“The emperor will hear about this!”
“Of course he will.” I laughed, gesturing at our growing audience. “But I’ll tell you what. No need to hurry yourself; I’ll let you do all the tattling. I won’t try to beat you to it.”
He glared murderously at me, but I just turned and walked away.
-
I stormed through the nobles’ area and into the emperor’s wing with my friends on my tail. I was halfway into the sitting room before I realized they had stopped in the doorway of Pete’s rooms in astonishment. I turned back, embarrassed.
“So, this is the emperor’s suite,” I said, “Make yourselves at home. I’m going to clean up.” Jonathan had already sent for Dr. Henriksen, and she wasn’t long in coming. She greeted me with no reserve or reluctance. As I sat and accepted her ministrations, I watched her, puzzled.
“Aren’t you surprised to see me?”
She smiled, though she was watching her work and didn’t meet my eye.
“I was prepared by the nice young man who came to get me.”
“You don’t seem…unhappy.”
“Why should I be?” She looked at me, her expression kind. “Believe it or not, Jacob, not everyone was happy to see you go.”
She knitted my lip with an instrument that fit over her fingertips, numbing me as it went along. I tried to watch what she was doing, but her fingers flashed too fast and too close for me to see. It itched.
“You know,” she said, “before we had the micro-sutures, a gash like this might have left a scar. You know what we use to get rid of scars?”
“Lasers?”
She grinned at my sarcastic tone and her own cleverness.
“Now,” she said, as she slipped the pads off her fingers, “try not to get yourself in another fight anytime soon.”
I offered a wry smile. “That’s the plan.”
I had just finished changing my clothes when a steward came to summon me to the emperor. “That didn’t take long,” I commented dryly. I apologized to my friends and asked Jonathan to take them to see something interesting.
I went to Pete’s office and was shown right in. I found what I expected: Pete at his desk and Duke Blaine standing before him. Blaine’s nose was set in a brace. It occurred to me that Dr. Henriksen, who saw the upper nobility as well, had been tending to me, so Blaine would have been forced to settle for someone else. I hoped he knew that.
Just the sight of Blaine raised my ire again. I strolled over to take a place beside him, inclining my head at Pete.
“I hadn’t expected to see you again so soon,” I said.
Pete betrayed no reaction to my flippant manner. Blaine raised his eyebrows, looking to Pete, no doubt waiting for the reprimand for my overly casual manner with the emperor. It didn’t come.
“Duke Blaine tells me there was an incident this morning,” Pete said.
I shrugged. “Incident? I wouldn’t say that. A misunderstanding.”
Blaine glared at me.
“Duke Blaine’s nose is broken, Jake. I think that’s a bit more than a misunderstanding.” Blaine looked shocked that Pete had addressed me by name.
“True.”
Pete gave me an exasperated look. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
“Why? Didn’t he tell you?”
“Yes, but I’d like to hear your version.”
“Oh, I’m sure Blaine did fine, and I’m no storyteller. What did he say?”
Pete held my eyes for a long moment before turning to Blaine, waiting for him to recount his story. Blaine was clearly flabbergasted at the way this was playing out.
“Well,” he said, “as I said before, Excellence, I saw this criminal in the palace and I was concerned for your safety. I sent for the guard to apprehend him, and Mr. Dawes struck me.”
Pete turned to me. Blaine, of course, did not.
“Bullshit,” I said. “Complete and utter bullshit.”
I could see Pete was suppressing a smile. “It would be helpful if you would elaborate on that.”
“We had words, that’s all. He did send for the guard, but I said something he didn’t like and he punched me. I only hit him in self-defense.”
“And what was it you said?”
I could feel my face heating. “Oh, nothing important.”
Pete gave me a warning look. “Humor me.”
“Well, he said something about trying to get in good with you, and I might have asked if he was talking about sexual positions…”
Now Pete glared at me. He held my gaze for a long, uncomfortable moment. He turned to Blaine. “It’s true that you hit him first?”
“Yes, Excellence,” he answered. “I do remember that now.”
“Well, Jake obviously provoked you, but it seems you decided to handle the matter yourself. That you didn’t win the altercation isn’t my concern. You both behaved badly, but it was between the two of you. Unless you’re asking me to punish you both.”
“No, Your Excellence, I didn’t mean to trouble you with something trivial. I was only concerned for your safety and your reputation. I didn’t want to take the risk of assuming you were aware of Mr. Dawes’s presence. I can see you are, and I apologize for wasting your time.”
“Thank you for your concern, Duke Blaine. Your loyalty is appreciated.” Hearing his dismissal, Blaine bowed and left.
I smirked at his retreating back, but the smile melted away when I turned to face Pete again. He was not smiling.
“I’m sorry?”
His expression didn’t change.
“I am, really, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, I know.”
“How could you do that? I mean, really, Jake, there are a million different ways you could have insulted him. That was appalling. I don’t appreciate it at all. At all, Jake.”
“I know. It was stupid. I’m sorry. Truly. Blaine brings out the worst in me.”
“You can’t always use Blaine as an excuse. And aren’t you even the slightest bit motivated to be cautious, coming back here?”
“I know, I know. I don’t know how many more ways to say I’m sorry, though. I can’t take it back. But I swear I’ll be on my very best behavior from now on.”
He still didn’t look appeased.
I gave him a sly grin and approached him, coming around the desk and pulling his chair around so that he was facing me.
“Well, come to think of it, there’s more than one way to apologize.” I slid down onto his lap, one knee on each side of him.
He was trying not to smile. “You can’t buy your way out of trouble, Jake.”
“I’m not trying to buy my way out of trouble. I just want to make it up to you.” I kissed him until we had to come up for air.
“You know it’s a crime to try to bribe the emperor.”
“Have I asked you for anything?” I kissed him again. This time I let my hands wander.
Finally he pulled away, grinning at me. “You’re incorrigible.”
“I know,” I chuckled. “I think you only put up with me because I’m good at that.”
“Nonsense,” he said. “I love you.”
“I know that, too,” I said, laying my hand against his face. He nuzzled his cheek into my palm.
“By the way,” Pete said, “you’ll be happy to know that your pardon has been recorded. I’ll announce it unofficially tonight at dinner. All the official notifications will go out tomorrow. And the same for your patent of nobility.”
“My what?”
“Patent of nobility. You know what that is, don’t you?”
“Of course I know what that is,” I said, getting up. “But why? I don’t want that. I didn’t ask you to do that. Are you saying I’m not good enough the way I am?”
“Calm down, Jake,” he said, standing. “It’s more a technicality than anything else. And, frankly, it makes it easier for me to accomplish all this.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Class matters. You know that. And it prov
ides its own protections. The people who will be the least happy to see you again will also be the ones mollified once you up-class or outrank them. Besides, you could use the practice. Once we’re married you won’t just be nobility, you’ll be royalty.”
That threw me for a loop. “Royalty?”
“Of course, what did you expect?”
“I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it.” I groaned. “Ugh, Pete, what are you doing to me?”
Taking my face in his hands he kissed me. “Deep breaths, Jake, you’ll be all right,” he said, a twinkle in his eye. Then he lost control and laughed. “Do you realize how many people would kill for a chance to be the most minor noble? You’re amazing, Jake, really you are.”
I gave him a wry look. “Yeah, yeah. Once again, we’re both reminded of how I don’t belong here.”
“No. You do belong here. You belong with me.”
I pulled him close. “You’re right,” I said against his ear. “You’re right, this is where I belong.”
-
That evening, when I returned to our rooms to dress for dinner, Pete was already there. It was then that I realized that Jonathan was Pete’s head servant now. I pulled Jonathan aside and asked in a whisper, “Where’s Davin?”
Jonathan gave me a long look. “Davin has been gone a year and a half now.”
Davin had been Pete’s head servant since before I met him. He wasn’t much older than we were and before me, he had been the closest thing Pete had to a friend.
“Gone? Where?”
Jonathan looked reluctant to talk about it. He sighed. “Once you were gone, the emperor began to show a decided preference for me over Davin. We tried to work it out between us, I kept insisting that it would only be temporary, but when it persisted, he retired. He lives in Imperial City now. I see him from time to time, but I don’t go often. He’s bitter.”
Pete never said anything about Davin’s absence, or the fact that some young man I’d never met before was acting as my personal servant. I decided not to broach the subject just yet, but I wasn’t going to drop it either.
As we made our way to the pre-dinner lounge, Pete took my hand and held it as we walked along.
“You’re really going to do this?” I asked, looking down at our clasped hands and then around us at the few people still in the hall.
He shrugged. “Do you mind?”
“No, of course not. I’m just surprised.”
“You weren’t the least bit formal yourself this morning when you and Blaine were in my office.”
I couldn’t help grinning. “Well, that’s because I was trying to piss him off. But this is good. I like this.”
Pete chuckled. “I knew you were just goading him. I almost said something. But he’s been such an ass that I let you do it.”
We entered the lounge and the first face I saw was Aliana’s. She met us halfway into the room and, taking my face in her hands, she kissed me on each cheek.
“Jacob Dawes,” she said, “I am very angry with you.”
“Forgive me, Your Grace, if I’ve offended you. I would never want to do that.”
“I think you have been here all day, and you did not come to see me.”
“I apologize, Your Grace. My status here today was complicated. I didn’t think it was appropriate to pay my respects just yet.”
She frowned. “Paying respects? Is this what you call saying hello to a friend after years apart? And what is this you call me?”
I smiled. “I’m sorry, Aliana, I’m out of practice, and honestly, a bit discombobulated.”
She laughed. “You will come and see me tomorrow, yes? And you will bring your friends from the IIC with you?”
“I’d be very happy to.”
She leaned closer now and whispered, “I hear rumors, Jacob, but Peter tells me nothing. They are true?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said with feigned innocence.
“You are just as bad as he is. I am hurt, Jacob. Peter does not surprise me, but how can you do this to me?”
“Maybe he’s not as afraid of you as I am,” I said. She laughed. “But…” I continued in a dramatic whisper and smiled. She beamed at me and squeezed my arm.
Before anyone else had a chance to approach me, which I’m sure was deliberate on Pete’s part, he led us into the dining room.
Other than having the eyes of the room on me, dinner was oddly normal. Pete and I talked, including others at times just as if there had been no treason, no Resettlement, no absence at all. No one said a word about any of what had passed, not even asking Pete about his visit to the IIC the day before.
Before the dessert course was served, Lord Sifer stood and commanded the room’s attention. When he had it, Pete stood and Lord Sifer yielded the floor. The room was unnaturally quiet, even for an announcement by the emperor.
“No doubt you’ve all noticed that Jacob Dawes is once again at my side,” he began. “As you must have guessed, this means that he has been granted a full pardon. His past crimes are forgiven and to be forgotten. He has my full trust that the Empire as a whole, and I personally, can count on him to be a staunch defender of the Empire and an exemplary citizen.
“In addition to this, today I have granted him the duchy of Mexico.”
The silence in the room exploded into a collective gasp that reminded me to breathe.
“There is no one who appreciates something more than one who has lost it. Having regained his good standing in the Empire, I have no doubt that Duke Jacob will be diligent in executing his duties and fiercely loyal to both his people and to all of the Empire. I’m sure you will all want to find an opportunity to welcome and congratulate Duke Jacob in the days to come.”
He gestured for me to stand and the diners produced the expected applause. It sounded wan and grudging to me.
“Duke?” I demanded. I wasn’t ready to even acknowledge the other part yet. “You didn’t tell me that.”
He was grinning. “You didn’t ask.”
I made an exasperated noise. “Really Pete, you might have prepared me.”
“I told you I’d granted you a title of nobility. If they’re all disagreeable to you, does the specific one really matter?”
“Less is more,” I grumbled, but he just grinned at me and turned back to the room.
“But the real news of the evening,” he continued, “certainly the most important to me, is that yesterday I asked Jacob to marry me and he graciously agreed.”
He turned to me and his look held so much emotion a lump formed in my throat.
The applause was much more genuine. I suppose it was for Pete and his happiness rather than his specific choice.
A swarm of servants flooded the room distributing glasses of champagne. Aliana stood and toasted us. We ate delicate desserts, little works of art crafted in sugar.
Pete stood again. “Things such as engagement celebrations take time to arrange. But I’m not willing to wait so long when I’m in such a mood to celebrate. So tonight, at the conclusion of dinner, we’ll have an impromptu ball.” The applause was enthusiastic.
-
The palace loved a ball, even one they weren’t given an opportunity to prepare ostentatiously for. I’d never been one for balls. A long party where I was unwelcome wasn’t exactly my idea of fun. Even when I was promoted from being an insulting degradation of their lofty personages to unimportant background noise, I avoided the functions as often as possible. But I wouldn’t be allowed to get out of this one.
The orchestra began to play the first waltz. Pete always led the first dance with Aliana. So when he came over to me I didn’t understand what he was doing.
“You want us to dance together?” I sputtered, when he explained.
“Of course.”
“Pete, we’ve never danced together before. I barely know how to dance at all. How are we supposed to work that out when we’re both used to leading?”
“I don’t always lead when I dance with
other men. I know how to follow.”
“Pete I’m no good at this. I can’t do it in front of all these people. You’re crazy.”
“I know,” he grinned, “but we’re celebrating our engagement and that means we’re going to dance together,” he concluded in his not-to-be-dissuaded voice.
So we danced. It went better than I expected. I didn’t fall on my face. I had to admit it was nice, dancing together.
The dance ended and we parted to make our separate ways to the next partner. I was angling toward Kirti, since Pete was already claiming Aliana, when Duchess Xian intercepted me.
Duchess Xian held a distinction no other could claim. In spite of having been at the palace and in Pete’s inner circle through the entirety of my previous residence there, I was certain she had never spoken to me at all.
“Your Grace,” she greeted me.
“Duchess,” I replied in return. I knew I was supposed to ask her to call me by name, the use of titles simply a necessary first step that would be dispensed with among equals. I didn’t. She waited but when I said nothing more, she moved on without any noticeable loss of poise.
“Next to the emperor you are doubtless the most sought after dance partner this evening, and a lady must seize an opportunity when she sees it, lest she lose out. In other words, Your Grace, I’m not going to wait, as I should, for you to ask me to dance. I have come to claim you.”
I knew exactly what I wanted to say to her. And I knew that I couldn’t. Well, that I shouldn’t. I looked for Pete, hoping that he would see and rescue me but he was already leading Aliana to the floor. Short of faking an injury or an illness, there was no way for me to extricate myself without creating problems that I didn’t need and that Pete wouldn’t be happy about. I only nodded in a slight bow of acceptance and led her to the floor.
She was an elegant dancer. Her manners were perfect, her conversation smooth and flowing. Her voice and inflection, even her laugh were expertly crafted. She was a professional. She’d spent her whole life training in the art of social politics. I had to acknowledge grudging admiration for her skill even as it galled me.
As we moved around the floor I could already discern the vultures circling. All of the most important women in the room, and the men who were so inclined, were maneuvering themselves so as to have the best opportunity to pounce on me next. I looked around for Kirti but couldn’t see her. When the song wound to its end I excused myself from Duchess Xian as quickly as could be argued to be polite and approached the first likely young lady.
Fighting Gravity Page 27
