It is good to hear you sounding excited, my dearest. These last few days have
been so hard on you.
On both of us, Mikhail.
Mikhail offered Katherine his arm, and she took it cautiously, acutely aware of
the young man just behind him, watching her suspiciously. Who was he, and why
had no one introduced him? Katherine let herself be guided toward the table as
her husband fell in beside Marguerida with conscious grace, as if this were no
more than a state dinner of the sort they had attended hundreds of times before.
There was a quiet scraping of chairs, as everyone got settled. Mikhail saw Nico
get Alanna seated, while Roderick helped Ter‚se. Amaury, taking a cue from the
boys, helped Yllana, and then sat between her and Alanna, casting an admiring
glance at the Alar girl. Mikhail seated Katherine to his right, in the place of
honor, while Marguerida did the same with Hermes.
Gisela started to take the place at Mikhail's left, but just then Lew Alton
appeared with Ida Davidson, the widow of Marguerida's mentor, on his arm. He
seated Ida next to Herm, then subtly shifted Gisela one place down, getting a
very dirty look for his pains. Danilo Syrtis-Ardais trailed behind them, and
took the empty place on Gisela's other side. She did not look as if being
buttressed by the two men pleased her, but she shrugged and seemed to choose to
make the best of it. Mikhail observed her green eyes as they flashed toward the
other side of the table, where Rafael was taking his place on Marguerida's left,
with the children ranged beside him.
The servants went around, filling glasses, and the soup course was brought.
Except for the children, there was very little conversation around the table.
Roderick was telling Herm's daughter about his horse, and she was round-eyed.
Horses were almost extinct in much of the Federation, and it was clear the girl
had only seen one in the Menagerie.
Lew gave Mikhail a quick look, his eyes troubled. What is it, Lew?
I just received a most interesting message from Belfontaine-addressed to Regis,
of course. Thus far I have managed to keep word of his death from getting to HQ,
but I won't be able to keep it from them for much longer.
Why bother, they'll find out eventually?
Because I do not wish us to be perceived as being vulnerable, Mikhail. The
Federation has a history of using events like Regis' death to try to further
their own interests. I am especially glad that Dani as here, and not at Elhalyn
Castle. And Gareth Elhalyn showed up an hour ago, so he is safe, too.
I don't understand.
It is not beyond imagination that they might kidnap him and try to have him put
into power. They have done such things on other worlds. I believe that the
situation in the Federation is too chaotic at present for anyone to attempt such
a coup, but the sooner Domna Miralys and her daughter get here, the happier I
wall be. Gareth is with his father and Lady Linnea for the evening. I am
probably jumping at shadows, and giving Belfontaine more credit for imagination
than he deserves.
So, what was in the message?
It was closer to a demand-he wants me to hand over Herm, as an enemy of the
Federation. He made a few veiled threats about what would result if we did not,
but since 1 know that the Federation is going to be leaving Darkover in the very
near future, 1 don't think he can really act on them.
Pull out? Did Belfontaine say that?
Hardly. That I learned in a note from Ethan MacDoevid just ten minutes ago-our
intelligence as still better than Belfontaine's! He seems to have charmed the
information out of Belfontaine's personal clerk, immediately before he was
ordered out of Headquarters for good. He said he will come around tomorrow, and
tell me everything he has managed to pick up. I praise the day Marguerida
decided to send him to Rafe Scott, for he has been invaluable since Rafe was
forced to retire, even though he has no laran and cannot eavesdrop that way. But
it does mean we now have no one actually in HQ and any information we get will
have to be acquired unscrupulously. There was a kind of merriment in this last
remark, and Mikhail knew what his father-in-law meant.
Mikhail realized that Katherine was watching him intently, and that she must
suspect something was being said that she could not hear. Her earlier discomfort
had returned, and he cursed himself silently for letting his attention wander.
She was an intelligent woman, and for all he knew, might be a Federation spy.
No, he was being overcautious. She was just a woman in an unfamiliar setting,
yanked out of her familiar world without warning and dropped down in the middle
of a political crisis.
"Lew mentioned that you were from Renney, Domna Katherine. I confess I know
nothing about it, except that your ancestor, the composer, came from there. He
is a favorite of my wife's, and she is yearning to interrogate you about him,
but that will keep. Please, tell me about your home world."
Katherine set down her spoon, her bowl empty, looking quite relieved to be asked
about so ordinary a subject. "Well, there is not a great deal to tell. It is a
small place, at the edge of the Pollux sector. We are farmers and dairymen and
seafarers, much as our ancestors were when they were still on Terra. We speak a
tongue very similar to your own-it astonished me when Herm demonstrated the
likenesses. I lived there until I was sixteen, and then I won a scholarship to
the Fine Arts Academy on Coronis. I studied painting with Donaldo dePaul, and
then met my first husband, Amaury's father. He was killed in an accident when
Amaury was a baby, and two years later, I met Herm. My life, until the past few
days, has been extremely uneventful."
"I am sorry that you did not come to Darkover under better circumstances,
domna."
"When I married Herm, I took a vow to be with him at all times, good and bad,
but I confess I never expected that to mean I would be dragged out of my bed in
the middle of the night and end up on the other side of the Federation, far away
from everything I know, and with very little chance of ever seeing Renney
again." There was no mistaking the sadness in her voice now, and the undertone
of worry as well. "Except for the children, and my cousin Cara, who was in the
Chamber of Deputies, my entire family is still there, for we are not a world
that produces very many travelers. We have everything we need on Renney, or
almost. When I left, my Nana just shook her head and said she hoped I would not
rue the day. I can imagine what she would say now."
"I hope you will not miss it too much, and we must both pray that things do not
get completely out of hand."
She shook her head, and the coil at her nape shifted, so Mikhail got a glimpse
of the soft flesh at the back of her neck. "I overheard Lew Alton and Herm
talking, and they did not sound very cheerful. I can barely believe that the
Premier has disbanded the Legislature. It seems so . . . extreme. And, for all
that I am the wife of politician, I have managed to keep myself in relative
ignorance, because worrying about political strife interferes with
my work." She
looked faintly embarrased at this admission, and glanced at the now empty glass
in front of her, as if she wanted something to focus on. A servant started to
refill it almost immediately.
Domenic, who was seated beside Katherine, spoke for the first time. "It was a
crazy thing to do, domna." A puzzled look came into his face, as if he was
surprised by his own outburst. He glanced at his father, and when he found no
look of disapproval, he relaxed.
Mikhail looked fondly at his oldest child, the most mysterious of his offspring.
He did not know if it was because the child had been conceived in the distant
past, or because he had spent several weeks of time suspended in his mother's
womb while both she and Mikhail were in the misty waters of Lake Hali, but he
was much more mature than his years suggested, and he was a remote boy. No . . .
not remote, but just having a hard time making the transition from childhood to
adulthood. Sometimes he was shy and other times he was outspoken, although he
was never bold in the way his brother Roderick was.
Istvana Ridenow, who had first tested him, said he had a unique laran, one she
was unable to define to her own satisfaction. True, he had the Alton Gift of
forced rapport, as strongly as his mother, but there was something else as well.
Mikhail wondered from time to time if Nico had the living matrix of the Hasturs,
but Istvana said it was not that. Whatever it was, it was developing in its own
way, slowly and almost painfully. He had a kind of shyness around everyone
except his cousin Alana that made him quiet and reserved.
Katherine looked at Nico with interest. "I agree, but I would like to know your
thoughts." What am I saying? I can't know his thoughts, because I am not a
telepath, but he can probably know mine, even though Marguerida said that . . .
damn Herm for not warning me! And what about Ter‚se? Is my little girl going to
be a mindreader or some other sort of witch, like Great-grandmother Lila was
supposed to have been? Nana's stories about her always gave me the creeps, and
here I am on a planet where some of the people have the ability to look into my
mind whenever they choose, and I can't tell who can and who cannot. Even though
I have nothing to hide, it as still intolerable! Well, I would not be
disappointed to give that Gisela a piece of my mind, except she probably has
just enough scruples not to snoop when I very much wish she would! I really must
try to be more consistent-one second feeling naked in this room, and the next
expecting these odd folks to hear my thoughts. I wonder what that man next to
Gisela is saying. Whatever it is, she doesn't look very happy about it-serves
her right, the cat! She deliberately tried to embarrass us!
Nico considered her question without speaking, as if trying to find the best
approach. These days he often appeared very sullen, alternating without reason
toward sudden bursts of pungent observation that surprised his elders.
Remembering his own adolescence, Mikhail knew it was normal for his age. At
least he thought about his words first, unlike Rory who said the first thing
that came into his head, without any thought of the consequences. Mikhail loved
them both, but he knew he favored Roderick, just a little, because Domenic was
so very opaque and distant.
"I have been listening to Grandfather Lew. And thinking. It seems to me that the
Terranan have leaped before they looked." Nico frowned and hesitated. Then he
continued. "Granddad says that most of his mistakes came from acting before he
considered what might happen, and that the Federation has done that now." He
glanced across the table at Lew, to see if he had said anything untoward, but
Lew just continued consuming his soup in pleasant silence.
"Aren't you a little young to be thinking about political ramifications?"
Katherine sounded both amused and genuinely interested. It was clear she was at
ease with the boy. Mikhail could tell that Domenic was starting to respond to
her friendliness, to abandon his normal reserve and actually enjoy himself.
"I am fifteen, and I have been thinking of politics all my life, or so it seems
to me." He gave Katherine one of his rare and charming smiles, then ran his
fingers through his hair, unconsciously imitating Mikhail. His hair was a little
long, touching the collar of his green tunic, because Nico loathed the barber.
"You see, with our long winters, with the snow up to the window sills for
months, we are all devoted to intrigue here. Just ask Aunt Giz sometime, and you
will get an earful." He cast a look across the table at Gisela, and to Mikhail's
surprise, there was something like real malice in his son's gaze.
"Aunt?" She looked slightly confused for a moment. "Of course. Do you know, I
believe that makes me your in-law as well. I had not thought of that before. I
have lots of sisters, and nieces and nephews by the bushel, but it hadn't really
penetrated my brain that I would have instant relations on Darkover." She turned
her head gracefully and looked Gisela up and down, managing to convey without a
word that her new sister-in-law was a mere country girl, and something of a dowd
into the bargain. Mikhail dabbed his napkin to his mouth to conceal the broad
grin on his lips, while Gisela simmered with fury. Then Katherine turned back to
Mikhail, her dark eyes flashing in a very attractive way, as if she had paid off
a score and was quite pleased with herself. "Indeed, I believe Amaury and I are
the only people at the table who are not some sort of relation to you by blood.
Is that right?"
Mikhail nodded. She was as intelligent as Lew had suggested. "Almost correct.
The elderly woman seated next to Hermes is not a native of Darkover, but the
widow of Marguerida's musical mentor. But everyone else is a relative, yes.
Young Donal here," he said, gesturing over his shoulder, "is both my nephew and
my paxman, and Alanna is his sister. You could say that most gatherings of the
Domain families are family gatherings, and not be too far off the mark." It
seemed like a safe topic, and he decided to pursue it further, just to keep
Katherine from dwelling on her fears. "And since the arrival of the Terranan
over a century ago, we have intermarried with them as well. For instance, Lew's
mother, Elaine, was a daughter of Mariel Aldaran and a Terran man, Wade Montray.
Lew's first wife, Marjorie, was also an Aldaran, on her mother's side, and her
father was Zeb Scott, a Terran. So, my Marguerida is a cousin of your husband
through her grandmother."
Katherine frowned over this. "But not an Aldaran through her father's first
wife, I take it."
She was quick! "No-Marguerida's mother was Marjorie's half sister, Thyra."
"Mother does not like to talk about her," Nico said very quietly, the remnants
of his usual shyness vanishing in the warmth of Katherine's attention. "She was
a very strange person, and wicked, too."
"Thank you for telling me-I can see that it would be easy to make a mistake and
mention something that would offend her. Now I finally understand why she and
Gisela look so similar-they are cousins as well as sisters-in-law.
I thought
that Renney kinships were convoluted, but I think that Darkover might just have
us beaten, fair and square."
"Father was almost forced to marry Gisela, but he went away instead," Nico
answered, his tongue loosened with wine and his dark eyes glittering with
something like his brother's devilment. He knew that the subject still made
Mikhail squirm. Then he glanced at Katherine's face and grinned. "Father and
Mother ran away together in the middle of the night and got married by . . ."
"Domenic!"
"Oh, Father, she is sure to hear the tale from someone, and you would not want
the servants telling her, would you?"
"I am sure Domna Katherine does not wish to be bored with events in the past."
Domenic laughed aloud, and everyone stared at him for a moment. "The past! That
is a good one, Father."
For a moment, Mikhail had the wish to strangle his firstborn. Katherine was not
yet easy in their company, and he was sure that hearing a tale about a trip into
the Ages of Chaos, in Darkover's distant past, would only increase her
discomfort. Accepting telepaths was surely enough for the present. At the same
time, he realized, Nico was right. If she did not hear the story from him, she
would find out from another source, likely embellished with details that were
more fancy than truth. He could just imagine Gisela's version of their
adventures.
Katherine looked from son to father and raised her eyebrows. She really was a
handsome woman. "Now I am very intrigued. My Nana always said that I was as
curious as a bag of cats. And, in truth, I would rather hear about anything
except the follies of the Federation. I am throughly sick of that subject."
A servant removed her soup bowl and replaced it with a plate of fritters and
broiled fish. Mikhail had already been served his portion, and picked up his
fork with his gloved hand. He cut off a bite of fritter, lightly flavored with
herbs, and speared a piece of fish.
When he had swallowed and sipped some wine, Mikhail spoke. "Domenic means that
Marguerida and I were drawn into the past-about seven hundred years-and were
married by an ancient laranzu called Varzil the Good, who was of the Ridenow
Domain. It all seems quite fantastic to me, and I was there!" Then he cursed
himself for the clumsiness of his choice of words, and knew how very weary he