Phoenix and Ashes (65 page)

But
she was not hard-hearted enough to throw them onto the state. Since they were
clearly not fit to stand trial, they were currently being cared for in an
institution for the criminally insane—comfortably, at Eleanor’s
insistence and expense.

Reggie’s
knee was shattered past all hope. Eleanor had met Maya when Lady Virginia had
insisted that only Maya could or should tend to Reggie’s injuries, and
she and the doctor had hit it off immediately. Doctor Maya had done her best,
but it was clear to her, and to the army surgeon who came to examine him, that
he would never fly in combat again. Flying an aeroplane—at least, the
current models—required having two good arms and legs.

So
he as soon as he had gotten a cast on the leg, he had put in for a transfer to
the Oxford branch of the Royal Flying Corps training school. He’d been
accepted, of course; with a record like his, they’d have been insane not
to accept him. So he was here when Eleanor had enrolled for her first year as a
university student, reading literature. Here, there was no Lady Devlin to have
to placate, and they could meet as often as they liked, which was generally every
day. “You haven’t announced an engagement?” Maya asked.
Eleanor shook her head, twisting the ring that Reggie had
“unofficially” given her. “I want to have finished my studies
and passed my vivas, even if they won’t give me a degree yet. And by
then, maybe Lady Devlin will have come around to the idea of having me as a
daughter-in-law.”

Maya
grimaced. “I’m sorry to hear that she’s being an obstruction.
Fortunately, that was not a problem in my case.”

But
Eleanor only shrugged. “She can’t help how she was brought
up,” she pointed out. “And besides… we have an ally. Or two,
actually.”

Maya
raised her eyebrows, as Eleanor carefully buttered a piece of toast. “I
knew about Lady Virginia; she was fairly obvious, because if nothing else, she
would want Reggie to marry another Master. Who else?”

“The
Brigadier.” She blushed; the old fellow had been amazingly kind to her,
and for the life of her, she didn’t know why. Maybe it was just because
he was fond of Reggie, and Reggie was clearly as blissfully happy in her
presence as she was in his. “He’s on our side, too. And I think he
has—well, a kind of secret weapon. I think he’s started to court
Lady Devlin, and if he is, she’ll find it hard to be against something
that he’s for.”

“Really!”
Doctor Maya laughed. “Well, the sly old fox! He knew about Devlin being a
Master, you know—one of the few people who aren’t mages who ever do
find out about us. I don’t think he ever let Reggie know that he knew,
but he’s an old crony of Alderscroft, and that’s where it all started.
And it was partly his doing that Devlin met Reggie’s mother in the first
place. I don’t know the details, but he introduced them at some
point.”

“Ah,”
Eleanor replied thoughtfully. “That explains a great deal.” She
took a sip of her tea. “At any rate, my magical studies are coming along
well, too. My tutor thinks that the Tarot approach is a good one, so
we’re keeping on with it. And Reggie says that’s another reason not
to rush into a marriage; he says that before we even think about settling down,
I
need to have a firm control on my powers. Because children with
Masters on both sides tend to be precocious when it comes to magic.”

She
flushed a little; Maya pretended not to notice. “Talking about children
already, is he?” she said, nodding. “In that case, I don’t
think I need to go and interrogate him about his intentions!”

Eleanor
flushed deeper. “Oh no, he’s sound, definitely sound,” she
said, laughing and fanning her cheeks. “In fact, he’s my best help
aside from my official tutor. We have special permission to work at the
Bodleian. The Vice-Principal doesn’t like it, but since the Principal is
another Elemental Master, she doesn’t say much, she just glares at us
when she sees us in public together.” She shrugged. “She means well,
and so I don’t care. I’ve only been here for this term, and she has
no idea what kind of student I am; she may think I’m here only so I can
be near Reggie. As soon as she realizes I’m serious about my studies,
she’ll probably stop acting like a Mother Superior.”

Maya
looked at her watch. “Well, I should love to make a longer visit, but I
can’t if I’m to catch the train. No, don’t get up!” she
urged, when Eleanor started to rise. “I can find my own way out, and the
weather is hideous. You get back to your books. And keep that lad out of
trouble. I had to scold him for trying to do too much again.”

When
Maya was gone, Eleanor settled back in her chair, with
Hamlet
wedged
open in front of her, and a Salamander wrapped around her feet, keeping them
warm. If someone had waved a magic wand and given her three wishes, this was
exactly where she would have wished to be. The only flaw in life was Lady
Devlin’s opposition to having a “commoner” as her
daughter-in-law—

Which
is next to no problem at all
, she thought, warming the tea again by asking
another Salamander to pop out of the fireplace and wrap himself around the pot.
Compared to unweaving Alison’s spells
.

Besides,
she wanted time. She and Reggie had scarcely known each other. Not that she
didn’t love him! But love was not entirely rational. She was not going to
be Lady Devlin all over again, either. This was going to be a marriage of
partners.

Whether
Reggie entirely understood this yet, or not.

“And,”
she said aloud, “whether he’s comfortable with it or not.”

A
movement in the fireplace made her glance at it to see two bright blue eyes
looking back at her. “
Just remember, daughter of Eve
,”
said the Phoenyx who was her chief magical tutor, and evidently a friend of
Horus, “If you need a negotiator, you always have one at your disposal.”

Eleanor
burst into laughter that she could not stop until her irritated neighbor
knocked on the wall to make her quiet down.