Tremble in the Dark: A Gwen Farris Novel (35 page)

Gwen
thought about it for a moment, and realized that it made sense. Not that she
knew how to move objects to her from a distance. It could be handy though,
couldn't it? Especially if she could learn to do it without all that pain.

When
she finally got herself around to going inside and using the Telestator, she
was ambushed with calls. None of them were for her however, but were rather
from people in Ferdinand's offices and directed at Ethyl. The problem there was
that Gwen was trying to be a good fiancé, and actually get in touch with
Christophe. Bethany had rather been beating her that way, doing the job of
potentially getting married eventually far more actively and attentively than
really seemed natural, given everything.

The
first call that came in was from the King's party and social planner. Or so
Gwen thought. It turned out that the woman in charge of that, a rather sour and
angry sounding woman, considering her job description was
literally
to
party all the time, was just one of three people. Because the best way to get
anything done was always a committee.

Gwen
was just standing there, waiting during the first call, but the instant it
ended, before Ethyl could even take a step back, the next planner, this one a
young man, was on for Mrs. Vernor. On the good side, they weren't trying to
tell her how to have a party, just giving suggestions as to what kinds of
things might be done, or not done, that would make the Marduk happy. Really,
the man didn't seem all that picky. There was no demand of dancing girls, or
that women not attend the party with him at all, or anything strange like that.

He
liked chocolates and dates, seemed to favor spicy foods, which didn't mean that
much really, since the Western Kingdom had a collective idea about spices that
seemed to suggest that some being in a jar, in another room, was just a tad on
the strong side. Pepper was considered a blistering condiment, and not used by
most people. It wasn't an actual physical thing either, since Gwen still liked
her food a lot more spicy than anyone here did and her body was, well, from
there. So it was just habit.

"We
could bring in some hot peppers from the south, and I can taste things for the
cook." She spoke out loud, mainly due to tiredness, but hadn't been
exposed to the current man for some reason yet. Probably because she wasn't on
the King's party list, or something like that. Still, he was coming to one she
was at, so it probably wasn't pure hatred, just that he was too busy for that
kind of thing. "I can see if we can have some brought in by air."

"That
would be most helpful." The man actually sounded like he really meant it
even. "Can you tolerate such foods? I tried some about three years ago,
and I swear I still tear up, when I think about it."

"Not
a problem. Um, Gwen Farris here. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I'm just waiting
to try and get a call in to Christophe Aubry. I just got back in the other day,
from a field assignment." Well, she really should have done that the first
day. Beth had. She was... Well, being busy wasn't a real answer, was it? You
made time for things like that, or they didn't get done. Ethyl had mentioned
that to her, when Gwen hadn't left the room earlier.

The
man sounded very, very happy then.

"I
heard about that! It's wonderful news that the new Duke has found someone
that's willing to marry him, even given his weak health and infirmities."
That was his stutter and low magical ability. This was from someone that was trying
to be polite about the whole thing too, she bet.

She
nearly snapped at the fellow anyway, but Ethyl waved her left hand in the air,
seeming to know that, so Gwen just locked everything down, and took a bit of
silence instead, letting her "mom" do that part for her.

"We're
all very excited. We'll have a large assortment of spicy and rich foods, as
well as some for the rest of us to eat as well. You say that as far as colors
go he favors brown and green? The King likes brown and blue. That would seem to
give a common color theme at least."

The
voice seemed happy with that, and agreed instantly, but Gwen rolled her eyes.

"You
know, and I mean this with love and concern for everyone involved, but both of
them are adult men. You probably don't have to color code your party for them.
Not that I have anything against brown, given it's a summer party, but it's
outside already. We have trees, dirt and the sky, as well as grass and all
that. They'll have all their favorite colors, I'm sure. I'd go with white and
pink given that, so it doesn't look like you're sucking up to them. They both
hate that." She didn't know that about either of them, having met the King
only a handful of times, and the Marduk once.

What
she knew about them, really, was that they both had been a lot more concerned
with shutting the gate that had started to open, than about their own lives.
True, neither of them had really helped a lot, but they didn't run from the
room screaming either. She'd been there, and that meant she knew, perhaps more
than anyone else would ever get, exactly how brave that meant the two men
really were. They probably weren't the type to get pissy because the party
wasn't done up in their favorite color.

"Besides,
they'd both look best with a lot of red around. It fits their skin and hair
tones best." Again, she was just talking and words came out, but she
didn't know where the words were coming from. It wasn't psychic in nature...

She
stiffened. Gwen didn't know things like that at all, having never bothered to
learn it for herself, which meant avoiding the idea all together. Back home
that had made sense to her. Katherine however knew things like that, since her
mother, Ethyl, had taught her, no doubt.

At
least she nodded now.

"True.
Still, that would be best served for them as individuals. What they pick for
clothing on the day. Perhaps we should go with brown, just to be safe? It's a
little drab, but I can see not wanting to make anyone feel out of place."

Gwen
smiled and didn't offer anything else, since clearly, the rule of the week was
going to be all about doing whatever people here always did in that kind of
situation, which seemed to involve talking to Ferdinand's people. That reminded
her to get in touch with the airfield, as soon as she could. Spices and invitations
to go out, if they hadn't already. Duke Morten would need one, even if no one
else wanted to come.

Finally,
after an hour of listening to the others chat about things that she couldn't
imagine being important at all, they got off the Telestator, and Gwen jumped in
on it so quickly that Mrs. Vernor snickered at her lightly.

"It
isn't as if you couldn't have used one of the other Telestators dear. We have
five of them." She spoke as if Gwen might have honestly forgotten, which
earned her a funny, half choked off, snort.

"You're
assuming that my rushing to do this is about you having been taking it up all
morning, when it's actually more about my nerves. I don't know what to say or
anything. I should have written something down. I've never called a man before.
Well, not as a
man
, really. For business, and that sort of thing, but
not, for this kind of... ordeal." She wanted to take the last word back,
but didn't have a better one to replace it with.

"Ah,
luckily, as the young lady, it will be up to him to find suitable topics. I'm
sure he's had training in it. Unlike your poor friend Bethany. She has to carry
on conversations with Martin Cordell each day. They have nothing in common. I
see the political use of the engagement and even the marriage, but it's like
taking people from two lands that have been at war for a long time and telling
them that they, with their own flesh, must fix all the damage." Those
words got Gwen glared at a bit.

Since,
naturally, someone had mentioned her setting the whole thing up, not realizing
that it had all been her just trying to tease them a bit. Poorly, as it turned
out.

"I
know. I'm surprised they both haven't taken turns beating me for suggesting it
yet. It's coming, no doubt. Well, here goes. Wish me luck." She didn't wait
for that, but the woman smiled.

"I
wish you the greatest luck in all you do, or wish to, Gwen." There was a
soft tingle of power behind it, which, even if it didn't do much, meant that
the lady really meant it, which was nice.

"Thanks."
She gave the Aubry code from memory, and had a newly minted and rather youthful
Duke on the line inside ten minutes. She was stuck just standing there and
waiting for him, but he clearly had hurried to reach it, at least he sounded
out of breath when he got there.

Christophe
was a noble however, so he might have been having sex and had to hurry to
finish up. She didn't think that was the case, but she kind of hoped so. At
least
one
of them needed to have some experience that way, on their
wedding night. She'd been told he was outside, riding though, so it was
probably really that, or he would have been at some indoor location. Even if it
was a lie, it always paid to be as close with your falsehoods as you could.

So
if you were fucking the maid, being in your study, while it was
cleaned
,
wasn't a bad way of putting it. She could walk out ten minutes later and no one
would think anything of it at all. As long as the room was clean at least.
Well, and as long as she wasn't a screamer.

"Gwen!
I've been briefed as to your last case. The thing on the train. Are you well? I
thought perhaps you would have taken to your bed, out of the stress of
things." He sounded so earnest she laughed, but kept it to a soft titter,
which here was just as annoying as a woman her age doing it would have been at
home, but wasn't all that harsh sounding.

"Christophe,
that isn't me at all. I've been working on a project for the King, after a
fashion, which means a lot of hard training. Magic stuff, using the Westmorland
methods, so, not at all fun. Needed though, if I'm going to get them
free." She was tired enough that the words just popped out, but Chris
didn't tell her to stop being stupid or give up her ideas.

No,
he sighed.

"I
should do a course of that myself, I fear. Not for magic, since that would be a
waste. I hear I could learn to resist mesmerism that way however? It's been in
the papers. There are going to be votes on that coming up, and I'll need to
speak with authority on the subject. No one else is willing to try it. Not that
I
really am either, but as the youngest man involved, it's pretty much
my part to do that, isn't it? After the party however? I want to be at my best.
I hear that it's rather like torture?"

This
was the great conversation that she got to have thanks to all his training? Then,
she realized, they were talking about things she knew well, that he was
interested, at least in theory, in trying, and that the instant she'd mentioned
her not being so weak as to need bed rest after seeing a few bad things, he'd
dropped it immediately. Even though it had to be going almost completely
against his own social conditioning and expectations.

So
maybe it
was
high level training there after all.

"That
sounds like a plan. We'll need to get someone in to do that, one that isn't a
Westmorland. I doubt one of them could allow themselves to cause you pain on
that level. It might be hard to manage that. I'll ask around for you? I won't
do it either. It takes a person a lot harder than me to hurt someone else like
that and not let them go immediately. Maybe we can automate it? I'll ask. I
have a trainer coming in today. It's for something else though. Um, a new kind
of training that we're trying out." She realized, after having thought
what she had, that Christophe might just assume she meant some kind of sex
training. Except of course, he wouldn't. "We're going to be teaching a
young Westmorland boy how to fight in the morning, and need to work out how to
do that without much pain or too much discomfort. There will be some, but I
have some ideas that should work, depending on what tools we can find for
it." She smiled and then shook her head, knowing that he couldn't see her
doing it.

There
was no way that he'd care about that, but he didn't talk about her work at all then,
just the party, and he was pleased enough to know that the theme would be in
browns, so that he didn't wear anything too dark himself.

"I
should wear something light colored too then, right? I think that's the normal thing
to do here? Not so that we match, but more so we'll seem like we belong
together?" She knew nothing about that, other than from observation, but
it wasn't always done. She had a nice light colored dress that was probably two
seasons out of date, but that would look nice enough, without being too flashy.
It was one of Katherine's old things.

Chris
sounded pleased by her words at least.

"We
can do that, yes. I think it sounds just right. I hate to be a bore, but I'm
afraid I have some people coming soon and need to hop off. Oh, I was wondering
what you wanted done with my old secretary?"

Gwen
froze for a moment, having not really thought about that event much at all for
days. Even then it had just been in passing. Was she supposed to do something
about that?

She
shrugged. After all, a lot of people had tried to kill her, on occasion and she
hadn't called for them all to die, even if she'd tried pretty hard to do that
herself.