Let’s not play games,Valdir’s expression said. He had more self-control than Regis had given him credit for.
“ DomRegis, I speak not only for the Domain of Ridenow but for the people of Darkover. If I had my way, the Comyn would be as truly equal as we once were. Unfortunately, the common people require a ruler.”
Valdir paused, perhaps awaiting a response. Regis did not give him that satisfaction. Valdir gave a little shrug. “Since the people cling to their adulation of the Hasturs, they shall have one—but one who looks to the future.” He leaned forward, his face tightening. “Not one who would have Darkover remain frozen in time, while the rest of the inhabited worlds move forward.”
Rinaldo had been sitting motionless, hands folded on his knees in the manner of a monk. Regis imagined a flicker of discomfort in his expression. Perhaps his brother did not agree with Valdir’s argument.
“It was a mistake to reject the benefits of Federation membership,” Valdir declared, “just as it was a mistake to abandon the Comyn Council and give so much power to that flock of squabbling barnfowl you call the Telepath Council.”
“ DomValdir,” Rinaldo said earnestly, “my brother acted from the best of intentions. He and our grandfather served the Domains through many crises. Once a man has been forced to take extreme measures, one cannot fault him for continuing on as he has before. I will not hear my dear brother censured or his achievements so lightly dismissed.”
“So you would put Rinaldo in my place,” Regis said to Valdir, “thinking him easier to bend to your will.”
Rinaldo flushed visibly. Valdir said, “I would elevate him to his rightful place, completing what you yourself began by declaring him your father’s legitimate firstborn son. But there would be no point in supporting his cause if he were not also a man of vision.”
A moment passed. Regis shifted in his seat. “If you speak for the people of Thendara and you truly represent their interests, then why abduct three—two innocent men? Are these not the acts of a man who has placed himself outside law and custom? Why should I reward these crimes with my cooperation?”
“No man such as yourself, accustomed to unquestioned authority and power, surrenders his position simply because it is right,” Valdir replied. “Do you expect me to believe you are willing to have Rinaldo become Head of Hastur?”
“I think you do not know me at all, if you need to ask.”
“ DomValdir, let me speak privately with my brother.” Rinaldo’s voice betrayed his agitation. “I am sure that once he understands the necessity of such safeguards and that no harm has come to either guest, he will be agreeable.”
Valdir scowled. “This is not wise, vai dom.Your brother wears a sword and has been trained in its use, whereas you are a man of peace. Should he turn on you—”
Regis wanted to laugh, except for the bitterness welling up in his mouth. Did Valdir think him such a villain as that? A man who would murder his own kin for gain? A tendril of suspicion brushed his thoughts, and he wondered at how easily Valdir had come into power in his own Domain, how conveniently those in the line of succession had fallen, one by one. What lessons must Francisco, still young and impressionable, be learning?
Rinaldo was reassuring Valdir in such animated tones that it would have been impossible to resist without restraining the monk. Valdir agreed, although reluctantly. Within a few minutes, Gabriel, Valdir, and both sets of guards had withdrawn.
Rinaldo picked up his chair and brought it closer. “I am sorry the situation has come to this—”
“ What happened? Rinaldo, how in the name of—” he could not invoke Aldonesas he would with any other kinsman, “—the Holy Bearer of Burdens did you come to ally yourself with that man? Have you been deceiving me all along, waiting for your chance? Or has even a brief captivity softened your mind?”
“You cannot believe I plannedthis!” Rinaldo shot back with the first sign of temper during that meeting. “ Plannedto be seized, bound, hauled away like a piece of meat? Plannedto be used against the brother who has shown me nothing but kindness?”
Regis let out his breath. Rinaldo had been taken by force, like Danilo and Mikhail. That fact eased his sense of betrayal. Eased it, but did not entirely erase it.
“Does it matter?” Rinaldo moderated his tone. “However we have been thrust into this situation, we must work together now. Valdir is not an evil man, although somewhat prone to extreme measures. I will teach him better.”
“You intend to collaborate with him, then?” Regis did not know whether to feel relieved or appalled.
“I mean to use whatever St. Christopher has placed in my hands to do good. Why else would the blessed saints have brought me from St. Valentine’s and yet preserved the fire of righteousness in my breast? Look at me, brother. I could never be a military commander or a great statesman like Grandfather. I am not fitted to caper about in finery or sing ballads to ladies, although in my new position, I might soon enjoy the blessings of marriage. Valdir has spoken of an eligible young kinswoman . . . Be that as it may, I have been shaped for better things than frivolity—and what more holy purpose than to bring the teachings of St. Christopher to the larger world? Do you not see all around you the evidence of ignorance and sin? Pride, greed, deceit, lust, violence—do they not stalk the streets in human form?”
“I am glad you see the opportunity to wrest some good from the situation,” Regis said carefully. “But I fear for you and for our world. You know so little of Comyn politics, and Valdir means to influence you, to shape you to his own ends. Those ends do not bode well for Darkover.”
“Valdir is mistaken. It is I who will rule, not he. It will take time to consolidate my position. In order to do that, I must lull his vigilance while I retain his confidence.”
“It seems neither of us has any choice in the matter.”
Rinaldo’s expression turned grim. “Although it pains me to admit it, Valdir does not trust you, and nothing I have said has changed his mind. He means to reform the Comyn Council and become my chief councillor. Mikhail will be released as a token of his good will, but your paxman must remain a prisoner—”
Remain a prisoner—R egis hardly heard the end of Rinaldo’s sentence.
It took every scrap of discipline that Regis had forged over the years not to leap up and throttle the man who had uttered those words. Rinaldo was not to blame. He was merely repeating what Valdir had said.
Valdir, that snake-b rain! That scorpion-ant!
Regis gripped the carved wooden armrests so hard, his joints cracked. Valdir was wrong, damnably wrong, if he thought Regis would give in as long as Danilo still remained a prisoner.
Rinaldo leaned forward, concern furrowing his brow. His eyes were very bright, and his long scholar’s fingers hung gracelessly loose. Let us try to make the best we can of this terrible dilemma,he seemed to plead. Together, as brothers.
“I believe we have said everything we can on this subject,” Regis said. “I understand your viewpoint,” although it is clear you have no comprehension of mine,“and would speak further with DomValdir.”
Valdir was the one he had to face down, and he refused to make any agreement without getting Danilo back.
At Rinaldo’s summons, Valdir and the others returned. Gabriel sought Regis with his gaze, but Regis made no response. He needed all his concentration for Valdir.
With an expression of triumph, the Ridenow lord resumed his place. “Are you now convinced of the necessity of sensible cooperation, DomRegis?”
“I am convinced of the sincerity of my brother’s motives,” Regis replied, “but not of yours. You have stated your demands and my brother has told me your conditions—that my paxman will remain your hostage, regardless of my agreement.”