Priya shot me a long sideways glance. “Not as much as people.”
A skeptical murmur rumbled from Jalaine. “What Priya really likes is the solitude. Numbers don’t talk back. She enjoys peace and quiet here, whereas I have to deal with a lot of griping mouths at the arena.”
“And that, my sister, is your specialty—a griping mouth.”
Jalaine gave Priya a playful shove. The elder sister took it in stride. Their digs went no deeper than marketplace banter where the cost was already assured. Their devotion was as certain as a firm price.
“Watch your head here,” Vairlyn said, pushing back a branch. “These need to be cut back, but I rather like the wildness of it.”
The path had narrowed and we walked through a long, tunneled arbor that was thick with yellow climbing roses. The ground below it was littered with a rainfall of petals. It was a striking contrast to the foreboding spiked structures that towered on either side—one was meant to invite, the other to turn away. We emerged from the arbor onto the back side of the main house, where there was a sprawling garden with raked walkways, low hedges, and tall rows of shrubs. A large fountain bubbled at its center. Beyond the gardens were three more stone buildings with more sharp turrets. Homes, Vairlyn called them.
“That’s Riverbend at the far end,” Jalaine said. “It houses our employees. Next to it, set back in the middle, is Greycastle, where more family lives.”
“My sister Dolise and her family—and a few cousins who are not overly social—live there. More family live down in Hell’s Mouth.”
“There are seventy-eight of us Ballengers altogether,” Priya said, “and that’s not counting third cousins.”
“Third cousins l
ike Paxton?” I asked.
An icy wall fell over Priya.
“Yes,” Vairlyn answered, “like him.”
“Of course, we are hoping for more little Ballengers soon,” Jalaine quipped. Priya jabbed her elbow into her sister’s side.
Vairlyn jumped in quickly as if trying to sweep past Jalaine’s suggestion. “And the one next to Greycastle is Darkcottage.”
Darkcottage was not a cottage at all. It rose two stories above us with four spiraling turrets that went even higher. The cottage was made from glistening black granite.
“Who lives there?” I asked.
“It’s empty right now,” Vairlyn answered. “Only filled with memories and stories.” Her gaze was wistful. “Sometimes guests stay there. And that’s the tour, except for a few outbuildings, and the stables down that path over there.”
“What about the vault? May I see it?”
Priya’s brows arched. “Down in the tunnel? You know about that?”
“Jase told me.”
“It’s a bit dank and dusty,” Vairlyn said doubtfully.
“Still, I’m curious after all the stories he told me.”
Jalaine and Priya exchanged a knowing smile as if I had confessed something important.
“I’ll have Jase show you the vault when we come back from town,” Vairlyn said. “The horses are probably ready for us by now, and the others will be waiting.”
With those words said, Jalaine and Priya left, walking back down the path eager to be on their way, but Vairlyn didn’t move, her attention still fixed on Darkcottage. I waited, unsure if I should go or stay. When they were out of earshot, she said, “Thank you for your letter to the queen.”
“I’m not sure thanks are in order. It was Gunner’s letter. I only copied it. And you do know it came with a price? I didn’t give the letter freely.”
“The settlement. Yes. I’m aware. I do know something about compromise. Sometimes we must give something up in order to gain something else that is more important to us. I see it as a win for both of us.”
“The queen coming here is that important to you?”
“It was important to my husband, and that makes it important to me. Keeping promises is important. Soothing fears is important. Protecting Hell’s Mouth is important.”