Marie's pure voice soon brought her to the attention of the royal music master, who groomed her for performances both in the chapel royal and as entertainment in the king's hall; and her skills with loom and embroidery needle were much sought by the artisans who spent their days creating tapestries for the great hall. In addition, the sisters' suggestions to the queen regarding Lady Vera Howard met with royal approval, to the end that Vera soon joined the ranks of the queen's demoiselles.

«Believe me, Lady Rosmerta was not happy to receive the queen's summons», she told them privily, the first night after her arrival, as she dug in the recesses of a capacious leather bag. «She will have been even less happy when she discovered that I left with these».

She pulled out a wooden box the size of a man's two hands and opened the lid for Alyce's inspection. Inside, wrapped individually in pieces of crumpled linen, were most of the items of jewelry listed in their father's bequest: several rings and brooches, a bracelet, and a necklace of emeralds the size of a man's thumbnail, with blue fire at their hearts.

«Ooooh, Alyce!» Marie breathed, as Alyce lifted out the necklace.

«I remember seeing our mother wear this», Alyce murmured, turning it in the candlelight. «Family tradition has it that it once belonged to the Lady Tayce Furstána, a first cousin of the King of Torenth, whose son became the first Duke of Corwyn».

«Then, it's good that it comes back into the family», Vera said, looking pleased with herself as Marie plucked out a gold bangle set with opals and sapphires. «And doesn't that bracelet appear in that painting of Stevana at Cynfyn?»

Alyce nodded. «Aye, the one at the top of the main stair». She watched her younger sister slide the bangle onto her wrist and turn it appreciatively in the light.

«So much for Rosmerta», Marie said, smiling smugly.

«Not entirely», Alyce replied, taking the bracelet back from her sister. «She'll probably try to claim that Vera stole them. But we'll take them to the queen for safekeeping, and send to Ahern for the letter Father left».

«Then shall the lame man leap as an hart…»[17]

Much to their relief, no complaint came from Rosmerta, but Alyce sent to their brother anyway, that a fair copy might be made of the bequest, witnessed by Father Paschal under seal.

The next several months passed quickly, with all the ladies of the royal household happily focused on the upcoming nuptials of Elaine MacInnis and Jared McLain, which took place at the end of June in St. Hilary’s-Within-the-Walls, the royal basilica adjoining Rhemuth Castle. As a personal favor for the wedding day, Alyce allowed Elaine to wear the Furstána emeralds. It was an occasion of pageantry and celebration, for Jared McLain was Earl of Kierney and heir to the Duchy of Cassan; but it was a day also tinged with sadness, for the newlyweds soon left for Kierney. The new Countess Elaine would be sadly missed from the queen's household.

That was the summer, in the fifteenth year of King Donal's reign, that Donal Haldane began his great inquest of all the lands in Gwynedd, even more ambitious than the one carried out by his father, King Malcolm, to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the great Battle of Killingford.

Then the royal commissioners had sent deputies only into the heartlands of the kingdom: from the Purple March southward across the great Gwynedd Plain as far as Carthmoor and Corwyn, and northward along the Coamer Mountains through Lendour and as far north as Eastmarch. This time, the inquiries would include all of Old Kheldour: the Duchy of Claibourne, the Kheldish Riding, and the Earldoms of Marley and Rhendall. Donal had hopes for including Cassan and Kierney as well, but they lay close to rebellious Meara, so he was not certain that local conditions would permit such activities — but that decision could wait while the rest progressed.

That summer was gentler than some in recent memory, so the commissioners were able to make good progress as the lazy summer days eased into autumn. Likewise, as the months wore on, the demoiselles de Corwyn made plans for their promised visit to their brother in Cynfyn — with some trepidation on Alyce's part, for her sister and Sir Se had been exchanging letters with alarming frequency since Easter, along with the progress reports that Ahern sent regularly, first from Corwyn and then from Cynfyn once again. Though Vera was obliged to remain behind, having no legitimate reason to accompany them, Alyce enlisted Zoë to come along and help her keep Marie in line regarding Se.

The news was encouraging, at least where Ahern was concerned. Earlier in the spring, he had made his promised visit to Coroth — by horse-litter and coach, much to his disgust — again accompanied by Duke Richard as he was presented to the council ruling Corwyn until he should reach the statutory age of twenty-five.

From there, after escorting Ahern back to Cynfyn, Richard had returned to Rhemuth, in case his presence should be required in Meara that season — and Ahern had set about recovering as much as he could of his former abilities. It had caused him no little pain as he began to exercise again, for he was constantly testing the limits of his strength and endurance, but he was determined that his injury should be as little an impediment as possible.

He had taken up the bow first, before he could even stand for very long, for he could shoot while perched on a stool, with his stiff leg propped in front of him. Competence with a bow did not require agility of foot, but strong arms and a steady eye.

By midsummer, his accuracy had surpassed even the level it had been before he rode off to Ratharkin the season before. When he could stand longer, he also resumed whacking at a pell with his sword — dull drill, starting over with exercises he had first learned as a small boy, but it served the double purpose of building up his sword arm again and venting his frustration at his limitations.

As the summer wore on, he began to shift his thinking to his strengths instead. He would always find it more comfortable to walk with a stick, and would never recover the agility on foot that he formerly had enjoyed; but he found, to his relief, that riding was not the impossibility he had feared — though he must mount from the right instead of the left, since he could not bend his left knee. In time, he would learn to vault astride, unimpeded by the stiff knee.

His first few times back in the saddle — using a mounting-block, much to his disgust — his thighs had ached for days afterward, and his seat had been atrocious. But lengthening the stirrups improved his stability and his comfort, and gave him the leeway to develop a different style and balance to accommodate the stiff knee.

Soon, as his healing stabilized and his strength returned, he was riding at the quintain again, resuming his drill with sword and lance. Se and Jovett worked with him daily, and Sir Deinol, his seneschal in Cynfyn, kept him to a disciplined regimen of physical training. Early in the autumn, as campaign season waned, Duke Richard again rode over from Rhemuth, also escorting the young earl's sisters for their promised visit, and, after watching Ahern train for several days, declared his belief that, if Ahern continued his present progress, the accolade of knighthood might not, after all, be beyond his reach in another year's time.

No news could have lifted Ahern's spirits more, or those of his sisters. Hearing Richard's declaration, Ahern resolved to redouble his efforts, taking advantage of Richard's presence to beg his personal tutelage, which Richard gladly gave.

«He could do it, couldn't he?» Alyce said to Se and Jovett, the day before she, Marie, and Zoë were to start back for Rhemuth with Richard and his party. «He could still win the accolade».