The Dragon of Despair (108 page)

Elise said nothing, though she managed a considering nod, and the Healed One went on.

“Grateful Peace has agreed to act as Citrine’s guardian. Indeed, if the arrangement works, he would offer to legally adopt her and make her his heir. He has a substantial fortune, and as he is being courted by those who feel they wronged him, stands to see that fortune grow.”

Elise wondered what her expression must have shown, because Toriovico clearly thought she disapproved. He said quickly:

“This isn’t an attempt to acquire the girl as a hostage. Indeed, Grateful Peace has said he would relocate to the Hawk Haven side of the White Water River if necessary. He admits he would prefer to remain in New Kelvin, in Dragon’s Breath or its environs, but realizes that this may not be possible.”

The Healed One stopped speaking, leaning back in his chair, and with one of those eloquent New Kelvinese gestures indicated that she was invited to speak.

Elise composed her thoughts before beginning.

“Citrine asked to stay?”

“Yes. You can ask her yourself. She,” and here Toriovico couldn’t restrain a smile, “told me that she knew I couldn’t take care of her because her mother had made so many enemies, but that she would do everything she could to show my people that the Hawk Havenese were not all like Melina.”

Elise found herself smiling as well, thinking that speech sounded very much like the suddenly articulate Citrine who had emerged with the waxing of Deer Moon.

She wondered what kind of life Citrine would have back in Hawk Haven. Sapphire might try to be kind to her youngest sister, but when Melina’s final plot was explained to her—and Toriovico had insisted that on this matter there should be no secrets between his court and the throne of Hawk Haven—Sapphire would never be able to look at Citrine without remembering how close Melina had come to ruining all their lives.

Then, too, Sapphire and Shad would have their new child and the children who would follow. Already there were those who felt the inheritance picture was complicated enough with the two heirs to two thrones—and the potential competing claims of all their siblings should the worst occur. Removing Citrine from the picture would actually help.

“There is precedent,” Elise said aloud, “in the marriage of Princess Caryl of Hawk Haven to Prince Tavis of Bright Bay, back in the reign of King Chalmer. That marriage was arranged in the hopes of soothing old wounds. We could argue that this adoption was meant to ease new ones, to show New Kelvin’s forgiveness of Melina. You have no children of your own, so a marriage couldn’t be arranged, and you could not adopt Citrine without complicating the inheritance picture. This could actually be presented as astute politics—especially if Citrine visited Hawk Haven often enough that she does not become a stranger.”

“I am surprised,” the Healed One said, “that you go so far back in history to find precedent. Wasn’t the marriage of Princess Sapphire and Prince Shad arranged for similar reasons?”

“Yes,” Elise agreed. “I suppose that I didn’t think of it because so much else rests upon its success.”

“Then you would be in favor of Citrine remaining?” Toriovico asked.

“I will need to speak with her and with Grateful Peace,” Elise said. “It would also need to be understood that the decision is not mine to make. I am Citrine’s guardian for this journey. Her elder brother, Jet, is her legal guardian. He would be the one who must first be asked.”

Elise knew her expression had grown cynical, but she didn’t care.

“I will tell Grateful Peace that two things will be certain to sway Jet as to the wisdom of this plan. First, Princess Sapphire’s approval. If she disapproves, I don’t think he will dare approve.”

“And second?”

“Jet took over management of a nice estate on his father’s death. With Melina’s death he will inherit in full. However, the property needs work and Jet is required to provide a marriage portion for each of his three sisters. If Citrine was adopted, he would not need to provide for her, but if Grateful Peace was willing to supply funds…”

“Perhaps specifically earmarked for the marriage portions of Citrine’s sisters, Opal and Ruby?” the Healed One interjected delicately into the pause.

“That would be nice,” Elise said. “I don’t trust Jet not to spend anything he can lay his hands on for his own purposes.”

“Then a present to him as well,” Toriovico said, “would be wise.”

“Don’t make it look like Citrine is being bought,” Elise hastened to add. “Our people aren’t as easy about slavery as are yours.”

“We will consult Ambassador Redbriar,” Toriovico assured her. “She is well versed in our ways as well as yours.”

Elise nodded.

“Then all we need is a legitimate excuse for me to leave Citrine behind, since in doing so I would be in violation of my guardianship.”

“Citrine told me,” the Healed One said, obviously a bit uncomfortable with what he was about to say, “that one of the reasons she accompanied you on this journey was to enable her to regain health she lost when she was captive of some pirates…”

Elise appreciated his not mentioning precisely what type of health Citrine had lost.

“Yes, that is true.”

“Then perhaps you could suggest that Citrine is remaining where she can be in her physician’s care,” Toriovico suggested, “and continue the healing this journey has begun.”

“Her physician?” Elise echoed blankly. “Do you mean Grateful Peace? His kindness has certainly done a great deal to heal what ailed Citrine.”

The Healed One frowned slightly.

“I meant Sir Jared Surcliffe,” he said. “Hasn’t he told you and your companions that he intends to remain in New Kelvin after the Harvest Festival?”

“I WON’T STAY FOREVER,”
Doc said when Elise found him—by good fortune alone—in the main room of the suite he shared with Edlin and Derian. “Though it sounds like it’s convenient that I decided to stay.”

Elise stared at him, disbelieving.

“But you
are
staying?”

“I am.”

For all their mutual attraction, Doc had rarely touched Elise and then such contact had usually been in the informal context of work or the formal one of dancing.

Now he reached out and took her hand with such contained intensity that for the first time Elise realized that she’d stormed in here without a chaperon.

How I have changed!
she thought.
Maybe Grandmother Rosene was right all along and I shouldn’t have been let out alone. Certainly, it never occurred to me to find Wendee.

“Elise,” Doc said, “we both know that I love you. That hasn’t changed. I also know what you told me last Wolf Moon outside the Smuggler’s Light, that I had your affection but not your promise.”

Elise nodded, thinking how cold those words sounded. She knew, too, that she had been cool to him since they had re-met at Duchess Kestrel’s dower house. What she hadn’t realized until this moment was how cool she had been to everyone. Even Citrine, who could have deserved better of her, had suffered under her disapproval.

I can’t seem to do anything halfway,
Elise thought ruefully.
Either I’m an idiot flinging myself at Jet or I’m some parody of my father, commanding and rebuking. What’s wrong with me that I can’t find a balance?

“You’re young,”
some kinder part of herself answered, but Elise shook her internal colloquy away and gave Doc the attention he deserved.

“Go on,” she prompted, offering his hand a gentle squeeze.

Doc relaxed.

“You also told me something else, something your mother said.”

Elise tilted her head, trying, then remembering Aurella Wellward’s words, and blushing at the cool cruelty that she could have repeated them—and thought them a kindness.

Doc clearly thought she didn’t remember, and went on:

“Lady Aurella said that I would never be so impolite, so unaware of the differences in our stations, to propose marriage to you. She said that burden would be on you.”

Elise nodded, unable to speak.

“I accepted that then,” Doc went on. “Sometime during this trip I realized that I was indeed what I had named myself half in jest then. A coward.”

“No!”

He waved her protest aside.

“I put the burden on you, the burden of proving to your parents, to those people who will rely on you when you are Baroness Archer, that you had chosen your husband wisely. I did nothing to prove myself.”

“You’re a knight!” Elise burst out. “A healer.”

“Past deeds promising perhaps present patronage,” Doc replied levelly. “I want to offer you more than that, but I know my strengths and weaknesses. I am not a warrior. My glory in battle was accidental.”

Elise didn’t agree, but held her tongue. It was only fair to give Doc a chance to say what he’d obviously been thinking about for a long while.

“I am not a merchant. I am, however, more than the healer you named me. I am a doctor. I have studied the workings of medicine and the body. The talent my ancestors were kind enough to pass on to me enables me to save those I might otherwise lose, but it is not all I have.”

“I didn’t mean,” Elise said hesitantly, “to imply that.”

“I know,” Doc assured her. “You meant to offer me a compliment. The fact is that in this past year of blood and battle, I started to forget I had more than the talent. What has been needed from me was that quick ability to keep the breath in the body. My more painstakingly acquired skills came into play later, if at all. Do you want to know what started me thinking I might have overlooked something?”

“I do.”

“On my way to meet you at Duchess Kestrel’s, I stopped to help one of her tenants, Widow Chandler. My talent helped, but it was the ointments I could leave behind me that I knew would assure her recovery.”

Elise, remembering her flash of jealousy at Doc’s tending this woman, had the grace to blush.

Doc, intent on his own memories, didn’t question her.

“I thought about that. I thought about Sapphire’s pregnancy and how we all wish there were some ointment that would assure a healthy child. I thought about how Queen Elexa sacrificed her health to bear the kingdom three living children.”

His voice dropped and now he flushed dark red.

“I thought how your mother is Elexa’s niece and how she, too, carries that weakness. How the only thing your father could do to help Aurella was insist that she have no more than the one child. I thought how you, too, might carry that weakness. I realized that as a doctor I would not want to stand by and watch you transformed into a frail wraith by the natural act of bearing a child.”

He took a deep breath.

“I’d feel that way even if I wasn’t your husband. I’d feel it even more if I was.”

Elise nodded.

“And so…”

“I’m staying here to study everything I can lay my hands on regarding what the New Kelvinese know about pregnancy, childbirth, and its aftereffects. I have been promised the cooperation of several sodalities, all of which want a chance to study my talent.

“I have promised the Healed One a copy of my results, but what I plan to do with what I learn is to come home—hopefully before Sapphire’s child is born, but if I cannot to send what I can to the Royal Physicians in both Hawk Haven and Bright Bay.”

“And?”

“And to your parents as well, for if I find a way to overcome whatever it is that plagues the Wellward women, I will have something to offer House Archer in return for the privilege of marrying its heir. And then…”

He paused for so long that Elise thought he was going to leave the thought unfinished.

“And then I am going to ask you to marry me—and I hope you will consider me worthy.”

Elise knew she couldn’t promise, couldn’t even promise to wait, for she knew enough about medicine to know that the research Doc was hoping to complete in a few moonspans might take years. Still, she hoped that her smile would give Doc the encouragement he needed to carry on.

THE NEW KELVINESE HARVEST FESTIVAL
was something that Derian knew he would be telling tales about not just this winter but for winters to come. Their position as the Healed One’s guests—and the heroes who had saved the land from Melina—meant that they were welcome wherever they went. He took advantage of this freedom to escape the formality of Thendulla Lypella and join the townspeople, who proved, despite their robes and masks, not too different from their counterparts in Eagle’s Nest when it came to enjoying a public festival.

Indeed, as Derian joined the crowd in Aswatano, he found it hard to believe that not too long ago he and Doc had hardly escaped that very crowd with their lives. The butcher who had been so cruel thrust a sausage on a stick at him by way of apology and Derian accepted with a grin. His waistcoat pockets bulged with the lucky sweets shaped like fruits and vegetables, until he started handing them out again—an act that made him very popular with the children.

When the dancing started, Hasamemorri and her maids undertook to teach him the steps until Derian felt confident joining in. After a few rounds, he felt a tap on his elbow and there stood the little spice vendor, smiling up at him.