Aelliana sighed and settled her head more closely against the upholstery.
When she opened her eyes again, the room was filled with sunlight, her legs were stiff, and a rangy grey cat was curled up snugly asleep in her lap.
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Liaden 11 - Mouse and Dragon
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Friends are a costly necessity.
—Anonymous
“You're about early,” Anne said, looking up from her screen.
Daav came up onto the patio and perched on the arm of the chair across from hers.
“It is too glorious a morning to simply lie abed,” he told her, earnestly.
Normally, such a performance would have gained him a peal of Anne's ready laughter and a change of subject. This morning, he caught a sharp look and a small shake of the head.
“I'd like to know what's going on in that woman's head,” she said, darkly.
That woman, Daav surmised, was Mizel. He sighed.
“She merely wishes to gain the best advantage for her clan. It is what delms do, you know.”
“If she wins Korval's annoyance for her clan, what's best there?”
“No, you misapprehend. In the usual way of things Korval and Mizel would have . . . very little to do with each other. Our means are so far apart that it must be so. Once this—very rare—bit of business is done, we will each drop back into our appropriate orbits and scarcely heed the passing of the other. That being the case, Mizel must look to immediate gain.”
“Which is to say, cash,” Anne said sourly. “Wouldn't there be benefit in alliance?”
“There might have been, but you must recall that it was I who provided the means to expose the nadelm's villainy, leading to his death. An alliance with the murderer of one's son—well! I don't say that I could do it, no matter how much Korval stood to gain.”
He leaned forward to glance over the top of her screen. “But, come! What is it that occupies you so early on this lovely morning? Not more student work?”
“No, I'm saving that for a treat after lunch,” she said seriously. “This morning, I'm sorting applications from universities that want to host a Gallowglass Chair.”
“Ah.” This was a pet project. When it had eventually borne in upon Anne precisely how much discretionary funding was available to her, as a full adult member of Clan Korval, she had lost no time in setting up a trust to fund a university chair to be filled by scholars who excelled in the teaching of comparative cultures, cultural genetics, or any other of a very short list of diversification studies.
Once she, and more importantly, Mr. dea'Gauss, was satisfied with the terms of the trust, universities galaxywide had been solicited to apply for a grant.
“We have two chairs already in place—at University, of course, and also at Delgado—which is a coup!”
He remembered the excitement generated by the receipt of the application from the University of Delgado, a catalyst school with a stellar reputation in the academic galaxy.
“What have you now?” he asked. “More than one, else there would be no need to sort.”
“Bontemp has applied—a well-established school with a strong cultural diversities component already in place. It seems we'll have them, if they meet the financial test, which I'm certain they will. No, what's interesting is that we have an application from Islington College, which is very small and very . . . Terran. I can't imagine they'll pass the financials, but—the opportunity! We ought to try to accommodate them . . . somehow.”
“Perhaps a co-op?” Daav murmured.
Anne frowned. “Co-op?”
“Indeed. Perhaps three or four worthy but underfunded institutions of higher learning can between them more than adequately support the Gallowglass Scholar? Might they make a joint application, with the understanding that the scholar would travel between schools?”
“That . . . ” She snatched at her screen and made some rapid notes. “We don't want to muddy the waters around the Gallowglass, but that's a good notion you have there, laddie. Let me think about it a bit.”
“Certainly,” he said, absurdly pleased to have been of use. “Remember to consult with Mr. dea'Gauss.”
“You'd best believe it! That young man's a fountain of ideas.”
Since Mr. dea'Gauss was, in fact, a good dozen years Anne's senior, Daav supposed “young man” to be a pleasantry. He therefore smiled and rose, inclining his head slightly.
“As much as I would like to sit here in the sun with you all day long, I fear that duty calls. Is there a commission I might discharge for you in the city?”
“Not a thing, my dear; thank you for asking. Will you be seeing Mr. dea'Gauss today?”
“We have an appointment after midday,” he admitted.
