Ambition and Alavidha (39 page)

“Kellen Ross?”
suggested Peter Taviston.

Raoul van Buren
shook his head. “His father is in negotiation with the Duke of
Hallam regarding the marriage between his son and Paul’s second
daughter Judith. I believe it to be a love match.”

“What about
Baron-Heir David Tanon?” asked the Duke of Cocteau, entering the
conversation for the first time.

Peter Taviston
shook his head, “not possible. His brother was also a member of
Crispin’s group, but I might just have the answer.”

“You do?” asked
Queen Antoinette, trying to sound surprised. She and Peter had
already come to a decision but the properties had to be
maintained.

“This is a
difficult situation. There are a limited number of suitable
candidates. The successful one will also become, as you say and in
due course, the husband of our future Queen. If we do not go with
an out-kingdom prince or a member of one of the ducal houses it
will be the first time since the second century when our Prince
Consort will be someone only of gentle birth. I know none of you
dukes like the idea.”

“I don’t mind,”
said the Duke of Cocteau, “new blood is always healthy. So who is
it to be?” He winked at peter Taviston, the only one amongst those
present to have worked out the subterfuge for what it was.

“Kellen Peter
Sullivan. He’s older than Antoinette by five years. He’s unmarried,
intelligent, more to the point, he’s adaptable. I’m sure he’d be
good for our princess. I know he’s always admired her. I wouldn’t
suggest him if I didn’t think he’d suit.”

“Where is
Kellen Sullivan now?” asked the Queen.

“Here at
Court,” vouchsafed Prince Pierre, “he’s one of the Leftenants of
the Royal Guard.”

“Better and
better,” said Prince Xavier, “so the Crown-Princess won’t suspect
she’s being manipulated. May I suggest that he is transferred to
the princess’s personal bodyguard? I don’t think we need do
anything more. We can leave the rest to time.”

“Do it,”
commanded Queen Antoinette, adding, “but I think I should also
point out that any marriage will be a morganic one. Any issue
between Princess Antoinette and any husband shall not be able to
inherit the throne if my grandson’s line should fail. All I am
concerned about is the happiness of my daughter. I do not wish to
circumvent the existing inheritance laws but I will not permit her
to have to spend the majority of her life as a lonely widow as I
have had to do. She deserves more. A man who she loves and who
loves her in return is all I ask. Peter, make it so.”

* * * * *

-58-

THE FAVOURITE
MANOR HOUSE OF THE DUKE OF HALLAM - DUCHY OF HALLAM - KINGDOM OF
MURDOCH

Duke Paul
Hallam was sending a squad of his best men to apprehend the agents
of Leithe.

The man he had
placed in charge was a crusty old family retainer with an age
verging on seventy but he was as hale and hearty as many men much
younger, if rather slower on his feet. His sword arm was however,
as skilled and fast as it had been when he had taught Paul his
weapons skills as a boy.

More important
than this however, was that Paul trusted him, implicitly.

“There a ways
east of here Dan,” he told him.

“How many My
Lord?” asked Dan in his rusty voice.

“Six, last time
they were spotted. All mounted, but their horses have to be getting
tired. They’ve been travelling fast and my informants tell me
they’re riding the same mounts they bought up in Charleson.”

Dan thought for
a moment. In all the time Paul had known him, and that for most of
his life, he had never been known to utter a hasty word.

“Squad’ll be
enough,” he said at last, “but I’ll take my Jim along as well just
to be on the safe side if that’s all right with you My Lord?”

“Agreed.” Jim
was Dan’s son and had succeeded his father to the position of
Swordmaster to the Duke the previous year when Dan’s joint-ache had
begun to bother him. “Bring them back alive if you can,” continued
Paul, “I have a lot of questions to ask them and I’m sure Queen
Antoinette does too.”

Dan nodded and
spat.

“They’ll be the
cronies of that Prince Crispin then, him who tried to kill the
Queen and murdered young Baron Karovitz?” He spat again. Dan had
known Charles Karovitz and had been delighted when the Baron had
married his duke’s eldest daughter Elizabeth.

The news about
the attempted coup at Fort had arrived not long before this
conversation and not just Dan had liked and respected Paul’s
son-in-law. Paul decided to repeat the order to take them alive if
possible.

Dan’s mouth set
itself in a thin, straight line. It was obvious to Paul that he
didn’t like the idea but that he would obey. Dan had never
consciously disobeyed any order from Paul or his father before him.
That was another reason why Paul had chosen him to lead the squad.
He would be able to stop the men under his command from butchering
all six.

The squad
clattered out through the gates a candlemark later, hooves
clattering on the cobbles.

Paul took a
deep breath. Well, that was that, he had done all he could. He
would have preferred to go himself but he had matters to attend to,
matters that could not wait.

* * * * *

ON THE EASTERN
BORDER OF THE DUCHY OF HALLAM - KINGDOM OF MURDOCH

The six agents
from Leithe, led by the indomitable Erik Halfarm were running
behind schedule.

First of all,
the country through which their route had been planned was rougher
and more hilly than they had been led to expect. It was drier too.
The narrow streams and water-holes were marked on the map, but the
former were all but dry and this kept forcing them to keep making
detours up the stream-lines until they found enough to fill up
their water bottles once more and to let their mounts drink.
Second, one of the horses had turned lame as they had ridden into
the ducal demesne of Hallam and that had cost them a full three
days.

Still, they had
met up with no opposition.

Erik Halfarm
was satisfied with their progress. For years he had been doing his
brother Cadan’s bidding, searching for the power core and now he
had it. He had touched it, stroked the smoothness of its metal,
wondered how such an innocuous looking object could be so powerful.
Its sister from the
Electra
had destroyed the
Ammokko
. How? If it was his he could use it to destroy, or
threaten to destroy, anyplace he wanted to! He could bring down
governments, countries even.

Perhaps it was
time he looked out for himself. He had the power core. Why hand it
over to Prince Crispin so that he could use it?

Like his
half-brother, Erik Halfarm was full to the brim of ambition.

He was
considering all this and daydreaming about the time when he, the
illegitimate son of a king of a small island kingdom was King of
the World when Dan and his squad came cantering up and over the
sand dune and began laying into them.

Erik and his
five companions fought back with fierce determination but the odds
were stacked against them. They were tired, their horses were tired
and Dan’s squad numbered thirteen.

Two to one
and one over
, Dan had said to his son when their scout had
returned, reporting that he had located them. Dan, Jim and the
others were excellent swordsmen. Dan and Jim were the best and the
others had been trained by them.

Mindful of Paul
Hallam’s warning that he wanted them alive, they did their best,
using the flats of their swords to force them off their horses but
it proved almost impossible.

Two’s better
than none at all
, thought Dan after the fight was over as he
regarded the carnage. The six horses were unharmed.

“That one must
have been their leader,” said Jim, pointing to Erik’s body. “he’s
wearing fine clothing and his sword is of fine make.”

“Worth a king’s
ransom?” asked Dan, looking up from where he was searching the body
of another man-at-arms.

“I wouldn’t go
that far dad,” answered Jim, nudging Erik with a booted foot.
“Wonder who he was.”

“Don’t matter,”
Dan said, “let’s get the bodies swung across the saddles and get
home.” He pointed to the two wounded men. “Bandage their wounds and
tie them on too,” he ordered.

A candlemark
passed as the squad did his bidding then the procession started on
its journey back to the manor. Tied to Dan’s saddle was a wooden
box Zeb would have recognised.

* * * * *

THE FAVOURITE
MANOR HOUSE OF THE DUKE OF HALLAM - DUCHY OF HALLAM - KINGDOM OF
MURDOCH

Meanwhile,
Thalia, Daniel, Vya, Josei and Zeb had arrived at the manor. As
might be imagined, their arrival caused a stir and noisy, excited
interest.

Paul Hallam
provided quarters in one of the barns, the old stone one, after
rooms in the manor itself had been declined, very politely, by
Thalia.

“We would
rather stay with our Lind,” Thalia told him, “though a hot meal
would be appreciated. We’ve been travelling a while.”

“Do you require
some raw meat for your Lind?” asked Paul.

“They’ll eat
what we’re having,” Thalia answered, much to his surprise. The Larg
(and Paul had met a few) ate their meat raw and Katie Durand’s
Kenlei had eaten a haunch of raw beef all by himself.

“They caught
and ate yesterday,” said Thalia by way of explanation, then
changing the subject, asked, “when did you think your men will
return?”

“Soon,”
answered Paul, “by tonight at latest. I’ll give you the power core
as soon as they get here.”

“We’ll stay
until morning then,” decided Thalia after a quick look to Vya,
“with your permission of course. We don’t wish to be a burden.”

“It is my
honour,” replied Paul, “I have a feeling though that if it was
peace and quiet you were thinking of that you will not get it. I
predict that this barn will soon be overfilling with children and
not a few adults, all wanting to get a peek at a real, live
Lind.”

“We do not
mind,” said Josei, wagging his tail. He liked children, at least
those who did not ask endless questions. Vya however, looked a bit
apprehensive.

“I’ll leave you
to it then,” said Paul with a smile, “my servants will bring you
hot water and food. Daniel? May I have a word?”

“Yes, yes of
course My Lord,” said Daniel, getting to his feet, “I didn’t think
you’d recognised who I was.”

“You have the
look of your father about you,” answered Paul in a kind voice as he
drew him away.

* * * * *

When Daniel
returned he looked upset and his eyes were red.

“My father is
dead,” he muttered to Thalia and ignoring her outstretched hand he
went to his bedroll. He got into it, lay down and turned over, his
mind in a whirl about what Paul Hallam had just told him. He was
now Kellen Daniel Ross, not Kellen-Heir Daniel Ross. Everything was
now different. He had a title, responsibilities.

What am I
going to do now?
he thought miserably into his pillow.
Queen
Antoinette will be expecting me at Court to swear allegiance. Duke
Paul expects that I will accompany him there when he goes but I
don’t want to go. I want to go with her. Lai’s wings, what am I
going to do?

* * * * *

-59-

THE FAVOURITE
MANOR HOUSE OF THE DUKE OF HALLAM - DUCHY OF HALLAM - KINGDOM OF
MURDOCH

“I’ve called
you all together for a reason,” announced Paul later that day, “a
reason and an admission. Settle down everyone and I shall
explain.”

There were
rustles as the visitors to Paul’s solar settled down.

“When I was a
young man,” Paul began, “not long before my stepfather was killed,
I made a visit to the northern continent. You’ll remember
Robert?”

“I was
there
,” smiled his old friend.

“So you were,
I’d forgotten that. Anyway, we were in the north for some months.
We went to some of the more westerly islands in the Great Eastern
Sea, Argyll, Vadath, we even ventured a small way inside the
Rtathlians of the Lind. In Vadath,” he smiled, “that is where my
admission stems from.”

“What is it
Father?” asked the eager Robain.

“Have any of
you, apart from Robert, Robain and Liam here heard of the
Avuzdel?”

All but the
three shook their heads. Robert Crawford was nodding to himself, a
smile on his lips.

Paul explained
what the Avuzdel was and continued, “I made a promise that day, a
promise I’ve kept all this time. It’s been difficult, I am also one
of our Queen’s most loyal and devoted subjects bound by duty and
oath to her and to my people. But I have over the years also aided
the Avuzdel in their quest to maintain peace in our world. I will
continue to do this, on their behalf, for what remains of my
days.”

There was rapt
attention from all the listeners, who sat, not making a single
sound.

“Now to the
reason for this meeting. I wonder if any of you have noticed some
groups of strangers passing through the manor in the last few
tendays?”

“The traders?”
ventured his daughter Jill, who was as her father well knew, a
young damsel of sixteen famed for seeing far more than was good for
her.

“Among
others.”

They looked at
each other. Liam shook his head.

“No? None apart
from my Jill here? Well, no matter. These groups are at present
camped some miles from here, beside an abandoned mine, remember the
cave-in Liam? They are there because that is the place from where
they will leave. Who are they? They are our country’s Avuzdel and
their families who have chosen another life, in another place.”