she's a smart cookie with a good head on her shoulders, most of the time. (Lock. The. Damn. Door!) I'm surprised she agreed to go along with the whole marrying-Cord scheme -- isn't she a bit of a rebel against the whole marriage thing?
Cord, however, has a lot of 'splainin' to do in the near future. Best of luck with that!
Well, I didn't see that coming. I thought Cord would end up marrying Nanalie (as much as he didn't seem to want to.)
Adonis looks pissed in the preview pic.
Pen: That's... a good question. He did end up marrying Arydath by Will of Old Hilla after he supposedly knocked her up, after all. Then again, Adonis was his good buddy and he wouldn't have wanted the tension between his pal and his eldest son. Hmm...
Morgaine: Cord could have done a lot worse than Riala. I doubt she wanted to get married at this point in her life, but I don't think she's so much against the whole marriage thing as she is against the whole "marry the first guy who asks and don't take him for a test drive" thing.
I think Cord has made an enemy for life :S
Orilon: There were a few ways this could have turned out ;)
Oh, Adonis is definitely pissed :S
I didn't see that coming. Cord married Riala? I can see him being pushed into that, and he's not a bad guy, and he could certainly do worse than Riala, but he sure will have a couple of very angry women holding grudges for the rest of their lives. What a mess!
These two are so sweet together. I love the detail about their hands.
Oh, he could do worse, certainly. But there will definitely be a fallout :S
One of the things I love about background character romances is that there doesn't have to be any drama. They can just do their thing, maybe serve as a means of giving information every once in a while, or maybe serve as the stable counterpart to a more prominent, tempestuous relationship, but mostly they just get to hang around and lead their happy little existence.
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