The Shadow Matrix (37 page)

Certainly not in the middle of the entryway, with servants all around. And he was just

too tired to continue the matter at present. "Come on, Liri. In payment for my sins, you

can have the first bath."

She chuckled. "That will be a good beginning, I believe,

though the debt is rather larger than can be repaid in a

day or a night."

-

"Oh, dear," Mikhail answered with a playfulness he did not really feel. "I think I am

going to have to hear about this trip until I die."

"Longer than that," Liri replied cheerfully. "I intend to have an active life in the

overworld."

Mikhail stared at her in horror for a moment, then realized she was teasing him as she

had when they were young. She could not know that the very mention of the overworld

turned his bowels to water, and that he hoped never to see another ghost as long as he

lived.

"I do love family reunions," Regis announced, his blue eyes twinkling at his niece and

nephew. "Now, off with the pair of you. You can squabble to your hearts' content until

dinner, at which time I expect you to behave in a civilized manner:"

"Will there be anyone besides you, Lady Linnea, and Dani?" Mikhail had a sudden

feeling of unease, since Regis did not usually demand the best behavior when only the

family was present. It was one of the things he liked best

about meals at Comyn Castle, the informality and ease of conversation.

"We do have some visitors, yes."

"Are you going to tell us who, or make us sit on tenterhooks until supper?" Mikhail

could feel his temper starting to rise, since he knew that Regis was being provocative,

and deliberately so.

"Francisco Ridenow is here."

Mikhail was not surprised by the presence of the Ridenow representative to the Comyn

Council, and had a brief moment of relief. But it was dear that he was not the only

guest at Comyn Castle. "And?"

"A surprise, Mikhail."

He glared at his uncle for a second. "I have had enough surprises to last a lifetime," he

snarled, finally allowing himself to vent his well-deserved spleen. Then he walked out

of the entry, stamping up the stairs behind Liriel, not regretting his momentary fury. It

was over quickly, for no one could stay angry at Regis very long. And, at least, he was

back where he belonged, and his relief knew no •bounds.

By the time he had soaked his aching bones, and donned a fresh tunic and trews,

Mikhail was nearly restored to his normal good spirits. It was clear from Regis'

welcome that he was not going to be punished or exiled. All his fears had come to

nothing, and he was mildly annoyed with himself for being so foolish. He might even

escape much criticism for the way he had handled the children and Priscilla.

Thus, he was whistling one of the songs Marguerida liked as he walked into the

smaller dining room on the second level of the castle. The sound faded when he saw a

woman standing with her back to him, with a familiar spine and red hair. Marguerida!

No wonder Regis had been so mysterious! But how? He had spoken with her three

nights before, and she had been at Neskaya.

Then the woman turned and faced him, and Mikhail realized it was not Marguerida

Alton, but Gisela Aldaran. He had not remembered how alike they were in height and

coloring, though this was hardly surprising. Marguerida was part Aldaran, after all. She

smiled, and he noticed that her eyes were, green, not golden, and that her teeth were

somewhat more prominent than those of his beloved. But they could have passed for

sisters to any unknowing eye. The hearty appetite which had accompanied him down

the stairs vanished.

What the devil was she doing there? And what was Regis up to now? There was no

doubt in Mikhail's mind that Gisela's presence was no accident, that it had a distinct

purpose in Regis' schemes and plans for Darkover. And, knowing how his uncle's mind

worked, he had a tingle of apprehension.

"Mikhail—how wonderful to see you again!" Her voice was deeper than Marguerida's,

a throaty alto that sounded caressing, and his suspicions deepened. She had been a girl

when last he saw her, and now she was clearly a woman.

"Gisela! This is a great surprise. Has Regis managed to get the Council to let the

Aldarans breathe the sacred air of the Crystal Chamber, then? I have been away."

Damn Regis for springing her on me like this!

"Not yet," she answered, as she moved smoothly across the floor to meet him. Gisela

was wearing a green gown of finest wool, embroidered with roses all along the hem

and cuffs. It fit her body closely, so that the shape of her fine figure was revealed

almost immodestly. "But things are progressing to the satisfaction of almost everyone."

Mikhail bowed over her hand. "That is good to hear. We were all surprised when Regis

proposed the return of the Aldaran Domain to the Council last summer—but my uncle

never does the expected, does he? Who, might I ask, is not happy with the situation."

"I'm afraid that Lady Marilla is reluctant to agree, and your father is ..."

"You need go no farther. My father seems to delight in being contrary. My mother has

often commented to that effect, and she is a very wise woman."

Gisela smiled again. "Let us not talk of such matters. How are you?"

"Well enough, considering I have just ridden five days with a storm at my back, several

small children crammed into a carriage too small for them, and a sister who would

have liked to murder me many times over. And you?"

"Did you know I had married?"

Mikhail's chest loosened with relief. "No, I had not

heard. We have not really had any contact for ... what, almost six years? The only news

of the Aldarans that has come to us was that your brother Hermes took Lew Alton's

position in the Terran Senate. Who is your husband?" He looked around the dining

room, but they were alone, except for a footman who was pouring wine at a sideboard.

"It was closer to seven years now, but I am glad you remember it as recent." Her voice

was thick and honeyed, and she moved closer to him, eyeing him in a way he found

alarming. He had seen that look on any number of faces of young women. He had

never known exactly how to describe it before, but at that moment the word

"predatory" leaped into his mind. He felt very much like a fat gander being stared at by

a hungry fox. "I married Bertrand Leynier four years ago. And now I have two

children."

"Two. How wonderful." Mikhail wished someone would arrive and rescue him from

this uncomfortable conversation, but was relieved to know that she was not really

husband hunting, just being overly friendly. "I do not know your husband—I have

heard of him, I believe, but we have never met. I look forward to making his

acquaintance." He. managed to appear interested and polite, but his heart sank a little.

Bertrand was a man of unsavory reputation, a minor landholder up in the Hellers, who

was at least as old as
Dom
Gabriel and had already buried two wives. Surely the

Aldarans could have done better for Gisela, even considering how they had been

excluded from the mainstream of Darkovan society. A Terranan would have been

better! Then he chided himself for being so uncharitable and provincial—a Terranan

indeed!

Gisela shook her head, setting the fine curls that coiled around her forehead into

movement. "You will not have that dubious pleasure, Mik. Bertrand had the good grace

to fall and break his neck two years ago, much to my delight."

"I see you have not abandoned your habit of plain speaking," Mikhail replied with as

much calmness as he could muster. A young widow of proven fertility, a woman near

his own age, one he knew and had even enjoyed the company of at one time—though

he had not thought anyone knew about that—was precisely the sort of person who

would find favor in the eyes of many people. Except that she was Aldaran, of course.

Tired as his mind was, it examined the possibilities. He saw the fine hand of Regis

Hastur in her presence, with the notion of healing the breach between the Aldarans and

the rest of the Domains by marriage, for which he was likely the tool. Or perhaps he

was wrong, and Regis intended that one of his brothers would suit Gisela. He spent a

pleasant moment envisioning Gabe trying to cope with her quick mind, and decided

that Rafael would make her a better husband. He, at least, was clever.

"Well, he was old, and he drank a great deal, and he

had no conversation to speak of, and pretending otherwise

will not change those facts. And I have never learned to

be as ladylike as I might have been, having no mother to

guide me." »

Her smile, which had beguiled him a few years before, had lost its attraction, and her

green eyes seemed calculating now. "Why are you in Thendara, then?"

"My son, Caleb, who has never been a hearty child, was in need of medical attention,

and I brought him here. He is presently creating havoc at the Terran Hospital. You have

no idea how exhausting children can be." Gisela sounded a little sharp, as if Caleb's

infirmity was deliberate.

"Oh, yes, I do. I have just spent the past two months trying to manage the Elhalyn

brood—the Elhellions they should be called—and not succeeding overmuch. If you

think that young children are exhausting, just wait until they reach adolescence!"

"You terrify me." She did not appear at all frightened, but widened her smile and drew

a little closer to him, as if seeking to return to their former intimacy. This had consisted

of no more than some pleasant rides in the mountains, games of chess, and long

conversations about everything from horse breeding to the state of Darkovan politics

as they understood it at twenty-one and seventeen respectively. Which, he realized in

retrospect, was not a great deal—mere youthful imagining.

Mercifully, Liriel came into the dining room at that moment, with Miralys and Valenta.

The girls had been scrubbed, dressed, and turned out in good style. Even Val's wild

mop of dark hair had been tamed a bit, and they were wearing long tunics of rose and

gray respectively, with paler pink petticoats beneath them.

Mikhail was relieved to see her, and he turned to introduce his sister and the girls to

Gisela Aldaran. "Liriel, this is an old friend of mine from my misspent youth, Gisela

Aldaran. Gisela, my sister Liriel Lanart-Alton, and two of my charges, Miralys and

Valenta Elhalyn."

The Aldaran woman flashed her brilliant smile and extended her hand in a rather

condescending manner. "I am delighted to make your acquaintance," she drawled,

ignoring the girls completely.

Since each of her hands was firmly entrapped by one of the children, Liriel was not

forced to return the gesture. She nodded at Gisela calmly. "Well, this is certainly a

delightful surprise. When did you arrive? How was the journey from Aldaran at this

season?"

"Oh, we came in Father's flyer, right onto the tarmac at Thendara Spaceport. My father

does not think that we should eschew the conveniences of Terranan technology just

because a lot of old fuddy-duddies think it is un-Darkovan. It was a little exciting

coming down from the mountains—the winds are so treacherous—but we arrived in

one piece, and I, for one, am glad to skip a tedious journey on horseback."

"Since I have just spent several days in a poorly sprung carriage, I quite agree with

you."
Mik, what the devil is she doing here? I never really thought to see an Aldaran

standing around in the dining room. Was this what Regis was . . .
?

I
don't know, but I suspect the worst.

As well you should. Be careful.

I am always careful, sister, except when I am foolish.

I know, and that is precisely what worries me.

The footman came across the room with a tray of wineglasses, the golden contents

gleaming in them, as Regis Hastur and his consort, Lady Linnea entered, followed by

Francisco Ridenow and Danilo Syrtis-Ardais, Regis' paxman. A moment later they

were followed by Gisela's father, Lord Damon Aldaran.

As glasses of wine were served, and
Dom
Damon greeted Mikhail with evident

pleasure and enthusiasm, Mikhail was rather startled to see how much the man had

aged since he had last seen him. He was no older than Regis, but looked ancient. His

once red hair was streaked with gray, as was his beard, and there were wrinkles around

his eyes

that belonged to a much older man. The hand he thrust into Mikhail's was dry, and he

squeezed the younger man's fingers hard, as if trying to prove his vigor.

Dom
Damon was an older half brother of Beltran, who had been the heir to old

Kermiac Aldaran before the Sharra Rebellion. But he was
nedestro,
and would never

have come to be lord of the Domain if Beltran had not died without issue, and Captain