Heart Dance (15 page)

Ruis Elder had been stiff, but had also relaxed under the goodwill and ministrations of the ladies. Saille had been equally formal, since he’d never spoken with Ruis outside the Ship and the presence of his MotherDam, but he relaxed, too.

“Amazing,” said Ruis in an undertone to Saille. “I’m rarely invited to a Residence, and I’ve never felt so welcomed.” He eyed the ladies grouped around his wife and child and shook his head. “Your MotherDam trained them well to her needs.”

“Yes. It occurs to me that I should do an in-depth consultationwith each of them and see if they have HeartMates.” Some of them were still of an age to have children. His MotherDam might have wanted to rule their lives and keep them single and childless to serve her, but he didn’t.

“Ailim told me that your MotherDam had hidden your HeartMate from you.” Ruis gestured to the women. “You think she might have done the same with them?”

“Perfectly possible. We all have matchmaking Flair. Even if they don’t have HeartMates, together we can find them good, loving spouses.”

“Which brings us back to the reason why Ailim and Dani Eve and I are here.” Ruis sipped after-dinner caff. “You
can’t
pick up any Flair from me to do your work.”

Saille met his eyes. “No, but I can from Ailim. The fact that she never felt a HeartMate during her Passage is telling.”

“Maybe it just means she doesn’t have a HeartMate, and I’m just a husband.”

Snorting, Saille said, “I’ve seen HeartMates less in love and loving than you two.”

Ruis blinked, set down his cup. “You have?”

“Just because people are HeartMates doesn’t mean they don’t have difficulties in their marriage, differences of opinion, or argue.” And he should remember that for himself, too. Just becausehe found his HeartMate didn’t mean his wooing would go well. As if he had truly expected it to, though he had hoped. But his MotherDam had set more snares for him than he’d anticipated.No Thyme would like what she had done to their Family.

Saille pulled his mind back to the topic. He smiled. “But in the very beginning, when our ancestors had little Flair, they had other tools.” He leaned closer. “They had
questionnaires
.”

“Questionnaires?”

“Lists of questions about topics for matchmaking. I’ll settle you in a nice corner of the conservatory, and you can start answeringthem while I consult with your lady.”

Narrowing his eyes, Ruis said, “You sound too cheerful. What’s the catch?”

“Well, there’s only fifty pages of questions.”

Ruis stared. “Fifty pages.”

“That’s right. I, of course, will be able to use my Flair with your wife and do the consultation in an hour or two. You can send your questionnaire to me when you’re done.”

“Huh,” Ruis grumbled, then his gaze sharpened. “What of my daughter? Will you be able to match her when the time comes?”

“If I am still T’Willow, I will do my best.”

“I don’t understand.”

“My MotherDam fully believes the Healers will find a cure for her disease and she will leave that cryonics tube. When she does that, she will endeavor to retreive all the power she was forced to abdicate.”

Ruis grunted. “I wouldn’t want her trying to match my baby.” His lip curled. “She has no use for us Nulls, and I don’t forget that she voted to have me executed.” He glanced at Saille. “You’ve already smoothed a bump in my relationship with my wife.”

“What?”

“I thought Ailim had let her Flair and innate tenderness guide her decision and accept D’Willow as a guest in the cryonics tube. She thought I had taken the contract and disapproved. There were hard feelings between us until we sorted the matter out, and your call made us do that.” His jaw flexed. “It was the Ship who’d negotiated the contract with D’Willow. The Ship is fascinated with learning and knowledge. I’ve had a discussion with
Nuada’s Sword
. It will
never
deal with my enemies again without telling me. I rule my own realm.”

Saille had no doubt about that.

“Meanwhile, we must honor the agreement.”

Throat dry, Saille said, “Of course.”

Saille’s mother rose, signaling the meal was over. Saille and Ruis stood, too. Ruis said, “Show me this questionnaire, and I’ll get started while you consult with my lady. I think my daughter will have five women for playmates, and that will suit her just fine.” He clapped a hand on Saille’s shoulder. “Should your MotherDam be released during your lifetime, remember that the FirstFamilies can be fought, and overcome. And I think you’ll have plenty of allies on your side.”

But Saille would never take a Family matter to outsiders. He’d never force his ladies to choose sides in Family civil war. He’d never fracture the Family. He cared too much for it, and for his relatives, to do that.

An hour and a half later, his consultation with Ailim Elder was done. It had been unexpectedly easy, and Saille didn’t know whether it was that she already loved and had married her mate, her exceptional telempathic Flair, or that she was a FirstFamilyNoblewoman. He’d have to make detailed notes so he could figure this out later as his career progressed.

Saille toyed with a writestick. “My conclusions are exactly what you found for yourself. You need a man who will allow your great telempathic Flair to rest. Had you not already been wed, I’d have looked for a Nobleman of the highest status and sensitivity, but with little Flair, to match with you.”

She blinked. “Thank you.”

“You are a very beautiful woman, inside and out,” Saille said. He’d rarely met anyone so innately ethical. “Captain Elder is lucky to have you.”

Her face flushed from the reading and his compliments, Ailim said, “My thanks again.” She gazed in the direction of the conservatory. “Though I can’t read their thoughts, I can determinewhere they are by a . . . blankness.”

“Everyone makes adjustments in marriage,” Saille said. It was one of the standard phrases of his profession that he now used automatically.

Ailim straightened and, with the shift in her posture, became a judge again, authority. “Yes. Those who don’t leave and break the marriage.”

“There is no divorce on Celta.” The very notion offended him, since his whole Flair was geared to bring people together in marriage and mating.

A corner of her mouth lifted. “It’s rare, but I’ve seen perhaps three in my career.”

Twelve

Saille frowned at Ailim Elder’s words. “I thought the
Councils had to approve a divorce.”

“Here in Druida, certainly, and for anyone of higher status than Commoner, the Noble Council must be petitioned, or three FirstFamily Lords or Ladies must approve the action. But in farflung towns and fishing villages—I was a circuit judge, you know.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I
do
think that we Celtans try harder to marry the right person,and work harder at our marriages than the old Earthans.”

“After four hundred years, our birthrate is still low, our survivalon this planet still in question,” Saille said.

She tilted her head in consideration. “You with your Flair could be helpful to the circuit judges faced with divorce. The cases I heard invariably included a third person one of the partieswanted to bond with.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“Good. I’ll inform the judges. You can travel with the Healer assigned to the case. We always call a Healer from Druida for the deep emotional, mental, and spiritual testing. A minimum of four days.” She grimaced. “An expensive business.”

“I would waive my fee,” he said.

Her eyes widened. “Very generous.” A thought flashed over her face. “Though I’d imagine when word hit a town that the great T’Willow would be coming, you’d have more business than you’d know what to do with.”

Saille blinked. “I hadn’t thought of that, but you’re right. And since I’m new to the title, my rates are relatively inexpensive.”

“Your MotherDam would never have done this.”

“My MotherDam’s Flair made great demands. She is a heavy woman and didn’t often leave our home.” It was hard saying pleasant words about a woman so selfish and proud she’d ruin her Family.

Ailim tilted her head, but only said, “You are kind.”

He returned to the previous subject, figuring out how a countrydivorce would work. “The Healer would conduct the seven tests each person must endure to ensure that the marriage is truly broken, as well as weigh their Flair,” he said.

“Do you check the seven points on each person of a couple to see if they meld and match?” Ailim asked curiously.

“It is a good preliminary indication,” he replied.

“Ah, you have secrets of your trade,” she said.

“Doesn’t everyone? Besides that, I can’t always describe the way my Flair works, every person is unique, therefore I tailor my consultations to each. Some ‘tests’ or observations are more revealing than others during my interviews. Sometimes I hear sounds, or see auras. I work with different tools.” He shrugged. “It depends on the person.”

Ailim nodded, then reached into the arm of her dress to the long sleeve pocket and pulled out a sheaf of papyrus. “This consultationhas been fascinating.” She smiled. “All the more so since whatever you determine, I know I am with a man I love and who returns my love. But I copied down the appropriate HeartMate laws for you.” Her forehead creased. “They are not totally specific. If the HeartMate does not accept the HeartGift outright, she or he must keep it in their possession for a ‘reasonable’ length of time.”

Saille’s own heart began to beat harder. “What would you, as SupremeJudge, consider a ‘reasonable’ period of time?” He hoped it was three days.

“I’ve given the matter some thought and believe any judge or reasonable person on Celta would think that two eightdays would be eminently reasonable.”

His triumphant mood deflated. He tapped his fingertips together.“I see.” It would be difficult to wait that long to confront Dufleur. Actually, it would be difficult for him to wait until morning. He had to regain control over his baser self, which wanted to scoop her up from that cold and forbidding ResidenceFairyfoot had told him of and bring her here into the light and comfort of his Family. “Two eightdays.” He looked at Ailim Elder. Yes, she was softhearted, more liberal than most. He suppresseda sigh and stood, without looking at the papyrus she’d set on his desk. “Thank you for your expertise.”

She rose, too. “You’re very welcome.” She hesitated. “I heard Ruis ask if you’d match our daughter. Will you?”

“Of course, if you wish. I will do my best when she comes to age.” He crossed to the ResidenceDen door and held it open for her, then they walked down the corridor to the entry hall. “As I told your husband, if my MotherDam is revived, she will once again claim the title and power. I might have little choice in the matter.”

Her face subtly hardened. “There have been a couple of cases lately regarding the proper Head of Household of a Family;Straif Blackthorn, for one, and now the former Winterberry Heir has filed an action of neglect.” She slanted him a look. “You’d be interested in that.”

“Yes.” A sudden chill had taken him. “Has Dufleur Thyme been named as a party?”

“No. But it can’t be a pleasant situation for her.” She hesitated.“Nevertheless, I am pleased you will take your time wooingher.”

“Yes,” he forced out.

“So, if your MotherDam is revived, there will be some recentprecedent.” Lips turning down, she said, “Something I littlespeak of is that when I succeeded to Head of Household of the D’SilverFir Family I had to fight internal factions to keep my place. I know the fear of splintering a Family.”

“I won’t allow that to happen,” he said roughly.

She set a hand on his shoulder. “Your Family obviously appreciatesyou as Head. That is a great benefit.”

He straightened his shoulders. “I still won’t have infighting.”

Raising her eyebrows, Ailim dropped her hand. “Then we’ll see what the law might do to protect you. Your MotherDam hid your HeartMate from you, and others of her Family. That’s an abuse of Flair.”

“Don’t—”

All stern judge now, she said, “I will do what must be done to protect the innocent and bring them justice.” She swept ahead of him, and as she drew closer to the knot of Willows around her husband and child, her manner once again altered. When she reached her husband, she kissed him on the jaw. “Greetyou, HeartMate,” she said.

The Willow women beamed. Ruis Elder swallowed hard.

A glow of satisfaction warmed Saille at the little scene, but only lasted until the door closed behind their guests. Inadvertentlyhe’d set events in motion. He had been as negligent and not nearly as discreet as his MotherDam. If the Nobles learned his MotherDam had charged extortionate consulting fees and had had no Flair to substantiate matches, the Family would be ruined.

Two nights later, Dufleur sat in her dark bedroom, smooth
ingher gown
—
petting it—feeling the change of the pattern’s texture from the heat of her fingers, or the small molecules of time that tended to cling to her.

She’d be leaving for her first ball in a few minutes, and she was close to petrified—when she should be concerned about far greater issues.

Such as Agave reading her notes. She’d spent the next septhour transcribing her work to her last, expensive, memorysphereand setting a spellshield on it that no one could access except her. That wouldn’t stop Agave from taking or destroyingit.

The disturbing taint he’d left in the air had required her to do a full cleansing ritual in the lab, and she found it had once been used as a ritual room. The energy of the Residence had been boosted, even as her own had drained.

Agave was a real threat. He’d looked over her notes, examinedher equipment. Now he knew her progress and her failures. She’d felt his contempt and a lingering malice.

He’d continue to be a threat in many ways. She’d have to watch her step.