Lei'lira fetched a glass of water for Malcom quickly when he asked for one, getting one for herself as well. Hearing that nothing was wrong with Elyna made her relax considerably. And hearing that she had given birth to a son made her smile softly.
"I would like to meet Luke too, someday. And I know that Teirue would like the chance to play with Elsie again." she said quietly.
"Elsie!" Teirue exclaimed happily, hearing a name that she recognized.
Lei'lira turned to her daughter, and grinned. But Lei'lira still didn't know what had brought Malcom all the way out to her farm, so she hushed Teirue gently. When Malcom told Eri to go back to bed, Lei'lira was gratified to see the girl hesitate, turning to her first. Only when she nodded did Eri begin to usher the rest of the children out of the room. When they were gone, Lei'lira turned back to her guest, and sat down heavily.
Much of her tension was gone, but she was visibly surprised when the man told her that he had come on official business from the Iron Hand. What could they possibly want from her? She was about to ask when he continued to tell her about a "rumor" about Drayas's disappearance under unusual circumstances. She frowned in confusion, but said nothing until he had finished, simply nodding when he warned her of what would happen if she lied, or tried to withhold information from the investigation. Then she nodded again; she appreciated Malcom's willingness to come himself rather than send a stranger. Had a complete stranger shown up at her house without warning, and began interrogating her, she would have been terrified out of her wits.
Malcom told her that the Iron Hand knew that Drayas had not left Rynmere, then began questioning her. When had she seen him last? Where was he going? Who might be able to confirm what she told him? Why hadn't she reported his "disappearance?" Didn't she find it odd that he hadn't returned home? And finally, had he contacted her? Lei'lira simply gave him a confused look.
"Why would I think it strange? Drayas is dead, Lord Krome. Of course he hasn't sent word to me. He never saw fit to do so while he was alive, and he can't now." she said softly.
Lei'lira paused, gathering her thoughts.
"Please forgive me if I tell you more than you need to know, but some of your questions aren't as simple as they might seem. Drayas didn't live here. He spent most of his time in Andaris. I'm not sure exactly what he did, but his trade business was there, and it required most of his time. Even if it hadn't...he would have wanted to be where he had the best chance of meeting other nobles, and trying to make connections. His grandfather was Gaius Burhan, though his father was never acknowledged. Drayas felt that he should have been a noble, and marrying me gave him that. When he realized that I couldn't give him the connections he wanted, he allowed me to live here, and run the farm while he stayed in Andaris. He came whenever it suited him to try to get his heir, but he rarely stayed more than a week at a time before going back to the city. So "home" was somewhere in Andaris for him." her tone suggested that she was quite happy that he preferred spending much of his time in Andaris.
She paused to take a sip of water.
"He never told me when he was coming, or where he was going when he left. Nor did he ever tell me what he did while he was gone. I was useless to him, except as a vessel to carry his heirs, and a means to gain the nobility he wanted. So he took what he wanted from me whenever it suited him, but we never really spoke of much."
Tiran began fussing, and Lei'lira half stood to see what was bothering him, but he settled down after a few trills, so she sat back down.
"The last time I saw Drayas was on the 75th of Zi'da. He was furious that Tiran and Taerin weren't his. Had I not managed to escape long enough to hide them in the tall dead grass of one of my pastures, he would have killed them. Instead, he took his anger out on me. Among other things, he told me that I had done his work for him. It was so cold, that once the sun set, they wouldn't have had a chance; they were only eight trials old, far too young to endure exposure to the bitter cold of a night in Zi'da without protection."
Lei'lira shuddered at the memory.
"He had me restrained, and unable to save them. If it hadn't been for my cousin Vivian W...Vivian, they would be dead right now. She saved their lives. Vivian had come to visit me several trials before, on the 69th of Zi'da. She told me that she was leaving Rynmere, and that she had been stripped of her name, and rank. I had just given birth to the twins two trials before, and I was exhausted. At the time, I lived here alone. The healer had told me I would need several trials of bed rest to recover from the birth of the twins, but...I needed to take care of them. And take care of the animals when they were asleep. There was no time to rest...until Vivian came. She stayed long enough to give me a chance to rest, then left to check on something at home."
Lei'lira paused once more to take another sip of water.
"She returned on the 75th in time to save the twins's lives, and find me unconscious. Seeing them alive when I woke up...there are no words to describe how relieved I was. Thanks to her, my attempt to save them hadn't killed them instead. Vivian was furious. She challenged Drayas to a fight, and won. Easily. He was unconscious the last time I saw him. She was still so angry; filled with a cold rage I had never seen in her before. When she told me to take the twins inside, and let her borrow a horse, and some rope, I didn't question it. I just obeyed. I never saw Drayas again after that. A couple of men from the local guard came by several trials after that, and told me that Drayas had been killed by bandits. I didn't question it...but I didn't tell than about my cousin's involvement, either. She saved the lives of my children. It's even possible that she saved my life, as well. Drayas was so angry about the fact that the twins weren't his...and he often allowed his rage to overwhelm him when he punished me for displeasing him. Which was most of the time when he came to "visit." Had Vivian not returned when she did, he might have killed me, as well as letting the twins die. I owed her for that. Besides...she was leaving Rynmere. I was in no shape to ride several miles to report anything when it happened, and by the time the guards came to tell me that Drayas was dead, she was probably gone. I don't know why the guards didn't tell anyone in Andaris about Drayas's death. Unless the weather was too cold, and unpredictable for them to make the trip to the city?"
It didn't explain why they hadn't sent someone to Andaris with a report once the weather improved, but Lei'lira had no explanations for that.
"If you talk to the local guards, they will tell you what they told me."
Lei'lira hesitated.
"I did tell Elyna that Drayas had been killed by bandits when I met her in Andaris on the 10th of Ashan. I had no idea that the local guard here in Warrick hadn't told anyone in Andaris before then."
Her throat was dry from all the talking she had done, so Lei'lira finished her glass of water.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't relieved that Drayas is dead. But I didn't kill him." she finished softly.
