12
Good friends have a way of focusing our memories so that we can view even painful events in a positive light.
The Duke’s request seemed cold and unfeeling, a slap in the face. He wanted her to take Ilesa under her wing, to be the other woman’s formal companion, and to work with the Castle Caladan and Ecazi planners on preparations for the wedding. Jessica needed all of her Bene Gesserit training to nod formally. “Yes, Leto. As you wish.”
In spite of all her years of training, Jessica hated herself for her hurt feelings. She was a concubine sent under orders to become his companion, a business commodity, forced to give up the right to human emotions. She was happy with the love and devotion Leto had given her in the past, but she should not have expected it to last forever. Even so, the truth of it struck her to the core. Jessica was too smart to view this as a superficial or thoughtless slight. Leto knew exactly what he was requesting, and she forced herself to delve into his motivations in asking her to become Ilesa’s chaperone.
Finally she pulled back the curtain of emotions to let in the light and see what the Duke really needed from her: He sincerely wanted Jessica and Ilesa to be friends, and his instructions were designed to force the two women to accept reality. He did not mean to cut Jessica out, or Paul, but rather to fold them in. It also sent just as clear a signal to the daughter of Ecaz, that Duke Leto considered his concubine an important part of his household. The two would have to do things together, while each played her separate role.
When Jessica realized this, she explained it to Paul in order to help him understand. He would need that knowledge for later in life. “A wife and a lover are two different things. It is best if they can be the same person, but politics and love are as separate as the mind and the heart. Learn this lesson, Paul. As a Duke’s son, you may find yourself in the same situation someday.”
And so Jessica and Ilesa did spend their days together, setting up the halls, guest rooms, and meeting chambers of Castle Caladan for the wedding. They established plans, looked over guest lists, discussed passages from the Orange Catholic Bible, and reviewed subtle variations of the wedding liturgies. Some ceremonies could take only a few minutes, while more traditional ones might drone on for endless hours. Jessica had even read of extreme instances where a wedding ceremony lasted longer than the marriage itself. Working together, Jessica and Ilesa crafted a beautifully complex and poetic ceremony.
The household staff whispered surprised gossip at how well the two seemed to be getting along. At first Jessica considered her own cooperation just a necessary role to play, but one day she had looked across the table at Ilesa, and realized that she had come to think of Ilesa as a person, one with whom she could indeed become a friend.
The young woman confided in her with a shy smile. “Once, there was a young man with curly, straw-colored hair and a grin. And oh, what a lovely body! He was a member of the forest guard. I used to watch him train out in the courtyard with Swordmaster Dinari.”
“What was his name?” Jessica asked.
“Vaerod.” An entire symphony of wistful emotions accompanied the spoken name. “We used to walk and talk together. We even kissed once.” Her smile faltered. “Then my father transferred him away, and I spent days listening to lectures about my responsibility to House Ecaz. The deaths of my sister and uncle hardened him. I became the hope and future for our family. I couldn’t be allowed to fall in love, or plan my own life.”
She looked up, and Jessica thought the young woman seemed extremely innocent, but her words were insightful. “Why is it, do you suppose, that we noble daughters can’t take our own
Jessica searched for different ways to answer the question. “Did Duke Leto tell you he loves me?”
Ilesa made a quick, dismissive sound. “Any fool can see that.”
Jessica blinked. Perhaps I
“There are political necessities as to why Duke Leto will marry me. He will get what he wants with this alliance, and he still has you. I know this and accept it, but what about me? What about my Vaerod?”
For so long, Jessica had thought only of why Leto had decided on this alliance. His blustery father had been adamant about the political nature of marriage, and Lady Helena Atreides had accepted her lot, too, although with great bitterness.
With true compassion, Jessica said, “One of the first precepts taught at the Bene Gesserit School on Wallach IX is that the universe is not fair. Almost daily, I see evidence of that.”
WHEN THE IXIAN bearing the guests from House Vernius landed at the spaceport, Paul accompanied Thufir Hawat and Gurney Halleck to meet them. Thufir and Gurney had already told him much about Prince Rhombur.
The frigate’s ramp extended and guards marched out, carrying purple-and-copper pennants emblazoned with a helix symbol. Then three figures appeared as though they were making a grand entrance. A young woman with a trim body, short brown hair, and large eyes held the hand of a boy with thick coppery hair, a squarish face, and a shy formal demeanor. Paul could see echoes of the mother’s features in the boy.
Behind them came a hulking man whose mechanical movements somehow carried a calculated grace. Rhombur’s face was scarred; his arm was obviously prosthetic. The flesh ended at his neck, fused with polymer wrappings. He raised an artificial hand in greeting. The smile that filled his ravaged expression was genuine. “Gurney Halleck! You still look uglier than I do.” He took three thudding steps down the ramp. “And Thufir Hawat — still bearing the weight of the universe on your shoulders, I see.”
A fast groundcar pulled up, and Duke Leto sprang out wearing an exuberant grin. “Rhombur, old friend! I’m so pleased you could come.”
The Ixian nobleman chuckled. “You came to my wedding, Leto. How could I not come to yours?”
“I couldn’t avoid yours, Rhombur — it was held at Castle Caladan.”
With a strange delicateness to his flexing fingers, Rhombur took the woman beside him by the wrist. “You remember Tessia, of course.”
Leto laughed. “I’m not quite senile yet. And this is your son?” He extended a hand to the copper-haired boy.
“Yes, Leto — meet Bronso. He has been longing to leave the caverns on Ix to see the oceans that I loved so much.” The damaged man lowered his voice. “And he is anxious to meet Paul. Is this your son?”
Paul stepped forward. “Pleased to meet you, Rhombur. Or should I call you Prince?”
“You could call me your godfather, boy.” Rhombur thrust his son close to Paul. “You two will be great friends, just like your father and I were when we were younger.”
“Maybe we should initiate an exchange, as our fathers did,” Leto said. “Send Paul to Ix and have Bronso here on Caladan. It certainly changed my life.”
Prince Rhombur appeared somewhat troubled. “Ix is not quite what you remember, Leto. Under my father, it was a spectacular world, but the Tleilaxu occupation wounded our spirit and caused great damage. Even though House Vernius rules again, some things have changed forever. We have always been more of a business than a noble House, and the technocracy has grown more powerful. I have less influence over decisions than I used to.”
“Spreadsheets and quotas command Ix now,” Tessia added, not shy about speaking up for her husband. “Increasing production at the expense of decreasing humanity.”
Another man now emerged from the frigate — smallish in stature and thin, with a sallow face and the diamond tattoo of a Suk doctor on his forehead. His long hair was bound in a single silver ring. He bowed formally. “I brought all the medical equipment that may be needed. Prince Rhombur’s cyborg enhancements function quite well, though I still monitor them regularly.”
“Dr. Wellington Yueh, you are always welcome here. I owe you my life, and Rhombur owes you his. If I could
