“You think so?”
“Most assuredly, and with Lord Thornbear pressing the case Father would have been forced to act, probably to expel Devon from his demesne,” he grimaced.
“What would that do?” I wondered aloud.
“Start a lot of trouble. Tremont would be honor bound to complain to the king. The Lancasters would have to present evidence at the king’s court to support our insult to Tremont.” He looked at me.
“And?”
“And we couldn’t prove anything. At the least we would be fined to satisfy Tremont’s honor, at the worst it would mean war.” Marc sat on the divan and put his head in his hands. He thought for a while, “Why didn’t you just expose the villain when you caught him red handed? The evidence would have been on our side then.”
“Penny,” I said simply. I gave him a stare that spoke volumes about how I felt that he had even suggested it.
He apologized, “I’m sorry, you’re right Mort, it was selfish of me to think that.”
In the end we came up with no good ideas, but made ourselves feel better by suggesting bad ones, mostly involving hot irons and blunt instruments. An hour later it was time to get moving, the fireworks were about to start. As we stepped into the corridor I waved at him to wait a second. Muttering a short incantation I set a shield around my body, no time like the present to start good habits.
“What did you do?” he eyed me quizzically.
“My latest trick,” I said and, since he couldn’t see it I added a few words to show off my new shield in a vivid blue.
“Holy!…” he started and took a step back. “That looks formidable.”
I spoke again and the shield faded into invisibility.
“You should leave it blue,” he remarked.
“Why?” I didn’t like being so conspicuous.
“It might scare the crap out of Devon.”
I liked the sound of that but discretion seemed wiser.
Chapter 9
The greatest mystery may lie in the nature of aythar itself. Although it is present in much greater concentrations in living beings it is also present in small amounts within all inanimate objects. The amount of aythar present seems to vary in direct proportion to the level of awareness possessed by the object. Sentient beings possess it in large quantity, relative to inanimate things, such as rocks. Animals possess varying amounts in proportion to their level of intelligence. Plants contain less, yet still more than non-living things. Since aythar is present within everything, so far as we can tell, it may well be a fundamental property, or even a necessity for existence. Because self-awareness is directly proportional to the amount of aythar within something scholars conclude that even inanimate matter has some minimal level of awareness.
The fireworks were every bit as spectacular as I had expected. We stood along the eastern parapet, looking across the lake that dominated the view on that side. Originally the lake had been separate but when the castle was built it had been expanded to fill the moat which surrounded the castle walls, but the main body still lay to the east. It made for a spectacular view with the pageantry of the fireworks reflected in its still surface. I found myself wishing Penny were watching with me, but I had been unable to spot her in the crowd.
I was sure she had to be here somewhere; even the servants had been given leave to lay aside their burdens and enjoy the display. The crowd was large, so it was unsurprising that I couldn’t find her. After a short time I was separated from Marc as well, he had been drawn aside by a conversation with Gregory Pern. Not really wanting to be involved I had kept moving, truthfully I was looking for Penny. We still had not spoken since the incident of the previous night and I was growing anxious, unsure what she might think about what had happened.
Moving through the crowd I saw Rose Hightower engaged in discourse with Stephen Airedale. He seemed very earnest about whatever he was telling her so I kept my distance and tried to avoid distracting them. I passed by and she called my name, “Master Eldridge! I had hoped to see you again before now.” She spoke with more excitement than I would have thought necessary.
“My apologies Lady Rose, if I had known please be sure wild horses could not have kept me from your side.” I was in a good mood, so I figured I would play the game of words. Stephen seemed disappointed at my arrival, which made sense once I understood his intentions. Most likely he had been trying to woo the lady, and as everyone knows, wooing is not a game for three. “If I am interrupting I can bother someone else,” I said, giving Stephen a sympathetic glance.
Lady Rose wouldn’t have that, obviously she wanted a rescue, “Nonsense, we would be charmed to have you join us.” She put her hand on Stephen’s shoulder in a move that had to be calculated.
“Of course,” he assured me, “unfortunately I need to excuse myself. You understand I’m sure.” Indeed I did, so I refrained from smiling, no need to rub salt in the wound.
He left graciously and Rose gave me a look of gratitude, “Thank you, I was having trouble finding polite ways to deter him, any longer and I might have been unforgivably rude.”
“Your beauty drives reason even from men of culture. Do not hold yourself to account for it. I have little doubt that you would eventually have turned him aside without injury to his pride.” I gave her a slight bow, intending to take leave myself. My part had already been played.
“Wait, I would speak with you,” she put her hand on my forearm. She was a woman who spoke with her hands and gestures as well as her eyes and words. Despite the restrictions and limitations of her class Rose Hightower was powerfully expressive, a natural communicator.
“Surely you have no need of my small words,” I answered her.
“Perhaps you have need of mine,” her eyes were full of hidden meaning.
Uncertain I paused, “I’m sure I will be richer for hearing them.”
“Then we must agree to a trade, first answer my question and I will share what knowledge I have with you.” She made it sound like a game, but something in her face hinted at more.
“We have a deal then, what would you know?” I replied.
“Who were you looking for just now?” her eyes twinkled with amusement.
“A friend, no one of importance.”
“That is no answer at all,” she frowned and removed her hand from my arm, conveying her disapproval.
“Penelope Cooper, a childhood friend and one of the maids here. Is that satisfactory?” I was a little annoyed at having to disclose that, lately Penny had become more important to me and I found myself embarrassed to discuss her.
“A lady friend, how interesting. Well enough, you should know that you made your first enemy at the reception the other day.” She gauged my reaction.
“I knew that, but there is no remedy for it.” If I got any better at wordy dialogue I’d be teaching classes in circumlocution soon.
“You are wise to accept that so readily. Your friend Marcus is lucky to have you, but his friendship puts you in grave danger.”
I knew that as well, but I wondered at her opinion, “How so?”
“A building’s strength lies in its foundation. Your enemy seeks to bring down the House of Lancaster. He will do so by undermining the foundation first, and you stand out as a key target in that pursuit.” I had heard this before, but I didn’t want to offend her.
“Lady Rose, I think you greatly overestimate my value.” Maybe she wasn’t as smart as I had initially thought.
“That may be, but I find it more likely that you underestimate yourself.” I could have argued, but didn’t
