Finally, Mikhail looked at his wife, and realized that everyone had been so busy trying to determine his future, they had not given any thought to hers, as if she had ceased to matter now. This irked him, and gave him an idea as well. "I think that when the weather is better, Marguerida and I should return to Neskaya and work with Istvana Ridenow." He saw the light in her eyes and knew this idea appealed to her.
Regis shook his head. "Neskaya is too far, and Marguerida is not going to dash about while she is pregnant. My son was right—if you are my heir, you must remain in Thendara, or go no further away than Arilinn. You will be a prisoner of a sort, as I have been. But I think that you are right that Istvana is the right leronis to guide you. I will ask her to come here. There was a Tower here, once, and there might be again." He smiled at Marguerida. "Yes, I know you have no happy memories of that, but we can make a new beginning—this is a new beginning for all of us, even me!"
"Yes, it can be, if we have the strength to dare it." Her voice rose slightly, as if she were challenging Regis Hastur in some way Mikhail could not grasp. It was only a moment, but he saw how his uncle's eyes met Marguerida's, and knew that some unspoken agreement had passed between them. "Now, what of the Alton Domain?" She
glanced at her father, then at Regis. "I think it would be best if I resigned my claim in favor of either my Uncle Gabriel, or one of his other sons. If you do not mind terribly, Father."
"That is a very sensible choice, since I do not want it, and Dom Gabriel does," Lew answered. "But I want a seat on the Comyn Council. I will not be a power behind the throne, either to Regis or my son-in-law! I want everyone to be able to see me, and know what I am up to. Anything else would be suspect."
"Very well—that settles it. Dom Gabriel will continue to hold the Alton Domain," Regis said as the door opened and the man himself stepped back into the study. The look on Dom Gabriel's face made Mikhail want to shout with pleasure when he heard what was being said. His weathered features looked ten years younger. "And his sons will succeed him."
"That will teach me to leave the room and run after my poor wife," Dom Gabriel growled, his voice rough with emotions. "Javanne is frantic. I have never seen her like this, and I fear for her mind. I tried . . . but there was nothing I could do, except order a sleeping draught administered." He looked sad and worried, but pleased at the same time. "Lew, do you agree to this?"
"Completely, cousin. You have been master of the Domain for decades, and it would be silly to change that. If it is not broken, why fix it?"
Gabriel sighed and smiled, entirely transforming his face. "There will always be a welcome for you at Armida, Lew."
"That is all I would ask for."
Dom Gabriel gazed at his son. He cleared his throat a few times, looking very uncomfortable, and finally managed to speak. "I have never understood you. You are a mystery to me, Mikhail, and I do not like mysteries. But I see that I have long misjudged you, and I confess it. Because you are unlike me, I mistrusted you."
"Father!"
"Don't interrupt! This is hard enough to say. I could not see your qualities because I was too mule-headed! You are a loyal man, and a loyal son—it has taken your mother's folly to let me realize this. I can only hope you can forgive an old man for being a fool."
Mikhail stood up and embraced his father as he had not done in years. "There is nothing to forgive." He felt Dom Gabriel's ragged breath against his cheeks, and knew the older man was holding back tears with difficulty. "I did not understand you either!"
"We shall just have to try harder in the future, then!" Gabriel gave a shuddering sigh and released his hold on his son. He moved to Marguerida and extended his hand. "And you, daughter, whom 1 have never welcomed into the family—can you forgive me, too?"
Marguerida ignored the hand and stood up quickly. She hugged her uncle fiercely, tears sparkling in her eyes. Then she planted a kiss on the weathered cheek. "You are the kindest man in the world! Thank you!"
"After what I did last summer, I hardly . . ."
"Oh, no! That is the past, Uncle. Let it go! I already have!"
Mikhail felt his heart swell. He had feared that he would never be on easy terms with his father, and that the man would never accept Marguerida as his daughter-in-law. Now he realized that much of Dom Gabriel's opposition had been because of Javanne, and that, perhaps, with an effort on both sides, he could be a real son to the older man.
"If only all our problems were so easily remedied," Regis commented, clearly moved but holding his feelings in check. "Like the Aldarans." Everyone in the room groaned, except for young Dani. "But, for today, I think we have done enough. I, for one, would like some peace and quiet. And some time to get to know my amazing child," he added, gazing fondly at his son.
Danilo Hastur's face lit up. His eyes brightened with unshed tears and he blinked them away quickly. Then he grinned at his father and mother, his usually serious expression vanishing.
"Peace and quiet, Regis?" Gabriel shook his head. "You will have to move to another world, for I do not think you will find it on Darkover."
While everyone laughed at this, Mikhail felt himself uncoil, the tension he had endured fading away. His heart was full as he took Marguerida's bare hand in his. He had the position he had stopped wanting months before, and
he would, he knew, spend the rest of his life learning to use his matrix, and helping Regis keep Darkover safe. But he was reconciled with his father, at least until the next meeting of the Comyn Council, where they were probably going to butt heads. That little was more than he had ever hoped for. And he had Marguerida beside him, and soon they would have a son to rear. At that moment, life seemed as close to perfection as anyone could desire.
EPILOGUE
Lew Alton watched his daughter walk into the chamber where Diotima Ridenow lay surrounded by a stasis field. She moved gracefully, despite the just visible prominence of her belly. There was an assurance about her that seemed' to increase each day. The unhappy young woman whom he had taken away from Arilinn months before was gone, forever he suspected. If the presence of the screens overhead disturbed her, she did not show it. Mikhail Hastur was beside her, looking serious. He could sense their charged emotions, the intensity and the harmony as well.
He was so grateful to have her back. He had never told her how terrified he had been at Midwinter. That she was not only returned to him but married and with child as well seemed nothing short of a miracle. And now she proposed to perform another, to restore his dear Diotima to a semblance of health. How could any man be so fortunate? Lew was almost afraid to think about it, for fear that something might go amiss.
Marguerida had assured him that she was in no danger doing the healing she planned, but he was not sure he believed her. She had only said that she knew what she was doing, and that she could give Dio more time. How was a mystery and would remain so. He wanted Dio back so much!
His little Marja was going to make him a grandfather before he had really gotten comfortable with being a father. What manner of child would this Domenic Alton-Hastur be? Well, if he followed the family tradition, he would probably be a real scamp, and turn Marguerida's fine hair gray. It was a happy prospect.
Lew walked into the chamber behind his only child, and watched her. She bent over the coffinlike apparatus for a
few seconds, as the song from her recorder rose to a climax. He recognized it—a Thetan love ballad that broke his heart every time he heard it. Then she reached over to turn off the machine, and silence filled the room.
The sudden silence was eerie, and he could see that the others, Liriel and Jeff Kerwin, were also disturbed by the cessation of the music, so many months had the chamber rung with Marguerida's voice. The very stones of Arilinn had probably absorbed all those melodies—a fancy that pleased him more than a little.
Marguerida nodded at Jeff. The old Keeper hesitated for a long moment, then released the field, and the flickering light that had surrounded Dio for months vanished. Mar
guerida moved her hand across the body that rested there, seeming to be only asleep. Diotima looked worn and thin and older than her years. Her pale hair, once so lustrous; looked brittle and dry, and her fair, delicate skin lacked the suppleness Lew knew so well. He let his heart clench, let his fear consume him for a moment. How could he bear it if Marguerida failed and Dio died?
For several minutes nothing happened. Marguerida continued to examine Dio's form with her matrixed hand, occasionally looking to Mikhail in universalized consultation. He glanced at Liriel, who was monitoring his daughter, and Dio as well, and told himself that no harm could come to either of them. That was the theory, in any case. The only problem, Lew thought, was that he had never been much on theory.
If only he could do something! Lew's impatience was like a furious itching, as if his skin were on fire. What was taking so long? What was Marguerida doing? Why had he ever agreed to let her attempt this?
He watched his daughter hold her hand over Dio's chest, and saw the faint lines on her hand begin to brighten and then glow. Lew could see the shape of the shadow matrix clearly now. Then light began to pulse around her, until she was a shimmering figure in the dim light of the room. What? Then he saw that Mikhail was using his own powers to protect and support her. The two of them were working as one, and from the glimpse he had of Liriel's face, something quite remarkable was happening.
The illumination diminished as Marguerida stood up-
right, her face calm. She smiled at him reassuringly. Then Dio's eyelids fluttered, and he forgot everything else. He darted to the receptacle, his boots ringing a sharp tattoo on the stone floor.
Lew Alton bent over his wife, and watched her give a familiar feline yawn. She blinked a few times, and began to stretch her arms and legs sensuously, comfortably.
Dio opened her eyes and stared at him for a second, as if she did not know who he was. Then her luminous smile appeared, and she reached for his hand. Lew's heart thudded in his chest, and he could barely breathe for the joy that possessed him.
Lew closed his hand around hers, feeling the papery skin, and the blood pulsing beneath it. She swallowed and made a little face, as if she tasted something unpleasant. Then she whispered, her eyes round with wonder, "Oh, Lew! There was . . . such music!"
The Shadow Matrix Page 62