Love's Labor's Won (31 page)

“I thought I said I wouldn’t tell your families,” Emily said, as she sat facing them. There was something about the way they leaned together that suggested their feelings were genuine, despite the potential disaster looming in the future. “But I want you to do something in exchange.”

Melissa eyed her. “Emily, I know we haven’t been friends, but...”

Emily held up a hand. Tempting as it was to extort a price from Melissa in exchange for her silence, she had something else in mind.

“You’re both magicians,” she said, “so you have the ability to...enjoy yourselves without lasting consequences. But...your families are not going to be amused when they find out, and they will, eventually. I want you to come up with a plan to handle it when they do.”

She sucked in a breath. Magicians could enjoy themselves — it crossed her mind that she had no idea if Melissa had had any prior relationships at Whitehall — but she had a feeling that Markus and Melissa had crossed one of the few lines. Even if the relationship didn’t last the summer, it would still return to haunt them if anyone found out. And
would
it last? They might discover, once the thrill of making out in secret faded, that they had little in common. Or they might be kicked out of their families and break up under the stress of living as independent magicians...

“And I don’t think faking your own deaths would work,” she added, remembering
Romeo and Juliet
. She’d always thought that Romeo and Juliet were idiots who’d allowed love to blind them to the significance of their actions. It hadn’t been until she’d entered the Nameless World that she’d grasped some of the forces driving them. “There are spells to check if someone is actually dead, or faking it.”

“We could just run away,” Melissa suggested. “Leave a note behind and make our escape.”

“And where,” Emily asked, “would you go?”

She thought about it, briefly. Markus was a qualified magician, but all of his papers said he was Markus Ashfall. Finding work without them would be tricky, although there was so much demand for trained magicians that it was likely some people wouldn’t look too closely if Markus offered to work for them. Zed had told her, after all, that a person who could brew
Manaskol
reliably could practically write their own ticket. But what if the two families colluded to deny them a place to live?

“I don’t know,” Melissa said. She looked down at the carpet, then up at Markus, her eyes shining. “But at least we would be together.”

Emily was tempted, sorely tempted, to simply order them to leave the castle. They could walk down to the Faire the following morning, and vanish. A couple of steps through a portal could have them halfway around the world before anyone noticed they were gone...and yet, she didn’t want to tell them to leave. If they actually
did
manage to reunite their families, one of the major problems keeping the Allied Lands from working closely together would fade away. But was the game worth the risk?

She sighed. Poker had become a fad at Whitehall, but she’d never liked it. Students gambled, and found themselves running into debt. Thankfully, the tutors had imposed limits on just how
much
could be gambled, yet there were still problems. Aloha had told her, privately, that she wished she’d never devised the first set of accepted rules. And here, Melissa and Markus — and Emily — were playing poker for the highest possible set of stakes.

“I think you’re being idiots,” she said, finally. “You could push your families into actually fighting each other, right here and right now. And you could get a lot of people killed.”

“But we love each other,” Markus said.

Emily winced. Alassa and Jade loved each other...and
that
might end badly, too. And now there was Melissa and Markus.

“I wish you both the very best of luck,” she said, shortly. “But I still think you’re being idiots.”

Melissa half-rose, then stopped and settled back down. “What would you do in our place?”

Emily hesitated. Perhaps, once upon a time, she would have liked the idea of a grand romance, but she had known it would never come. All the romantic stories she’d read had always glossed over the truth, that grand passion came at a price, that Mr. Right would change as time went by. She’d never been one to have strong emotions...

...And yet, she practically envied both couples.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. Alassa had pointed out, cold-bloodedly, that Jade posed no threat to either Emily or Alassa herself. But what if Alassa had fallen for one of the princes? Or maybe even one of the barons? She would have to choose between her love, with all the risk of political disaster, or choosing a husband for political reasons. “Be careful, please.”

She looked up as the wards around the library tingled. “I think someone is trying to come inside, right now.”

Melissa paled as she sensed the magic. “Gaius!”

Markus leapt to his feet. “Is there another way out of here?”

“Behind the bookcase,” Emily said. She stood, tapping the bookcase in just the right place, opening a passageway she knew led to an empty room. “I suppose you want me to distract Gaius? If it
is
Gaius?”

“Yes, please,” Melissa said, as she rose. She sounded nervous, despite her magic. But then, Gaius enjoyed the support of her great-grandmother. “And thank you.”

Emily sighed, cursing herself under her breath as she closed the bookcase behind them. Just what had she managed to get herself into now?

You could just abandon them
, her thoughts offered. And then she realized the implications of her knowledge.
But now that you know, they’ll blame you for not telling them
.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“O
H,” GAIUS SAID, AS HE OPENED
the door. “I thought you were Melissa.”

“I don’t look anything like her,” Emily said, waspishly. She held up a book she’d picked from the shelves, randomly. “I came in here to read, not to be disturbed.”

“
Legends of Honor
,” Gaius said, reading the title. “I think most of those stories were made up.”

“Most stories tend to be embellished along the way,” Emily said. She sat down, placing the book on her lap. “Can I help you?”

Gaius sighed. “Can you help me find Melissa?”

“I still can’t alter the wards to track individual people,” Emily said, knowing she was prevaricating and not particularly caring. “The castle was never designed to have proper wards.”

“
Fundamentals of Wardcraft
says you’re wrong,” Gaius said. “You would just need to place a couple of dozen anchorstones throughout the castle, then retune the wards to resonate through the stones.”

“My financial balance says I can’t afford it,” Emily said. Anchorstones were expensive, at least the ones that supported permanent wards. “And besides, I don’t know if I will be staying here.”

“I see,” Gaius said. “I apologize for disturbing you, Lady Emily.”

He turned towards the door. “Wait,” Emily said. “Can we talk?”

Gaius turned back to her. “What do we have to talk about?”

Good question
, Emily thought. Gaius still had the strange vibe of being torn between declaring himself a master and admitting that he was a slave. It was odd...and, perhaps, she would have felt sorry for him if she hadn’t known he’d tried to push himself on Melissa. But he might be able to answer a question for her.

“I wanted to hear your thoughts on the feud,” she said. “Why do you think it started?”

Gaius sat down, facing her. “I was told that there were two twin brothers who were both in line to become Patriarch,” he said. “One of them was a thoughtful, reflective type; the other a violent berserker. The berserker attempted to kill the other brother, one day, only to discover that the thoughtful brother was the stronger magician. And then he fled, taking some of his allies with him, to found House Ashfall.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed. “And is that true?”

“It is what I was told,” Gaius said. “The Matriarch discourages questions about the past.”

Somehow, Emily wasn’t surprised. Fulvia was perhaps the only person still alive who actually knew the truth. The story might well be nothing more than propaganda, without any seed of truth at all; indeed, it made little sense. There was no such thing as magical twins, a berserker magician would probably be killed by his own magic...and besides, why would so many people
follow
a berserker? Gaius really ought to know those facts. He’d known about magic for longer than Emily had been alive.

“I see,” she said. The whole story shouldn’t hold up for a moment. “And what does she say when you ask?”

“People normally get cursed,” Gaius said. “They learn to keep their mouths shut pretty quickly.”

Emily frowned. “What’s your relation to House Ashworth?”

Gaius looked oddly relieved at the question. “House Arlene has been closely allied with House Ashworth for decades,” he said. “I spent many happy hours with the children of House Ashworth.”

“That must have been fun,” Emily said, doubtfully. “How did you get engaged to Melissa?”

“My father and the Matriarch made the contract,” Gaius said. “It is my honor to wed the Ashworth Heir.”

Emily met his eyes. “Why you?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Why you?” Emily repeated. “Why did the Matriarch settle on you?”

“She thought I would be a good husband and father, I assume,” Gaius said. “The Matriarch was very keen that we should start producing children at once. She assured me that Melissa would welcome my advances. But she seems to spend most of her time away from me.”

Emily shivered. There was a plaintive note to his voice, mixed with a sense of entitlement that worried her. Gaius seemed to think that merely signing the contact made Melissa his, without regard for her feelings. The formal wedding was just a formality, as far as he was concerned; they were already linked together. But it was clear that Melissa was far from happy with the arrangement.

Of course it’s clear
, she reminded herself.
You caught her practically having sex with Markus!

“Her grandfather tells me I should press my case,” Gaius said. “But it only seems to make her more resistant.”

“Her grandfather is a man,” Emily snapped. “I don’t think he understands women very well.”

“Her grandfather had five children, three of them girls,” Gaius countered.

“It isn’t the same,” Emily said. “Melissa is a living, breathing person. She cannot give her heart to you because of what is said in the contract.”

“She should,” Gaius said.

Emily glowered at him. “Did you try to court her?”

Gaius blinked. “That would have been presumptuous.”

Men
, Emily thought. Part of her wondered why she was bothering to try to explain. Gaius wouldn’t understand a word she said. He’d been raised to consider children like himself commodities to be exchanged on the marriage market. He had no objection to being sold to House Ashworth and he had no idea why Melissa was objecting. But it was different for women.

“Melissa is a young woman, like me,” Emily said. “Can I offer you some advice?”

Gaius nodded, curtly.

“The contract doesn’t matter,” Emily said. “What matters, right now, is how she feels about being told she has to marry you. She has lost control of one of the most vital aspects of her life. And you, rather than trying to prove yourself to be a good husband, have been pushing her away from you.”

Gaius leaned forward. “I will be a good husband,” he said. “I can give her children.”

Emily sighed, inwardly. Did Gaius think his only role was to be a stud bull? But then, it was quite possible. Alassa might have to worry about her husband usurping her power, but Melissa wouldn’t have such a problem. The magical families judged by strength of magic, not gender. Gaius would be expected to father children, but not to lead the House...

Which might be what Fulvia wants
, Emily thought, in a moment of insight. Balbus was a non-entity when his mother was there, while his oldest son had died when Melissa was very young. Gaius might be able to claim the title of Patriarch, but he would never be able to wield power.
And if she picked Gaius specifically...

She shuddered, suddenly, as everything fell into place. Melissa was young and strong, perhaps strong enough to challenge her great-grandmother. But until she was twenty-one, she was still considered immature by her community. Fulvia could marry her off to someone who would make her a mother, but not encourage her to seek power for herself. Or, if the death of Melissa’s father hadn’t been a stupid mistake, father a few children and then arrange an accident for Melissa. Gaius was nothing to House Ashworth without his wife.

And what
, she asked herself,
do I do about that
?

If she was right, and it
felt
right, Fulvia would
never
consent to Melissa marrying Markus and having his children. Markus was the Ashfall Heir...but even if there had been no feud, he was still strong enough to protect his wife and support her if she wanted to challenge her great-grandmother. And he would have strong ties to a House that would seek revenge, if
both
of the youngsters turned up dead.

“Lady Emily?” Gaius asked. “Are you all right?”

Emily nodded, curtly, and looked at Gaius. Young enough to be biddable, old enough to dominate his wife, trained enough to respect Fulvia as his superior, conceited enough to believe that Melissa had been given to him...yes, he was the perfect husband for a girl the Matriarch wanted to keep under her thumb. And he would play his role to perfection, never wondering if he was a pawn in a deeper game.

I’ll have to talk to Melissa about this
, she thought.
And Alassa
.

“I would advise you to try to court her instead,” she said. “Why not see what she likes and try to share her interests?”

Gaius stared at her in honest bemusement. “But why would I try to court her when we’re already engaged?”