Chapter 481: The Town Hall

Chapter 480: The Town Hall

Lyria’s POV

Duke Thorncrest nodded in agreement with me.

"That may very well be the case," he said.

I turned to Obadiah and Thaddeus.

"P-please," I said, "do s-set to w-work. There is m-much to be done."

Elara walked out from behind the bar to direct them, just as Corvin stormed out of the inn, his countenance a mask of fury. I watched him go, his valet and his guard hastening after him, and I confess I felt a small measure of satisfaction at the sight. Though, if I am to be honest, I was growing weary of his theatrical conduct, for I was in no humour to be obliged to exchange words with such a gentleman over every piece of nonsense he uttered. And should it persist, which I did not doubt it would, I should be compelled to speak with him in earnest.

It was plain enough he had joined my team with the intention of disrupting our labours, but if he truly supposed this to be the way to accomplish it, he was greatly mistaken, for it only made a fool of him, the more he spoke.

Duke Thorncrest approached Lucian and myself at that moment.

"Your G-Grace," I said to him, "W-where is Duke V-alenridge? Did you n-not go for a s-stroll together?"

Duke Thorncrest laughed and took a seat beside me.

"Duke Valenridge has a mind of his own, Your Highness," he said. "He went wandering."

I could not help but laugh at that.

"Y-you mean he h-had not e-enough of your s-stroll, and resolved to t-take another?"

"Precisely, though I should call it wandering rather than strolling, Your Highness, for I cannot conceive why he should wish to walk further, when we had only just returned from walking."

I shook my head at him, though a smile lingered upon my lips.

Then Duke Thorncrest asked, gesturing towards Lucian and myself, "What are the two of you doing beside the bar?" He paused, then added, "Could it be that you were waiting for me?"

He sighed, and shook his head, with a theatrical air.

"I never supposed you should miss me so very much that you would sit at the bar to await my return," he said. "I confess I rather like the sentiment. It stirs something deep within me — the thought of being cared for."

"H-how, and w-where, did you c-come by such an i-idea?" I asked, holding back the laugh threatening to slip through.

Duke Thorncrest gestured towards me, then towards the bar, as though the matter were entirely self-evident. Then he turned to Marquess Silverwyn.

"I shall take a brandy," he announced. "Or a vodka, whichever is to be had."

Marquess Silverwyn regarded him quietly.

"The only vodka to be had is an empty bottle," he said, "and I am no barkeep."

Duke Thorncrest tilted his head.

"You stand behind a bar, do you not?"

Marquess Silverwyn rolled his eyes, then approached Duke Thorncrest, who at once put space between them and raised a hand.

"You are a gentleman, my lord," Duke Thorncrest said hastily. "You ought not to resort to violence."

Marquess Silverwyn did not appear to care for that, and, without so much as waiting, Duke Thorncrest fled from him.

The inn filled with laughter at their antics, and before long every soul had joined in the cleaning though Elara insisted I make no move even though Duke Thorncrest hoined in. Even Obadiah and Thaddeus smiled, and conversed with some of the maids and guards, their earlier reserve melting away as the afternoon wore on.

But through it all, Duke Valenridge did not return.

Obadiah and Thaddeus took their leave once the inn had been set to rights, and everyone retired to rest — a much-needed rest, for the day had been long, and the labour considerable. It was not until the evening that we arose from our slumber.

I was not surprised that it was only when we made our way out of the inn, Obadiah conducting us to where the meeting with the heads of the town was to be held, that I saw Duke Valenridge.

But he did not walk beside me.

I was flanked by Lucian and Duke Thorncrest, and Duke Valenridge walked some distance behind, his gaze fixed upon the path ahead. I said not a word, though I resolved I should find some means of speaking with him before the night was done.

The streets of Gallowshill lay hushed beneath the failing light. Lanterns had been lit here and there, though sparingly, as if oil were a thing not lightly spent.

We continued walking for while until finally Obadiah stopped before a building.

A building which had part of its roof sunken in. The door was warped, and Obadiah was obliged to push it open with his shoulder, striking it twice before it finally gave way, and we stepped inside.

I noticed the hall was large, though much of it bore the marks of the storm. Fallen woods had been gathered into a neat pile in one corner, and broken pieces of furniture stacked beside it — evidence of what the storm had wrought, though someone had taken care to arrange the wreckage tidily, that the space might remain of use.

The chairs had been cleaned, and arranged in a loose circle about a large table at the centre of the room. The table itself was sturdy, though its surface bore scratches and marks that spoke of long service.

It was, in truth, little more than an open space with chairs set about it, but there was something in the arrangement that suggested it had once been a place of importance.

Though the purpose it served exactly was beyond me.

Lucian asked Obadiah calmly, "What exactly is this place?"

"It’s the town ’all," Obadiah told him.

Corvin scoffed at once.

"A place such as this?" he demanded, his voice carrying across the room. "It does not..."

"Do you never tire of speaking when silence would serve you better?" Duke Valenridge asked in a bored tone.