“Of course! I should have known.” Lew stood up and greeted the newcomer with every appearance of delight, as if they were friends already, or, perhaps, allies. He drew Francisco to the table. “This is my daughter, Marguerida Alton.” Margaret pushed her chair back clumsily, made a slight bow that did not quite become a curtsy, and smiled at the man. Close-up, he looked a little younger than herself and was quite handsome.
There was a pause, while Francisco got himself seated, and Margaret and Lew returned to their chairs. She turned to Mikhail, and found him looking very stern. Then she realized he was watching
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Francisco with a wary eye, and wondered if he were jealous. It gave her a funny feeling, a kind of warmth in her chest that was not unpleasant, but very new. No one had ever been jealous on her account before, and she wasn’t sure how to react.
“I have been speaking of the recent past, Francisco, mostly for the benefit of Marguerida, who does not know our history.” He gave Lew a piercing look at this remark, and her father’s cheeks reddened slightly. “After the Sharra Rebellion, I was the only adult heir to Hastur still alive, and next after me, my sister’s sons. At the time I had not found Linnea and had only nedestro sons of my own, so I designated Mikhail as my heir,” Regis said.
He cleared his throat again, and Lady Linnea, beside him, coiled her fingers into his, a gesture so tender and intimate that it was almost shocking. “There things have stood for twenty years, and while I was not certain it was the best situation, I was not impelled to rush into any decisions. It has been hard on Mikhail, for I have not formalized things, so he remains heir designate, even though I now have two sons to take my place. I can only say that, having lost my older children to fate, I was not eager to make little Dani my heir. I learned that life was much more chancy than I ever imagined, and it left a mark on me.”
“You are going to name Dani as your heir, then,” Javanne asked, her face almost cheerful.
Regis turned his head and gave her a curious look, as if she were a stranger, and not a very nice one. Javanne’s expression changed, and the pleasure she had showed a moment before vanished. “I thought a great deal about the delegation I had received, and also about the changes that were taking place in the Federation. They did not bode well for Darkover, for it seemed that with the Expansionists in power, it was likely that we were going to face the challenge of more plunderers, more World Wreckers. This was Lew’s opinion, but it confirmed my own, from other sources of information. And it seemed to me that reconvening the Comyn Council at this point in time would be a step forward, not a regression. But one of the things the common folk’s delegation were particularly insistent on was restoring the Elhalyn to the throne. Since this was an idea very dear to my heart, I was inclined to agree.” He smiled charmingly, and Margaret remembered that one of the things that the Hasturs supposedly had as part of their Gift was the ability to manipulate people. That explained why he had chosen to meet in the Crystal Chamber; if the dampers kept the Alton Gift from being used, then it logically kept Regis’ Gifts in check as well.
Still, she was somewhat puzzled. Regis was king in everything but name, and he seemed to want to abdicate the position. She did not know a great deal about power, other than the vicious, petty games that academics played, but she knew enough to realize this was an unprecedented move for him to make. The only satisfaction she had was the certainty that everyone else at the table was almost as puzzled as she was.
“So, we have an Ardais, and I am sure young Dyan will serve ably. Lady Marilla is a Lindir and one of the last of the Aillards, but we all know how able she is. I trust we can pry her away from her kilns from time to time, to join us in our necessary deliberations.” He gave Marilla a smile that was very charming, and Margaret watched the woman relax beneath it. “
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Francisco is willing to serve for the Ridenows. We will find an Elhalyn to serve on the Council, though it may take time.”
“But, Regis,”
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Gabriel protested, despite the fact that Javanne was signaling him to keep quiet while she evaluated the new situation, “what is your purpose in all this?”
“My purpose is to give Darkover the best people she has to offer, to lead her into the future. And that future is not in my hands, or yours, old friend, but in the hands of these youngsters—in the hands of Mikhail, Dyan, Francisco, and Marguerida. I will not live forever, nor will Lew nor Javanne nor you—and we cannot go on behaving as if we will. That has been the mistake I have made in not taking matters into hand before.”
“Mikhail? What has he to say in any of this—he will not be inheriting Hastur.”
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Gabriel was clearly angry, as if it were the fault of his younger son that all of these changes were being proposed. “He is merely a younger son, paxman to Dyan Ardais, and nothing more!”
“And you would have me waste all his training and his intelligence, then?”
“Training? You mean that Terranan education you gave him? I think that makes him unsuited to have anything to do with governing Darkover—he is corrupted!”
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Gabriel brought his fist down on the table as he spoke. “It is clear you have plans for him, and whatever they are, I will not allow them.”
“Gabriel, be quiet!” Javanne snapped these words out. “There is a use to which Mikhail can be put, and I know what it is. Regis, I want you to send Mikhail to take Lew’s seat in the Senate. He has always wanted to travel to the stars, and now would be a perfect time! We simply cannot allow an Aldaran to sit in the Senate—they cannot be trusted, and you know it. I am sure Lew acted as he thought best, but he was wrong.”
The expression on Mikhail’s face was a combination of alarm and anger. Margaret didn’t blame him at all. She had told him of his mother’s scheme, but neither of them had really given it a great deal of credence. And he did not want to leave Darkover now, she knew. How sad, she reflected, that having wished to travel to the stars all his life, he might now have the opportunity when he no longer wanted it. Now she realized that Javanne and Gabriel felt they had lost Mikhail long ago to what they saw as frightening and dangerous Terranan ideas, ideas that had been encouraged by Regis. She tried not to feel frightened or sad at the idea, but she knew him well enough now to realize that if Regis wanted it, he would go. Mikhail would put Darkover before his personal happiness, and her own, for that was the sort of man he was. She loved him for that, she decided, even if it meant her life would be ruined just when it was truly starting.
“No!” Regis shook his head. “That will not fit in with the plan I have, and Mikhail does not have the experience he needs to take a Senatorial seat. Herm Aldaran will remain in that position. I sent him to the lower house six years ago with the intention that he would someday take Lew’s place, though I did not expect it to be so soon.”
“But,”
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Gabriel protested, “this is outrageous! I never approved of that appointment, and I still don’t! I think you have lost your mind, Regis.”
Remarkably, Regis kept his temper and answered calmly. “No, I have not. I made the decision after much consideration, because Herm is a canny politician, and because he understands what must be done to protect our world.” He paused, took a deep breath, and looked to Lady Linnea for support. “More, it is my intention to invite the Aldarans to return to the Comyn Council in the near future. We cannot allow ourselves to be divided when we will need every resource to keep Darkover whole!”
Several voices were raised in protest, the loudest being
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Gabriel’s. “Are you mad? No one will sit at Council with a damned Aldaran—not me, not anyone.”
“Nonsense. What harm the Aldarans did is generations past, and we must heal the wound, not keep it open and bleeding. We will have foes enough from the Expansionist forces to keep us busy without having another one lurking at our backs. With the Aldarans here, we can keep an eye on them!”
“If you imagine you can force me to be party to this nonsense, then you are deluded. In fact,”
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Gabriel went on, “It seems to me that you are no longer fit to guide Darkover, Regis! Dani is too young to take on your responsibilities . . . but another regent can be appointed.” He drew his shoulders up, puffed out his large chest, and continued. “With the guidance of older men, such as myself I am sure . . .”
Dyan Ardais stirred in his chair. His hand went to the pommel of his small sword. “That sounds very close to treason to my ears,
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Gabriel,” the young man snarled, startling many people present. “I am loyal to Regis, to Hastur, to Darkover. I will not sit here silently and let you speak so.”
“Be quiet, puppy! You are only looking out for Mikhail’s interests, and I know it, even if you don’t. He has charmed you, like he does everyone. I know he is dangerous, and cannot be trusted! He thinks too much!”
“And that is exactly what Darkover needs—thoughtful men.” Regis’ face was flushed with rage, but his voice was calm and even. Behind him, Danilo was tense, ready to leap to the defense of his liege, and the Guardsmen standing at the doorway were alert. Margaret wondered if blood had ever been spilled in that room before, and hoped her uncle’s would not be the first. A glance at Mikhail’s face told her that his thoughts were running in the same direction, that it was tearing him apart to see his father and his uncle ready to go at each other. If it had not been so serious, if there had not been so many swords and knives in the room, it would almost have been ludicrous, the idea of two men in their early fifties getting into a brawl. But it was serious, and she knew it.
More, Margaret understood that she was right in the middle of it—that as heir to the Alton Domain, she was not some observer but an actual player in a game that she did not fully understand. And a deadly game, if the expressions on the faces of the men were anything to judge by. She could not sit there, passively, silently, any longer. She gave Lew a quick glance out of the corner of her eyes, and saw him give her a little nod, as if he were following her thoughts, even though the room itself prevented it.
“I know I haven’t any business speaking, but—”
“Then keep quiet,” Javanne hissed.
“No, I will not. First, as a University-trained researcher, I have to say that I do not think that Regis has completely revealed his plans, and that theorizing with incomplete data is always foolish.”
“Listen to her!”
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Gabriel was so red faced now that his ears were nearly purple. “A ‘University-trained researcher,’ indeed! This woman doesn’t know her place, which is to do as she is told, and be quiet the rest of the time. She is unfit to inherit the Alton Domain! She is too Terranan, too independent! Why, she is little better than a Renunciate!”
For some reason this last, which Gabriel clearly intended as an ultimate insult, made Margaret laugh. Everyone looked at her, even Mikhail, as if she had lost her mind. “I would be proud to be a Renunciate, were it not for the fact that I don’t wish to be one.” She understood her uncle better now. He had a vast sense of inferiority, for reasons she did not know, and he had lived for decades with a managing woman who probably rarely did what he wanted. Suddenly Margaret knew that he found her behavior too similar to his wife’s, and that he wanted more than anything to control her, if only because he could not control Javanne, and never had been able to. That explained his immediate opposition to any match between her and Mikhail—he could not control Mik either.
“You cannot have it both ways, Uncle,” she went on as calmly as she was able. “Either I am important or I am not. I cannot only be important to suit you, and keep quiet the rest of the time.”
Gabriel rounded on Lew. “This is all your fault!”
Lew smiled slowly. “Very likely. I did not try to make her meek and biddable—there was always too much of myself and her mother in her for that.” There was an emotion in his voice, as if for the first time he could think of Thyra without pain or regret, could see that she had been something more than the woman he remembered. “But I believe she is right. Regis has something else he wants to say. I confess I am looking forward to it.”
“And so am I,” Dyan chimed in, clearly ready to cast his lot with Lew Alton.
“Well,” Francisco Ridenow added, “thus far I have not heard anything that disturbs me, so I hope Lord Regis will continue with his revelations.”
Lady Marilla cleared her throat. “Like
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Gabriel, I cannot like the idea of any Aldaran sitting in this chamber. But I also can see some wisdom in keeping them under our eye, rather than permitting them to do whatever they wish behind our backs. I have thought a great deal about this, since Marguerida asked me about them some time back, and I decided that perhaps I was prejudiced by the past—that I do not know these people and that perhaps they are not really the monsters we imagine them to be.”
“This is still not a full Council, so nothing we say will carry any weight,” Javanne put in. She sniffed and gave Lady Marilla a glance of open contempt. “It is only a lot of heated air. It will all come to nothing.” She seemed quite sure of herself. It seemed likely that she believed she could influence her brother in private.
“How very disloyal of you, Javanne,” Regis said dryly. “It would be shocking, if I did not know you so well.” He gave a little sigh. “Decision has never been my strong suit, for I always see too many possibilities. But I have thought long on this matter, and I do not think I will be swayed by any arguments now. Even my sister will acknowledge that it took me a long while to make up my mind, but now that I have, I will stand by my choices.”
He looked at Linnea for support, then continued. “There are still several matters to be resolved. One is the disposition of the Alton Domain, and that lies at the heart of the predicament. It is not that we have too few legitimate claimants, but that we have too many.
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Gabriel feels he has a rightful claim on it, because he has held the position for years. I do not know how Lew feels. But since he has returned, his claim is the most valid.”