It took up the entire wall. Just as it had when it hung on the wall of my childhood bedroom, it struck me as nightmarish. And the old man knew that full well. Despite how weak I was, his rough jest brought a smile to my face. Still I protested, ‘But this chamber should be kept as the humble room of a serving man. Except for the size and lack of windows, you have fitted it out as if for a prince.’
Kettricken sighed. ‘Chade, too, rebuked me for that, but I refused to listen. Bad enough that you must be ill in such a small and gloomy chamber. I will not leave it pauperish and cold as well.’
‘But your chamber is simple and sparse, in the Mountain fashion. I don’t—’
‘When you are well enough to have visitors, then you may have it all taken away if you wish. But for now, I will have you comfortable. In the Six Duchies style.’ She spoke with asperity, then sighed. ‘As usual, a lie has explained it away. Lord Golden rewards his serving-man for loyalty. So. Tolerate it.’
And there was no arguing with her tone. She propped me up with pillows and I ate the sodden bread. I could have eaten more, but she took the empty bowl from me and told me to take my recovery slowly. And then I was suddenly tired. I lay back, overcome with weariness yet astounded there was no pain. And I suddenly realized that I was on my back. My face must have changed, for Kettricken anxiously asked me if I were all right.
I rolled to my side and reached a cautious hand to my back. ‘There is no pain, I told her.
There were no bandages.
I felt the smooth flesh, and then the knobs of my spine and my ribs that stuck out like a starved dog’s. I started to tremble, and my teeth to chatter. Kettricken pulled blankets closer around me. ‘The wound is completely gone,’ I rattled out the words.
‘Yes,’ she agreed. ‘The flesh is closed and sound. Of the sword-thrust, there is no sign. It is one reason we have kept visitors away from you. Surely they would wonder at that, and also wonder why you are thin and wasted as from a weeks-long illness.’ She paused then, and I thought she would say more, but she did not. She smiled at me tenderly. ‘Don’t be concerned about anything right now. You need to rest, Fitz, not to worry. Rest, and eat, and soon you’ll be up and about.’ The Queen touched my whiskery cheek and then smoothed back my hair.
A thousand questions suddenly crowded my mind. ‘Does Hap know I’m all right? Has he come to see me; is he worried?’
‘Hush. You are not all right, not yet. He has come here, but we judged it best not to let him see you. Lord Golden has spoken with him, assuring him that you will recover and are receiving the best of care. He told him how grateful he was for how Tom Badgerlock had attempted to defend his treasure at such a cost to himself, and made Hap promise that if he had any need while you are recuperating, he would let Golden know of it. And a woman named Jinna has come to visit, hut also been turned aside.’
I understood the wisdom of it. Both Hap and Jinna would have been astounded at my present appearance, but I hoped my boy had not been made too anxious. And then, as if a gate had been opened, all my other questions assaulted me. ‘Were there other Piebalds, beside Laudwine and Padget? I got the impression that Civil’s mother was very nearly living under siege. And there is a spy still, the one who took Thick to see Laudwine, Chade must—’
‘You must rest, she said firmly. ‘Others are dealing with all of that.’ She stood fluidly. It took only two steps to cross my tiny room. She blew out all the candles save one, and that one she removed from the holder. I became aware that my queen was in a nightrobe and wrapper. Her hair hung in a thick gold braid down her back.
‘It’s night.’ I said stupidly.
‘Yes. Very late at night. Go to sleep now, Fitz.’
‘What are you doing here so late at night?’
‘Watching you sleep.’
It didn’t make sense. She had deliberately wakened me. ‘But the milk and the bread?’
‘I had my page fetch them for me, telling him I could not sleep. Because, in truth, I could not. And then I brought them here, for you.’ She sounded almost defensive. ‘There is a good amidst all this evil that has befallen you. It has made me recall vividly just how much I owe you, and how much I value you.’ She looked down at me for a moment. ‘If I lost you,’ she said unwillingly, ‘I would lose the only one who knows the whole of my story. The only one who looks at me and knows all I went through with my king.’
‘But Starling was there. And Lord Golden.’
She shook her head. ‘Not for all of it. And neither of them loved him as we did. Then, candle in hand, she stooped and kissed my brow. ‘Go to sleep, FitzChivalry.’ And when she kissed my mouth, it was like a long drink of cool water, and I knew the kiss was not for me, but for the man we both had lost. ‘Rest and grow strong again,’ she admonished me, then rose and left by the secret doorway. She took the mug and the bowl with her, leaving behind no trace of herself save her lingering scent in the darkness. I sighed, and sank into a sleep that was deep, but almost normal.
TWENTY-ONE
Convalescence
The Witness Stones have stood on the cliffs near Buckkeep Castle for as long as Buckkeep Castle has existed, and likely for longer. Tall and black, the four stones thrust up in a quadrangle from the rocky earth. Either time or the hands of men have obscured the markings that once graced each side of each Stone. The runes are unreadable now. The stone itself appears very similar to the black blocks of Buckkeep Castle, save for silvery threads that run like flaws through each pillar. No one knows whence came the tradition of calling the Stones to witness either a vow or the truth of what a man was saying. Sometimes combats are fought before the Stones, in the belief that invoking their presence will enable the fighter whose cause is just to prevail. Many superstitions are associated with the space at the centre of the four. Some say that a barren woman can conceive a child there; others, that there a woman can ask the Stones to take away that which grows in her womb.
— Lady Clarine’s Customs of Buck Duchy
I rose from my sickbed the next day. In the blackness of my closed chamber, I walked the three steps to my clothing chest. Then I fell and could not find the strength to get up. I lay still, resolving not to call out for help but to wait until I could muster the energy to return to my bed. But almost immediately, the door to my room opened, admitting light and air and Lord Golden. He stood limned in the doorway and looked down on me with aristocratic disapproval. ‘Tom, Tom,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Must you always be so annoyingly stubborn? Back to your bed until Lord Chade says you are free of it.’
As always, the strength in his slender body surprised me. He did not help me to my feet but lifted me bodily and set me back on my bed. I groped for my blanket. He caught up the corner of one and flipped it over me. ‘I can’t just lie here for days and days,’ I complained.
Lord Golden looked amused. ‘I’d like to see you try to do anything else, for obviously you can’t. I’ll leave the door open so you have some light. Do you wish a candle as well?’
I shook my head slowly, chilled by his impersonal yet tolerantly kindly manner. He left me, but the door remained open. I could see the fire burning in his tidily-swept hearth. He resumed his seat at a small writing desk and took up his quill again. It scratched energetically over the paper.
In a short time, there was a tap at the door, and at his invitation to enter, his serving-boy came in bearing a breakfast tray. Char set it down on the table and carefully unloaded it. When he was finished, there remained several bowls and a mug on the tray. He picked it up and started towards my door but Lord Golden, without looking away from his writing, said, ‘Leave it on the table, Char.’ The boy left, and still Lord Golden scribbled. A short time later, there was another knock on the door. This time, the boy carried in buckets of water. A man with him had an armload of firewood. Lord Golden ignored them both as they went about their tasks. When they had both left, he sighed, stood up from his desk and went to the door and latched it. Then he spoke to me again.