[log] and you can't get here fast enough
The lady of the house is expected home on the eighth, a full month after leaving, and since his schedule permits (it could as easily be a coincidence as something engineered, and it's a toss up as to whether Martel or Ewar would've done the engineering), Martel is there to meet her when she arrives home.
There's nothing especially unusual in the way he looks when he comes down the staircase to greet her; plainly dressed, his hair neatly tied back, he's probably been in the library for the better part of the day (with Koleika for some of that time, going back and forth as they do). Of course, he's pleased to see her: the point is that there doesn't seem to be anything justifying the fact that Ewar, a few steps back, is watching his lord like the man is a live snake.