Magic Casement (14 page)

Inos
had been preparing a small smile of ladylike modesty; taken unaware, she
stammered. Aunt Kade opened her mouth to protest, then closed it.

“To
come so close to perfection, “ Andor said, putting his head on one side
and pretending to study her, “and then fail to achieve it is a sin
against all art. It offends one’s sensibilities. A much lesser beauty
that confined itself within its own limitations would not impart this aura of
failure, of excessive ambition unrealized. “

He
leaned back to consider her further. “What is required, I think... yes...
what is really needed... is a touch of fire. Then we should see divinity!”

He
held out a hand with Inos’ brooch on the palm.

Speechless
with astonishment, Inos examined the brooch. Aunt Kade expressed pleasure and
demanded an explanation.

“A
most curious tale!” Andor said solemnly. “Just after dawn this
morning I was putting a hunter over a few jumps, over on the far side of the
park there, when I saw a bird fly overhead with something shiny...”

Had
he told it with a straight face, Inos thought, she would certainly have
believed him, but every time Aunt Kade’s eyes left his face he gleamed a
secret grin at Inos and she found she was sliding closer and closer to an
attack of giggles.

“I
believe you can even see the very tree in which the jackdaws have their nest,”
he said, rising and peering over the lake. “Yes, there.” He pointed
and of course Inos had to rise to see where he was pointing. “No, farther
to the left... “ He led her around one of the willows.

In
a few moments, still trying to see the tree with the jackdaws’ nest, Inos
found that she was out of earshot of Aunt Kade. Still pointing, Andor said, “Doesn’t
this place make you want to puke?”

“Oh,
yes!” Inos peered along his arm for the benefit of the many disapproving
watchers and said, “Raving mad. Is there really a jackdaw tree?”

“Gods,
no! I found your brooch on the rug last night. The pin was loose. I had it
repaired. Do you like riding?” He was looking back and forth from her to
the horizon and she was nodding as if he were pointing out landmarks; leading
her eye to the mythical jackdaws. “Fishing? Boating? Archery? Right!”

He
led her back to her chair and gave Aunt Kade a disapproving frown. “Your
niece tells me she has not yet seen the water caves! “ What water caves?

“Well,
we have only recently arrived at Kinvale,” Aunt Kade protested.

“But
this is the best time of year to see them, when the river is low. Don’t
you agree?”

He
skillfully cornered Aunt Kade into conceding that she had visited the water
caves in her youth. Thus she could hardly object when Andor announced that he
would organize a party of some young ladies and gentlemen to view the water
caves. He went on to discuss the annual salmon run, when the rivers were-red
from bank to bank with fish as large as sheep, to grape tramping in the
vineyards, to the giant sequoias, to treasure hunts, to royal tennis, to
hayrides and waterfalls and boating expeditions with picnic lunches, to bathing
in the natural hot springs, to falconry and fly fishing, to a dozen other
entrancing possibilities. There was no suggestion that any of these ventures
would involve less than a dozen people and he tossed out the names of very
respectable companions, evidently being on terms of friendship with almost
everyone at Kinvale and most of the surrounding countryside as well. It was a
staggering presentation and it left Inos’ head whirling.

“Of
course my niece is kept very busy with her music lessons.”

“But
my time here is so short!” Andor lamented. “Surely a week or two’s
delay in her musical career would not prejudice her future irreparably? The
water caves will take a couple of days’ preparation, but tomorrow...”

Eventually
some of the other ladies decided that he had been monopolized too long, and he
was delicately removed to make conversation elsewhere. Inos sighed deeply and
smiled down at her neglected embroidery.

Suddenly
Kinvale no longer seemed quite so much of a prison. If that stunning young
Andor man was going to deliver on a fraction of what he had promised in the way
of entertainment, Kinvale was going to be fun. There had been no one in
Krasnegar who could even approach him for charm. Or looks. There was an
excitement about him that Inos had never met, or even known existed.

She
realized that the silence was becoming too expressive.

“What
a... pleasant person.”

“It
is nice to see something well done,” Aunt Kade agreed complacently.

Inos
wondered what exactly that remark implied. “Perhaps something is going to
happen at last! “

“Perhaps,
dear.” Aunt Kade held her knitting away from her again and squinted at
it. “But it’s my job to see that it doesn’t.”

The
moon was a silver boat floating above the sunset as a sodden punt drifted down
the river, bearing Inos and Andor... and some others.

“You
did not scream, Highness.” Andor’s eyes twinkled like the first
stars wakening in the east. “All the other ladies screamed. “

“Did
you wish me to scream, sir?”

“Of
course! We brutish men gain savage pleasure from hearing you ladies scream. “

“I
must ask my aunt to arrange for me to take screaming lessons. “

“Do
so! And what did you think of the water caves?”

“They
are ugly and dull. They cannot be viewed without getting soaked to the skin. “

“This
is true, ma’am.”

“Which
is why my aunt declined to come.”

“And
several other aunts. “

“Do
you think we can go back there-often?”

He
laughed, leaning on his pole, bright eyes and white teeth gleaming in the dusk.
“I think the water caves only work once. But there are other
possibilities.”

The
moon was a giant pumpkin, flooding the midnight world with golden light, as the
revelers in the hay wain returned from the berry pickers’ ball...

The
moon was a thin grin in the east as the astonished occupants of Kinvale were
awakened at dawn by the strains of a small private orchestra performing on the
terrace below their windows, being conducted by Sir Andor in a serenade to
honor the birthday of Princess Inosolan...

There
was no moon as Andor led Inos out on the balcony. The heavy drapes closed
behind them, muffling the tuneful sounds of the ballroom. Stars had been poured
liberally across the deep black sky, but there was a taste of fall in the wind,
and the air was cool on her flushed skin.

Very
gently Andor slid his hands around her and turned her to face him. At once her
heart began dancing far faster than all those prancing couples they had just
left.

“Inos...”

He
paused. She wondered if he would dare try to kiss her, and how she would react.
It was rare indeed for the two of them to have a moment alone, but she sensed
that this was for more than idle chat. How long until Aunt Kade tracked them
down? Then she noticed the concern in his face.

“Andor?”

He
seemed to be having trouble finding words, and that was rare indeed for him.
Suddenly he broke away from her and pounded his fist on the balustrade. “I
should never have come here! “

“What?
But-”

“Inos...
your Highness, I... I told you the first time we met! I said then that I could
not stay long. A month, I said. I have been here five weeks. “

How
her heart stopped dancing. Indeed it seemed to stop altogether. “You are
leaving?”

He
spread his palms on the marble and stared out over the dark-shrouded trees. “I
must! It tears me to ribbons, but I must leave. I have given my word. “

Happiness
cracked, shattered, crashed down in a million shards like breaking ice. And a
brainless little princess could find nothing better to say than: “When?”

“Now!
At once! My horse is to be ready at midnight. I have stolen every minute I
could. I must be in Shaldokan by dawn.” Inos took several deep breaths
and forced herself to consider the matter rationally. She was only a child,
after all. Andor was a man of the world-charming, learned, cultivated,
experienced...

“There
is an elderly friend... “ Andor paused.

“Please!
The details do not concern me. “

It
had been inevitable. She should have known. She had known, but she had not
admitted it to herself. While visiting friends, as the gentry of the Impire so
often did, Andor had taken pity on a lonely youngster. He had amused himself by
passing the time in her company. It had been light entertainment for him. He
probably did not even realize that for her it had been life itself, that he had
saved her sanity in the boredom of Kinvale, that he had shown her what life was
really for, that if she lived to be a hundred--

“Yes,
they do concern you. To this man I owe a great debt. He is frail and he needs
make a long journey. I promised to escort him, and the time is come. “

After
all, Inos should be grateful that she had enjoyed five whole weeks of such a
man’s company. The fact that the rest of her life was going to be a
barren desert...

Andor
turned to her again. He took her in his arms again. “But I swear to you,
my darling, that I will return! I vow by the Powers and by the Gods that only
my solemn word already pledged would drag me from you now. “ Her heart
went mad. Darling?

“I
have asked you for no commitment.” His voice was taut, his manner
intense. “And I ask none now. I beg you only to believe two things-that
nothing in this world but honor itself would drag me from your side, and that
nothing save death will keep me from returning as fast as I am able.”

“Andor...
Oh, Andor! There is danger?”

He
laughed, as if to dismiss such childish fancies. He paused. Then he sighed. “Yes!
There may be danger. I could deceive most women, but you would see through my
lies if I denied it. And I owe you the truth. If this task were
something--anything at all!--that I could delegate to others, my love, then I
would never hesitate. But there is some risk.”

Oh,
Andor! Danger? And had he said LOVE?

“I
will return! And when I do return, my most adored princess, then I shall kneel
and beg you to accept my service-” He pulled her against him, and the
whole world seemed to whirl away into nothing. There was only Andor, Andor’s
so-powerful arms clutching her tighter than she had ever been held, Andor’s
superb male body hard against her, as she had often dreamed that one day it
might be, Andor looking down at her with starlight shining in his big dark
eyes-eyes that should be full of joy, and instead were haunted by the agony of
parting.

“My
service,” he repeated softly. “My life. I came to Kinvale to while
away a few days until I must go to aid an old family friend. You lost a brooch;
I returned it and lost my heart. Even that first day, I knew. You are like no
other woman I have ever met. If you want a knight to slay your foes, then my
arm is at your command, and my blood is yours to spill. If you want a stableboy,
then I will be your stableboy. Kennelmaster, poet, boatman... I will be for you
whatsoever you want, your Most Wonderful Highness. Forever. And if, once in a
while, you might condescend to smile in my direction, then that would be all
the recompense my soul would ever seek. “

She
could not answer. It was unbelievable. She had not dared to hope. She raised
her lips to be kissed--

Light
flamed across the balcony as Aunt Kade pushed aside the drape. “Inos, my
dear, they need another couple for the quadrille. “

Summer
aged gracefully.

As
the first blush of fall was tastefully tinting the leaves at Kinvale, the
legions of winter marched in triumph into the hills of Krasnegar. Like a
defeated army in retreat, the workers fell back on the shore cottages, there to
regroup and make a last defiant stand. The hilltops were white, the skies dark,
and even the salt tide pools showed ice in the mornings. Wild-winged geese,
wiser than men, fled southward overhead, honking sad warnings.

Now
the nights were as long as the days. The causeway could be crossed in darkness
only if the moon was full and the clouds scanty, but one tide in two did not
give enough work time to clear the backlog. Every year these last two weeks
were critical. In some years the moon was helpful; in others it was not. The
wagons splashed out onto the causeway as soon as the tide ebbed, and the last
crossing was made in the teeth of the flow. Often on the island side they did
not waste time climbing to the castle-urgent hands threw out their loads on the
dock and sent them back for another. Men and horses worked and rested, the
wagons themselves rolled unceasingly, and when the tide was high they brought
their cargoes to the landward end of the causeway and went back at once for
more. The piles were still growing larger instead of smaller.

To
the ephemeral settlement by the shore cottages came the herdboy Rap, driving in
the charges the herders had guarded jealously all summer so that they might die
now. He arrived just after sunset. Flakes of snow drifted aimless in the air-a
warning from the God of Winter, but not yet a serious assault.

Rap
fastened the corral gate, threw his tack on the heap, and headed off through
the gathering darkness in search of food. He was bone-weary and grubby inside
his furs, and he had a gratifying stubble on his lip, but his most urgent
problem was hunger. The shingle beach was an inferno of controlled confusion.
Here the excess cattle were being slaughtered and butchered, their flesh salted
into casks, bones boiled, hides cleaned and bundled for later curing. Blood and
entrails were being collected and made into sausage. It was only here and at
this time that fresh meat was freely available to the common folk of Krasnegar,
and his mouth watered at the thought of it.