his brother would become the Marshal, and any attempt to sabotage that rise would be unacceptable to his parents and his House. He knew if he challenged his brother, it would enrage the family and House leadership. So, he convinced a group of his knights to jump his brother as he was coming back from an errand. Meanwhile, he and I attended a celebration at his cousin’s house. The cousin’s older son was granted knighthood. During the celebration, my husband made it a point to overtly flirt with a woman. He must’ve hoped I would make a scene. I left instead, but that was enough. Everyone had noticed our presence and my exit. He was establishing his alibi.”
Karat had forgotten about her wine. “That’s highly dishonorable.”
“That’s what I told him, when he explained all of that to me that night.”
“What was his justification?”
Maud sighed. “That he did it for us, for me and our child. That this way we would be more secure, and Helen’s future would be assured.”
“Did you believe him?”
Talking about it hurt, like ripping off a scab before new skin had a chance to form underneath. “No. A part of me wanted to, very much. I loved him. He was my husband and the father of my child. But even then, I had realized that we were all in service to his ambition. I warned him then it would be the end of everything.”
“Was it?”
Maud nodded. “Yes. His brother survived. One of the assailants lived as well. He was interrogated. They came for us that night. We were exiled to Karhari. All three of us.”
Karat’s expression turned sharp. “Who would exile a child? Especially to Karhari. It’s a wasteland. The anus of the galaxy.”
“Someone who is desperate to defend their family name.” Maud set her glass on the table. “As you’ve said, House Ervan is young. They are desperate for the respectability that comes with age and history.”
“You can’t falsify that currency. It must be bought with generations.”
“Well, they tried. They would kill you for this castle, if they could. Everything had to be just so. Every tradition followed. Propriety of every detail examined. Appearances kept. They overcompensated. Do you know who doesn’t fit into traditions? A human and her daughter.”
“She is a child of House Ervan,” Karat said. “They had a responsibility to her no matter what her father did.”
“They didn’t see it that way. We have a saying on Earth: three strikes and you’re out. I was strike one, Helen was strike two, and the attempted assassination of my brother-in-law was strike three. I realized this as I begged for my daughter’s life on my knees.”
Karat winced.
“They wanted to be rid of us, all of us. They struck us from the roster and dumped us on Karhari. It was as if we never existed.”
“What happened on Karhari?” Karat asked.
“The planet devoured my husband’s soul. It drove him mad. Eventually he betrayed the wrong people and they killed him.”
Karat stared at her.
Maud finished her wine. “I know why you came here. You wanted to know what kind of baggage we bring to your House. We have no ties to House Ervan. We are strangers to them. We have settled the blood debt on Karhari. My husband’s killers are dead. No one alive has a claim on my life or the life of my daughter. No one is owed. We bring no debts and no allies. We are what we appear to be.”
“Oh, I doubt that,” Karat said. “You are much more than you appear to be.”
You have no idea. “Have I answered your questions, my lady?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s my turn. How angry is Lady Ilemina?”
“How angry is a rabid krahr?” Karat slumped against the back of her chair with a sigh. “Arland is brilliant, when he is here. He’s almost never here. First, he developed a fascination with Earth and Earth women. Did he tell you we have a cousin whose stepbrother is married to one?”
“My sister mentioned it.”
“They live on the other side of the planet. She is some sort of scientist that studies insects.”
“An entomologist?”
“Yes, that. The other day she was late to her own daughter’s birthday because she’d found some new beetle nobody had ever seen before. What good are beetles? They are neither food nor pets. I would’ve squashed it. You never know when one of them will turn out to be poisonous.”
Vampire worldview, condensed into three sentences: If it’s not food or a pet, kill it, because it might be poisonous.
“She doesn’t