[Continued from here]
Beranwen's
father recovered first, and drew an angry breath.
"My
lord Quinton..."
"Pa,
stop it." Beranwen snapped. It was strange, she realised absently, that
the moment Quinton had walked in, her father had stopped being her father, whom
she loved dearly and always would, and instead became a threat to the young
lord's madness. Her father gave her a look of genuine surprise at her tone, but
she was already turning away.
"Quinton."
She said calmly. "You shouldn't be down here. Aren't you telling your
father about your quest?"
"I
already told him. And I was look for Stan."
"Stan's
outside the kitchens, but he's asleep right now, don't go disturbing him."
"Why
is he asleep again? He was asleep before."
"I
know. But he's had a busy day. Busier than us. I imagine looking for your legs
is very tiring."
"I
suppose..." Quinton looked between Beranwen and her father. "Why were
you shouting?"
"Because
my father talks very loudly, and I sometimes have to shout to be heard over
him." She felt her father look at her oddly once more, but ignored him.
"You should go back to the house."
"This
is your father?"
"Yes."
With
a hesitant smile, Quinton stepped forward and held out his hand.
"It's
nice to meet you, Master Win's father."
"Shake
his hand, pa." Beranwen muttered. Looking completely adrift, her father
reached out and gently took the proffered hand.
"Master
Win is an amazing advisor. We had a good time today. Thank you for letting her
come with me."
"Y...
you're welcome." Beranwen's father muttered.
"And
now, Quinton, you should get back. I'm sure Master Nereus wanted to talk to you
about your quest as well. You can tell him all about how brave and noble you
were."
"I
suppose I should talk to him..." Quinton seemed unsure. "Are you
coming up to the house too, Master Win? I think you should have dinner with
us."
"Advisors
don't have dinner with their lords, Quinton. But thank you for the
invitation."
"Okay.
Will I see you later?"
"It
depends. You should ask Master Nereus."
"I
will. Bye."
Once
he was gone, her father turned to her, seemingly at a loss for words.
"He's
just a boy, pa." Beranwen said carefully, wondering whether she was
suddenly in a lot more trouble than she had been before. "And he's a Mad
Man. Taking your fight to him won't do anything except make him cry."
"That..."
Her father took a breath. "Is that how Mad Men are, when they're not being
all high and mighty?"
"I
don't know. I only know Quinton. We met lord Derryl today, and he was a brat,
but I'm sure it's the same as with all other families. Sometimes they turn out
okay, and sometimes they don't. Quinton has such a gentle heart."
"Sounds
like you've grown fond of him, Winnie."
"I
have." She admitted. "It was impossible not to. It was like looking
after a puppy." She smiled, somewhat wanly. "He'll be heartbroken
when he hears that I'm not here anymore, and he'll probably have forgotten me
by tomorrow evening. But this is his house, pa, not Master Nereus'. This is his
father's house. Don't leave and let it all fall apart just because of a man you
don't even serve. Stay and watch over Quinton for me. He'd eat nails if someone
told him they tasted good - he needs sensible people running the house."
"You
remember me saying don't let this go to your head?"
"I
remember. And I tried. But not even you could have stayed distant when he just
wanted to be friends. He wouldn't understand, and he'd take it
personally."
Her
father sighed.
"I'm
still having words with Master Nereus. We've never put a foot out of line while
we've been here, and you've had it harder than the rest of us. Least we've got
to work with the horses, but you're up in that house scrubbing this and
polishing that..."
"Working
with horses is hard work, pa." Beranwen grinned.
"It's
not hard work if you love it. I'll take your words in, Winnie, and I won't go
storming about, but I'm still going to fight this. No daughter of mine is going
to be thrown out of this house just for doing what she was told."
His
tone was a familiar one. It said 'this is how it will be, and you're not to question
it'. It wasn't a tone that Beranwen loved, but she gave way to it anyway. After all, she though, as long as he's polite, Nereus can't punish
me for my father's actions. She crossed her fingers as she thought it,
though.
[Part 24]
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