Heart Fortune (Celta) (28 page)

Twenty-nine

T
he door slammed open, and Jace, legs stretched out and staring at the
window at the far end of the hallway, came to his feet. But the running woman wasn’t Glyssa, but her sister. He held out his hand to her. “Can I help?” dropped from his mouth before he could stop it.

“
You!
” she spat at him, then hurried down the hall. “No, no, no!”

He carefully set the book he’d been looking at aside. The meeting had to be over. And if Glyssa’s older sister looked like that, his lady must have won the skirmish.

D’Licorice and T’Licorice exited next, his arm around her waist, very unprofessionally. “We will deal with our children, Rhiza.”

“But she wants to return to the wilderness . . .” D’Licorice nearly wailed. “Why can’t Glyssa be happy here? And what was Enata
thinking
?”

T’Licorice nodded at Jace. “Bayrum will take care of Glyssa.”

“Maybe now she’s a FirstLevel PublicLibrarian, she’ll stay?” whispered D’Licorice, not glancing at Jace.

“No, dear,” T’Licorice’s voice was soft. They turned down the hallway, too, in the same direction Enata had gone.

Jace took three paces to the door and opened it. Glyssa was leaning against a big wooden table, looking dazed. She held out her arms to Jace and he gathered her into his arms. Her voice was muffled as she spoke. “Enata exploded the whole meeting. She forced everyone to decide whether I was ready to be a FirstLevel Librarian or not.”

His heart jumped in his chest. “Are you staying here?”

She blinked. “No.” Inhaled. “No!” Then she tilted up her head and gave him an amazing kiss.

A quiet hum and a vibration rubbed against Jace’s thigh, making him flinch. Glyssa’s expression went blank for a minute, then she said, “My scry pebble.” She frowned, snapped in disapproval, “Who would be scrying me when they know I would be in a meeting?” She fished in her sleeve and pulled out the pretty marble, sighed. “Laev T’Hawthorn. He’s leaving a message.” She slid her thumb over the pebble and a full-sized Laev holo jumped into the room.

“. . . and I have news of the cook, Myrtus Stopper.” He winked at Glyssa. “Greetyou, FirstLevel Librarian!”

“You know already?” she asked.

“Your surprise leaked to Camellia and Tiana. Camellia told me.” He nearly smirked. “Camellia is baking a cake, I think.”

“Oh.”

“News about Myrtus Stopper?” Jace asked.

“Yes, I’m going to visit a business acquaintance and thought Glyssa . . . or you, would like to come?”

“How do you know of Myrtus Stopper?”

Laev raised his brows. “The Elecampanes asked Straif T’Blackthorn to track him, but when Straif found the money trail, he called me in to—ah—deal with a low-level entrepreneur.” Laev smiled. “Because I am competent with finances.” Then his expression turned serious. “Every one of us in the FirstFamilies takes the theft and sale of colonial artifacts seriously.” Laev’s eyes gleamed. “Want to come? This could be fun.”

Glyssa shook her head. “I need to talk to my sister. She’s hurting emotionally.”

Both Jace and Laev flinched. “Good luck,” Laev said heartily.

“I could join you, Laev,” Jace said.

“Excellent. I’ll send a hired glider for you. It will be outside the PublicLibrary shortly. Later.” He signed off.

“You’re sure you don’t want to come?” Jace asked.

“Something’s wrong with my sister,” Glyssa said. “I need to help her.”

“She hasn’t been kind to you,” Jace said. Remembered what T’Licorice revealed to him, and as much as he didn’t want to bring up the subject, said, “She doesn’t have a HeartMate?”

“No. Not this lifeti—Oh!” Glyssa’s frown deepened. “Our bond . . . yes, that
is
it. She’s envious.” Glyssa kissed his jaw, moved in to hold him again, and then dropped her arms. “You go find out about Myrtus.” She turned away.

“What’s down that hall?” Jace asked.

“The teleportation room.”

“Oh.”

Glyssa kissed him again and smiled. “My parents are taking a little break, then will return here. My sister is off for the rest of the day. I’ll see you in a while.”

“Yes.”

And she was striding down the corridor. Jace thought about teleportation. Flinched again at the memory of his father’s death. The amount of time he was thinking about that lately . . . maybe he’d develop some sort of callus over the pain. Instead of denying the pain, he accepted it and moved on with his thought.

After his Second Passage, he’d done a little teleporting. But the skill was mostly related to light, knowing the light of the place you were ’porting to, and he didn’t stay very long in one spot. Might be interesting to study the guest suite and try a couple of times.

Glyssa opened a door, waved back at him, then went through it and he headed out of the library.

* * *

T
he meeting with Laev T’Hawthorn’s contact was short and boring,
but better than being with Glyssa and her sister.

Jace enjoyed the glider trip through Druida, recognized the area where they were meeting—a lower class neighborhood—if not the man.

Who turned out to be a guy who dealt in stolen goods and blackmarket artifacts. He’d genially admitted to selling a lot of subsistence sticks as genuine
Lugh’s Spear
objects, which they were, since Jace studied the one he had left and confirmed it.

The man appeared pained at Laev’s veiled threats, but refused to give up his client list, stoutly stating that he expected an honorable FirstFamily Lord such as Laev wouldn’t punish him just for doing his job—and well. Hinted himself that he might be helpful in the future . . . if he wasn’t arrested for theft. After all,
he
hadn’t known the sticks were stolen when he’d sold them.

One extremely important fact Jace and T’Hawthorn did learn, and that was Myrtus had insisted to the fence that he hadn’t been the one who’d set the explosion. He’d just taken advantage of having all the subsistence sticks. The temptation had been too much for him. The low-level entrepreneur had stated virtuously that he wouldn’t have dealt with a man who’d hurt anyone.

As for Myrtus Stopper, he had acquired a fortune, bought some gems, and set out to the south with a merchant caravan. Lucky man.

Then Laev had consulted with T’Blackthorn and the Elecampanes regarding the thefts and they agreed the issue was a camp matter and that the Holly guards would investigate. The first small box stolen had not turned up.

Jace accompanied Laev to his home and one of T’Hawthorn Residence’s workshops. He didn’t
quite
make a deal with Laev to handle his leather goods. Despite everything, he didn’t want to make a business of practicing a private joy.

Laev had shrugged, then scried to set Jace up with trial memberships at various clubs, a social one or two, and The Green Knight Fencing and Fighting Salon.

Then Jace and the Fams—Zem, who’d flown in, and Lepid, who’d teleported there—got to tour the castle Residence and the seaside estate of a FirstFamily GreatLord.

* * *

G
lyssa mulled over her words and made some hot cocoa with white
mousse to take up to her sister.

She knocked on Enata’s door, stood as her sister checked mentally who was there, heard the refusal in Enata’s mind before she voiced it.

“I have hot cocoa, with white mousse and cocoa sprinkles just as you like!” Glyssa called.

Curiosity flowed from Enata through their bond and she opened the door to her sitting room, which appeared to have been recently redecorated.

“Nice,” she said.

Enata shrugged. “It had been more than a decade since I’d changed my rooms.”

Glyssa nodded.

“Where did you get the cocoa? It’s not accessible from any of the regular no-times until after Halloween and Samhain, the new year.”

“I took it from the ritual no-time.”

Enata’s eyes bugged a little.

“That’s not a good look for you,” Glyssa admonished, handed her sister the drink, pushed open the door, and went to a new wing chair of deep teal furrabeast leather. “I’ve learned that enjoying the moment is important. The hot cocoa drink option in the ritual no-time was completely full. So we should use some.”

“Not like it will go bad,” Enata said, then, “What do you want?”

Glyssa lifted her brows and Enata rolled her eyes and sighed. “Sorry for the rudeness,” she said, sounding anything but.

“I have a plan.”

“Of course you do.” Enata settled in a comfortchair that conformed to her shape, excellent for reading or watching vizes.

Sipping a little of her own cocoa, Glyssa said, “I think we should buy an appointment for you with the matchmaker, Saille T’Willow.”

Enata gasped. “Such expense.”

“You’re worth it. And you’re the only one without a HeartMate this generation,” Glyssa tried for matter-of-fact. “You deserve that from the rest of us.”

A mixture of feelings crossed Enata’s face. She swallowed. “You think?”

“Yes, I do, and I can make a good case to our parents.”

“The expense!”

“Gilt is not as important as happiness,” Glyssa said. “We all know that.”

“Ye-es.”

“And it isn’t as if the return won’t be worth it. The GreatLord will find you a husband, a partner, a helpmeet.” Stupid of Glyssa to think that so far her own HeartMate wasn’t quite at those points. “You’ll be happier, your work will show that. We aren’t meant to live alone.”

The small silence was only punctuated by tiny sipping noises. “You believe that,” Enata said.

“Yes, I do.”

“It’s easier to believe, I think, if you have a HeartMate.”

“Perhaps. And I think we need to put it in the Family charter held by the Licorice ResidenceLibrary that all individuals without HeartMates will be allowed an appointment with the T’Willow or D’Willow matchmaker, if they so choose.”

Enata was shaking her head. “It costs a lot.”

“Stop harping on that!” Glyssa said. “What is gilt for except to make us happy?”

“To further our research? To ensure the Family never is poor.”

Glyssa waved the comment aside. “I insist. T’Willow has a ninety-eight percentile success rate with matching people.”

“You insist?”

“Yes. And if necessary I will pay for your appointment myself!” Not that she really could without selling something.

More wide-eyed surprise from her sister. Glyssa leaned forward. “Just think, some man out there for whom you are perfect is as alone and as lonely as you.”

Enata smiled, looking years younger. “It’s . . . intriguing. By the way, there’s quite a lot of alcohol in this drink.”

“Yes, there is.”

“I think you should take some to Mother and Father,” Enata said. She set the tall mug on a coaster on the table and had her fat comfortchair tilting back, the panel for leg support unfolding, then lifting. “I would like to see T’Willow. T’Willow! For a husband for me!” She giggled. “How exciting.”

“Yes.”

“I do love you, you know, Glyssa.”

“I know. I love you, too.”

“Even when you’re being a flitch,” Enata said.

“Yes,” Glyssa answered. “I love you even when you’re being a flitch.”

Convincing her parents was a little tougher for Glyssa but not as difficult as she expected. Enata’s behavior that afternoon that had resulted in Glyssa being elevated to FirstLevel Librarian before she was quite ready for the honor had been a revelation for all of them.

Her mother and father had consulted the ResidenceLibrary for figures regarding appointments with matchmakers for Licorices without HeartMates and had come up with equally revealing numbers. Only one or two single Licorices had asked for appointments, and they had been given them, and mates found. Most unwed Licorices shriveled into bitter people—the Residence’s words.

That had shaken all three of them, too.

“We certainly have the gilt to provide Enata with this boon,” Glyssa’s father said.

“True,” D’Licorice said, frowning. “But I am sure that T’Willow is booked.”

“We’ve done a few favors for him and his,” T’Licorice said.

“We will call him tomorrow,” Glyssa’s mother said.

“Meanwhile, why don’t you and I retire to the HouseHeart to consider this matter more deeply?” her father suggested.

Her mother smiled. “That sounds wonderful. We’ll see you tomorrow, Glyssa.”

“Yes, Mother.” Glyssa hugged her mother tightly and kissed her cheek. “We’re doing the right thing.”

“I think so, too,” said Glyssa’s father, embracing her. “Good idea, Glyssa.”

“Thank you.”

“Later,” he said, then he whistled as he and her mother walked hand in hand to the tiny, secret elevator room that would take them to the HouseHeart.

Glyssa was left alone by herself in the mainspace. She hoped Jace was having a good time by himself, but for her own self, she wasn’t enjoying her solitude. She was lonely.

Then he and Lepid and Zem arrived and she prepared them the evening meal and they worked as they had in the camp. Later she and Jace satisfied each other, both on her bedsponge and the one in the guest suite.

Now that she was a FirstLevel Librarian and her fieldwork approved, Jace wanted to return immediately to camp.