At the Aleese table, the reaction was considerably less united than the reactions of Erling Fayle or Loghlan Dunn's forces.
Baron Tybal Aleese had gone rigid in his chair the moment the doors opened, his broad hands gripping the edge of the table with a force that turned his knuckles white. His eyes swept the hall with the sharp, suspicious assessment of a man who had built his career on never being caught unprepared and was now confronting the fact that he had been completely blindsided.
His gaze found his son first.
"Reynold," Tybal said, his voice low and tight. "Did you know about this?"
Reynold Aleese, who had been staring at the blood-soaked knight with a feeling of deep unease, forced himself to look away even as every instinct in his body screamed at him to draw his sword and take a stand between any danger and his parents.
