The Vampire & Her Witch

While the lords complained under their breath and the priests spoke among themselves, Jocelynn only had eyes for Marquis Bors, studying his face for the slightest sign that would indicate his acceptance or disapproval of her plan.

For her, this was more than just an attempt to extract capital from the Blackwell merchant guilds, though that was the most obvious and immediate goal of her plan. The real goal in her mind was the elevation of one of those Guild Masters to the position of Baron within Dunn County.

With the gratitude of the Dunn family for her role in their elevation and a guild master who still held loyalty to the Blackwell family as a newly elevated baron, she would have a stable base of power and a place she could flee to within Lothian territory if the day ever came that she needed to do so.

She might not be able to become a baroness in her own right, ruling over a territory of her own, but it was better than nothing. And if she could help the ship captains establish their domains in this new barony when they became knights, then her base of support there would be even stronger.

She only hoped that no one would realize she was building her own source of power within Lothian lands until it was too late... and that she could endure long enough for the power she was nurturing to grow strong enough to protect her.

”Lady Jocelynn, my valiant son Owain,” Bors finally said after several minutes of quiet deliberation. ”I trust your plan to resolve the shortfall in supplies for the army is just as considered and will also take many months of work before it bears fruit?”

”It is as you say, your Grace,” Jocelynn said, offering a deep curtsy and bowing her head low. ”For the short term, I can offer no better solutions than what the Hanrahans have already asked for. Reduce their tithes or forgive them entirely so that the villages who lost the most do not suffer undue hardship.”

”The storehouses are filled with enough food to sustain the march through the winter, even without the tithe from Hanrahan barony,” she said confidently. ”And even without the contributions of the Dunns at the end of winter, we can make up the losses across the remainder of the march. Rather than focus on the immediate shortfall, Lord Owain and I believe we should focus our efforts on preparing for the war.”

”Hmm,” Bors said before another fit of coughing racked his body strongly enough that his cup of mulled wine fell from his hand, spilling what little liquid remained in the cup across the floor.

”Father!” Loman cried, standing from his seat and rushing to his father’s side.

”Sit down!” Bors roared, hurling the fur cloak that had covered his lap at his approaching son and glaring at him. ”Fool child,” he said, before another fit of coughing stopped him from speaking further.

For a moment, the entire room froze, staring in shock as their Marquis lashed out at his son.

Outside of Bors’ own family, Baron Leufroy knew Bors the best, and this wasn’t the first time he’d seen his liege lord lash out and hurl something at someone unfortunate enough to provoke his ire. During the war, he’d seen the frustrated lord hurl anything from bits of armor to paper weights holding down maps and even a dagger still in its sheath flung at the head of a stammering young soldier who gave a confusing and contradictory report about a demon sighting.

But no one, not even Valeri Leufroy, had ever seen Bors lose his temper and lash out physically at a session of the Lothian Court, not even a small, emergency session like this one. Nor had anyone seen him berate his sons so publicly before, and no one knew how to respond to it.

”This meeting has gone on long enough,” the aging marquis said, ignoring the startled looks from his lords and guests alike as he tucked a blood-stained handkerchief back into a pocket. His movement was deft enough that only a few people attending spotted the sign of how serious the ”winter cough” truly was, but after his outburst, anyone who noticed it wisely held their tongues.

”We will suspend discussions of the Dunn Hamlets and the supplies for the army until the full court can gather in two week’s time,” Bors announced after clearing his throat several times.

”As to the matter of the demon raids... I’ve made my decision,” Bors said as he turned to face the High Priest with an expression that said he wasn’t in the mood to negotiate about whatever he’d decided. ”I require the cooperation of the Church in order to protect our people. High Priest Aubin, will the temple submit to my orders in this fight against the demons?”

”So long as your requests are reasonable, your Grace,” the old priest said in a carefully neutral tone. Clearly, now wasn’t a time when he should press the Marquis on the formal divisions between his subjects and people who answered only to the authority of the Church. There was a time to assert their independence and ensure that the Marquis remained humble in making requests of the Church rather than issuing demands, but now most certainly wasn’t one of those times.

”I see no reason that the Church cannot supply the aid you require,” Aubin said. ”One of our most sacred missions has always been to eliminate the demon threat and to protect our people from the forces of darkness. So long as it serves that end, the Church will readily march at your side.”

”Very well,” Bors said as he turned his gaze to his youngest son. It wasn’t the moment he’d have chosen to thrust the young man forward. Nothing in this meeting had produced results that justified the action he was about to take. If anything, he should be praising Jocelynn for bringing a cool head, holding herself apart from wild speculation, and focusing on what could actually be done.

But now wasn’t the moment to reward the cunning young lady from Blackwell County. At most, he would reconsider a match between her and Loman after this demonstration, but first, he needed to press forward and use this opportunity to raise Loman’s standing in the eyes of the Court. And if Loman couldn’t bear up under the pressure... then perhaps there would still be a chance for Owain after all.