Heart Search (2 page)

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Authors: Robin D Owens

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Paranormal

BOOK: Heart Search
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BERKLEY
®
SENSATION and the “B” design are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
 
PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Sensation trade paperback edition / August 2011
 
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 
Owens, Robin D.
Heart search / Robin D. Owens.—Berkley Sensation trade pbk. ed.
p. cm.
ISBN : 978-1-101-51729-1
I. Title.
PS3615.W478H47 2011
813’.6—dc22
2011014835
 
 

http://us.penguingroup.com

To Cindy and Deidre. Thank you.
Characters
 
Calendula (Signet) D’Marigold
:
The last of the GrandHouse of the Marigolds, Signet has great but unknown Flair.
 
The Hawthorns:
Great Lord Huathe (Laev) T’Hawthorn
:
Head of the Hawthorns, a widower who made a bad mistake in wedding a woman who he thought was his HeartMate.
 
Nivea Sunflower Hawthorn
:
Laev’s late wife.
 
Brazos
:
Laev’s Familiar companion, a young long-haired black cat. Son of Black Pierre, once the companion to Laev’s FatherSire (Grandfather), but now the cook’s cat.
 
Cratag Maytree T’Marigold
:
Distant kin of the Hawthorns, like an elder brother to Laev, now married to Signet D’Marigold. (
Heart Change
)
 
Cal Marigold
:
Cratag and Signet’s four-year-old son, who has interesting memories.
 
Alma Hawthorn
:
Housekeeper of the great intelligent house, T’Hawthorn Residence.
 
Camellia Darjeeling,
Her Family and Friends:
Camellia Darjeeling
:
Owner of Darjeeling’s Teahouse and Darjeeling’s HouseHeart. As a girl of thirteen, she spoke up during a legal case regarding a shipwreck and requested the salvager look for a priceless fifty-piece tea set. The set was discovered and Camellia sold one piece to finance her businesses.
 
Mica
:
Camellia’s young calico FamCat.
 
Senchal Darjeeling
:
Camellia’s brother.
 
Guri T’Darjeeling
:
Camellia’s father.
Takvar Darjeeling
:
Camellia’s uncle.
 
Glyssa Licorice
:
One of Camellia’s two best friends. Glyssa is the daughter of the Licorices who run the PublicLibrary system, and is endlessly curious and an excellent researcher. She has a secret regarding her HeartMate.
 
Tiana Mugwort
:
Camellia’s other best friend. Tiana is studying to become a priestess and has a secret regarding her home.
 
Artemisia (Mugwort) Ginseng
:
Tiana’s sister, a Healer, four years older than Camellia, Glyssa, and Tiana. She was a girlhood friend of Laev’s late wife, Nivea Sunflower, whom Nivea dropped when she married well.
 
Others:
Jasmine Ash
: Daughter of GreatLord T’Ash, journeywoman student to Laev.
 
Great Lord Rand T’Ash
:
Jeweler/blacksmith, T’Ash has the premier testing stones to discover a person’s Flair. (
HeartMate
)
 
Great Lady Danith Mallow D’Ash
:
HeartMate of T’Ash, Danith is an animal Healer and the person who usually matches intelligent animal companions, Fams, with people. (
HeartMate
)
 
Garrett Primross
:
A private investigator hired by Laev to find missing Hawthorn treasures.
 
SupremeJudge Ailim Elder
:
The highest judge in the land and wed to Ruis Elder, the Captain of the grounded starship,
Nuada’s Sword.
(
Heart Thief
)
 
Dani Eve Elder
:
Daughter of Ruis and Ailim Elder, a Null, a person who suppresses psi abilities, or Flair.
 
Tinne Holly
:
Younger son of the GreatLord, he owns and operates the Green Knight Fencing and Fighting Salon.
 
Great Lord Nuin T’Vine (Vinni)
:
The prophet of Celta.
 
Great Lord Heather
:
The retired premier Healer of Celta.
 
Grace Lord Cymb Lemongrass
:
Camellia’s sparring partner.
 
Aquilaria
:
Manager of Darjeeling’s Teahouse.
 
Acacia Bluegum
:
Former Druidan guardswoman, she’s set up her own sparring salon and wants to expand it to a social club.
 
One
 
DRUIDA CITY, CELTA
421 Years After Colonization
Late Spring
 
L
aev Hawthorn, Great Lord T’Hawthorn, didn’t think the intelligent
house he lived in had forgiven him for marrying the wrong woman. The Residence was cool to him, both physically and emotionally. Tough to blame the house, though, when Laev was still cleaning up the resulting mess of the mistake he’d made when he was seventeen.
He was thirty-one now, and new evidence of Nivea’s selfishness had been revealed when Laev’s FatherSire had died three months ago.
She’d stolen Family heirlooms. More, she’d hidden or given away the HeartGift Laev had offered her when they’d first wed. Since she’d been dead for two years, he couldn’t ask her what she’d done with the items. His FatherSire had been protecting him from the knowledge of how low his wife had stooped. Now Laev could only continue to fix the problems resulting from his marriage.
Yes, the room was cooler than he cared for. His grief was deeper than he’d have ever imagined. The Residence and the Family were caught in a rut, running on tradition.
Perhaps when he retrieved the heirlooms, that act being his first real contribution to the Family as the GreatLord, he could shake everyone out of the torpor.
The Residence sent the echo of a banging door. An exuberant breeze seemed to rush toward Laev. He smiled. Or perhaps he could just encourage his journeywoman to chip away at the present stasis.
His student, who was like the younger sister he’d always wanted, had arrived for her morning lesson in finance and estate building. It took real effort to slam a door in the Residence, but Jasmine Ash always managed. And it always amused him. She’d stop at the kitchens for a treat and to stroke Black Pierre, the old Familiar companion cat who’d survived Laev’s FatherSire’s death.
No time now for Laev to send his psi power, his Flair, out to search for his HeartGift. He was glad to abandon the futile exercise.
On to the standard workday. He authorized an anonymous donation to the Saille House of Orphans, then moved the holosphere detailing a current project to the center of his desk.
The door to his den slammed open and Jasmine rushed into the room, small and fine boned and fifteen, with a scowl on her face. Her short dark brown hair was windblown, her blue gaze sharp. “Brood, brood, brood.” She shook a finger at him. “You know I come from a household that has forbidden brooding.”
It always surprised Laev that this exuberant girl was the daughter of taciturn T’Ash and quiet Danith D’Ash.
“You need to forget that
flitch
of a wife and get on with living.”
“Stop right there.” He cared nothing for Nivea or her memory, but cared a great deal about his honor and she’d been his wife.
He and Jasmine locked gazes. Hers dropped. He modulated his tone. “Easier said than done.” Laev felt a thousand years older than her. “And why have you brought up the subject?”
“It’s Nuin,” she said, referring to her older brother. “He’s going through his Second Passage, fever dreams that free his magic. Like you were when you made that unfortunate decision to marry the fl—Nivea.”
“Jasmine,” Laev warned.
His student huffed. “Nuin’s acting weird and I can see how it happened, which I couldn’t before, but, really, it’s been two years since your wife died.” She stopped and swallowed. The sickness that had swept through Druida City had taken the old and the young and Jasmine had lost grovestudy friends. Laev had lost Nivea, but they’d been estranged, living in separate suites.
Unknown to all, the sickness had weakened his FatherSire’s heart.
Before Jasmine could continue, Laev said, “What of your assignments?” He tried to make it an easy question. He could still recall being a young child and standing stiffly in front of his father and FatherSire reporting on the activities of his day.
Jasmine sniffed and set a holosphere on his desk, flung herself into the winged chair embroidered with the dragonflies she preferred, and grinned. “The new bio-liquid technique for saffron farming that I researched was good. My investment quadrupled!”
He lifted a brow. “Our investment.”
She sat up straight. “You put money in, too?”
“Of course. You convinced me months ago that the deal was sound.”
“Then you got the funds today and already knew.” She sounded deflated.
“Yes, but hearing you tell me was the best part of the morning. Excellent job, Jasmine.”
With one last wiggle, she settled into the chair and nodded to the folder on his desk. “The first quarter of this year I have made more than the amount I’ll receive as NobleGilt from the Council when I come of age in two years.”
“You’re well on your way to succeeding in your personal goals. I think it’s time I speak with your father about allotting some of the Ash Family funds to you to invest.”
“Really!” Her voice rose to a high squeak, her blue eyes sparkled.
“Yes.”
She began hyperventilating and put her head between her knees, her voice came muffled. “Thank you,
so
much. Father doesn’t like handling the Family finances, and the sooner I can take that over, the better. He’s very conservative.”
“I’ll ask your father to give you a quarter of his funds,” Laev said.
Face flushed, Jasmine bobbed back up. “A third.”
“A quarter. I’ll give him a report of your last two years’ investments and my personal opinion on your progress as a financial estate manager.” Laev slanted her a look. “You will write the report. Include graphs. Don’t manipulate the figures, I’ll know if you do. Make sure it’s thorough.” He waved. “Again, excellent job. You’re dismissed for the morning.”
She nodded and went to the door of a small office off his den. So she planned on working here instead of at home. He admitted he’d like the company.
He activated a holosphere about an airship venture he was considering. All in all, Jasmine was more conservative than himself. But she’d been brought up by T’Ash and D’Ash, both very aware of the value of gilt, and with the ingrained idea that the Family fortune must be preserved and grow and must not be put at risk. Gilt was important to them, but the bedrock of that Family was love.
He’d been raised by his father and FatherSire who weren’t averse to wagering a great deal to win a great deal, always knowing that their Family fortune was secure. Plans for increasing their wealth and influence had always been paramount for the Hawthorns. The men had been demanding guardians, always pushing for success, with little affection between them. He wouldn’t be like them in that.

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