Bond Proof

by E G Manetti

  At the spy’s side, Simon rests his hand on Tabitha’s waist. The master technologist may well know Tabitha’s true appearance.

  They have reached the parkland exit. Simon drops his hand from Tabitha as the group scans he broad transitway. It has but passed ninth bell, and the thoroughfare is crowding. Under the watchful eyes of Stefan, Malcon, and the Grim Twins, they hasten across the transitway and turn for Katleen’s house. As much as Lilian wishes her friends could remain, it is not possible without a chaperone. Only Joyce follows her into the house; the others return to the Garden Center and the festival.

  »◊«

  Midday approaches as Cesare follows his parents into Sinead’s Shrine. With his father Socraide’s Lord Patron, their walk never varies, beginning with the First Warrior and proceeding clockwise through the ring until it completes at the Shrine of the Fourth. At every shrine, senior prelates clear the way to the most prominent station. At every observance, shrine and Blooded Dagger Militia guards keep the ritual area cleared of strangers.

  The prior year, tradition altered. Adelaide’s Lord Prelate greeted his father as they departed Jonathan’s devotional area. There was no polite way to continue without visiting the alcove. It was Cesare’s first experience with Adelaide rites. As they had no Adelaide of their own, Prelate Apollo offered the devotion.

  Cesare found the discipline compelling. He found the effigy and her grisly belt disturbing. After a year of investigation, he is certain Apollo’s devotion was from the attack movements. To the best of his knowledge, Apollo Acacia is the only person to openly challenge his father who has not lived to regret it. Yet. Cesare has anticipated this day for a season.

  Entering Sinead’s Shrine, he seeks and finds Lilian’s sister, the young redhead flitting about Sinead’s Shrine a bright hummingbird. Sinead’s Seer is seated in the central gallery, shrine attendants managing the two lines of supplicants. Prior to this ring walk, Sinead’s Shrine was a minimal observance for the Mercios. The warriors invited by his parents to honor Sinead understood the practicalities and provided the briefest acceptable devotion.

  This season, Seigneur Aristides is Sinead’s member of their complement. Although his father has not voiced it, Cesare is certain it is due to the seigneur’s participation in the battle of Serengeti and its aftermath. The media management seigneur is accompanied by his heir, Marisa, the only one of Elysia’s set he admires. She is intelligent, honorable, self-mastering, and comely. The devotion of the media management seigneur and his heir will be devout, complete, and in line with Cesare’s will.

  As Aristides and his daughter approach the effigy, Cesare fades away to find his spitting companion from the burning pavilion. “Mistress Katleen, do I find you well?”

  At the sound of his voice, Katleen ceases to move. For a moment, the oil that feeds Sinead’s sacred fire flickers in desperate need of renewal. The little redhead’s chin lifts and the small container tips forward and feeds the flame.

  Her gaze on the vial, she replies, “I am well, Master Cesare.”

  Was that a tremble in her voice? Does she fear him?

  Completing her task, Katleen sets the oil in its appointed place and turns to face him, her curls dancing as her fists clench. “I beg your pardon. You could not hear me. There was no time left.”

  Cesare was impressed during the melee when the fourteen-year-old remained calm and practical. She appears more uncertain and concerned now than she did under fire. She fears he has taken insult from her actions. How she could imagine it eludes him, but it suits his purpose. He has wondered for days what possessed this disgraced child to spit in his face, an act that would see others destroyed. “How came you by such a ploy?”

  “You could not hear me. It was necessary that you follow me. I knew it was ill done, but I could discover no other course.” Katleen clasps her hands before her, her dark eyes liquid and pleading. “I meant no true insult.”

  Shuddering, she drops her gaze.

  Cesare considers the bowed head and the knotted fingers of the seer’s child and resists the urge to offer a consoling stroke to the red-gold cap of curls. “No insult is taken. As you voice, it was necessary. Truly, short of such provocation, I might not have followed. How knew you this?”

  At his words, some of the tension leaves Katleen. Raising her face, she says, “It was Lady Wren. When she spat thus on Lilian, Lilian wished to slay her and could not. You are not constrained by a bond.”

  The wealth of information in that brief statement spins through Cesare’s mind. Does he ease the girl’s fear or play on it to discover what he would? His father is escorting his mother from the shrine. Cesare has but moments. He chooses to satisfy his curiosity. “Why did Lady Wren insult your sister?”

  Katleen’s black eyes flash fire that is immediately banked by caution. Whatever she voices, it will be true but said with purpose. “Master Harold was enamored of Lilian. Remus Gariten dismissed Monsignor Persia’s wedlock alliance offer as unworthy of the heir to his cartouche. Lady Wren sought retribution for the insult.”

  »◊«

  Settling his family in Socraide’s pavilion, Lucius takes pleasure in the yellow bruises blotching Virgil’s nose and cheek. It is less pleasing that the prelate has been strutting about as if he were a hero of the maze for being felled by a single blow. He truly must make an opportunity to have Virgil replaced.

  “Where did you go in Sinead’s Shrine?” Elysia asks Cesare. “I thought you admired Marisa, but you did not attend her observance.”

  “I wanted a word with Katleen Faesetili,” Cesare replies, accepting iced tea from a servitor. “I wished to learn the source of her tactics in the fire. The tale was far more interesting than I anticipated.”

  At Elysia’s urging, Cesare recounts the conversation and the revelation that at one time Lady Wren sought a wedlock alliance between Lilian and Harold.

  “Harold?” Estella says in amazement.

  Lucius contemplates chiding Cesare for his crass interest in an apprentice but releases the notion. It is reasonable that Cesare question Katleen as to the source of her astounding tactics. The intriguing information about Lilian’s past was naught but an unanticipated development.

  “Now that I consider the matter, it is not so outlandish,” Estella says. Raphael and Elysia are hanging on her every word. “Gariten was heavily engaged in the commodities markets where Persia’s cartouche is dominant. Although, Lilian would have been overyoung for a wedlock alliance.”

  “Not by the standards of that Servant of Anarchy,” Lucius returns. “If you recall, he pressured Lady Helena into wedlock as soon she completed advanced studies. She was younger than Lilian is now.” He does not mention that Remus Gariten sold his eldest daughter at age fourteen to Fenrir. Although Gariten’s purpose is unknown, since Lilian was underage, the intent could have been naught but foul.

  Having learned the history of Helena’s marriage from Lucius, Estella nods. “Nonetheless, I cannot imagine how one as clever as your apprentice could have tolerated Harold for any length of time.”

  “I imagine it suited her other interests,” Lucius returns. “Lilian engaged in the commodities markets at an early age.”

  Estella’s eyebrows lift. “Metals trading?”

  The foundation of Gariten’s wealth was laid in the exchange of precious and industrial metals. The transgression that brought Gariten to ruin was commodity fraud—selling the same commodity to multiple buyers. The discovery of those fraudulent dealings resulted in investigation and the exposure of all his other crimes. His ruin also left Monsignor Persia’s cartouche and cartel with significant financial exposure that has only been corrected in the past two seasons.

  “Industrial minerals and some agra-blocks. Lilian was guided in the markets by Dean Joseph, not her sire.”

  “If Monsignor pleases?” Nickolas asks.

  His protégé joined them midconverse and has been listening in fascinated silence. In other circumstance, Lucius might be offended by his protégé
’s interest in his apprentice. But he cannot chide Nickolas for curiosity he permitted in his son. “What wish you?”

  “Since I met Mistress Lilian’s friends on Fortuna, I have wondered. How is it possible that I did not once encounter Mistress Lilian on either Mulan or Metricelli Prime after she passed the age of consent?”

  Before the scandal, Lilian was heir to a cartouche. She could not have attended a cotillion or an entertainment without note, events where Nickolas would also have been present either on Mulan or Metricelli Prime. Lucius has no intention of revealing the true source of Lilian’s reclusiveness, but it is a sound question for which he has an explanation. “Lilian went to Mulan at fifteen and while in the dean’s care was more interested in commerce than cotillions.”

  Elysia enters the conversation. “Father, what of Lady Helena? Would not the seer insist that Mistress Lilian attend to her duty?”

  His daughter delights in the cotillions, but she owns more than one acquaintance who would prefer to avoid the events. None have escaped the demands of family and custom. As heir to an emerging commerce power and an ancient warrior bloodline, Lilian’s social duties within warrior society would have been as extensive as any. That she was able to remain relatively anonymous is a profound anomaly.

  “Lady Helena has been reclusive since before your father brought me to Crevasse City,” Estella says. “I doubt the seer owned the will to counter Mistress Lilian’s inclinations.”

  “Maman, is the seer known to you?” Raphael asks.

  “Slight acquaintance at the conservatory,” Estella acknowledges. “It was during my final two seasons. Lady Helena participated in one of the saga executions. She was gifted with the harp. Beyond that I own little memory, although I would have acknowledged her had we met again.”

  Before the conversation can proceed further, the drums and horns sound the announcement of the entertainment. The afternoon’s primary entertainment, a saga rendition of the Code of Engagement, is considered exceptional, but Lucius finds the prospect tedious. From Nickolas’ expression as he departs for Jonathan’s pavilion, he shares Lucius opinion. His place is seized by Micah who is rewarded with Elysia’s bright smile.

  “Insult and injury,” Estella muses. “It is no wonder Lady Wren was so wroth. Refusing their contract and then damaging their commerce interests. When was this, Cesare? Did Mistress Katleen speak of it?”

  “Nay, Maman,” Cesare replies in a low voice as the players begin. “Mistress Katleen voiced only what I have relayed. Although, it is certain the event occurred within the past three years.”

  “The question is, when in the past three years?” Estella mulls. “There were few who would have dared offer an insult bordering on assault to your father’s apprentice after the lessoning of the Volsted.”

  “What are you contemplating, my love?” Lucius asks. His wife’s serene countenance indicates an intrigue is forming. She is a great deal more entertaining than the saga.

  “Naught but a notion, Lucius.” Estella breaks her reverie to consider her husband. “Lady Wren annoys me. I but consider a means to annoy her in return.”

  16. Jonath

  an’s Cotillion

  When a warrior reaches the age of consent, it is customary for the cartouche to provide a warrior’s stipend to cover personal expenditures and entertainment. When the warrior enters advanced studies, the stipend is increased to cover the cost of lodgings, transport, and personal servitors. At majority, the stipend is further increased to reflect participation in cartouche commerce enterprises. By the time the warrior completes advanced studies and enters into commerce, the warrior is experienced with handling personal finances and prepared for the responsibilities of generating and managing commerce income for the cartouche.

  For those who are heir to a signet or a cartouche, the stipend is far greater, reflecting not only the heir’s rank, but also the eventual requirement to oversee the finances of signet or cartouche enterprises. ~ excerpt from The Signet, an academy primer.

  Sevenday 144, Day 5

  “Join me,” milord says, his eyes on the wall reviewer screen. His attention is on the results of her efforts while confined to the house for the Five Warriors’ Festival.

  I am the sum of my ancestors. Perching next to him, she waits for his reaction. Using the Bright Star criteria for the original command crew, she has enhanced the analytical model to prioritize courage and integrity over rank and kinship ties. The model assessed all within Serengeti to identify valid candidates to replace the Nightingale command crew. She has validated the results thrice, but the accuracy does not mean the results will please milord. The most auspicious replacement for captain of the Nightingale is Deacon Raleigh.

  “I do not discover them, Lilian,” milord says as he works the model, evaluating the solution sets.

  “Milord?” Milord has mastered models of greater complexity. “What is it milord seeks?”

  Releasing his slate and halting the rapid displays, milord turns to Lilian, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Warbird wings, Lilian. I discover not the warbird wings.”

  This day. Amusement and teasing were not the reactions she expected. She slept but little the night gone, worried milord would not be pleased with the results of the analytics. “I will not deny the will of the Five Warriors in the events of the season, but the solution sets are the product of a model derived from basic commerce algorithms. There is naught of deity in it; it is the substance of ambition.”

  “As is all of Bright Star.” Milord smiles. “We are about to test the ambition of my newly discovered hedge kin. If he rises to the opportunity, I will consider him well discovered.”

  Reaching for his apprentice, Lucius examines the light shadows under the wide gray eyes. The model for identifying the replacement members of the Nightingale command crew is the labor of periods. Although he is pleased with the result, he is not pleased by the evidence she has foregone slumber to create it. He ordered her to remain within Katleen’s house to ensure her rest as well as her security. Battle followed by Despoiler interrogation is a combination that would try the Five Warriors. Lilian is a prodigy, not supernatural. “This is how you chose to spend the balance of the festival?”

  Lilian leans into his hand, her mouth soft. “It was a wonder to have so many unencumbered bells.”

  Self-master. It is not the first occasion he has struggled against the desire to chastise her for excessive commitment to duty. Once her bond proves, he will not hold his will. “As valuable as this is, if you do not rest, you will fall.”

  “It was not strenuous to recline on my bed and work this model,” Lilian replies, her eyes dark with entreaty. “Truly, it was preferable to the Code of Engagement saga. I have viewed that one many times, and I would have spent the periods frustrated by the inactivity.”

  “As I spent half the saga wishing for my slate, I cannot contest that.” He also spent half the saga wondering about Lilian’s university years and how so much is hidden in shadow. Unable to resist, he checked the records of her age-of-consent year. Justifying his curiosity as investigation into Gariten, he found more mysteries rather than fewer. “Why did Gariten deny you a cotillion? He was fond of public displays of rank.”

  Adelaide’s thorn. Why asks he that? A combination of Elysia’s cotillion season and a tedious saga, most like. Although this once, milord’s prescience has failed him. “Gariten was enraged when I fled to Mulan the day after my birth festival and refused to return for the cotillion he had planned.”

  “Fled?” Milord’s thumb strokes her collarbone through the silk top.

  I am the sum of my ancestors. “It is not a pleasant tale, although milord knows it, in part.”

  Milord’s arm wraps around her waist, pulling her to sit across his lap, her back against the sofa arm.

  “Milord knows that Dean Joseph took me to Mulan as soon as I passed my fifteenth year and why. I did not return to Crevasse City until the Five Warriors’ Festival the following year. I missed Maman and
Katleen, and I was due to reach the age of consent.” She strokes the conservator’s seal, her mind a decade in the past. “I was excited at the prospect of reaching the age of consent and had but a few sevendays to prepare for my cotillion.”

  Milord collects the fingers toying with her seal. “Lady Helena?”

  Clever. Due to the derangement caused by Gariten’s cruelty, her mother was not capable of planning or hosting such an event. “One of the northern cousins arrived in Crevasse City. She was older than Maman and very imposing. She was making the arrangements and would act as hostess with Maman. The sanctuary order remained in place, so I had no fear that Gariten would attempt to attend.”

  I am the foundation of my family. “When I first arrived home, Maman was better than when I left—unpredictable but often lucid for bells at a time. As my birth festival neared, she became more erratic, dwelling in her chambers, leaving only to attend Sinead’s Shrine. Sinead’s Keeper thought it might be due to the excitement and stress of my cotillion, so we allowed the cousin to have charge.”

  “This is one of the cousins who sold your mother to Gariten?”

  This once, it is well he sees so much. “It was on the day of my birth festival that I discovered what they had done. A package arrived from Gariten with what were to be my cotillion pearls. They were awful. Overlarge and mixed with emeralds, they were a gift for a woman grown, or a doxy.”

  Milord’s free hand strokes her shoulder. When did she being to tremble? She had not thought this would be so difficult. “Maman went pale and then began to rant about trading children for emeralds. I was to flee from the darkness. The cousin became enraged, accusing Maman of being selfish and lacking honor, that the wedlock with Gariten was for Maman’s benefit. I knew it for a lie when I heard it.”

  Anger floods with the recall of the cousin’s calumny. Milord’s thumb strokes her collarbone, encouraging her to continue although he says naught. “The history of the contract was in Sinead’s Shrine, and as I was sixteen, they provided me access. Once I understood what the northern cousins had done, I could not understand why Maman permitted the woman to arrange my cotillion. With Keeper Waiman’s assistance we were able to discover that Gariten had arranged it all, including that the cotillion would be held at the home of one of his commerce partners and that he planned to attend. He may have planned to compel me to return with him to Socraide Prime. I know not.”