The King's City
The ride the rest of the way to The King's City was a relatively easy one. Ian actually rode alongside Ilona with their two younger brothers right behind them. They didn't talk much, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence.
Ilona wanted to ask Ian about the Duke and the pain the man was suffering from but doing so would be to admit she had spied on them. Things seemed to be improving at least slightly with her brother, so she didn't want to lose that now.
When they came to the city, at last, Ilona, Jamie, and Nick looked around in awe. Ilona hadn't been there since she was a child, and her younger brothers had never been there at all.
Far off in the distance were mountains that reached into the clouds. The city was one of the biggest Ilona had ever seen. Most of the streets were cobbled and lined with houses and shops. There were people everywhere, even now as the sun was setting. The air smelled like smoke, cooking food, and just a bit like a pair of dirty socks.
The Black siblings all looked up at the great black stone castle on the hill. It had torches burning from the towers, illuminating the structure in an eerie sort of way under the flickering light. It looked like a haunted place. Ilona found herself hoping it didn't look so frightening during the day.
Ian led them down a road and brought his horse to a stop. Behind him, the carriage and the pirates stopped too.
Sliding down from her horse, Ilona looked up at the lovely three-story wooden house with white shutters on every window and lanterns hanging from posts to show them to the door. It was very nice, but there was no way this place was big enough to house all her men.
Her brothers joined her, dropping down from their mounts. They all watched as the Duke and Duchess very slowly got out of the carriage. Lord Adair looked to be in bad shape, but he still stood tall beside his wife.
"You can send your men to inns," he told Ilona with a hoarse voice, seeing for himself they all wouldn't fit in this house, "I will pay for their stay."
Ilona nodded, eyeing him with concern. He looked as if he might collapse. She turned to find Pierce had come up behind her, still on horseback. Speaking quickly in their language, she told him what the Duke had said about paying for their stay.
"Don't pick somewhere too expensive," she told her Quartermaster, "But pick somewhere close by where you can all stay together."
"I wouldn't worry about the cost," Nick said with a smirk, "It looks like this man can afford it."
Ilona shot a frown at her brother. Pierce didn't argue with her orders though, to her surprise. He nodded and called out for the other men to follow him. Together they all headed off. Ilona, Nick, and Jamie moved to get back on their horses as well, but Vincent Adair was quick to stop them.
"You and your brothers stay here," he declared, "Like Ian, you will all be our guests."
Ilona looked surprised, "We don't need to..."
"I will have the servants prepare the rooms," Vincent cut her off, turning to the house and starting slowly towards it, limping hard.
Ian's eyes met Delaney's for a moment, and Ilona saw clearly on their faces that they were concerned. The Duchess then hurried to her husband and took his arm, continuing up the steps with him.
Ian turned to them, his unease apparent. He took a deep breath and spoke to them in the language of the pirates.
"Jamie, Nick, you both take the horses to the stables. Then you come in through this door, for now, not the servants' doors."
The boys nodded and took the reins from him and their sister. They knew better than to argue with Ian, especially when he looked upset like he did now.
"Come on," he said quietly to Ilona before turning towards the house.
"You stay here?" she asked him in surprise, "Do you stay in the main rooms like the nobles?"
"Yes," he answered, "I stay in the rooms for the nobles, and so will you. We're not servants."
"We're just their guards," Ilona frowned, "We're not their friends."
"I am," Ian snapped, turning to glare down at her, "I am a friend of the Duchess, and I would like to think the Duke as well. We may be their guards for now, but they still regard us as their equals. They would never make us stay up with the servants."
"Alright," Ilona raised her hands in surrender, although her look of disapproval didn't waver, "But I hope you remember just because we're their equals doesn't mean we're the same as them. We're not their people. We're pirates, and they're nobles."
"I know," Ian snapped but dropped his gaze, "I don't think I'm the same as her... as-as them."
He reddened and hurried up the last steps into the house, not looking back at his sister after his embarrassing slip of the tongue. Ilona sighed as she watched him. This situation could only lead to a broken heart and, if he wasn't careful, broken bones.
When they got inside, Ilona took in the room around her and was once again impressed. The walls were dark, honey-colored wood with large paintings and tapestries on nearly everyone. It seemed like a warm and cozy place, so different from the light and airy ocean estate.
Looking around, they saw the Duke had only just made it to the top of the stairs, and the Duchess was nowhere in sight. They were left standing with a butler who looked as if he didn't appreciate their presence in the house.
"Where is Lady Adair?" Ian asked the man.
"She's gone to look for Ms. Bird," the man replied, looking up at Ian but still somehow managing to look down his nose at him.
"Thank you," Ian said evenly, "Please show my sister to her room and my younger brothers when they come in. They don't speak English, but I'm sure you can figure something out."
His last words were sharp and almost mocking as if reminding the butler that the pirate was above him, both in rank and in relationship to the Adairs. Ian turned and walked swiftly away down a hall, leaving Ilona standing by herself with the stuffy older man. She swallowed and inwardly cursed her brother for abandoning her already.
"Come with me," the butler said crisply to her, heading towards the stairs. Ilona hurried to follow him; no doubt if she didn't, he would simply leave her behind. They climbed a tall staircase that hugged a wall on one side of a long hallway. Above them, there was an opening so you could see to the ceiling of the second floor.
As they walked, Ilona couldn't stop her eyes from shooting from one thing to the next, taking in paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and every other wonder that hung on these walls. She also noticed on the floor beneath them a long, scarlet carpet with golden stitching, looking more luxuriant than anything on the floors at her father's estate.
At last, the butler stopped in front of a large wooden door which he stepped forward and opened for her.
"Your room Captain Black," the man said before turning sharply on his heels and walking away, clearly eager to be done with her.
Ilona rolled her eyes at the man's back before stepping into the room he had deemed "hers". It was about the same size as her room at home, although with fewer windows. The color theme it had been decorated in appeared to be lavender and blues, which Ilona found she rather liked.
She was surprised when she noticed her sack had already been carried in and dropped at the foot of her bed. The servants here were much quicker than the ones her father employed. Of course, his were just the wives and children of his crew, so they weren't trained like these servants were.
Ilona washed up and changed into a fresh shirt before checking her appearance in the mirror. She felt all the same insecurities arise. Duchess Delaney was built like Lucia, and she had a wonderful husband who loved her, not to mention Ian who clearly had feelings for her too.
Ilona wasn't built like either of them.
Of course, the Duchess did seem to have a bit of an attitude which Ilona knew all too well. She had managed to find love despite it, so maybe one day Ilona would have a chance to do the same.
That was if she decided she wanted to bother with love at all. Maybe she was better off without it. She thought of Jordana getting her heart broken and then of her mother, who loved her father deeply but still preferred to go off on her own. Maybe it would be better for her to be on her own. It seemed a lot less painful.
Ilona groaned and shook the thoughts from her mind. She didn't have time to worry about foolish things such as men and love anyway. She needed to get her siblings back. Turning away from the mirror, she left her room and headed off in search of her brothers.