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Stephen scrambled to his feet and bowed his head. “Yes, sir.”
“Anyone who enters or leaves Marindal does so with my permission. We have not had a trespasser in decades, if not longer.”
“I’m sorry, Lord Thirvar. It was not my intent.”
He stroked his bushy orange beard, his unblinking gaze never leaving the smaller man. “You have learned my name, but I do not know yours. Nor do I know your place of origin, or your reason for intruding on my land. Do you wish to fight me? If so, we can dispose of this matter quickly.”
“Fight you? No! Not at all.” He cleared his throat. “My name is Stephen. Stephen MacClare. I come from…uh…” Deciding how specific to be resulted in some hesitation. “I am from New York.”
“I have not heard of this place. You must have traveled quite some distance.”
“Yes, sir, I suppose so.”
Thirvar ceased toying with his facial hair and leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees. “How did you get here?”
“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully.
“You don’t know how you got here?”
“I was walking through the woods near my house, and I, um, fell into a pond. Then I saw you and your…attendants?” While he had left out a number of major details, he hoped his account would be satisfactory.
Thirvar rose and descended the steps until he stood before the other two men. “And Liora?”
Stephen tried not to tremble before the imposing lord as he searched for an answer which would straddle the line between honesty and endangering their welfare. “I do not know much about her, sir.”
“She seems awfully fond of you.”
“From the little I know of her, she appeared to be a kind and compassionate woman. Perhaps she was only looking out for the well-being of a lost soul who had unwittingly stumbled into her home.”
Whether or not Thirvar believed his story, he didn’t press for further details. “Regardless of how you got here, Stephen MacClare, I am now faced with having to decide an appropriate fate for you.”
“Yes, sir.”
He paced in a tight circle around his charge, stopping to his right after he completed a full lap. “I noticed the way you walked in here,” he said, nudging the scar on Stephen’s leg with the tip of his boot. “You would be a liability on the battlefield.”
“I’m sorry, sir.”
The pacing resumed. “At least I won’t have to worry about any foolish attempts to engage me in combat, correct?”
“No, sir. Of course not.”
Thirvar laughed, a booming, discordant noise erupting from his chest. “Smart lad.” He concluded his round by ending in Stephen’s line of sight. “I suppose we could always use an extra set of hands in the castle. Cleaning, maintaining the grounds, and so on.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If you follow orders and do as you are told, then we will not have a problem. If you go against my word, your days here will be numbered. Understood?”
“I understand, my lord.”
He turned toward Kai, who had been silent during the entire exchange. “You may remove the cuffs and take him to the servants’ quarters. I will trust you to procure appropriate accommodations for the newest member of our staff.”
The wiry panther nodded. “Yes, Lord Thirvar.” He grabbed Stephen’s shoulder and led the way back toward the door from which they’d entered.
They were almost out of the room when Thirvar called after them. “One more thing.”
Both men turned around.
“Do not try to find Liora. You have no business with her.”
