Holco held his hand above his head and gave a signal of agreement.
“Shall we have breakfast tomorrow, at your house?” Theus suggested.
Holco repeated his approval.
“Can you, can you tell me something?” Theus hesitantly asked.
Holco spread his hands wide.
“Did I love Coriae, before I lost my memories?” Theus blurted the words quickly.
Holco made a positive motion with one hand, then made a negative motion with the other.
“Okay, thanks,” Theus replied with a sigh. “See you tomorrow.”
He stuck his head back inside, closed the window, released his invisibility, then turned around. Coriae was standing behind him.
“What did he say?” she asked.
“He agreed I could meet him tomorrow, at breakfast, at his home,” Theus replied. “He’s going to court for his own judgement tomorrow from the king.”
“I know; I remember your story about Prince Eudie and Glock at Greenfalls. But what did Holco say about you? Did he say that you loved me?” she asked evenly.
“He said ‘yes’ and ‘no’,” Theus answered evenly.
“I see,” she betrayed no emotion.
“Shall we go to dinner?” she asked after a pause. She was wearing a white gown. Without waiting for his response, she turned and left the room. After a moment’s pause, he turned and followed her.
They sat at the table in the small dining room, the informal space closer to the kitchen. The meal was silent, as neither of them spoke, Theus caught up in self-reflection, wondering about himself and Coriae, while she watched him closely, but said nothing.
After the meal, the both stood up. “May I walk you to your room?” he asked.
“Yes,” she nodded in agreement, and they took a silent walk up the stairs, observed by the shaking heads of the staff. At Coriae’s room’s door, they parted.
“You’re going to Holco’s in the morning?” she asked. “Will you come back afterwards?”
“Yes, and yes,” he affirmed. “I’ll see you after I return.”
“And what should I do?” she asked.
“Stay out of sight, stay calm, wait for me; I’ll come back for you, and if Holco doesn’t have any problems, I’ll be back here to take you to safety in Great Forks,” Theus explained his plan once again.
“And then what will you do?” Coriae kept asking questions. Theus felt slightly annoyed; she could have asked any of the questions while they were eating, but she had waited until they were ready to part.
“Then I’ll go to Southsand, and fight Donal again,” Theus looked down and saw that his hands were unconsciously stroking the golden wristlets that Limber had given him.
“I may win, or I may die,” he added carelessly. “Or I may do both.”
“Theus, don’t joke about that. I want you to live,” she placed the tips of her fingers on top of one of his hands for a moment, and then she opened her door and disappeared for the night.
Chapter 13
Theus dreamed of Coriae all night long. He dreamed he was in a dream, with her as his mate, and he dreamed she was safely in the crowd at the palace, watching Holco be upbraided by the king. He dreamed she sent him away from the mansion, and he dreamed he was rescuing her all over again.
He did not dream that she would awaken him before sunrise, which she did.
“Get up, and let’s get going,” she woke him by ripping the covers off of him, as her lantern sat on his bedside table and shone light into his eyes.
“Going where?” he mumbled, holding his hand up to shield his eyes.
“We’re going to the armory before anyone else gets up to see us and know it’s us. We’ll go practice staves, and I’ll remind you of how good I am,” she explained.
“You want to go to the armory now?” he asked incredulously.
“I can’t sleep,” she stated. “And you’re part of the problem, so you shouldn’t sleep either,” she spoke in an insistent manner. Theus slowly pulled his hand along his face, then sat up.
“Give me a minute to wake up and get dressed,” he was too tired to coherently mount a protest. Minutes later, under the guise of his invisibility, they left the house, walked down the street, then around the corner. He ceased to cloak them, once they were out of sight of guards around the house, to preserve his energy.
And then, when the pair got to the empty armory, Coriae proceeded to show Theus that she was a formidable opponent when using the staves, as she was in many situations. She battled him more than evenly, often seeming to anticipate his moves and effectively countering them. In the first three matches, she often left him kneeling and battered. Only by the time of their fourth match, when he’d begun to sense her strengths and habits, did he finally hold his own.
“You should go to the market and get the items you need to make a balm for your bruises,” Coriae advised him with a grin, as they rehung their practice staves in the wall racks. “You’ve made it before for both of us, and it’s very effective, really,” she asserted.
“Is that how you beat me so much?” the humbled Theus asked. “You know my habits?”
“Theus, my innocent,” she lightly patted her hand against his cheek, “we’ve battled – with staves, anyway – so many times, I could predict your reactions if I was blindfolded!” she laughed lightly, her sense of self-confidence re-strengthening with the armory victory. The sun had breached the horizon, brightening the interior of the armory, and a few other combatants had entered to engage in their own efforts, unaware that a pair of fugitives were among them.
They walked to the market, both of them happy to stroll freely in the city where they were supposed to be wanted by the patrol, and bought the items Theus needed for his aches and bruises, then turned invisible as they approached the Warrell home, and entered through the back door.
“My lady!” the steward greeted them. “We were searched again, not ten minutes ago, by the patrol. They were sure they were going to catch you in bed, my lady.
“They didn’t mention you, my lord. They don’t seem to know that you’re among us, I’m happy to say,” the servants were loyally on the side of their miscreant mistress and her companion.
“I promised Holco I would go see him this morning,” Theus told Coriae. “Will you be safe here?”
“As long as the patrol doesn't come back looking for me, I'll be completely happy. This is nicer than any place I've been in weeks,” she assured him.
“But what if the patrol does come looking for you again?” Theus asked.
“We may have a solution for that,” Jens the steward coughed discretely, then spoke.
Theus looked at the man with cocked head, while Coriae spoke. “What are you talking about?” She asked.
“There seems to be a bit of a discreet room in the cellar of the home,” he informed his mistress.
“A hidden room? In our cellar? I never knew that! How long has it been there?” She asked incredulously.
“I would say it predates your family's purchase of the property. The house is quite an ancient structure, you know,” Jens spoke nervously.
“Shall we see it?” Theus suggested.
“I only mention it as a contingency,” Jens replied. “I certainly hope there's no need to actually resort to using it for her ladyship,” he downplayed the hidden room.
“Oh, I want to see it!” Coriae cried. “How exotic! A hidden room.”
“Very well,” the steward agreed reluctantly. He led them to the cellar steps. “Let me grab a lantern,” he suggested.
“That's not necessary,” Theus wanted to hurry the inspection along. He held up his hand and conjured a glowing ball of light, which he released to float above the stairs.
“My Lord Theus!” Jens exclaimed. The steward took a step back. “What manner of wizardry is that?”
“Jens,” Coriae placed a comforting hand on her steward's arm, “his white magic is among the many things that make our lord Theus such a powerful fr
iend and ally. It was his magic that hid me from the patrol that searched the home last evening. There's no harm or ill will in his heart.”
“To be sure,” the steward cautiously agreed. “I've never seen any but the best from his lordship, my lady.”
So reconciled, the man led the way down into the stone-walled cellar. “I remember playing hiding games down here as a child,” Coriae reminisced.
“Look over here,” Jens suggested, leading them towards a rack of wine bottles. Caught by surprise by the change in direction, Theus quickly redirected his floating light to follow their guide.
Jens grabbed the wine rack and swung it away from the wall with surprising ease, the hinges squeaking slightly in protest.
“There's a door!” Coriae exclaimed, watching the steward grab a large iron ring on the door and pull it open.
“That's not a room, it's a tunnel,” Theus observed as his ball of light floated down the newly revealed corridor.
“Why is there a hidden tunnel in my house? Where does it go?” Coriae asked crossly, surprised by the revelation of the new fact about a house she thought she knew completely.
Jens gave a delicate cough. “It leads down the block and under the street, and ends in the cellar of Lady Perchmore's home,” he ventured. “We've never actually opened the other end to confirm that.”
“Why would our home be connected to her home? We hardly know her. I've only met her a half a dozen times in my whole life,” Coriae stated.
“You say the tunnel is older than the time the Warrells have owned this home?” Theus asked, to point out the fact.
“Um, yes,” Jens agreed.
“What was it used for when it was built?” Coriae asked.
“Well, and I'm sure this is just wild rumor and folklore, my lady,” Jens looked from Coriae to Theus, an odd beseeching expression on his face, “Lady Perchmore's home was allegedly a drinking establishment for gentlemen of the finer classes.
“Really? How funny! Lady Perchmore must be mortified,” Coriae sniggered.
“And so the men entered this house to travel to that house without being seen,” Theus guessed aloud.
Jens gave him a pained expression.
The steward gave a soft cough.
“Actually, they – allegedly, and I'm sure this isn't true - came to this house for entertainment,” he explained, then turned as he seemed to suddenly have some mote in his eye.
“Entertainment?” Theus asked, not comprehending.
“Nooo!” Coriae screeched in denial.
“What?” Theus asked.
“Maybe some of the old, country rube does remain in you, my magician,” Coriae spoke. “He's saying that our house was a house of ill-repute, aren't you, Jens?” She asked.
“It's only local hearsay, my lady. It's hardly likely to be true,” he replied apologetically.
“We'll speak no more of this,” Coriae decided primly. “It's good to know the option is here as a hiding place,” she added. “Theus, direct your light this way, so that we may depart.”
Theus willed his light to do as instructed, and they soon climbed the stairs back to the ground floor of the home.
“I’ll leave the tunnel open in case you need to go down in a hurry,” Jens explained to Coriae.
“I’ll be on my way to meet Holco. I hope I’ll see you again soon, and with a good report for our friend,” Theus told Coriae. He stooped slightly, awkwardly, feeling self-conscious, and kissed her on the cheek. He hoped it was an acceptable token display of affection, all that he was sure he was ready to offer in the strange reacquaintance they were going through.
“And tell Holco that our relationship was all,” she made a positive gesture, “not,” she made a negative hand gesture, referencing the prince’s information relayed to Theus the night before.
He grinned his assent, then turned invisible, and slipped out the back door.
“My lady, he’s a wondrous being,” Jens observed, standing three steps behind Coriae. “I had no idea such people walked the earth, except in children’s tales. And all the time he’s been just as polite and friendly as if he were a regular person.
“I hope we’ll see him back soon, for all our sakes,” the servant said kindly.
“I think we’ll see him again, sooner or later,” Coriae replied. “He is very special.
“And we’ve got the materials he needs to make up his lotion for bruises and aches; he’ll be back for that if nothing else, sooner or later. I put enough wallops on him this morning to be sure of that!” she laughed.
“Now, I’m going to go upstairs to bathe. Afterwards, I’ll stay close to the cellar door until our magical guest returns,” she advised, and she went on.
Chapter 14
Theus realized he had forgotten to make the ointment for his soreness after five minutes of walking towards Holco’s home. Once he was out of sight of the Warrell town home, he released his invisibility and felt the stiffening muscles in his thighs, where Coriae had been particularly effective in attacking him.
He stopped at a market to buy more of the supplies he needed for producing the healing ointment; he had been distracted by the tour of the hidden cellar tunnel, and so forgotten to make the lotion, he realized. And then he smiled at the memory of Coriae’s horrified realization of the bawdy history of the home she lived in, the place she had always considered to be polished and respectable.
When he reached the small palace that Holco called home, the doorman invited him inside, as instructed. Theus went to the kitchen and asked the staff to direct Holco to meet him there.
Minutes later, Theus was preparing the ingredients for his lotion when Holco walked in.
“Theus! You’re the only guest I’ve ever had who made the kitchen the best room in the house to socialize in,” Holco greeted him. They both remembered the dinner dance that Theus had disrupted by leading a crowd of diners into the kitchen to see him make an allergy treatment for Duchess Holstem, Holco’s aunt.
“Coriae beat me pretty badly in the armory this morning, and I need something to treat the injuries,” Theus explained.
“Are you ready for your visit to the court today?” he asked his host.
“I’ve asked Galeci, Grille, Arnel, Maier, and a few others to be scattered around the crowd this afternoon,” Holco answered. “And I hope you’ll be there.”
“There’s no question,” Theus answered, “as long as I don’t get word that Coriae is in trouble. The patrol searched her home again today; I’m worried she’s in danger.”
“I thought,” Holco began to speak, paused, then carried on. “I thought that you had no memories of her, no recollection of when you wooed her before.”
“By the way, she’s mad at you,” Theus interrupted. “She said to tell you that we were always,” he made the positive gesture, then laughed.
“You told her what I said?” Holco laughed.
“I had to; I was in her room,” Theus explained.
“Ahh,” Holco enunciated delicately.
“No! Not like that. I had just hidden her from the first search of the house last night,” Theus finished the final step of preparing his ointment, and began to apply it to his torso and extremities as he talked. “That’s all. I’m just getting to know her. She’s an unusual person.”
Holco laughed. “So has said every nobleman between the ages of fifteen and fifty,” he agreed. “But aside from the ill-fated Klermie, only you seem to have merited much reciprocal attention from her.”
“So what will we do today in the palace, exactly? Is there a plan for all these friends of yours to follow?” Theus asked, ready to change the topic away from the confusion that Coriae contributed to his mind and soul.
“They are going to spend the early part of the day finding and persuading the Advisory Council that the king should take no action against me. If they are agreeable to that, we’ll even see if we can make a case for you to receive a pardon,” Holco explained.
“If the king agrees to take n
o action against you, then no pardon is needed for me; I’ll be ready to leave the city anyway,” Theus advised. He wasn’t sure that he really believed he needed a pardon for his actions – he knew he had done a terrible thing in destroying the leadership of the Stoke army, but then, so had those same leaders of the army that had intended to carry out an attack on Greenfalls, as well as executions.
Theus simply wanted Holco to be safe. Less simply, he wanted to feel it was appropriate for him to leave the relative civility of Stoke so that he could follow destiny and travel to the depravity that awaited him in Southsand. And with even less simplicity, he wanted to find a path that would cautiously but appropriately explore his relationship with Coriae.
“Will it be enough?” Theus asked. “Are there any more black magicians in the court, or any other advisors who might persuade the king to harm you later?”
“Not so far as we know,” the prince answered. “When you removed Glock, you took out the only one of the friends of Monsant who had gained influence in the court. The other had been sent to Greenfalls, and I understand that you dealt with him there, didn’t you?” he asked.
Theus thought back to the scene in the governor’s palace in Greenfalls, the day he had stolen the seal, and faced a physically present magician as well as the image of Donal, when the master black magician had somehow projected his image across a vast distance to spy upon Theus. Theus momentarily paused to try to imagine what combinations of abilities, and what vast use of energy, had enabled Donal to produce such an effect. It would be valuable to know.
“Oh, yes, he’s not alive any longer,” Theus admitted in answer to the waiting Holco. “It’s good to know there aren’t other magicians at the court.”
They spoke further, then sparred in Holco’s armory, until it was nearly time to go. After cleaning up and eating lunch, they strolled through the city to the palace, Theus walking invisibly, using the light that pierced the cloudy sky to abundantly provide the energy he needed.
And inside the palace, when the court and scores of nobles and followers and hangers-on were tightly packed into the large audience hall, the king’s herald called loudly to announce that Prince Holco was called forth to be addressed by the King of Stoke.
Tangled Engagements (The Memory Stones Series Book 4) Page 17
