Page 105 of Ironling
Those with chairs slumped and slipped into their seats, gazes flicking between her and Allarion, as if they didn’t dare turn their attention away for too long.
“Lord Allarion has taken possession of the Scarborough estate. As such, he is well within his rights to attend this meeting.”
Several councilors gawped at her, reminding her of fish caught on a hook. She allowed them a few more moments with their surprise, but eventually her impatience won out.
Let’s get on with it and be done.
“Now, as you—”
“He’sfae!” insisted Padraic Bayard, standing up to emphasize his point.
“Yes, my lord. I know.”
“He can’t…he shouldn’t…” Bayard threw what Aislinnconsidered to be an imminently stupid frown at the fae in question.
“As you all know, we have King Marius’s blessing to integrate interested otherly folk into our demesne. Allarion has the deed, signed by myself and my father.”
“But, my lady,” tried Baron Burgoyne, one of their vassals to the south, “to allow an otherly such rights…”
“No one has claimed or wanted Scarborough for decades. Allarion is doing us a favor by occupying and restoring the land. And what’s more, the sale has helped Dundúran cover this year’s dues. Once my brother is dealt with, I will be giving you the difference between this and last year’s dues.”
That earned a round of interested mumbles. It was true what her father said sometimes,“Money speaks, even if it has no mouth.”
“Now,” she continued, “I won’t hear more argument about it. The otherly folk in the Darrowlands have worked hard to integrate into our communities. From all accounts, they are good neighbors. My father has always upheld the Darrowlands as a demesne of freedom and dignity for all.Allincludes humans and otherly folk.”
“But a fae…” croaked Earl Starley. “They are loyal only to their queen.”
“If I may?” Stepping forward, Allarion waited until Aislinn nodded in assent before explaining, “Not all are loyal to the queen. Dissent exists in her court. I wanted a life far from this intrigue and am grateful to have found a place as peaceful and good as Scarborough. I have pledged my fealty to Liege Darrow and the heiress, as have you all.”
Allarion left a stunned silence in his wake as he retook his place beside Sorcha, whose own eyes had gone wide at his speech.
Clearing her throat, Aislinn said, “Thank you, Lord Allarion.Now, shall we begin?”
A few murmurs and disgruntled huffs met her question, but ultimately, the council settled in.
With Fia taking notes for her as she usually did, Aislinn led them through the meeting, finding the familiar rhythm of it once she got them on task. There were harvests to report and winter droving sites to negotiate and criminal cases to rule on. Alarmingly, the margraves reported an increase in thefts in their market towns.
“Do we not often see such increases with winter coming?” Aislinn asked.
“We do, my lady,” said Margrave Holt, a pretty woman even younger than Aislinn who’d taken the mantle of responsibility from her mother at the tender age of ten. “But this is earlier than we’d usually expect. If it continues at this rate, many of my farmers will struggle this winter.”
“Do you have any ideas for why there’s such an increase?”
Margrave Holt blinked, as if she hadn’t been expecting to give her opinion. Aislinn blinked back, waiting. Who else better to give an opinion than her?
“My sheriffs suspect there is disquiet in the borderlands. There are rumors from the orcish territories that one of their chiefs is trying to unite them under one banner to check the Pyrrossi incursions along their borders. This and your father’s efforts may be pushing those who’d normally hide out in the borderlands further north.”
Interesting. If this was true, it was all the more reason to call her father home and have him reassess his strategy.
“While you’re here in Dundúran, I’ll have you write a report of the problem and your suspected reasons for it. I will ensure this information gets to the capital. If Pyrros and the orcs mean to war with each other, Eirea must be prepared.”
“Of course, my lady.”
“Upon your return, please gather what information you can from your sheriffs and have those farmers affected compensated. We can also increase patrolling in the area if you think the show of force would help.”
Margrave Holt grinned with relief. “It would, my lady. Thank you.”
“Good. You may also keep anyone caught in the act through the winter, and we will try any cases in spring.”
