Traitor's Sun

started. Tell me, son, what do you think of Katherine Aldaran?"

  "I like her very much. I think she is finding Darkover difficult, and making the

  best she can of it."

  "I have not been able to spend more than a moment with her, and had to deputize

  Gisela, which was probably a mistake. But they are sisters-in-law, so it was

  logical. After that nonsense of the clothes at dinner last night, they are

  likely not even speaking to one another-which is just one more thing that I

  don't have time to deal with!" Damn Giz for being such a troublemaker! I wish

  she would grow up and start behaving like a woman instead of a spoiled brat!

  "You worry too much, Mother. Go take a nap and have a cup of tea. Domna

  Katherine can take care of herself. And Aunt Gisela never likes other women,

  especially if they are beautiful. She cannot help it."

  "You are very wise for your years, Nico. Yes, a nap is in order-if only no

  further upsets occur."

  Marguerida left the room as a servant came in and started to clean up the mess

  on the floor. Domenic sat down, then jumped back to his feet a minute later, and

  began to pace. The entire weight of Comyn Castle seemed to press against his

  skull, and he tried to shake the feeling away.

  What was the matter with him? Nico tried to discover the source of his

  oppression, and at last it came to him. He did not want to attend the last rites

  of Regis Hastur. He could not bear the thought, even for a moment. It was more

  than just his sorrow at losing a man who had always been there for him. The

  grief was real, but beneath it there was a well of barely contained fury and

  fear, as if the walls were closing in on him.

  His mind went to the red-haired girl in the Traveler's cart. How fortunate she

  was to be free, without obligations or duties. How wonderful it would be to go

  where he wanted, when he wanted.

  An idea began to form, a wicked and wonderful notion. Nico shook his head at

  himself, and tried to make it go away. Could he really sneak out and go to see

  that night's performance? He really should not, but the more he tried to

  persuade himself out of it, the more attractive the idea became. Of course he

  could go with his usual contingent of Guards-that would be almost acceptable.

  But he wanted to go alone, unaccompanied. He wanted to have at least one

  adventure before he was shut up forever.

  Then he chuckled. It was something Rory would do, never Domenic. Well, he would

  show that he was not as stuffy as everyone thought, not the "good" son. His

  mother might just get her wish, that he would do something which surprised her.

  Now all he had to do was find a way to exit the Castle without being noticed.

  The sense of oppression almost vanished as he drew a deep breath, and began to

  plan his escape.

  7

  The carriage rattled over the cobblestones, and Katherine Aldaran studied her

  sister-in-law, sitting languidly on the opposite bench, her lower body draped in

  a furred blanket. What a complicated woman she was turning out to be. First she

  had played a mean trick, and then apparently to make amends had appeared right

  after breakfast that morning with an armful of garments and the offer to take

  Kate to met Master Gilhooly, the head of the Painters Guild. She had not

  apologized, nor even alluded to the previous evening, but instead had seemed to

  only be interested in being helpful.

  She had shown Katherine how to deal with the multiple petticoats every Darkovan

  woman was expected to wear. Each one was dyed a slightly darker hue, and when

  Katherine put them on, with a fine chemise beneath them, the effect was not only

  quite pretty but warm as well. A skirt, embroidered with leaves, and tunic to

  match completed the ensemble. The colors were more suited to a redhead than to

  Katherine's coloring but they did well enough, and when Gisela sat her down and

  dressed her hair, pulling it back and fastening it with a very lovely butterfly

  clasp, she was both pleased with the reflection in the glass and forgiving of

  her new sister-in-law as well. The nagging suspicion that Gisela might be up to

  something faded back, but Katherine thought she would be a fool to drop her

  guard completely around this obviously complex woman whose agendas were unknown

  to her.

  The trip to the Painters Guild had been pleasant, and Gisela had pointed out

  things of interest, and told her some of Darkover's history as well. She had

  been animated, clever with her words, and not at all like the coyly manipulative

  woman who had visited her the day before, and given her the impression that

  wearing Federation evening clothes to the welcoming banquet was the correct

  thing to do. But now Gisela seemed weary and out of sorts, as if returning to

  Comyn Castle was something unpleasant.

  Katherine tried to think of something to say, wanting to restore the previous

  mood, which was more comfortable for her. She noticed, in a distant way, that

  Gisela, like Herm, was an oddly restful person for her. Kate had always

  appreciated it that her husband managed to hide his feelings so well, and it

  appeared that Gisela had the same quality. That absence of emotional need had

  made their marriage tranquil. She resented that Herm had kept so many secrets

  from her, but that was a different matter altogether, one she would deal with in

  her own way.

  "Thank you again for taking me. Even though Herm has taught me rather a lot of

  casta, I could never have managed without you. My vocabulary was not up to it."

  Gisela smiled vaguely and nodded. Then she plucked at the hem of her tunic and

  shifted on the bench. "He would not have thought, if he even knew the terms

  himself, which I rather doubt, of how many words are specific to painters. And,

  truthfully, I would not have known myself, except that for the past decade I

  have been so bored that I have read anything I could get my hands on, whether I

  was initially interested in the subject or not. One of the books I found in the

  Castle archives was a treatise, about three hundred years old. 'Concerning the

  Limner's Craft.' The parchment is yellowed and starting to crumble, so I had to

  be careful. And I don't suppose anyone but me and the archivist even know it

  exists. I have picked up a great deal of information that I never expected to

  use. It was rather amusing to find an application for some of it at last." She

  did not sound amused, in fact she was clearly discontented. But somehow

  Katherine was not made uncomfortable by these feelings. Maybe it was a family

  characteristic, this containment. She wondered for a moment if their brother,

  Robert Aldaran, and his father would be the same.

  Katherine tried to imagine a life as confined as she knew Gisela's must be, and

  felt more than a little sorry for the woman. "Well, I am happy that you were

  bored, then, because it was a great treat for me. Are you bored often?"

  Gisela looked at her, green eyes glinting in the light that came through the

  windows of the vehicle, as if she were seeking some hidden meaning in the words.

  "Most of the time, yes, I am."

  Katherine could sense a sudden tension in her sister-in-law and realized she had

  to tread warily. "I am sorry,
but I don't understand. I would imagine that

  living in Comyn Castle would be . . . pleasant."

  A bitter laugh answered her. "You might find it that, but I have never done so."

  Gisela drew her fine brows together and pursed her lips. "I am there because

  Regis Hastur wanted some way to guarantee my father's good behavior, not because

  I am wanted or needed. I have no purpose but as a pawn, and I suppose I have

  never had one-it makes me very cross."

  "That would make me cross, too, Gisela. But I still don't quite understand."

  "What?" Gisela sat up on her bench, her face twisted with hope and wariness at

  the same time.

  Kate wondered what had happened to this obviously intelligent woman to make her

  so untrusting. "Well, why you think you have no purpose except as a pawn, I

  suppose."

  "I am not like you, Katherine, or like Marguerida. I don't have anything that

  matters to me the way I know now that art matters to you, or music does to

  Marguerida. Watching you talk to Master Gilhooly-the way your face lit up-made

  my . . . stomach hurt." She reddened, looked mildly ashamed, and gave a little

  sigh. "I was not raised for such things. I was never encouraged to find an

  avocation-something which would fill my life with passion and meaning. My father

  spoiled me very badly, and I always believed I could have anything I wanted. It

  was only later that I understood that I could only have what he wanted, if I was

  fortunate. I am just a woman, and on Darkover that doesn't count for much."

  "How were you unfortunate, then?"

  Gisela stared her for a second. "You are really interested, aren't you?"

  "Of course I am. Why would I pretend otherwise?"

  "You wouldn't, I guess. You are a very odd woman, Kate, and I cannot think of

  anyone like you. I just don't know what to make of you."

  "There is nothing to make of me, Giz. But, you see, I was born on Renney, where

  women hold the reins of power, and I am having a great deal of trouble

  understanding Darkover. The things you told me when we were going to the

  Painters Guild were more than a little disturbing, and if Herm expects me to

  turn into some sort of subservient wife, doing whatever he wishes without asking

  questions, then I want to know about it beforehand, so I can box his ears. He

  seems different already."

  "Women have the power . . . what a peculiar notion. Hmm. I rather fancy that. It

  sounds very attractive." She paused for a moment, her face reflective. "I'll

  wager Herm is probably not telling you things you think you should know, am I

  right?"

  "The number of things that Herm has not told me during the course of our

  marriage so far is already enormous, and I am quite angry with him." She bit off

  the words before she said more, surprised by her own candor. She did not know

  Gisela very well, and had already learned that the woman was capable of being

  spiteful, and that she was a chancy ally at best. But she needed to talk to

  someone, and her new sister-in-law was the only one she had found so far. "We

  have had a happy marriage until now, and I feel . . . betrayed."

  "Poor Katherine." There seemed to be a genuine compassion in the words. "Herm is

  a good man, but he has always been very secretive, even when he was a boy. I

  think it was his way of dealing with our father, who is a difficult man at the

  best of times." She laughed mirthlessly. "And in Aldaran Castle, it is never the

  best of times! Our family was mistrusted-cast out-by the other Domains, long

  before I was born. That drove my father into fits of fury. Then Regis Hastur

  decided that the Aldarans should not be punished for things that had happened in

  the past, and his first gesture toward reconciliation was to appoint Hermes to

  the Chamber of Deputies. It was a small thing, and it did not satisfy my father,

  whose desire was to be a power to be reckoned with on Darkover, instead of

  sitting up in the Hellers like a hawk in jesses. I think he expected Herm's

  appointment to lead to something immediately, but it didn't. And I don't think

  Father has ever understood my brother's character."

  "And what is that?" Katherine was fascinated now. True, Gisela had not known

  Herm for over two decades, and was several years younger than her brother. But

  the earlier part of their journey had raised her opinion of the other woman

  considerably. More, she had always been curious about her husband's history, and

  frustrated that he refused to discuss it.

  "It is not easy to put into words. I would say that he is very solitary. Indeed,

  I was stunned to find out he had a wife and children-it was so unlike the Hermes

  I remembered. We have an animal in the Hellers, the scavenger-wolf, which runs

  in packs and howls in the night. But sometimes, for no reason anyone knows, one

  of these beasts leaves his pack and goes off on its own. When I was little, I

  always thought Herm was like one of those."

  "A lone wolf-yes, that makes sense. And your father did not understand that?"

  "Well, it made him uncomfortable, because he could not command Herm to do his

  bidding. But I don't think that was the problem, for my father is not an

  introspective man, and he does not give much attention to anyone other than

  himself. No, it was another matter entirely." She took a breath. "Again, it is

  difficult to express exactly. I think that my brother loves Darkover more than

  he can ever love a living person, Kate. Please do not suspect me of malice,

  although you would be completely justified if you did. I do not mean to hurt

  your feelings in saying this-and you did ask me."

  "No, I don't. It fits in with what I know of my husband. Not happy knowledge,

  but at least I no longer feel I have misjudged him completely. Thank you." She

  sighed, letting some of the tension leave her body. "Now, tell me your sad tale,

  please."

  "It is not sad, exactly, although I often feel as if it were, when I am in one

  of my black moods. It isn't even very interesting. I fell in love with Mikhail

  Hastur when he came to visit Aldaran Castle. I was sixteen and he was the first

  person outside my family, other than some Terranan who visited my father, I had

  ever gotten to know. My father approved, in his way. He encouraged me in my

  folly, and I was young enough to think that something would come of it. Mikhail

  was Regis' heir, and marrying him would make me the greatest lady on Darkover!

  Regis wanted to bring the Aldarans back into Darkovan society, and it seemed to

  me a perfect solution. I had no idea what kind of opposition such a notion would

  arouse, because my father had filled my head with some extremely silly things,

  and I was too young to understand the politics of the situation. Politics!"

  Gisela spat the word out.

  "I quite agree. So what happened then?" Katherine sensed that her sister-in-law

  was revisiting something old and painful, that she had longed to speak of it and

  had had no one she could open up to. It was not the first time she had heard

  things she had no business knowing-the models for her portraits often became

  positively garrulous while posing. And though she was uncertain whether she

  wanted Gisela's confidences, Kate could see no harm in learning more about her
r />   husband's family.

  "Absolutely nothing! Mikhail went away, and Herm became a Deputy and left. Time

  passed, and Mik did not return, nor did he send me any messages and my father

  grew impatient. In one of his furies he decided to marry me off to an old drunk

  who had already buried two wives, to get me off his hands, since I had not

  furthered his dreams as he thought I should have. Those were the worst four

  years of my life." She shuddered all over and reflected for a moment. "That part

  was rather sad, I suppose."

  Kate felt the pain in the words and wondered if this new relative knew how very

  courageous she was, to have endured such a trial. She shifted a little on the

  hard bench of the carriage, trying not to let her usual discomfort with people

  in general influence her too much. "I take it the old drunk died. Or did you

  divorce him?"

  "We don't have marriage dissolutions on Darkover, or at least not very often.

  No, he broke his neck out hunting before I had time to find a way to poison him,

  and good riddance! So, there I was, a young widow with two sons, and Regis

  reformed the Comyn Council, and invited my father to come to Thendara. I came

  with him, all ready to recapture Mikhail's interest, and there was Marguerida,

  in what I imagined was to be my position!" She shrugged her shoulders, as if

  trying to relieve herself of some old burden.

  "That sounds completely miserable for you. What happened then?" In spite of her

  now increasing unease, Katherine was fascinated and did not want her

  sister-in-law to stop talking.

  "There was a ball, for Midwinter," Gisela began, her voice distant now. "My

  father had backed Regis into an agreement to announce that Mikhail and I would

  be married, to heal the breach between the Domains, you see. I have never been

  so anxious in my life as I was that night, because I had a sense of dread, a

  certainty that it was not going to happen the way I wished. We Aldarans have the

  Gift of foresight. Gift-it's often more of a curse! And then Marguerida and I

  ended up in an alcove, glaring at each other, and she told me that I had put my

  heart on the wrong Hastur. Before I could reply, everyone in the ballroom who

  had any laran heard this terrible, booming voice-it was incredible! The next

  thing I knew Mik and Marguerida were dashing out of the room, and Mikhail's