The Alton Gift (48 page)

An acceptable resolution
…

The only place Marguerida knew where her Gift could be safely used by those standards was a Tower. She'd studied at Arilinn and then Neskaya in her youth and thought she was done with it. More than that, she was no longer a single woman who could afford the luxury of withdrawing from the world; she had a husband, children, responsibilities as chatelaine of Comyn Castle, even a musical career.

Sighing, she returned to her desk and picked up a stack of papers. Indulging in fruitless maundering would get her nowhere. Her natural optimism began to assert itself. In time, a solution would present itself. Until then, there was more than enough work to distract her.

he Comyn Council gathered in the Crystal Chamber for its last session of the year. The season had already continued overlong, and the fair weather of summer was quickly giving way to nightly snow and the threat of storms to come. Those who had traveled farthest or who must negotiate mountain passes on their way home were anxious to begin their journeys.

Domenic settled into his place under the Hastur banner of blue and silver, watching as people filed into the Crystal Chamber. The Chamber itself seemed as ageless and untouched as ever, yet many of the faces had changed. Darius-Mikhail Zabal was now Warden of Aillard, sitting beside Laurinda MacBard, presiding head of the Keepers Council. Most of the other Keepers, including Linnea Storn, kept together beneath their new banner. The Ardais enclosure, once almost empty, now held Kennard-Dyan, his Heir, and his second legitimated son, as well as Danilo Syrtis, quiet and solemn.

Mikhail's heavy carved chair remained empty, awaiting his return. Marguerida, her face pale but radiant, sat in her usual chair, while Rory and Ylanna occupied benches behind them.

Grandfather Lew had announced his intention to return perma-

nently to Nevarsin at the conclusion of this final session. Alanna had taken her seat beside him. Once she had accepted the serum, she had made a rapid recovery, but Domenic had never seen her so withdrawn, so pensive. She would not tell him what troubled her. When they were married, he promised himself, he would coax the truth from her, although how he might give her ease, he had no idea.

Illona finished setting the telepathic dampers and took her place with the other Keepers. The massive double doors swung open, and the senior Guardsman announced Mikhail's arrival.

Mikhail entered the Crystal Chamber, moving slowly, for his muscles had not yet fully recovered their flexibility. Donal followed a pace behind. The effect, combined with Mikhail's stately bearing, was dignified rather than stiff. Watching him, hearing the hush of respect that swept the Chamber, Domenic's eyes stung.

Surveying the assembly, Mikhail began the formal, time-honored greeting. "Kinsmen, nobles, Comynari! I bid you welcome to this, our final gathering for the year. We have come through a terrible time, a season that has tested us all, as individuals and as a Council." He did not add that the years to come would prove whether they had risen to the challenge or irrevocably damaged the old social order.

"Now, as we prepare to bid one another farewell, we have cause for rejoicing. It is my very great privilege to present to you a man who, more than any other, has labored on our behalf during the epidemic of trailmen's fever. You met him once before, under far less favorable circumstances. Now I ask you to welcome the
Terranan
Jeremiah Reed, who has chosen to live among us as Jeram of Nevarsin."

Mikhail nodded to the Guardsmen standing to either side of the entrance. They opened the doors, and Jeram walked in. He came alone, without an honor guard, proceeding at a dignified pace down the length of the Chamber, and halted facing Mikhail.

In a single fluid movement, Marguerida got her feet, followed an instant later by her father. Across the Chamber, in the Ardais enclosure, Danilo stood up, followed by Hermes Aldaran. A ripple spread through the assembly, and within the span of a handful of heartbeats, every person had risen.

Jeram stood there, his face impassive but his eyes far brighter than normal. Not even a hint of tension in his jaw betrayed any emotion.

Only when the Council had seated themselves again did faint color wash across his face.

"Jeram of Nevarsin," Mikhail said, "as Regent of the Comyn and Warden of Hastur, I bid you welcome to this Council and extend to you our deepest gratitude."

"
Vai dom"
Jeram bowed to Mikhail, a brief inclination of the head. "My lords, my ladies. It has been my privilege to serve. I never expected to draw upon my Terran skills in this way, but I am profoundly grateful that I was able to use them in such a worthy cause."

Around the Chamber heads nodded in approval. Jeram had answered as graciously as any of them could wish.

Darius-Mikhail, as Warden of Aillard, rose to speak. "On behalf of myself and my Domain, I invite Jeram to sit with me as my guest for this closing session."

As Jeram took the seat offered to him, a ripple of tension passed through the room. His presence served as a reminder of the matter still unresolved, the charges Francisco had made against Marguerida. Jeram might not be the plaintiff, but the words had been spoken, and the accusation still stood.

Domenic braced himself when Laurinda rose to address the Council and was surprised that it concerned quite another matter.

"Thendara has long been in need of a working Tower," she said, somehow managing to modulate her high, nasal voice, "both to facilitate communications by telepathic relay and to participate in the search and training of new candidates. The Keepers Council has therefore decided to reopen Comyn Tower, and
Domna
Linnea Storn has consented to serve as its Keeper. The circle will be small at first, drawn from volunteers from existing Towers, but we hope that with a vigorous recruitment program, it will soon grow to full strength."

Glancing around the Chamber, Domenic thought that even the most imaginative members of the audience could barely encompass such an astonishing announcement. There had not been a new Tower in the Domains within recorded history, or a renewed Tower either, only closures. Once, he knew, there had been many more, but time, attrition, and the slow decay of the Comyn had caused too many to be abandoned.

"And now," Mikhail said, "my son and Heir, Domenic, wishes to announce a more personal reason for celebration."

Domenic stepped forward so that the entire assembly could see him. For an instant, his resolve wavered. The next words, once said, could never be taken back.

The telepathic dampers made mental contact with Illona impossible. If he so much as looked at her, or felt the sweetness of her mind touching his, he would break down. He must find a way to endure their parting, and he would do his best to treat Alanna with respect and kindness, even though they might never share physical intimacy. Honor demanded no less.

He took a breath, carefully avoiding even a casual glance in Illona's direction. "I have asked
Damisela
Alanna Alar to become my wife, and she has consented."

Domenic's voice sounded remote and impassive to his own ears. He had rehearsed the announcement so many times in his own mind that all emotion seemed utterly spent. His heart felt like a lump of stone.

Excitement buzzed through the Crystal Chamber. Domenic imagined them making plans for his wedding and all the attendant festivities. They had not had such an occasion—a Hastur wedding—since Dani had married Miralys Elhalyn.

The murmur died down as Alanna stepped to the front of the Alton enclosure. People nudged their neighbors to stop talking so that they could hear the bride's acceptance speech.

Alanna had rarely looked so beautiful or carried herself so gracefully. She was paler and thinner than before her illness, her skin like milk against the gleaming copper of her hair and the muted green of her gown, her breasts crossed by a tartan in Alar colors.

"
Vai domyn
, kinsmen and kinswomen." Her voice had never been very strong, but the audience had fallen so still that even a whisper could be heard. "I am aware of the great honor offered me by
Dom
Domenic Alton-Hastur and by this distinguished assembly. I will not insult you with protestations of my own unworthiness, but I must respectfully decline."

"Decline? What does she mean,
decline
?" one of the ladies chirped.

"She cannot seriously intend—"

"Hush!"

Domenic stared at her, dumbfounded.

"Such an action on my part," Alanna went on, "requires an explanation, lest anyone think ill of the man who has so honored me with his proposal. Let me be absolutely clear on this point. No fault whatsoever belongs to Domenic. He is…" and here her voice faltered, but only for an instant, "he is everything I dreamed of in a husband. But I am not free, I
cannot
enter into a marriage with him or anyone else."

"Did I hear right? Is she
refusing
him?" Voices buzzed throughout the Chamber.

"What is the girl thinking, to turn down such a marriage? Has she lost her senses?"

"She
cannot
? What does that mean?"

Expressions of disbelief and astonishment mingled with those of curiosity. Domenic recovered his wits enough to notice that neither his mother nor Grandfather Lew seemed surprised.

"Darkover has survived the trailmen's fever, thanks to the efforts of Jeram of Nevarsin and
Domna
Marguerida Alton," Alanna went on. "We Comyn still face many problems. At the beginning of this season, we discussed the need to train those with
laran
, wherever they may be found. I—I am one such person. The events of the past year have convinced me that no matter how hard I try, I can never lead an ordinary life."

The last of the objections fell away into silence tinged with respect and not a little awe. Watching her, Darius-Mikhail looked sad and resigned.

"For the future of the Comyn," Alanna went on, her voice gaining in surety, "for the example I will set to others, and for my own sanity, I must withdraw to a Tower. There I hope not only to master my Gifts but to use them for the benefit of others. Whether I will ever be able to return to normal society, I cannot say. Therefore, it is only right that I release Domenic from his promise, that he may be free to choose another wife."

With those words, Alanna returned to her seat, cutting off further discussion. From the Keepers section, Linnea Storn nodded in solemn approval.

Domenic could not think of what to say. As his mind took in the meaning of Alanna's words, one part of him reeled in exhilaration—
he was free, his honor intact
!

Another part cringed in embarrassment at being publicly refused, and yet another in shame, to have his dearest wish fulfilled. What should he say? What
could
he say?

Fortunately, Dani Hastur, who had taken over the duties as director of the agenda, filled the awkward silence with a series of routine business details needed to conclude the session. When he had finished, he glanced down at the document in his hands.

"There remains the unanswered charge made in this very Chamber, which we must decide whether to address, to dismiss, or to postpone until next season," Dani said. Everyone understood that Mikhail, because of his relationship to Marguerida, could not preside over this last matter.

There was a stir in the Keepers section. Laurinda spoke again. "We of the Keepers Council believe this case falls solely under our jurisdiction. It is a matter of
laran
abuse by one who is—or was—oath-sworn to a Tower. As a novice at Arilinn, Marguerida Alton solemnly took the vow of a monitor,
Never to enter the mind of another without consent, and then only to help or heal
Therefore, it is we, the Keepers, who must determine her guilt."

Sitting behind Laurinda, Istvana's expression turned grim, and Domenic remembered that she had been his mother's oldest and dearest friend on Darkover, and her mentor as well. How difficult this must be for them both, he thought with a rush of compassion.

"And you,
Domna
Marguerida," Dani said, "do you accept the right of the Keepers Council to pass judgment on you? Will you abide by their decision?"

"I do, and I will," Marguerida replied gravely.

Dani turned to Jeram. "Will you, also, accept the decision of the Keepers Council?"

"I have already withdrawn the charges that were made, most unwillingly, on my account," Jeram said. "In these last tendays, we have faced problems far more important than whether one person acted as she thought best to defend her entire world. Therefore, I ask the Keepers Council to dismiss all charges against Marguerida Alton."

Across the galleries, people exclaimed in surprise.

"The Keepers Council refuses!" Laurinda declared. "The offense was not against you personally, Jeram of Nevarsin, but against the prin-

ciples of
laran
ethics. The Towers have been entrusted with the guardianship of matrix science. Therefore, this is a matter for our sole judgment."

"The Council has not agreed to this!" Robert Aldaran jumped to his feet. "The Keepers do not dictate to the Council!
Dom
Francisco brought these charges as a member of this body, and we Comyn, not an assemblage of Keepers, must determine the outcome!"

"Do you speak for Aldaran?" Dani said.

Gabriel Lanart-Alton answered, "He speaks for all of us. We Comyn have never been ruled by an assemblage of Keepers."

"Is this not a matter for
both
the Council and the Keepers?" Danilo Syrtis said.

"That's true enough," someone said.

"But what if we cannot agree?" another voice asked.