Nee and I walked on in silence for a time, then she said in a guarded voice, "What think you of my cousin?"
"So that is the famous Lady Tamara Chamadis! Well, she really is as pretty as I'd heard," I said. "But…I don't know. Somehow she embodies everything I'd thought a courtier would be."
"Fair enough." Nee nodded. "Then I guess it's safe for me to say--at risk of appearing a detestable gossip--watch out."
I touched the top of my hand where I could still feel the Duke of Savona's kiss. "All right. But I don't understand why."
"She is ambitious," Nee said slowly. "Even when we were young she never had the time for any of lower status. I believe that if Galdran Merindar had shown any interest in sharing his power, she would have married him."
"She wants to rule the kingdom?" I asked, glancing behind us. The secluded little pool was bounded by trees and hidden from view.
"She wants to reign over Court," Nee stated. "Her interest in the multitudes of ordinary citizens extends only to the image of them bowing down to her."
I whistled. "That's a pretty comprehensive judgment."
"Perhaps I have spoken ill," she said contritely. "You must understand that I don't like my cousin, having endured indifference or snubs since we were small, an heir's condescension for a third child of a secondary branch of the family who would never inherit or amount to much."
"She seemed friendly enough just now."
"The first time she ever addressed me as cousin in public," Nee said. "My status appears to have changed since I went away to Tlanth, affianced to a count, with the possible new king riding escort." Her voice took on an acidic sort of humor.
"And what about the Duke of Savona?" I asked, his image vivid in my mind's eye.
"In what sense?" She paused, turning to study my face. "He is another whose state of mind is impossible to guess."
I was still trying to disentangle all my observations from that brief meeting. "Is he, well, with Lady Tamara?"
She smiled at the term. "They both are experts at dalliance, but until last year I had thought they had more interest in each other than in anyone else," she said carefully. "Though even that is difficult to say for certain. Interest and ambition sometimes overlap and sometimes not."
As we wound our way along the path back toward Athanarel in the deepening gloom, I saw warm golden light inside the palace windows. With a glorious flicker, glowglobes appeared along the pathway, suspended in the air like great rainbow-sheened bubbles, their light soft and benevolent.
"I'm not certain what you mean by that last bit," I said at last. "As for the first, you said 'until last year.' Does that mean that Lady Tamara has someone else in view?"
"But of course," Nee said blandly. "The Marquis of Shevraeth."
I laughed all the way up the steps into the Residence.
"So that is the famous Lady Tamara Chamadis! Well, she really is as pretty as I'd heard," I said. "But…I don't know. Somehow she embodies everything I'd thought a courtier would be."
"Fair enough." Nee nodded. "Then I guess it's safe for me to say--at risk of appearing a detestable gossip--watch out."
I touched the top of my hand where I could still feel the Duke of Savona's kiss. "All right. But I don't understand why."
"She is ambitious," Nee said slowly. "Even when we were young she never had the time for any of lower status. I believe that if Galdran Merindar had shown any interest in sharing his power, she would have married him."
"She wants to rule the kingdom?" I asked, glancing behind us. The secluded little pool was bounded by trees and hidden from view.
"She wants to reign over Court," Nee stated. "Her interest in the multitudes of ordinary citizens extends only to the image of them bowing down to her."
I whistled. "That's a pretty comprehensive judgment."
"Perhaps I have spoken ill," she said contritely. "You must understand that I don't like my cousin, having endured indifference or snubs since we were small, an heir's condescension for a third child of a secondary branch of the family who would never inherit or amount to much."
"She seemed friendly enough just now."
"The first time she ever addressed me as cousin in public," Nee said. "My status appears to have changed since I went away to Tlanth, affianced to a count, with the possible new king riding escort." Her voice took on an acidic sort of humor.
"And what about the Duke of Savona?" I asked, his image vivid in my mind's eye.
"In what sense?" She paused, turning to study my face. "He is another whose state of mind is impossible to guess."
I was still trying to disentangle all my observations from that brief meeting. "Is he, well, with Lady Tamara?"
She smiled at the term. "They both are experts at dalliance, but until last year I had thought they had more interest in each other than in anyone else," she said carefully. "Though even that is difficult to say for certain. Interest and ambition sometimes overlap and sometimes not."
As we wound our way along the path back toward Athanarel in the deepening gloom, I saw warm golden light inside the palace windows. With a glorious flicker, glowglobes appeared along the pathway, suspended in the air like great rainbow-sheened bubbles, their light soft and benevolent.
"I'm not certain what you mean by that last bit," I said at last. "As for the first, you said 'until last year.' Does that mean that Lady Tamara has someone else in view?"
"But of course," Nee said blandly. "The Marquis of Shevraeth."
I laughed all the way up the steps into the Residence.
( Sherwood Smith )
[ Court Duel ]
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