Rinaldo nodded beatifically. Regis could not think what to say. He had faced more challenging situations than he could count, but this declaration left him speechless.
“Surely,” Danilo said to Tiphani, moving smoothly into the pause, “your husband can have no objection to your being of such service.”
Tiphani shot him a look of unadulterated spite.
So that’s where the lines of alliance were drawn. Be careful, Danilo. Few people are more dangerous than those who believe God speaks through them.
“Have no fear,” Rinaldo said as he patted Tiphani’s arm. “I have given you my protection. No one will force you to return against your will.”
She shook off his touch. “It’s not so simple.”
“No, indeed,” Regis broke in, “for you are still a Federation citizen, Mestra. . . Luminosa, and your husband is the Legate. My brother may be Lord Hastur, but he does not speak for the other Domains. This Castle is the joint property of all the Comyn, controlled by no single house.”
It was a clumsy move, speaking to Tiphani but really directing his remarks at Rinaldo: “What do you think you’re doing, harboring a runaway Terran against the wishes of her family? Are you trying to provoke a conflict with the Federation?”
Rinaldo glared at Regis as if confronting a delinquent student. “You go too far, my brother! How dare you speak so disrespectfully to me, your elder and Head of your Domain?”
“You asked for my counsel once,” Regis replied. “Is it disrespectful to speak a truth that might—” He paused, meaning to say, “prevent a catastrophic decision?”but, deciding better, finished, “—be put to good use?”
“ DomValdir is always lecturing me on the importance of diplomatic cooperation. I am only one Domain among many . . .” Rinaldo went on, his voice becoming more thoughtful. “There is nothing to stop others from taking independent action, siding against me with Lawton and the Federation. As for the Telepath Council, they are nothing more than a band of commoners infected by laranwitchery! No, no, what I need—what all of Darkover needs—is a strong leader to speak for everyone.”
“That is not as easy as it sounds,” Regis commented, “even with loyal supporters and sound advice.” He meant Danilo’s service and his own counsel, but Tiphani took it as an oblique compliment and preened. “As for your situation, MestraLuminosa, you yourself have the power to resolve the current issue between the Federation forces and Hastur.”
“By making peace with my husband, you mean.”
Regis nodded. “Is it prudent to involve the most powerful house on Darkover in a domestic problem?”
“You know nothing of the matter!” She glowered at him. “How full of advice you are, for everyone but yourself! Regis Peacemaker, Regis Kingmaker—is that how you intend to make your mark on history?”
“I have no such aspirations,” Regis said. “In fact, I would be quite content if history forgot me entirely.”
“We must honor those who have gone before us,” Rinaldo stepped in.
Tiphani, still seething, took her leave so that she might attend to Bettany. The mood remained somber for a time, punctuated by comments of no consequence.
Then Regis said, “This tension between you—” he did not say Hastur,for he meant Rinaldo personally, “—and the Terran Legate is not a good situation. It can too easily spread to include our entire Domain, as well as others and the Federation itself. Would you hear my advice?”
“I am always happy to hear what you have to say. However, I question whether you truly understand the matter.”
“As far as I can tell, it is a family dispute that ought not to involve powers of state. Let the Lawtons work out their differences free from outside interference. Establish a neutral ground where they may speak with one another without intimidation.”
“That is impossible. The matter has spiritual as well as political implications.”
“You mean because the woman is a coreligionist and says she receives visions? Voices, whatever? Rinaldo, those are symptoms of a sickness of the mind. If she is ill, she needs proper treatment.” And not blind trust from someone who only reinforces her delusions.
“I repeat, you do not fully comprehend what is at stake. At first, I could not understand why I had been driven from St. Valentine’s into this hotbed of licentiousness. But now, since the Lord of All Worlds has sent Lady Luminosa to guide me, I see my true calling. I am meant not merely to instruct a few boys who, like you yourself, will soon forget their good precepts. My destiny is to cleanse a city, a Domain . . . an entire planet.”
Lord of Light! He means it!
Danilo flinched and as quickly recovered himself. Rinaldo gave not the slightest indication he’d sensed the surge of dismay. He continued speaking about the poor, helping them through the winter, or opening the roads to pilgrimage.
Regis peered into his brother’s earnest, open face. He is a good man, for all his early years of isolation from the world. He means to do right in the world, he just has no understanding of what that is . . .
Rinaldo had fallen under the influence of those who were not so altruistic: first Valdir Ridenow, with his desire to see Darkover a Federation member, then Tiphani Lawton, a disturbed woman only too willing to incorporate Rinaldo’s faith into her own grandiose delusions.
My brother needs my help more than ever before.How could he turn his back on Rinaldo, a chervinekid among wolves?
27
Winter ended as abruptly as it had begun, as if the sky had exhausted itself. Snow gave way to sleet. From one tenday to the next, the layers of filthy snow shrank. True to his promise, Regis met every day with Rinaldo, except on cristoforofast days. Regis had no idea there were so many saints or occasions for suspending normal business, but he welcomed those occasions to remain with his family.
Despite his lingering grief at being separated from Danilo, Regis found an unexpected peace in the small domestic joys of sitting quietly with Linnea, listening to Kierestelli sing or teaching her the game of Castles, or playing with baby Dani. All those years when he had resisted the pressure to marry, he had no idea what he was refusing. How could he have? He had grown up in a cold and joyless house with only his distant, demanding grandfather and a loving but overworked older sister for comfort. No wonder he had regarded the catenasas shackles.
For all his contentment, Regis sensed a growing tension in the city. He saw it in Linnea as well, in the faint signs of restlessness, the flicker of vigilance in her eyes when she thought he was not watching. This idyllic time could not endure. All things changed. Nothing was certain but death and next winter’s snow. The milder weather would open the mountain passes . . . and summer would come, with whatever Comyn might observe the traditional gathering in Thendara.
Something else was coming, carried on the seasonal change. The world was no longer frozen solid.
Rinaldo proved an apt pupil; he had been a scholar at Nevarsin and had a good mind, even if he had been trained to memorize without critical understanding. At times, Regis thought his brother’s negative attitude toward the laranGifts of their caste had softened. Regis advanced the argument that such abilities, when trained and used properly, could do much good: in healing, in communication across long distances, in mining precious minerals or manufacturing and delivering firefighting chemicals. Once or twice they discussed the possibility of opening the old, disused Comyn Tower if they could find a Keeper and enough leronifor a working circle. In the end, however, Rinaldo refused to commit to the plan.