(Continued from Ch 55, The Broasted Ox) The Chronicles of Rapina Chapter 56, The Allure of Emeralds In the late morning after breakfast Charles and the cavalrymen were ready to take Bellany on a tour of the area. Sergeant Lime tried to help her mount but she climbed into the saddle with such alacrity that it was really nothing more than an excuse for the sergeant to touch her. She smiled down at him like the Mona Lisa. Charles was far too good at reading people to do more. "All set Belle?" Charles asked. Bellany combed her fingers through Starstruck's glossy jet mane. "We're ready to go Charles," Bellany said urging her stallion forward with just the slightest touch of her heals. He walked briskly out of the carriage house and wheeled to face the men as they came out. "You know Belle, I've seen Dorety ride 'Struck before in the exercise yard. By comparison he's a prancin' fool with you in the saddle. I'd say he talks an awful lot more too. "It's just my animal magnetism, Charles." Bellany smirked. The men laughed. The horses of the Norwit cavalrymen clopped along the cobbled main street of the town of Vargrend. "Most of the town of Vargrend sits here on a small hill beside the Emerald river. See it down there?" Charles asked. "The river? Yes," Bellany said. A man down the hill scowled up at her and her compatriots then spat on the ground. "The school sits on a much larger hill up the river to the north," Charles continued. "Just Northwest of the school is where Miller's dam blocks the river and creates the Emerald Lake behind it. The mill there is where they grind the flour from the area farms. Vargrend is not a real big town, but there are some decent metal smiths, two hotels, a couple of taverns, a jeweler, a tanner, a few clothiers, a cabinet maker, a livery, a couple of food stores and a farmer's market that runs during the warmer months," Charles said. Bellany rode up closer to Charles and in a hushed voice asked, "Why did that man scowl at us and spit?" "He's probably one of those ghouls who believes in the death god, Mortaebius," Charles replied quietly. "Bristol is traditionally a bastion of Mortaebius. The Vindicator has made some real progress down here though. Our churches aren't popular with everyone but up until more recently they were growing. With the religious war heating up and Baron Bristol still liable to hold to tradition I sometimes wonder how Lieutenant Harrington is going to manage to keep his job." Charles shook his head sadly. Charles continued with his narration of the tour in a louder voice so that all could hear. "The people are good and the local constabulary turns any bad apples that roll into town to cider. There are more constables and deputies than there ought to be for a town this size but the children of many important people go to school at the academy. Baron Bristol himself appointed Captain Boswell to head the constabulary, but Boswell seldom comes out of his office. Lieutenant Herrington wields most of the hands-on power. Herrington was a lieutenant in Avengene's army but he decided to find safer work after he got married," Charles said. Bellany's group rode out of town to the north. The road wound eastward away from the river and she could see in the distance that it turned to the north once more in order to skirt the grounds of the school. Bellany saw the stone fences that surrounded the grounds of the academy on the South side. "This is the Boys' side of the school," Charles said. "Beyond that fence there are lists, practice dummies, archery targets and all manner of equipment for training for tournament events." Bellany could see the side of the main building from where she was. It consisted of a building with three sections. There was an ancient cylindrical keep sitting on a motte, a man-made hill, in the middle. Two tall rectangular stone buildings sitting on the flat areas next to the base of the motte flanked the cylindrical keep. Bridge-like corridors from the second and third floors of the wings to the first and second floors of the cylindrical keep connected the buildings. Both the keep and its wings had three stories but the keep seemed one story taller than the buildings that flanked it because it sat on the motte. A smaller tower rose from the forward part of the roof of the central keep making it taller yet. There was a shorter rectangular building behind the cylindrical keep as well. Tall walls with wrought-iron spikes that curled towards the onlooker seemed to split the shorter building in half, but Bellany doubted the stone walls continued inside the building. She guessed those inner walls separated the boys' area of the grounds from the girls' area. Since the walls were every bit as tall as the ones that protected the school from outsiders, she could see why few boys made it into the girls' area. Charles pointed at the school. "Vargrend's Prison for Girls is in the north wing. The Bristol Academy for Boys is in the south wing right in plain view from here. You can't see the girls' building very well but it's basically a mirror image of the boys' building. The administrative offices and the library are in the ancient keep in the middle. The headmaster lives in the high tower up over the keep. The central keep between the two wings of the school was the traditional baronial keep of Bristol until a century or two ago when the baron built the new castle East of Rosehaven." The main entrance to the school was on the east side. As the group followed the road to the north, Bellany could look west and see the three parts of the school much more clearly. Earlier, only the part of the girls' school higher than the high stone fences had been plainly visible. The central keep and the girls' wing had been behind the boys' wing from that angle. Now that they were on the east side of the school Bellany could see through the wrought iron gates into a big walled courtyard that separated the school from the road. There was a large stable on the south side of the courtyard. "The only building we can't get a good look at from here is the auditorium and cafeteria building. That's on the river side of the keep in the middle, opposite where we are now," Charles said. "Both the boys and the girls use it, but usually at different times. We will come back to school later to check you in, Belle, but first I want to show you the houses around Emerald lake so you can see how our betters live." The group from Avengene took the road northward to where it would begin to circle the estates on the lake created by Miller's Dam. There was a gate across the road manned by three deputies. "Cavalryman Reid, you come with Belle and I. Sergeant Lime, take the rest of the men and head back to the hotel. The deputies don't like regiments riding down Emerald Lane," Charles said. "We probably won't be more than an hour unless we run into one of the barons to be and in that case if someone wants us to stay for lunch or whatever, then we will be obliged to stay. Your orders are simple. Deliver my baggage to The Bristol Academy and get Belle's things over to Vargrend's Prison for Girls. After that, get ready for the trip back home. I should be back before two in any case but I want you to be ready to ride for Norwit after a handshake." "Yes Milord," Lime said as he turned his horse and motioned the others to come with him. "Oh and take Bellany's weapons belt and hide it deep in her trunk. It is bad enough she's going to be riding down Emerald Lane astride. If she were armed as well I am sure they would find it scandalous." Bellany frowned but handed her weapons belt over to the sergeant. Charles and Reid accompanied Bellany down Emerald Lane. The deputies seemed a little dubious about letting him pass at first, but when Charles said he was going to visit Baron Carnarvon and was expected. They let him through. There were perhaps a dozen houses around the lake. All of them made Bellany's home in Norwit look like an inconsequential tenement. "Who lives in those houses?" Bellany asked. "A few students don't board at the school, mostly those who are from truly wealthy families," Charles said. "Their coachmen drop them off each morning and pick them up each afternoon. Those with houses around the lake are sometimes referred to as, 'The Emerald Families.' If you're lucky enough to know one of them you can sometimes get a pass to visit, especially on Sundays. Some families also board the children of close friends on their Emerald Estates. Tourney stars can sometimes become permanent guests of one of the Emerald families. I have a shot at that." Charles grinned. "I don't think any of the families actually live here except for Mayor Eagan's. He lives in the house closest to the school, and of course, Head Mistress Vargrend lives right across the river from the school on the old Vargrend Estate. She is the chief warden of your prison." Charles chuckled. "Otherwise these houses are staffed and maintained just as a convenience for the children of wealthy families." Bellany stared open-mouthed. The house closest to the school was grand but the next house was practically obscene. It was very tall and faced entirely in white marble. Who owns that mansion?" Bellany gasped. "That house belongs to Count Jordell. It makes Mayor Eagan's place look tacky, doesn't it?" Charles chuckled. Count Jordell is incredibly wealthy. He is a shipping magnate. The word is that Red Jack never touched Jordell's ships because Jack is actually a disgraced and disowned brother of the Count. In a backhanded sort of way, Jack made his family extremely wealthy after getting thrown out of court for his affair with Cinid Li'Yieraun. Since Red Jack started terrorizing Avengene, relations between the Marquis and the Count have chilled considerably." Bellany appeared to be studying one of the statues in the yard of Jordell Manor, but her mind was in the past in the cabin of a pirate longship. "Rapina's not yer real name is it?" Red Jack asked from her memory. Bellany heard herself reply but her voice was different. "It's something Auntie used to call me in private. She said she dreamed it. I haven't gone by my given name since I left my hometown; this way it's harder for the reverend's family to find me." "Aye it's a good idea to have a pirate name, like Red Jack for instance, and Rapina's a good one. Don't ever tell a soul yer real name, just try to forget it..." Red Jack advised her. The group from Avengene continued around the lake from the school. The estates blocked their view of the lake, but the houses were so magnificent no one complained about that. Bellany saw the houses owned by Baron Gransward, Baron Carnarvon, Baron Bostwick, Baron Rose, Baron Bristol, Robert Hampton, a banking magnate, Mayor Belgado of Rosehaven, Donald Patel, a magnate from Turnmoor, and Baron Hartmoor. All of the houses were grand but none displayed as much artwork and opulence as the house of Count Jordell. As they rode Charles made comments about each of the Emerald families. "How many of these people do you actually know, Charles?" Bellany asked. "I know most of the boys. Many of them maintain the pride of their families by doing well at some tourney event. That or they board a tourney star or two and I know the guys in the tournaments because I am the crossbow of The Bristol Academy for boys." Charles pointed at himself. "Who is the wildest?" Bellany asked. Charles laughed. "That would have to be Lord Jordell but he's too queer for words. Lord Carnarvon is wild in a more traditional sense so I guess it depends on how you mean wild." "Jordell is strange?" Bellany asked. "Real men have to keep Jordell at arms length or suffer serious blows to their reputations." Charles grinned. "Oh, he likes other men?" Bellany asked. "It seems so but no one's admitted bending him over. He's a real fop. Most of the guys say they only go to Jordell's parties because the alcohol flows freely. Anyway we all have to humor him because he's to be a count but some of the guys would really rather beat him to pulp," Charles said. Bellany smirked. "Carnarvon is safer and just as wild in the traditional wine, women and song sense, consequently I know him well. He pretends to be the king of the joust," Charles said. "Pretends?" Bellany asked. "Well he can't be the best at jousting, he's just a rich boy. His second, Abraham Steefl, is the son of a knight of Northern Avengene, so of course he's better at the joust and most other weapons than anyone else at school. He has actually seen combat. He knows some orcish too, none of it nice," Charles laughed. "He's a Vindicator fanatic. You would have been perfect for him before the orcs, Belle. I told him about you last year and he was all set to meet you but the orcs nabbed you instead." "I don't know Charles, I'm hardly paladin's wife material now. I am less a virgin than my mother. Heavens I am probably less a virgin than my grandmother," Bellany said. "I know Belle, you're not the chaste, starry-eyed poet you once were. Those days are gone, but hell you can cook and swing a sword now. I'd say that's just as good." Charles grinned. Bellany rolled her eyes. "I am also irreverent, don't forget. How do you think that would play to a paladin?" "You can downplay it Belle. Abraham's a real catch. If you have trouble with name-calling over the orc thing, having a boyfriend like Abe would shut 'em up quick. Getting in a duel with him would be suicide for anyone in the school, except for me of course. As long as I could choose crossbows at fifty paces I'd own." Bellany shook her head and smiled. "How do you know who gets to choose the weapons in a duel?" Bellany asked. "It is customary for the challenged individual to choose the weapons. That is what keeps duels from being too common. If you're not prepared to go at it with a wooden spoon or something you have no idea how to wield, then you had better not challenge anyone." "Couldn't you challenge someone to crossbows at fifty paces right off?" Bellany asked. "Yes, but then the person I challenged could issue a counterchallenge with some other weapon and remind me that it is customary to allow him to choose the weapon. Duels aren't very common anyway because Baron Bristol gave the constable standing orders to stop them. Occasionally you'll hear of one after the fact, but it is rare. The combatants have to ride to another barony to avoid problems with Baron Bristol. It's also considered bad form for a person of lower station to challenge one of higher station or to challenge someone who hasn't got a chance to win. That's just bullying. Serious bullying like that can get you tossed out of Bristol and the academy. "Do you know any of the emerald lake girls?" Bellany asked. "I have talked with most of them at the balls after the tourneys but the emerald ladies don't tend to get serious with men outside their own social class. They look on baronets as glorified knights. My tourney wins changed that a little towards the end of last year. This year I plan to own. I'll have emerald ladies hanging all over me." Charles grinned. Bellany rolled her eyes. "Is it that way with the emerald men not going for women of lesser social standing?" Bellany asked. "Maybe for marriage," Charles said. "But you've really grown up nice, Belle and beauty has a lot to do with what women any man will go for. Your run-in with the orcs is going to damage your marriage-ability though." Charles grimaced. I think you'll get attention, just maybe not the kind you want. The men aren't as selective as far as social class. They figure anyone going to Vargrend's has to be from the upper crust. There are a few scholarship winners, but they're just at the academy for being smart. They don't get in on most of the social life. Most are likable enough and can be useful assistants." "Assistants?" Bellany asked. "Yes, let's say you needed to write a paper on catapults. You could get one of the scholars to pull all the right books for you and bookmark relevant passages. An athlete like me can get work done in half the time using a research assistant. That frees up more time for crossbow practice." Charles smiled. "Does the school allow that?" Bellany asked. "Oh they wouldn't dream of depriving the nobility of servants." Charles grinned. "I think the emerald families would boycott the school if they didn't allow assistants. That and the school's winning streak at the tourneys would grind to a halt and the peers of the realm would loose face. Besides, those scholarship winners are from the lower classes and they can use some extra coin in their pockets. The school also employs them in work- study jobs." The last house in the ring of estates around the lake was the old Vargrend estate house. It sat back from the road quite a ways as if it were brooding about the newer manor houses crowding in on its territory. A single rider trotted up from the river side of the Vargrend Estate and waved as he approached. "Hail Lord Charles," Lieutenant Herrington said as he approached. "Good day Lieutenant Herrington," Charles said. "Hello, Lieutenant, what brings you to the Vargrend Estate? You can't be sight seeing like us." "You are right, sight seeing is not allowed around the lake save by those who live on the estates. I am on patrol. If you are sight-seeing I will have to escort you back to the station." "I am here to see if Lord Carnarvon is in, but we took the scenic route to get Lady Bellany oriented to the area during daylight. All the balls and such happen at night. After the orcs, I think Belle has been through more than enough without putting her at the mercy of half drunk lords because she has no idea where she is," Charles said decisively. "Lieutenant Herrington's eyes lingered on Bellany for a moment. He nodded. Lady Norwit is an exceptional beauty. In view of her history with the orcs I can understand your concerns, Lord Charles. "I wish I could say that the constabulary will always be there to protect her, but I am not so na ve as to think we can be everywhere at once. You have taken a sensible precaution, Lord Charles. Will you be heading back to the Carnarvon Estate then?" Lieutenant Herrington asked. "Yes, there is no sense going any farther. The mill is always locked when not in use so the only way Bellany could use this route as a way to get back to the school at a time of duress is if she were to swim the river." "That would not do either, Charles. The riverside courtyard on the girls' side is always locked at night to foil the plans of any boys with a notion to swim over to the girls' side. The lady would be better off making her way around the lake in the other direction to the guard checkpoint." "But how did you get here, Lieutenant? Or did we miss you at the checkpoint," Bellany asked. "My men and I patrol the public roads, the school grounds and the Vargrend Estate. The mill and the dam are on Vargrend land so I have keys. Guardsmen can go around the lake in either direction. With the exception of Lady Vargrend and her retainers, no one else can. "Oh I see you came over across the dam," Bellany said. "Yes, milady," Lieutenant Herrington said. "Certain guardsmen have keys to the millhouse and the gates on either side of the dam, and I, of course, am one of them." "Of course, Lieutenant," Bellany affirmed. The lieutenant took them as far as the cobbled lane that led to Carnarvon Manor and then stopped. He held his position and watched them as their horses ambled towards the manor. Charles waited until they were out of earshot of the Lieutenant and then began to speak, "The good thing about Lord Carnarvon is that his grandfather's barony is so far west that he could care less about the quarrel between the Vindicator and Mortaebius. You can trust Carny to be himself. He doesn't support you because of your religion or put you down because of it either. Bellany giggled. "Is that what you call him, Carny?" Charles grinned, "Not to his face, except on special occasions. His real name is Loyd, but you cannot call a baron to be by his first name unless he insists." "Hasn't he insisted yet?" Bellany asked. "Well... no but I'm getting close." Charles grinned. "We are riding down the drive of someone you don't know on a first name basis?" Bellany asked dubiously. "I didn't start really winning until spring of last year. After practicing all this summer I am going to own, but he doesn't know he's going to be my best friend yet. I only know him because he sometimes invites Abraham Steefl over to practice at the joust, and Abraham is a knight of Avengene under Norwit. Technically I am his liege, or will be when I become baronet. That is why I took Abe under my wing. I advised him to loose to Carnarvon, because it was his duty to allow his betters the lion's share of the glory. Abe's too honest for his own good, and too much better than Carnarvon to afford to be honest. Don't get me wrong, Carnarvon is a hell of a lot better jouster than I am, but he is not Abraham Steefl. They were getting on pretty well by the end of the year. Abe was doing his best to get Carny up to snuff at jousting without winning too often. Without my instruction, Abe is a political zero, but with it, he will go far." Charles smiled. Bellany shook her head but had to smile. "So we're riding down Carnarvon Lane to a manor of someone you really don't know very well trying to get away from Lieutenant Herrington... and the fact that you did not choose to ride down the lane of someone else's manor must mean you know Carnarvon better than any of the other emerald boys." Charles looked a little uncomfortable, but only for a second, "Don't worry Belle, it's all going to turn out just fine. Let me handle it. Charles urged his horse ahead of Starstruck." Bellany rolled her eyes then realized her stallion's ears were moving, a second later she heard the clatter of hooves and saw two young men rounding one corner of Carnarvon manor on horseback. When they got near, Charles spoke up, Hail Lord Carnarvon, Hail Mister Eagan. The men slowed down and stopped as they approac(ed. "Hail Sir Norwit, or was it Lord Norwit?" The larger of the two men asked. "In Avengene it is Lord Norwit, but here in Bristol I think the proper title is Dirty Bastard Norwit." Charles grinned infectiously. Haha! I remember you, Dirty Bastard Charles, is it not? You were pretty handy in the crossbow tournaments last spring. Some said you had the makings of a champion. What in the name of the gods are you doing on Carnarvon Lane? Bellany looked at Starstruck. The stallion snorted almost as if it was obvious even to him that Charles was in grave danger of being thrown to the dogs, or at least to a snarling constable. When Bellany nudged him around beside Charles' mount Starstruck pranced regally, nearly dancing in place. "Charles, aren't you forgetting something?" Bellany asked. "Oh, ah what?" Charles asked on the edge of confusion. "To introduce me?" Bellany asked as if it were a question. "Oh forgive me, Lord Carnarvon, Mister Eagan, this is my sister, Lady Bellany Norwit." Bellany smiled at the gentlemen pleasantly while subtly tingling their lusts right up their spines. There was a moment of silence while the men caught their breath. "Pleased to meet you Lady Norwit. I am Lord Carnarvon, and this is Mister Lawrence Eagan, son of the mayor of Vargrend. Welcome to the Academy." Carnarvon glanced at Charles for a moment, "Did you say you had a sister last year, Lord Charles?" "Yes, she was supposed to come to school last year but... well remember we thought she might be dead." Charles trailed off. "Wasn't she murdered by that army of orcs that got into Norwit last year?" Mister Eagan asked. "I was taken by the orcs last year," Bellany interjected. "I survived, and have fully recovered but after what the orcs did to me I might as well been murdered, at least socially. I could really use your help getting off on the right foot here, if that is possible," Bellany said to the young men. Lord Carnarvon grinned broadly. "Of course, of course milady. We cannot promise you won't suffer socially for your ordeal, but perhaps we can help you get to know the right people..." Lord Carnarvon hesitated a moment, He glanced at Lawrence Eagan who looked back at him. Both men smiled at each other and then returned their collective gaze to Bellany. "Lawrence and I were just on our way to welcome the Patels to the neighborhood. Peter Patel is a mining and real estate magnate in Turnmoor. He is rolling in gold, practically owns the city. He bought the manor next to the old Vargrend estate. We were just on our way over to welcome him. Why don't you and Lord Charles come along?" Carnarvon asked. "Thank you Lord Carnarvon," Charles and Bellany said as one. "Good then lets get moving," Carnarvon said. Charles turned his mount and joined Lord Carnarvon's group, as did Bellany. "Weren't all of the Emerald Estates occupied last year?" Charles asked. Carnarvon spoke as their mounts carried them towards Emerald Lane. "I am surprised you did not know, Lord Charles. Marquis Avengene abruptly sold his manor next to the Vargrend estate scarcely a month ago. His Grandson graduated three years ago, but his granddaughters were to attend this year. Instead he sent them to school in Li'Yieraun. "Oh yes, I did hear father mention something about Lord Avengene's granddaughters not attending this year, but he did not elaborate. This religious thing has strained relations between Avengene and Bristol." Carnarvon nodded to Charles and then let his eyes be drawn back to Bellany. "Milady, I could not help noticing you are riding astride, is that the current style in Avengene?" Lord Carnarvon asked raising his eyebrow. Bellany smiled. "No not for noblewomen, but while on my deathbed I convinced my father that I ought to be schooled to ride astride in the tradition of Latin women. The sidesaddle is a device for simultaneously preserving a girl's maidenhood while making it ridiculously easy for any nag-riding outlaw to pluck. Riding astride is much more practical. A woman on a good horse can escape from perils that would inevitably claim a Lady in a sidesaddle. Eagan nodded. "Your deathbed?" Carnarvon asked. "Yes, the warrior who dropped what was left of me at the leech in Northern Norwit said that I had helped his group vanquish the tribe of orcs that had held me. Unfortunately, the powerful spell of an orc shaman struck me in the process. It bruised me from head to toe and clean through my internal organs. I lost much of my memory and the odds of my living were not favorable," Bellany said. "Did your father call in a priest to save you?" Carnarvon asked. "Spell-casting priests are in short supply in Norwit," Charles said. "Father had a group of them assigned to one of his special cavalry units but they were killed in battle only a week or two before Bellany returned home." Bellany took a deep breath as a memory sparked from her consciousness. Elizabetta, the skeletal assassin, stalked the darkness assassinating priests of the vindicator in preference to officers of Avengene in a special cavalry unit that had taken her prisoner. "I think most of the priests remaining work with Lord Avengene. None could be spared for an ailing Lady," Bellany said keeping her composure. "I nearly died, but I fought it through on my own." Bellany absently stroked the inky mane of her mount. The black stallion nickered to her softly. "That outline beneath the left shoulder of your dress, is it some new fashion?" Carnarvon asked. Bellany giggled as the men's eyes caressed her. "It is a fashion with a long tradition among warriors - a bandage. I took a highwayman's crossbow bolt through this muscle yesterday morning. Bellany reached out and squeezed the outer muscle on Carnarvon's shoulder while letting his ambient lust flow deliciously up her arm. Carnarvon couldn't help but grin at Bellany's touch. "Highwaymen? You Norwits have all the luck riding to school don't you?" Carnarvon laughed. "Father sent a dozen men with us this time, double the usual, because he did not want a repeat of last year. We lost half of them to a group of highwaymen on the way down," Charles affirmed. "Reid there behind us is one of the few who came through the battle without a wound." Reid nodded as Carnarvon and Eagan looked back at him. "I was lucky. Twas one hell of a fight, milord." Carnarvon turned back to Charles. "You saw real combat? Damn it! I miss a lot not living on the frontier. You know Abraham Steefl don't you, Lord Charles?" "Of course, he is the son of one of my father's best knights," Charles said. "Steefl has told me a few battle stories too. Frankly I am jealous of you men of Avengene. Did you rescue your sister from the highwaymen yesterday," Carnarvon asked. "Well..." Charles began. Bellany looked at him sternly. Charles chuckled. "It was quite a battle," Charles said thrusting his chin towards the lieutenant at the end of Carnarvon lane. If you'll call off the dogs I'll tell the tale." "Don't worry about Harrington, he knows his place," Carnarvon said in a low voice. He waved to Harrington as they approached. Good morning Lieutenant, would you be so good as to escort cavalryman Reid here back to his comrades. I have asked Lord and Lady Norwit to help Mister Eagan and I welcome the Patels to the neighborhood. It is hard to say how long we might be there, but it is so good to see Charles and finally meet Lady Bellany. We may be a while catching up." "It would be my pleasure, Lord Carnarvon," Lieutenant Herrington replied crisply. As their horses ambled down Emerald Lane Charles resumed his tale. "You tell the first part Bellany." Bellany smiled. "Charles had taken me and half the men off the road a ways and was showing me a breathtaking waterfall. Suddenly I felt the gaze of a man on me. This was no lover's caress but the wicked burning stare of a ravager. It was coming from some bushes to the north. I contrived a little bet with Charles that I could hit a central spar of rock with an arrow, but when Charles handed me his seldom-used longbow, I turned and dropped the man like the marauding wolf that he was. That was how the battle started." "Milady can shoot a longbow?" Carnarvon asked. "Yes, Charles was very naughty this summer." Bellany smiled affectionately at her brother. "I wanted to learn to handle a sword and bow for self defense but father would not hear of it. He would allow me to load Charles' crossbows, however. Charles was gracious enough to provide the training that my father refused me - on the sly of course. He let me try out all his boyhood weapons and we settled on the longbow and the rapier as the ones I ought to learn," Bellany said. "Was there only one highwayman," Mister Eagan asked. "I wish," Charles said. "After Belle dropped the first one, three of his accomplices peaked out from cover and started shooting at us. A few seconds later, a second group started shooting at us as they advanced from quite a distance to the south. Luckily, I was wielding this. He handed his triple crossbow to Lord Carnarvon for examination. Charles continued telling the tale until he got to the part where the battle at the cliffs was largely over and then he trailed off after telling how Bellany had galloped away to check on the carriage. "Damn, was that it? When did Lady Bellany get hit?" "That wasn't till a little later," Bellany said. Many of the men guarding the carriage had been lost to a more deadly ambush that had started just a little after the one Charles and I had spoiled by the cliffs. As I rode up to the carriage, I put an arrow through a highwayman sneaking up behind Sergeant Lime while he fought two others. Bellany patted her stallion's neck. Starstruck kicked another of Lime's highwaymen in the head when he raised his sword against me. The third paid too much attention to my rearing stallion and Lime ran him through. Charles had sent Reid and Dortey after me and they arrived to hand me Charles' rapier at about that time. He had worn both saber and rapier that day just in case. Lime and the cavalrymen started helping another of our outnumbered soldiers, but I noticed two highwaymen were driving the carriage off. We had a half dozen fast horses pulling the carriage but I knew Starstruck could catch up. I galloped after them." "When I caught up, I jumped off my saddle to the roof of the carriage like in the storybooks but the footing up there on the bouncing carriage was impossible. I fell and rolled over the luggage covering the carriage roof. I am glad I was rolling because the highwayman in the passenger seat shot at me. His bolt went through the outside of my shoulder and pinned me to the luggage. I think the highwayman was probably aiming for my chest but I was a moving target. He left the seat next to the driver and came after me with a blade. I swept his feet out from under him with my feet and then drove my knee into his groin as he fell on me. He was only in pain for second before I cut his throat with my rapier." Bellany smiled sweetly. Carnarvon and Eagan grimaced as one. "I tried to pull the bolt out of the luggage but it would not budge. The driver was already starting to look over his shoulder when I figured out I was really stuck. The next thing I knew he was turning with a crossbow in hand. I got him though," Bellany said matter-of-factly. "You did?" Eagan asked. "How?" Carnarvon asked. "I snapped the bolt off near the wound and sat up," Bellany said, grimacing. "Once free, I had just enough reach with my rapier to sever the spine in the back of the driver's neck. It was close though. Another second and I would have taken another bolt." "Gods you Norwits are bloodthirsty," Carnarvon laughed. Bellany smiled her best ladylike smile. It contrasted deliciously with her tale. "Anyhow, by the time Bellany returned with the carriage, the battle was over. The leader of the highwaymen and his lieutenant shot two more of our men from behind cover once they realized the battle was going against them..." Charles said. "But Charles arrived with his reloaded triple-X and took both ranking highwaymen down before I got back," Bellany said. "Is that what you call this bow, Charles, the triple-X?" Eagan said as he examined the triple crossbow that Carnarvon had passed on to him. Charles shook his head wistfully. "I used to sail one bawdy joke after another right over Bellany's innocent virginal head. It was a riot! She was the perfect noblewoman, highly religious, na ve, overly concerned with appearances and propriety and ready to protect her virtue at all costs from all comers. When I returned this summer I could not even sail so much as oblique innuendo over her head without a smirk of recognition. Now look what she has named my bow. It's scandalous! Charles said in mock horror. Carnarvon chuckled. "Three shots ready instantly, Charles? That is obscene. How does a knight stand a chance against this diabolical device?" He took the bow from Eagan and handed it back to Charles. Charles chuckled. "It does have a ring to it. From here on out, I dub thee the triple-X, he said patting his bow." ------- The nest of scaffolding erected around Patel Manor made it difficult to see. From a distance, it appeared as though a hoard of insect laborers was working to repair even the minutest flaw. A servant fetched Mister Patel just as Lord Carnarvon and his group turned down the cobbled lane that led to his Manor. When they arrived he was already emerging from his house with a foreman in tow. Bellany waved to the magnate. He was an unremarkable balding middle-aged man dressed in the rich attire of a successful businessman. She began to dismount. The man was busy greeting Lord Carnarvon but when he directed his attention to Bellany she was hit by a preternatural bolt of lust that tickled her senses and jarred her mind. She might have fallen the remaining distance from her mount had Lord Carnarvon not caught her in his arms. Hungry to feel her touch again, He had positioned his horse in such a way that he could help her down if he dismounted quickly enough. He had managed this feat in spite of greeting Mister Patel. In her moment of insensibility, Bellany looked up into the eyes of a balding middle-aged man. They were not the blue eyes of Patel, but the dark, assessing eyes of Guardian Thane. They stared down at her from her memory just as they had stared down at her for the very first time. Suddenly she remembered how she had come to meet him, the trap her pirate comrades had fought through only to loose her to the stealthy abduction of a cunning ghoul. Guardian Thane, she had cooked for him, cleaned for him and learned... magic from him. "Gods I am a witch," Bellany thought to herself as another chunk of her memory pointed towards a probability that she had been trying to avoid. Was she really a vicious sorceress, an enemy of Avengene, a seducer and destroyer of reverend Evangeline the chosen of the vindicator? The implications were dizzying. Suddenly she realized she was in the arms of a man. His concern, and his lust swept back the tide of memory and brought her out of her reverie. She tilted her head back and looked up into Lord Carnarvon's cobalt blue eyes. "Are you alright, milady? Lord Carnarvon asked." "It was just one of my prisoner of war memory fragments intruding," Bellany whispered; "but I feel safe now." She smiled up at him warmly. After a brief hesitation Carnarvon released her and she stepped forward. Bellany felt the considerable lust tickling her nose from Patel modulate as some other emotion briefly affected it. She thought the other emotion might be envy since the modulation occurred during the few seconds Carnarvon had caught her and held her in his arms. "Good day, Mister Patel." Bellany curtsied briefly. "Good day milady," Patel grinned. "Nice of you to come by for a visit, Lord Carnarvon, and who is this lovely lady you have brought for me to feast my eyes on?" "This is Lady Norwit of Avengene, and her brother Lord Charles Norwit, son of the Baronet of Norwit or West Avengene if you prefer. I believe you have met Mayor Eagan. This is his son Lawrence Eagan." "It is a pleasure to meet you." Patel eagerly took Bellany's hand and kissed it. His kiss was a bit wet. She could feel the ghost of Patel's lustful energy charge unbidden up her arm as he kissed her hand. She could not quite figure out what it was that turned Mister Patel on to such an acute degree. "Achoo!" Bellany sneezed trying to make it as dainty as possible, in spite of the lust that was tickling her nose. "Oh excuse me, there must be some heavy pollen about." "I didn't know you had hay fever," Charles said. "I don't usually have a problem," Bellany said as she dabbed beneath her nose with the handkerchief that Patel had instantly offered her. "Thank you mister Patel, she smiled at him sweetly, subtly tickling his lust as she handed his handkerchief back to him little the worse for wear. "Well now, I am not really the man you came to see. I'll just be visiting now and then to see my son and to stay over when I have business on the Augustana river to the south. Come in, I am sure I can locate Paul for you. Patel motioned to one of his servants. "Do you joust like Lord Carnarvon, Lord Norwit?" "A little, but not in the tournaments. I leave that to Lord Carnarvon and Sir Steefl. Towards the end of last year, I became the academy's premier crossbowman, and I hope to be even better this year." "Ah the crossbow, that's a fine weapon for nobleman and commoner alike. It is very deadly and hard to counter even with armor." Charles nodded. "Is Paul into any of the tourney events?" "Nay, he needs a little encouragement in that area. I am sending him primarily for the academic excellence. He will be helping me manage my businesses and I plan to send him to a fine business school after he is finished here." A young man came down the stairs and into the parlor. "There you are Paul," Mister Patel said. "This is Lord Carnarvon, Lawrence Eagan, the Mayor's son and Lord and Lady Norwit, the son and daughter of the Baronet of Norwit in Avengene. I hope you will all stay for lunch. It has been delayed a bit, but I think that is wonderful because it will give Paul a chance to show you young men what we are doing with the manor and grounds. I have a drapery issue I must attend to for a moment... might you come along Lady Norwit? We should only be a minute barring some catastrophe of clashing colors. I really should have brought my wife to help with the decorating decisions, but she does not like to travel." "Of course, Mister Patel," Bellany said. After the boys left, Mister Patel ducked into the kitchen to talk to the servants for a moment. He then led Bellany up several flights of steps and into a tower room full of artwork, paintings and draperies that would be dispersed into the rest of the house. "Come look at the view from here. The lake is quite breathtaking, although it does not compare with your beauty, milady." Bellany blushed and took a couple of steps forward so that she was standing very near the glass. "Yes, it's very pretty and you can see the back sides of some of the houses. We could not see them from the road," Bellany said. "From the lay of your dress I would say your backside compares most favorably to a mere manor house. You know I am a very wealthy man," Patel said intensely. Bellany turned and placed her index finger over Patel's lips. She smiled impishly. "Don't say anything you might regret. Remember, I am a noblewoman." Patel blushed. "Forgive me milady." "You know most of the girls here at the academy are shopping for appropriate husbands, Bellany said. "There are certain prerequisites to marrying well when you are a noblewoman my age. Pedigree and beauty count, but other than that, parents and young women alike spend a great deal of time and money guarding virtue. Virtue has an inestimable value. Have you talked to any of the other noble girls in the neighborhood?" Patel sighed. "Yes, virtue is very important to young noblewoman, but such things can be restored so that none are the wiser," Patel said. "I suppose a clever leach might say as much, but it is a girl's chaste reputation that matters as much as her actual virtue. Once a reputation is lost, it can never be regained," Bellany said. "Blast it, yes it is the unvarnished truth. I enjoy the style and conversational ability of educated young women, but it almost seems noblewomen are imprisoned until after marriage." "They don't call it Vargrend's Prison for Girls for nothing." Bellany grinned. Patel chuckled. "Yes it is sad imprisoned until marriage and they don't tend to fool around after that, at least not for a few years." Patel smiled. "You are a good-natured lady. I have probed the defenses of a few others and have been pierced by thorns." Bellany smiled. "I am good natured, but I also have no worries. Is your wife not..." Bellany trailed off. "My wife is a good woman, and she has been a good mother to my son, but it is a good month when she is interested. Her fire is all but out." "But your fire is not? Is it that you are a very healthy man in spite of being in your middle years, and your ability to work hard has granted you your fortune?" "Part of it was hard work, but the foundation of my fortune was luck" Patel said. "I was a fool who wanted his own land so much that he bought the only land he could afford a large number of acres of. My dream of farming was somehow to be carried out in a peat bog. I was a foolish young man. I thought I could fill it in little by little. I stumbled onto my fortune simply by being in the right place at the right time. Not long after I realized I had squandered my savings and the meager inheritance left me by my grandparents on nothing, Red Jack began plying the waters around Turnmoor. Much of the ground there is boggy and timber is not plentiful. With pirates around, it soon became quite costly to ship fuel into Turnmoor from other areas. I began drying and selling peat. Profits were good. Before long, I had bought up what peat bogs there were near town, and I had become a major employer of laborers. Oh I worked like a dog to be sure, but I would have done that farming and not made a tenth the profit. The foundation of my fortune is dumb luck. There is one thing I do not understand though, Lady Bellany." "What's that?" Bellany asked. "Why is it you have no worries? Gods know you are so young and breathtaking you make my blood burn like fire. There's something about young women, it is a positively diabolic fetish with me. I don't know where I came by it. Yet, you have no worries? A man like me might try to force himself on you. I dare say you are the most attractive young woman I have ever laid eyes on. Moreover, you have the most vivacious manner about you. Yet you have no worries?" Patel scoffed. "Bellany giggled. "A year ago I was a haughty thing and such a zealot. I would have taken your advance as a heinous affront. That would be silly now. I am young but not exactly innocent. An incursion of raiders took my carriage last year as I was on my way to school. My chaste reputation and all it stood for were undone in one brutal stroke. This year I am looking forward to being a bit naughty with men. I care that my gentlemen friends are discrete and do not expect the faithfulness of a wife or mistress. Otherwise, I have no worries. Besides, I killed five men and took a crossbow bolt through my left shoulder on the way down from Norwit just yesterday. How intimidating do you think you are?" Bellany traced a teasing finger across Patel's throat to punctuate her comment. Patel grinned as his lust blazed with new life. He grabbed her hips and pulled her against his hardness. "I can be quite discreet, and since I will only be able to visit here sporadically, I should not interfere overmuch with your pursuit of eligible young men," Patel whispered. "Is there somewhere we can go with no danger of servants walking in?" She whispered in his ear. Patel grinned like a pirate as he shifted his hands to her rump and lifted her. He carried her to the back wall of the tower and opened a door hidden behind a tapestry. A narrow stairway wound up into the attic of the tower where there was a pallet that lay over a couple of crates. "It's just a roofer's berth, but it is private," Patel said. Bellany nodded. She drew a circle around Patel's lips with her finger, drawing his lust into her. "I don't have any experience with fetishes. I am curious. Do they make a man extra hot?" Bellany asked. Patel snatched her hand away and kissed her. After a long moment he released her and began unbuttoning her bodice. "Yes, extra hot for sure." Patel grinned. "I have heard of quite a few different fetishes. My fetish for young women is relatively common, but I have heard of men with fetishes for domination or submission, pain, leather, women's clothing or even animals. A man's fetishes select him rather than the other way around. Fetishes really make no sense at all but they can be quite enjoyable and even useful. They can lend sexual vigor to an old man who might otherwise perform marginally." "Do women have them?" Bellany asked. "I should think so. Just imagine what would turn you on to an astonishing degree." Patel pulled Bellany's dress to the floor. He inhaled sharply as he beheld her full breasts, the nipples standing at attention. "Gods you are magnificent! Have you thought of what might be one of your fetishes?" Patel slapped Bellany's breasts lightly and watched them bob. He pinched her nipples until she squealed. "Ow, not so hard. Pain is not one of my fetishes," Bellany said. "Ah but a little is good, look how flushed your breasts are" Bellany nodded. "Your nipples are much more sensitive than those of older women who have had many children." Patel smiled. Bellany unbuttoned Patel's breeches as he undid his tunic. "Yes, I suppose that makes sense. I remained childless in spite of my time as a prisoner. I must be a little barren, but I have started some herbs I found out about just to be on the safe side of naughty. Bellany pushed Patel's breeches and underwear to the floor. "I think my fetish is like gluttony," Bellany said. "You want to grow fat? I have heard of that one before, and men who are turned on by fat women as well." Bellany giggled. "Not gluttony for food, gluttony for men. Imagine a party where five men in the course of a single night spirited me off." Patel chuckled, "I've met quite a few greedy young women, but their greed was for gold. Greed for seed is a form I find much more exciting. I've seen women who pretended insatiable lust but it was fake." Patel put his hand down Bellany's panties and then withdrew it. He turned and looked at his fingers in the light of the small window low on the attic wall. They glistened with lubrication. "You are what they pretended to be. Between your thighs there is a treasure trove brimming with the glistening diamonds of lust." Bellany pulled her panties down and stepped out of them as she came up behind Patel who was watching the sunlight dance off the lubrication on his fingers. She slid her hand between the cheeks of his butt to the base of his manhood just behind his balls. Her warm breath caressed Patel's ear as she whispered, "I am lust," she said, tugging his lust mightily. Patel felt her touch ignite every molecule of his desire. "Gods! You speak the truth." Patel said as he turned, took Bellany in his arms and rushed the pallet. He landed on top of her and began thrusting like a maniac. "Ow! you're stabbing like a crazed stallion," Bellany squealed as she grabbed him and slipped him in. He hesitated for just an instant. She thrust her hips and ground her clit against his pubic bone. "Well don't stop, I love a hot-blooded stallion. It just wasn't doing me any good out there. Now it is." Bellany grinned as she gripped him in a wave that traveled from his base to his tip. Patel looked down at Bellany nearly in awe. "Heavens you are alive!" "All that saving it for the right man cripples a woman within. Imagine if you didn't walk for nearly two decades until the 'right' man came along. Your muscles would be such a ruin you'd probably never walk right. Gentlemen want their ladies pure and chaste and don't realize the price they pay is a high one. Bellany squeezed him for emphasis. Patel grunted, his eyes bulging. Bellany kept rhythmically squeezing him and bucking nearly as hard as he did. He might have bucked her right off the pallet had her exertions not been as powerful as his. As it was, her head was hanging off the pallet when she gave his risen lust a long, mighty pull. He quaked a moment above her, his eyes wide. "UnnnnnnAAAAAAH!" He came violently jetting her within like a man half his age. She accentuated each pulse by pulling firmly on his lust and then easing back only to pull again as he served her with the next delicious jet of his cum. She idly wondered at her own ability between the sheets. She was so confident; how long had it been since she was an innocent girl? "Am I not more than other men?" A deranged voice called from her memory. It was Evangeline. She had been terrified of him for good reason and his fetish for young women had possessed him and made him into a cruel, uncaring slave to its power. Yet the power she had just drunk from Patel was exquisite. "I think I like fetishes. You are so hot." Bellany smiled. The only danger is that taken to an extreme, a fetish might rob a man. He might forget entirely the preciousness of his partner and see her only as an object that unlocked his own lust. That would be a shame. He would loose his humanity in the same moment that he lost sight of hers." Patel rolled on his side and stroked his hand down the curve of Bellany's body. He nodded. "You are wise. A powerful fetish can be dangerous. I could easily have lost my soul and became a total slave to mine, but I believe you have just saved me from that by outshining every young woman I have known. Just now I came like ten men! I have had a few young girls, but I now see there is an essential difference between a woman who is making love because she wants to, and one who is making love for other reasons. If something is for sale, neither the seller nor the buyer can entirely escape viewing it as a commodity. It is impossible to think of you that way. You are too powerful a woman, and too vigorous. Yet your youth and vivacity are the most powerful aphrodisiacs I have known. Other women only pretend to be what you are naturally." Or supernaturally, Bellany thought to herself. The flashback to Evangeline had connected several fragments. She remembered the desperate moment she had plunged her mind into the lust stone. The stone was an icon of her Aunt's power and the instrument of Aunt Audrey's revenge against Evangeline for her own death and the many wrongs he had heaped on the young women of her town. If Bellany was Brianna Barter as she feared, then she was a friend of the people having saved them from an ignoble lord and reverend. The Avengenes had simply rewritten the truth to a tale more to their liking. Bellany put her jumbled past out of her mind as she smiled and gave Patel's butt a squeeze. "Thank you Mister Patel," she said. "Please, call me Peter, at least in private." "Peter, yes that's a good name for you especially when you're stoked. I'll not forget, Peter," Bellany giggled as she gave Peter's flaccid member a squeeze within her. Patel chuckled. "You are such a naughty girl." Patel believed she had saved his soul from being robbed by his fetish, but in truth he had restored a great deal of hers. His outward appearance had reminded her of Thane, and now he had put several pieces of her memory together concerning Evangeline and the foundation of her strange powers. "I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed our tryst, yet I fear the boys will begin to wonder if we dally much longer. It is a shame. I feel as though you have merely whet my appetite," Patel said. "It was a lot of fun, Peter. You've given me a nice memory to cherish while I'm locked up in Vargrend's Prison for Girls. Gods know when I'll ever see a man again. If what Charles has told me is true, Vargrend's is not an easy place to leave. It would take a miracle to get me out even for a few hours. That's a shame too. I feel like a mare in heat about to be wrenched out of a paddock full of studs. It's just not fair." Patel scowled. "All the treasures of the nobility are locked up in that school, and with your addition it will become a veritable King Solomon's mine. It is a crime to lock up a woman possessed of your beauty and lust. A crime." Patel seemed to begin thinking and then jarred himself loose. He kissed Both of Bellany's nipples her lips and then her nether lips. "You are a gem milady." "I must be. I'm about to be locked in a vault." Bellany giggled. "Thank you Peter. It is going to be difficult when we go to lunch to pretend I just looked at some curtains with you, but I'm going to do my best. Charles is much too good at reading people for my own good." "Hah! We had better hurry and get ourselves put back together. If Charles is as you say, we mustn't be too long." Bellany nodded, "Yes we had better hurry. I think if I let my eyes linger on Lord Carnarvon, Charles will be thrown off. "Already preparing another seduction before the sheets cool from our lust?" Patel scowled. "I need five a night minimum, remember?" Bellany grinned. "Hah! Yes, yes you did mention not to expect faithfulness. I mustn't look too jealous while you make eyes at the handsome young lord. I am content with our arrangement, and I will breathe not a word of it to anyone." "Thank you Mister Patel. I think I am at least as much a slave to my fetish as you are to yours. I appreciate your understanding and discretion. I surely don't want daddy to find out how naughty I am. He would lock me in a convent if he knew." "Heavens that would be a sacrilege!" Milady, rest assured that if anyone finds out you are not the epitome of purity, they will not have listened to me." ------- This ends, The Allure of Emeralds, Chapter 56 of The Chronicles of Rapina The story continues in Chapter 57, Inmates. Copyright 2003 by Rapina