Ingleton replied, “By continuing as I was, I suppose.”
Tanya’s lips grew thin, while Rayla said, “Whatever for? Won’t you leave that blasted council, if you won’t leave Podrar? Don’t you see how pointless it all is? What will you accomplish beyond another attack? You do realize Carson never would have done this, had you kept from that council like he asked you? You see that I, that my sister, would not be shamed?”
“With all due respect, if what I do from this point out reflects on you to any degree, that’s Carson’s doing, not mine, and while I wish my choices affected you not at all, I won’t change my life’s course for you. My decision to return has nothing to do with your brother or with anyone in this room beyond my wife and me. I’ve no wish to spite your family.”
Rayla demanded, “Then why are you doing this?”
“Because I feel I must. That’s all I can say.”
“Very well,” said Rayla. She rose to her feet to dismiss herself, and everyone else took her lead. “Thank you both for speaking with us. Congratulations, again, and best of luck to you.” She caught Vane’s eye. “You’ll need it. If someone kills you or your wife this time around, you’ll have only yourself to blame.”
“I can care for myself, don’t you worry.”
The two families shook hands. When Rayla and Tanya walked toward the door, Gilbert halted his wife with a hand on her shoulder and told her, “I’ll catch you up.” The sisters left, and Gracia, while Vane and August hung back for a further word with Mason Greller’s oldest son. “You two keep plodding on,” he told them. “You’re doing fine, just fine.”
And an empty crystal vase on the nearest end table began to shake. A moment later, it vanished for a good five seconds before it popped back in existence.
“Can’t make things disappear permanently,” Gilbert said. “Thad holds the family record at three minutes. Tanya doesn’t know, so don’t tell her.” Vane promised not to, and Gilbert went on, “My father tried to vanish the door the day Zalski took over, you know, or so he says. I wasn’t at that conference where your uncle began his slaughter. Zalski locked the court in, and when he threatened to turn violent, my father thought vanishing the door might let some people escape the old king’s meeting room. Zalski had cast a spell of some kind, on the walls….”
“A sound barrier,” said Vane.
“Right, that. His magic was stronger than my father’s, no surprise there. The door wouldn’t budge.”
The door to the parlor budged without resistance when Gilbert pushed it open. He nodded his farewell and left August and Vane staring open-mouthed at one another.
Thad gave Vane a warm handshake when he walked into the candle-laden, crimson-curtained dining hall. He said with simple tact, “It’s nice to have you back here.”
“Nice to see you too. I’m sorry I missed your wedding.”
“No apology necessary,” Thad insisted.
“I appreciate you testifying.”
“That was a civic duty, no?”
“Well, congratulations to you,” Vane told him.
“And to you. Is this your wife?”
“No, some random expectant woman I found all dolled up on the way here.”
“It’s lovely to meet you,” said Thad, and kissed August’s hand.
“We just met with Gilbert,” Vane said.
“Ah, yes, Gilbert and Tanya. So warm, that woman! And Rayla, I assume?” August nodded, and Thad said, “I apologize straight off for whatever unmeaningly offensive things she said.”
August could not help but smile. “No apology necessary.”
Thad laughed. “Your husband should have brought you around sooner.” He turned to Vane. “Why didn’t you bring her around sooner? It wasn’t because of Carlina’s comments about Hayden Grissner’s wife? Because of what I said about marrying outside nobility?”
“That was a part of it,” Vane admitted.
“Well, it seems I’d better clear things up this instant.” And Thad stroked his chin. “When exactly did we say those things? I believe it was….”
Vane crossed his arms. “The day the council was announced. Why?”
“And when did you two marry?”
August said, “The night after the king announced the council.”
“And you would claim, Ingleton, that our snide remarks played no role at all in your decision to rebel by eloping? You see, my dear,” Thad told August, “You both have Carlina and I to thank for your union. So, if you two overlook those moments of crassness my wife and I inflicted, I in turn shall graciously forgive Valkin’s rudeness in not telling me he fell enamored of the princess’s nurse.”
August turned to Vane with a grin. “It seems a fair bargain.”
“I don’t know about that,” said Thad. “I get the better end, I’m afraid. One only has to look at you to understand your husband’s silence.” He lowered his voice. “You’re far too lovely for the likes of him. He was frightened I’d steal you away. That’s the reason, eh Ingleton? Now, alas….” He indicated his wedding band with an exaggerated sigh, speaking louder when he noticed Carlina approach and jabbing a thumb at her. “I’m stuck for life with this hag.”
“As though an ogre like you could do better,” his wife retorted.
Thad told Vane and August, “We’ve decided to buck the trend of conventional terms of address. Take a lesson, Ingleton: you don’t have to run off with a nanny to be original. As for you, my dear duchess, some advice for when the baby comes and you’re looking to contract a nurse: hire old. As old as you possibly can.”
August broke into peals of laughter so strong she had to cover her mouth with both hands. When she finally gained control of herself, Carlina told her, “It’s an honor to meet you. Sincerely. Anyone brave enough to go through all you have and still come face the likes of us….”
The foursome sat at dinner with Hayden, Carlina’s mother, and Thad’s father. Mason Greller did not speak much, but he stuck close to Vane and August throughout the evening, knowing his presence near the duchess would keep eyes at bay and tongues tame in a way even her sorcerer-husband’s could not. The Chief Adviser’s protective air sent an unmistakable message as to where royal favor at court lay.
If meeting Amison’s family had been worse than August feared, Gilbert’s support aside, the banquet proved hardly taxing. Not everyone she met gave welcomes that seemed genuine, but at moments, laughing with Thad and Carlina while Mason looked on, she felt genuinely content. She ended the evening in a manner she never would have expected, inviting Thad and his wife to dine at Oakdowns and receiving a grandfatherly kiss on the cheek from the Duke of Podrar. When she and Vane returned home that evening, she said, “Bless the Grellers. Bless every last one of them.”
Vane said, “I can’t believe Thad’s magicked. I can’t blame him for not telling me, not with the secrets I’ve kept from him, but….”
“You really had no idea?”
“Not the slightest suspicion.”
“It was nice to joke again, wasn’t it? It’s been so long since we’ve joked. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of Thad. And Carlina…. Val, she wasn’t a thing like you’ve described her all this time.”
“She was different,” he said. “Like she’s learned somehow the world’s bigger than herself and her ridiculous wedding. I guess following the trial, seeing Tanya suffer, reading those reports about the manor and those mobs who tried to torch the place….”
“You know what I think? I think Thad was scared out of his mind for you all the time we were gone, and even more unnerved to testify. I think he turned to Carlina in some moments of weakness, and seeing she’d no other choice, she matured to give him the help he needed. That’s what people do when they care for someone. That’s just a guess, but…. Whatever happened, she was lovely. She made everything much less awkward than it would have been, introducing me to her sisters and cousins and all the women who came up to us or wouldn’t stop staring until we went to them.”
“I just might, on occasion.”
Vane kissed her. “I’m glad you came tonight, at any rate.”
“You took a dagger for me, Val. The least I could do for you was handle a few whispers and forced pleasantries.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
To Swear on a Chicken
The Magic Council met for the second time in September, to finish business from before their interruption back in June. Vane purposely arrived a few minutes late, so he could speak with his fellow councilors all at once instead of one by one as they trickled in.
“I’m sorry about last time,” he said as he took his seat in their meeting room, the same parlor where he and August had spoken with Amison’s sisters. He dropped a bag of papers at his feet. “And I apologize profusely for the mess that was that trial.” He caught Francie’s eye as he went on. “I’m grateful for your testimony, all of you.”
“Just told it like it happened,” said Johann Clee.
“You saw the crowds out front the Palace that day,” said Hart Quin. “Could have been any one of us they went for. You got there in time, Ingleton. That’s what matters.”
Vane noted, “That said, I’d prefer not to mention it again and just move on with business.”
“That’s probably best,” said Zacry.
“Of course,” said Casandra Quin. “What were we even discussing before…?”
“A school,” offered Francie.
“Speaking of which….” said Vane, reaching for his bag, “I may have cut the meeting short, but I’ve been working on something since then. My wife’s sister left her a nice-sized building down south, near Carphead.”
He shuffled through his papers for a floor plan, while Hart asked, “A good enough size to house a boarding school, I’m guessing?”
Vane had two blueprints with him, the current one and one depicting his suggested changes: two large dormitories on the top floor, which could sleep forty students each if beds were bunked; six classrooms on the second floor, with a wing of bedrooms for teachers and other staff; the bottom floor could house an expanded kitchen, dining hall, and recreation room. There was space on the grounds to build offices. If they had the money, they might even expand the existing stables and keep seven or eight horses for the children. That was August’s suggestion, thinking of Hune and his love for animals.
“We don’t have a budget for these kinds of renovations,” said Francie.
Vane replied, “I work cheap.”
“You…? Of course, your magic.”
“I’ll admit, I haven’t consulted any architects or engineers. It’s possible we’d have to change this around, if the building itself can’t support the design. I suspect the two large dormitories won’t work, for one. We might need more walls up there, for the roof. But I’m sure I could track down the spells I’d need to make the changes, once we’ve a design in place.” He already had, in fact. Zacry owned a book of architectural and housing spells.
“And security?” asked Casandra. “Have you thought about security? We can’t put children at risk for the sake of politics. I won’t have any part of that.”
“If these past months did anything good, they proved the protections I put around Oakdowns are strong. I’ve made them stronger since, and I’d do the same around the school. And we’d have evacuation plans, Casandra, sorcerers ready to move anyone and everyone out. The school will be secure. I’m more worried that parents won’t understand how safe it really is and refuse to let their children come.”
Johann said, “We could arrange a demonstration once everything’s ready. Let the parents and whoever else, hundreds of people, go at the place. When they can’t break through, they’ll be reassured.”
Francie warned, “Some of those parents might be sorcerers themselves. They could undo your spells, couldn’t they?”
Vane said, “It would take them hours. That’s more than sufficient time to clear the building of its hundred occupants, and anyway, apart from testing the security, sorcerer parents would be more interested in adding to the defenses than breaking them down.”
They spent four hours altering, perfecting, and approving Vane’s proposal. As everyone was leaving Francie stumbled over Vane’s bag, spilling his papers and creating an excuse to stay behind with him. They collected his things, and she said, “That’s some plan you and Zacry put together. Too bad he couldn’t take credit for his contributions.”
“I was sure you knew where I’d gone. When I read your testimony….”
Francie looked at the floor, and her cheeks grew hot; that latter happened more often than the average when she was around Vane. “It was nothing, a small fudging of the truth. Zacry had to lie more extensively, didn’t he? Acting like he didn’t know you’d transported to his house…. His or his sister’s?”
“I didn’t transport anywhere,” said Vane. Francie glanced up from the bag where she was about to store a writing board, and Vane told her, “I was unconscious. Amison stabbed me. I nearly bled out.”
“Good God,” she said. The writing board hit the floor.
“Zac saved my life and got me out of there, but we couldn’t admit that, because people would have started thinking. Would have made the connections you did about me and Traigland.”
“Good God,” she repeated, clutching at his shoulders. “Are you…?”
“I’m fine, Francie, really.”
“And your wife’s all right? He didn’t hurt her too? She didn’t lose the baby?”
“The babies are fine,” he assured her. “Kicking all over the place these days.”
Francie let out a heavy breath, then registered his plural. “Babies?”
“Twins. We’re sure there’s twins. They like to kick August together on both her bottom ribs.”
“Doesn’t that sound pleasant?” said Francie. Then, “Listen, congratulations. Congratulations to you.”
“Thanks. I shouldn’t be surprised it’s twins, all things considered. They run in August’s family too. Her grandmother was one.”
“Vane, you…. You just make sure yours don’t lose their father, understand? When I said this council was bigger than us both, I didn’t mean….”
“I’m careful, Francie. Going through all that once was enough, believe me.”
She asked, “How’s Gratton getting on?” Vane said he was. “I haven’t seen him since that day. He took a new assignment, and well, I owe him a lot, him and his men. He saved my aunt’s store.”
“Rexson told me about that. No one else has tried anything?”
“Not with your debacle. All the crazies were by Oakdowns, weren’t they? And the king’s had twice as many men guarding me and my family since they tried to burn us out. We’re more or less untouchable.”
Vane threw a last few scraps of paper in his bag, and Francie tossed in the writing board, at which point he told her, “I should probably go.” He grabbed the doorknob before she called his name, which made him turn his head.
“To use that mansion for the school,” she said, “it’s a brilliant idea.”
“Well, I can’t take credit for it.”
“It’s your wife’s property, you said? And she just offered it to us?”
“She isn’t fond of the place, to put it mildly. And I doubt we’d use it as a second home even if she were. Oakdowns alone is far too big for us.”
We might have saved Bennie. If the place were smaller, the grounds not so sprawling, we might have….
Francie admitted, “When I used to wonder what you’d do with your life, I never pictured a manor like that. I walked past Oakdowns for years and years before you moved back in, you know…. I saw you on a boat for some reason, even when we were little. A large one, some kind of ship, like I expected you’d be a merchant sailor or something.”
“You’re weren’t completely off target,” he said. “I did take a ship to Traigland that first time. It took a good month.”
“That’s righ
t, you would have sailed to…. Well, it was a stroke of genius to put the school in that mansion, that’s all I wanted to say. This school might start to change things, it really might, so would you thank August, for all of us? She could easily just sell the place, turn a profit.”
“We’re not hurting for income, Francie.”
“For God’s sake, just thank the woman, would you?”
Vane said he would, and stared at his old friend for a good five seconds with apology in his eyes. With suspicion that she felt more for him....
“Don’t you have a meeting with the king?” Francie prompted. Her childhood companion shut the door, remaining inside. He was not one to shy from something uncomfortable when it needed to be said, and so he asked:
“Are you sure we can work on this council together?”
“I am. Vane, I need the council. The thought of this school, of being part of something so meaningful, so desperately needed.... It’s more than I’ve ever dreamed of. Listen, I’ve grown to resent my power. I resent it horribly because it.... This stays between us, all right?”
“Of course.”
“We’re speaking as old friends.”
“I understand, Francie.”
They took seats across from one another, and Francie said, “My power, it chases men away. It’s frightened off everyone I’ve tried to grow close to. My knack for picking up emotions, it makes men feel vulnerable. They can’t deal with something like that. I’ve done nothing but grudge my power, for years, and now.... Now I actually see it can be positive. It’s what qualifies me for the council, allows me to do this work that I.... Vane, I feel so blessed to be a part....”
And he knew she did feel blessed to contribute to the council. Whatever feelings she might or might not have for him, the spark of passion in her eyes just then was not romantic. Vane knew Francie would coexist on the council with him, coexist without conflict or inappropriate advances interfering. He told her:
“The king didn’t appoint you for your magic. You’re qualified because of the studies you’ve done. Because you’re here for the proper reasons. Francie, you care about the council’s mission. That’s why you deserve this post.”
The Magic Council (The Herezoth Trilogy) Page 48