Lady Lure (20 page)

“No, Lady Kalina, you did not make a mistake.
Elyr was betrothed to someone else first,” Thori said, as if she
were eager to tell someone about her unusual marital arrangements.
“The silly girl stole a spaceship and ran away. Can you believe
anyone would do something like that? It caused such a scandal!”

Plainly, Thori meant that she could not
understand how anyone could run away from Elyr, but Kalina, who
knew how women were treated on Regula, found herself wondering
instead how a girl kept in virtual ignorance of the world outside
the home of her betrothed could have learned to pilot a spaceship.
Kalina decided it might be enlightening to learn more about Elyr’s
former wife-to-be.

“I am sorry,” Kalina said to Elyr. “I owe you
another apology. When I meet young people, I am so interested in
learning about their lives that my questions sometimes overstep the
boundaries of good manners. I did not mean to intrude into your
personal unhappiness.”

“I am not unhappy.” Elyr’s words were just a
bit slurred. “Perri was an irritating, stupid girl. I am well rid
of her. Thori is much more to my liking.”

“You may be sure, dearest Elyr,” Thori said
blushing again at her husband’s compliment, “that I will never run
away as Perri did.”

“I am sure you will not.” Kalina smiled at
her. “You appear to be a sensible girl, so I am certain that, when
differences arise between you and your husband, you will find a way
to settle those little arguments to your mutual advantage. As a
wife of many years who loves her husband dearly, I can tell you
that husbands and wives do quarrel on occasion.”

“They do?” Thori’s eyes went wide with
surprise as she contemplated the novel idea.

“It is the sign of a healthy relationship. I
never hesitate to speak my mind to my husband.”

“Oh.” Thori appeared to be thinking about
that.

“My wife will never disagree with me.” Elyr
spoke with all the assurance of a Regulan male.

Thori looked from her husband to Kalina and
back to Elyr again. Kalina was fully aware that she had just
planted the seed of future dissent. She hoped Thori would be strong
enough to nourish its growth.·

“Ah, Lady Kalina,” the Chief Hierarch
murmured, returning his attention from his other dinner partner to
her, “I fear you have been subjected to my daughter’s overexcited
version of the story of her marriage.”

“Who is the dreadful girl who stole a
spaceship?” Kalina asked.

“Oh, dear,” the Chief Hierarch murmured,
looking sorrowful. “I had originally planned to tell you about the
incident after the pleasantries of the banquet were over. I have no
wish to spoil this delightful repast for the sake of so slight an
indicator.”

“What indicator? Has this thief, Perri,
anything to do with my son’s disappearance?” Kalina raised her
voice by half a notch and allowed a threatening note to creep into
it. “Tell me now, Chief Hierarch.”

“You have explained to us that your son was
abducted aboard a small ship which you believe was crewed by
pirates,” the Chief Hierarch said.

“Yes.” Kalina waited, barely daring to hope
that the Chief Hierarch had some news of Halvo and that he would
tell her honestly what that news was instead of engaging in a
typical Regulan intrigue.

“Perri did indeed steal a small ship,” the
Chief Hierarch said, “and several days after the date on which
Capt. Jyrit reports your son was taken, she reappeared in Regulan
space. We do not know what she intended to do next. Perhaps she
planned to return home. What we do know is that several Regulan
patrol ships approached the
Space Dragon
, promising Perri
she would not be harmed. She seemed agreeable to their escort back
to the surface of Regula. But then, suddenly, her ship exploded.
Perri was certainly killed, and dear Lady Kalina, if your son was
aboard, he must have been killed also.”

Kalina did not cry out or faint or burst into
tears. She was a well-trained diplomat in her own right, so she was
able to keep her emotions in check while under close scrutiny by
possible enemies, even when she had been dealt a blow that would
break any mother’s heart. Furthermore, though she recognized the
name of the spaceship upon which Halvo had been abducted, she did
not entirely believe what the Chief Hierarch had just told her. Nor
could she determine what his motives might be for making such a
terrible revelation at a public banquet.

Regulan intrigue,
she said to herself.
It is not true. My son is not dead. If Halvo were dead, I would
know it in my heart.

“Do you have a place where women may retire
for a few minutes to refresh themselves?” she said aloud to the
Chief Hierarch in a voice that was almost normal.

“Of course.” He was all sorrowful sympathy.
“Lady Kalina, shall I end the banquet in deference to your
grief?”

“Certainly not. I will return shortly.”
Kalina rose.

“Cynri will show you the way,” the Chief
Hierarch said, motioning to a gray-haired woman who sat several
places down the table.

The ladies’ retiring room was small and
windowless. It might have provided the few minutes of privacy that
Kalina needed, but Cynri persisted in hovering around her on the
excuse of helping until Kalina was sorely tempted to be rude to the
woman. But then Cynri’s fluttering, inane remarks took an
interesting turn.

“Lady Kalina, we all know why you have come
to Regula,” Cynri said. “I, more than most people, hope you will
find your son.”

“Thank you for your kind wishes, Cynri.”

“I hope you also find that appalling girl,
Perri, and see to it that she is severely punished for what she has
done to my son.”

Kalina had been smoothing down her wiry
bronze hair so she could settle her gold circlet more securely upon
her brow. At the other woman’s words she paused, her fingers still
on her hair and circlet, and stared at Cynri in the mirror. The
woman’s eyes did not meet hers, but shifted here and there. A
warning sounded in Kalina’s mind.

“Would your son be Elyr?” Kalina asked,
feeling very much as if she were wading through a bog filled with
quicksand.

“Isn’t he handsome? And such a good son,
always so thoughtful of me.” It was the kind of thing a loving
mother would say, but to Kalina it sounded overdone.

“I am happy to hear it. Cynri, the Chief
Hierarch has told me that this Perri creature died when her ship
exploded. Why do you think I will find her alive?”

“She’s not dead. Not that one!” Cynri drew
nearer. “We can understand each other, can’t we, Lady Kalina? Both
the mothers of sons, both devoted to our boys, both willing to do
anything to protect our darlings. As you fear for your son’s life,
so do I fear for Elyr’s. Lady Kalina, may I speak freely?”

“Of course,” Kalina said. “Whatever you say
will remain strictly between us.”

“I never liked that girl.”

“You mean Perri?” Kalina was beginning to
wonder if Cynri’s wits were scrambled. Cynri’s slightly disheveled
appearance and her furtive manner suggested that might be the case.
Or was this conversation a clever ploy of some kind? One could
never be sure with the Regulans.

“Of course I mean Perri!” Cynri said. “For
thirteen years, day and night, the impertinent creature never
stopped asking questions. It was exhausting.”

“I am sure it was,” Kalina said.

“Then, on that last day, she went to see the
Chief Hierarch.”

“Did she? Do you know why?” Kalina asked.

“Why else but to tell him what she had
learned from asking all those questions? And then she ran off to be
a pirate. The thing is” – Cynri drew closer still to Kalina – ”the
men are always plotting together.”

“So I have heard,” Kalina said.

“And they never tell the women what they are
planning, which makes it difficult to arrange mealtimes or
household chores. If I were in charge, things would be
different.”

“I am sure that is true.” Kalina tried to
sound sympathetic. “Cynri, to return to the subject of Perri -” She
paused, hoping Cynri would say something useful.

“I’m afraid the Chief Hierarch and Perri
together have drawn my poor, innocent boy into some terrible
scheme,” Cynri whispered. “I know Elyr has been frightened in
recent days.”

“Really?” By now, Kalina did not know what to
believe about the woman. She could not decide whether Cynri was mad
or extremely clever and devious.

“And then there are the pirates.”

“Pirates,” Kalina said.

“Of course. There are always pirates,” Cynri
said.

“I wasn’t aware that there were any in this
particular sector of the galaxy,” Kalina said.

“We can’t get rid of them.” Her pale
watery-green eyes darting here and there but never resting on
Kalina’s face, Cynri added, “Pirates are dangerous.”

“They certainly are,” Kalina agreed. She
began to edge toward the door. Their conversation was going nowhere
and Cynri was not making much sense. Kalina was sure she could
learn more by talking with the Chief Hierarch.

“I don’t want my boy to come to harm,” Cynri
said, sounding desperate. “And you want your boy safe, too. So if
you do find Perri, you know what to do.”

“If I find her, I will know exactly what to
do.” Kalina paused at the door.

“And don’t believe a word she says. She’s a
liar, too.” With that, Cynri pushed past Kalina and disappeared in
the direction of the banquet hall.

* * * * *

“At least we now know the official Regulan
line on the matter,” Jyrit said. He, Kalina, and Armaments Officer
Dysia were once again in the captain’s reception room aboard the
Krontar.
The other members of their party who had gone to
the planet’s surface had made their reports before being dismissed
for the night. “As we have just heard, all of our people were told
basically the same story. This Perri girl stole the
Space
Dragon.
How she did it on this planet where females are kept
away from all but the simplest machinery, we do not know. Then, for
a reason we are not clear about yet, Perri used the ship to kidnap
Halvo. As she returned to Regula, the
Space Dragon
suddenly
exploded, killing both of them. End of story, according to the
Regulans, and all of Regula regrets the incident. I need not point
out the obvious inconsistencies in this tale. Have either of you
anything to add?” Jyrit looked from Kalina to Dysia.

“I met the Chief Hierarch’s new son-in-law.
And the young man’s mother.” Quickly, Kalina reported both
conversations. “Cynri appears to believe that Perri and the Chief
Hierarch were working together, that Perri was spying on Elyr’s
household, and that the girl has somehow drawn Elyr into a major
intrigue that puts his life in danger.”

“Do you believe this?” Jyrit asked.

“I am not sure how much of what she said was
true.” Kalina shook her head. “I do believe that Cynri was
deliberately letting bits of information slip out—or perhaps it was
misinformation. Whether she was told to do so or did it on her own
in hope of protecting her son, I could not discern.

“I can understand Cynri’s desire to protect
Elyr. I would do the same for either of my sons. Jyrit, after today
I am more certain than ever that Halvo is not dead. But how do we
get to the truth of this particular Regulan intrigue? More
importantly, how do we find Halvo?”

“I may have information that will help.”
Dysia leaned forward in her chair, her face alight with interest
and excitement. “As that party on Regula was breaking up this
evening, I overheard a conversation. Now, I do not discount the
possibility that I was meant to hear what I did, but still, what I
learned may be useful.

“The Chief Hierarch was talking to Elyr,”
Dysia said. “Elyr appeared to be openly upset and acted as if he
had been drinking heavily. There was a lot of repetition in their
conversation but this was the gist of it. The Chief Hierarch told
Elyr that he shouldn’t worry, that there was no trace of the
Space Dragon
left for anyone to find, and that if the
Regulans, knowing the
Space Dragon’s
last position exactly,
could not locate evidence, then the Jugarian captain will never
discover a clue to its apparent destruction.”

“
Apparent
destruction?” Jyrit
said.

“Those were his exact words, sir.” Dysia
grinned with a touch of mischief in her manner. “Also, it just so
happens that during that interminable banquet I was seated next to
a knowledgeable fellow who is a high-ranking officer in the Regulan
police. I will admit I fluttered my eyelashes at him a few times
and perhaps gave him the wrong impression about my degree of
interest in him. But I did learn the approximate location of the
Space Dragon
at the time when it supposedly blew up.

“As soon as we returned to the
Krontar,”
Dysia said, “I ordered a thorough scan of that
area. Even at this late date there ought to be lingering traces of
the explosion that destroyed the
Space Dragon.
Our scan
discovered nothing except a few molecules that indicate the use of
Starthruster.”

“Good work, Dysia.” Jyrit made a hand motion
that, on his native Jugaria, signified hearty approval.

“You are suggesting that the
Space
Dragon
escaped from Regulan space,” Kalina said.

“Only that they may have escaped,” Dysia
said. “I am compelled to point out that the Starthruster traces we
found could have come from a Regulan ship using the device while on
legitimate business. All we know for certain is that the
Space
Dragon
did not explode where and as the Regulans claim.”

“It is possible,” Kalina said, “that
everything we think we have learned today is false, that the Chief
Hierarch meant for us to uncover these clues. I am particularly
disturbed by Cynri’s mention of pirates.”