Homage and Honour (42 page)

Knowing Molly
of old and being careful not to confuse her, the Housekeeper asked
another question. “What clothes did you put away?”

“Everything,”
Molly answered proudly, “just as you taught me.”

“Very good,”
the older woman encouraged, “now look at them all again. Tell me
what dress is not here.”

Molly looked
and after much concentrated effort she faced her superior
again.

“All of them
are here Housekeeper.”

“Look harder
girl, she must be wearing
something
. This is important. What
is she wearing on her feet, that might tell us something?”

Molly looked
again.

“Housekeeper,
her riding boots are missing!” she exclaimed.

“Her riding
habits?”

“Still there
but she can’t have gone for a ride in only her boots and
undergarments.”

The Housekeeper
agreed, however unconventional the queen’s younger daughter, she
would not have gone for a ride thus and she remembered the pony was
still in its stable.

“I’ll go and
ask the horse staff to check again, perhaps she’s taken another
mount,” announced the Seneschal.

“Stay here,”
commanded the Housekeeper to Molly as she followed him outside.

Within the
candlemark the entire palace area was being searched by the guard,
the servants and anyone else who could be dragooned into the hunt.
Speculation was rife, but the common consensus was that Ruth had
either been kidnapped or murdered, though why, no-one had any
idea.

Some thought
that Ruth had run away for the simple reason that she had been
wearing her riding boots. No kidnapper or murderer would have
waited until she had got them on before acting and so intense had
been the search that, had she been murdered, some trace would have
been found. That left kidnapping but there was no sign of a
struggle.

The fact that
Ruth had been wearing the boots led credence to the Housekeeper’s
idea that she had run off. Further investigation by that lady
revealed that a page’s livery was missing, one of the larger, plain
daytime sets that Ruth could have fitted into easily.

When she
reported this to the Seneschal he, in fact, looked more relieved
than anything else. At least, he told her, the Princess was not
dead and she would be found soon and brought back.

“How are Their
Majesties taking it?” she asked.

“Upset,
distraught.”

“You think the
distress is real?”

“I have no
doubt on that score.” He patted her on the shoulder. “The Queen is
indeed most upset, keeps talking about the death of her
daughter.”

“She thinks the
Princess is dead?”

“Her grief is
very real.”

“I don’t think
the girl is dead,” was her flat response. “I think she has run off.
She did not like the thought of marriage.”

“Then good luck
to her,” he replied. The Seneschal did not like the heir to the
Duchy of Brentwood. “We will say nothing of this. Answer any
questions made to you with care and don’t volunteer any
information. I liked young Ruth, however unprincess-like she was.
She was not happy here, why add to her problems and bring her back?
Let her have the life she has chosen if she has, as I suspect, run
away.”

Housekeeper
Martina was fair affronted but he persuaded her to do as he
asked.

Thus it was
that those searching for the missing Princess continued to think
that she had, in all likelihood, been kidnapped although why she
had been wearing her riding boots no-one could fathom. It wasn’t
until many years later that the Seneschal learnt the truth of the
matter and was glad (privately) that he had made his decision.

When Captain
Philip Ross failed to return from his errand the following day, the
searchers put two and two together and made four of it. It was
realised that Princess Ruth had in all likelihood run off with the
Lord Marshall’s son but by then it was too late to go after
them.

Where they had
gone no-one could discover. It was as if the two had disappeared
into thin air. Anne and David announced publicly their condemnation
of what they called ‘the unfortunate love affair’ and were profuse
in their apologies to Ruth’s deserted fiancé.

Tom Brentwood
was the most put out. He had now lost yet another bride.

* * * * *

Lokthed (Third Month of Winter) -
AL166

Quest (7)

The six
intrepid travellers, which included one Avuzdel male who didn’t
want to miss any of the fun, arrived at Vada late one wintry
afternoon. Tana and Tavei were full of trepidation about what Susa
Lynsey and Bernei would say. They had, when all was said and done,
gone absent without leave.

“I’ll be
Orderly Officer for umpteen tendays,” she confided to Philip, “if
not months. We’ll certainly be doing the most onerous and
unpleasant jobs around Vada from now on and that after the
punishment itself.”

“You have done
a great deed bringing Ruth here,” Philip tried to comfort her,
“surely your General will understand?”

“The title is
Susa,” Tana answered in a prim voice.

“I will try to
remember,” he grinned, “old habits die hard.”

Philip had
worries of his own. Despite Tana’s assurances, he was wondering how
Tana and Tavei’s superiors would react to his presence. He was
after all, or at least had been, a member of another country’s
army. He was also trying to get his head round the fact that Lind
and Human were equals here in Vadath and that it made no difference
whether one was male, female, Lind or human.

So, despite
reassurances, he wondered if he would be clapped into jail (if they
had jails here – he wasn’t sure) or merely placed under house
arrest.

With a still
ecstatic Ruth on his back, Andrei trotted at their heels.

“Any regrets?”
asked Tana.

Worries
notwithstanding, Philip could and did reply in the negative.

“You’ve just
thrown away a most promising career,” continued Tana.

“No regrets
worth mentioning,” was Philip’s categorical response.

When did I
decide not to return to the palace and continue north? When did I
begin to question my life in Murdoch? When did I decide that I was
unhappy?
Probably, he reasoned, it had been when Princess
Annette had been forced to marry the young Duke Richard Baker.

Until then
Philip had thought he was happy. As the son of an up-and-coming
General he had been cushioned from much of the unpleasantness that
was the lot of those unlucky enough to have been born lower down
the social scale. Philip was of noble blood and with it came
privilege. Like his father and grandfathers before him, the army
had been his destiny and he had embraced the life planned for him
with eagerness.

At fifteen he
had begun a spell as one of the Lord Consort David’s Gentlemen of
the Bedchamber, a year later he had joined his regiment as Ensign.
In AL162 he was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Guard and it was
then that he had become better acquainted with the royal family.
Lieutenant of the Guard and Princess had had a few poignant yet
happy months flirting with each other but both had known a marriage
was impossible.

Philip had been
present at Annette’s wedding and had returned to his regiment. It
was during this time that his disillusionment began. In AL164 he
had been promoted to Captain and appointed Captain of the Royal
Guard. His royal acquaintances had been rekindled as he took on the
role of arms-teacher to the Crown-Prince and his Companions. It was
a prestigious appointment and one designed to prepare him for high
military office, like his father. Politics were an important aspect
of senior command and these skills were not to be learned riding
border patrols, but he had not been happy.

His choice had
been made soon after Tana arrived at his quarters. He wanted to
leave for the North with her, to escape the life that was becoming
a prison. Tana’s quest and removal of Ruth from the palace had been
the excuse he was waiting for.

: This man
has given up much to come with us :
telepathed Tavei to Tana,
approval colouring his mind-tone
: you must be kind to him for
he has no-one now :

Tana
understood.

The pack or
rtath was a most important part of a Lind’s life. Their mindset was
to stay with their pack, protect their pack-mates or rtathen, the
pack lands or rtathlians and their nation. That Philip should give
this up for Tana and the North was, for Tavei, a very special and
great thing, on a par with or even beyond what he had done when he
had life-partnered Tana. Vadeln-pairing was a commitment that not
every Lind could manage. However contact with their families was,
for the Lind, maintained. Most vadeln-paired visited their home
rtathlian at least once each year. A vadeln-pairing was more of a
shift in commitments, a Lind so paired was still a member of the
pack, being in the Vada was a furthering of the commitment to
protect, extending to all humans who lived in the Northern
Continent. There was no conflict of loyalties, merely an extension
of them.

: Philip
sees the greater good :
added Tavei.

: He sees the
injustices in Murdoch and wants no part of them? :

: That is part
of it I am sure, but he is one who can see the whole picture, who
understands triumph and tragedy. He believes as we do that the
greatest danger to us all, Murdoch included, is the Larg. The Larg
want domination. They are evil I think :

: The Larg are
evil?:

: They have
been conditioned to be so :
was Tavei’s careful answer.

* * * * *

“Now that Ruth
is here, what do we do with her, she being who she is?”

“Train her,”
Weaponsmaster Rhian answered her Susa. “What else is there to
do?”

“They will
suspect she is here. They will search for her,” fretted Lynsey.
“When Beth Graham arrived, apart from a few enquiries and those in
Argyll, they did nothing. Beth is a Duke’s daughter, not a Queen’s.
We will have to hide Ruth.”

“Hide her in
plain sight,” advised Rhian, “with short hair and in cadet uniform
she will be indistinguishable from the other cadets even if they do
look here.”

“And what of
Philip Ross?”

“He stays,”
said Rhian in a firm voice, “apart from the relationship developing
between him and Tana, I don’t want to lose him. Tadei seems to
think Radnya might be interested as well.”

“Radnya?”

“I believe
Radnya and Tana’s Tavei have an understanding.”

“You think he
should remain here as a trainer?”

“Yes I do, he
has been well taught.”

Philip stood
beside Tana and watched as Tavei and Radnya communed with each
other, tails entwined and touching noses.

After a long
while both Lind raised their shaggy heads to look at Philip and
Tana, the latter looking on indulgently at their antics, pleased
that she and Tavei had returned safely so that he could complete
his suit on Radnya’s affections.

Tavei caught
Tana’s gaze and she gasped and turned to look at Philip.

That emotives
were passing between Philip and Radnya she was in no doubt.

Bemused
wonderment was plainly visible on the southerner’s face and he
staggered back and would have fallen if Tana hadn’t put out an arm
to steady him.

“You’re not
going to believe this,” he said to her.

“Oh I believe
it all right,” she said, her face breaking into a smile of
undiluted joy. “Isn’t life wonderful?”

* * * * *

“My father
would approve I think,” mused Philip Ross.

“Indeed?”
Rhian’s voice was filled with irony as she glared at the young
southerner standing beside her errant trainer.

“Weaponsmaster,
he discussed the current situation long and hard with me. He
believes that if the Larg should defeat the North, Murdoch will
fall. You might well say that by helping you to defeat the Larg I
will be serving the country of my birth.”

“Does all of
Murdoch think as you and your father do?”

“As you know
Weaponsmaster, that is not so. The Queen and Prince Consort do, my
father, and some few others.”

“So what really
made you decide to come north with Tana?”

“Primarily for
the love of her. I fell for Tana.” This admission emerged with a
blush of embarrassment. “I admired her courage, her drive. She is
so different from any other female I have met, self-assured,
confident … brave. To dress up as a boy and to infiltrate the
palace!”

“Anything else
persuade you?”

“When the Queen
arrived, my father got me an appointment as one of the Prince
Consort’s Gentlemen of the Bedchamber, I was young, but things were
rather fluid and uncertain. Some of the nobility were not happy
with Queen Anne’s succession, Duke Baker in particular. I got to
know the children.”

“Go on.”

“I was not of
high enough birth to be considered for the hand of Princess
Annette, though we both hoped and she is married now. I was unhappy
with the situation. I asked to be transferred to one of the border
regiments but the Prince Consort wanted me to stay. Then he asked
me … asked me to escort Princess Ruth to the coast. We fled the
palace. I admit that I was still dithering about what I was going
to do. I liked Tana, I knew I could love her, but it was such a big
step. I told her I was coming with her but I might still have
backed away, then, in the woods, I met my first Lind. He was …
astonishing. The ride north, well, it was tremendous riding beside
Tana and her Tavei.”

“You wanted a
Lind of your own?”

“Yes, I admit
it. Tana explained how the Lind chose their life-partners, how that
none might find me suitable, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was to
be close to them, to be permitted to talk to, live with, these
wonderful creatures, so like yet so unalike the Larg. Then here in
Vadath, one has seen in me something that makes me worthy of
her.”