ToAnderonHouseRenataAndRescuersLight grew in the sky as the cavalcade of rescuers thundered through the streets. There was no way that six horses and a curricle could proceed quietly, but their speed put them quickly beyond the reach of any but mounted pursuers. Of these there appeared to be none. By the time the first rays of Aquila's sun cleared the horizon, Giulian was reining his team to a halt at the south gates of Anderon House. He saluted the gate guards and quickly glanced around to make sure that none of the party had fallen too far behind. "Are we in time for breakfast?" he called to the guard, half defiant, half exhilarated. Renata, physically uninjured and even energized by the successful rescue and the ride to Anderon House, actually laughed appreciatively at Giulian's words, enjoying their mundane quality. "Nothing makes a man appreciate breakfast more than a night out on the town," Decuma joked, but his voice was tight and his eyes too bright in a too pale face. "I'm glad that we accomplished what we set out to do and returned, and it appears that all is well here." Renata was reminded that some of those who had rescued her had paid a price -- including her own brother's chief rival. Clearly there was far more to Decuma than anyone had imagined. What had happened during his offworld education? What had he learned, what were his influences? And why was she even considering these things at such a time? "You will let them see to you immediately, won't you?" she said softly to Decuma. Then, reminding herself that he was not the only one worthy of her concern, she added, "And the Windhaven boy who was hurt, too. He will need care..." "Breakfast? Did I hear someone mention breakfast? At least this night has passed and we are heading towards a new day. Lead me to that wondrous meal," the warm rich voice of Xavier said just to the side of Renata as he reined in his stallion. As the guards on duty swung the gates open at Giulian's bidding, more Anderon retainers appeared from the house, drawn by the sounds of the party's arrival. Giulian was already making introductions and giving orders as he walked his team through the gates. "These two gentlemen are Xavier and Alexander Windhaven; please show them the hospitality of Anderon. Send someone for Doctor Gomast, we have wounded. And this one," he jerked his head toward Sanford, "can go straight to the cellars. Put him in a holding cell and we'll talk with him later." Sanford was accordingly unloaded from the back of the curricle and hustled into the house between two tall guardsmen. "I need to take Castor and Pollux to the stables, but I should be in shortly," he told the party. "The rest of you may as well go straight in." "Indeed." Harold nodded. The lateness of the hour, and the passing of the danger had started to eat away at the adrenaline which had been fueling his actions and thought. He waited until Giulian had finished addressing the guards and came up to them himself. "It has been a tumultous night. Is there any news you have for us, Joseph?" he asked of the nearest guard. "We've had no word yet from Lord Anderon or Lord Tremontaine, if that's what you're asking, my lord," answered the guard. "What of the Cardinal?" Giulian asked, overhearing. Joseph crossed himself automatically. "The runner we sent came back to tell us he's been murdered, my lord. Shot down in the middle of Prime." Giulian bowed his head briefly. "God help us," he murmured. Renata crossed herself. Her mother, the Cardinal... a possible coup, perhaps an attempt to seize or kill Harry... what was happening to Aquila? Xavier looked at his brother. Cardinal? he mouthed to his twin. Harold crossed himself. "God almighty," he said, in a whisper, his face turning pale. His legs felt like they were made of gelatin, and it took an effort of will to remain upright. "This is ill news," he finally said to Joseph. "If Lord Anderon or Lord Tremontaine should arrive, we are to know immediately. As well as if..." Harold closed his eyes. "As well as if there is more ill news to share." "Yes, my lord," answered Joseph. On the point of driving away, Giulian turned around and added, "Oh, and Miss Chatham is to be let in whenever she arrives, and word brought to me at once." "As you wish, my lord," said the guard. Giulian nodded, satisfied, and headed his team toward the stables. Some of the Anderon servants followed with the saddle horses. Decuma felt lightheaded, and as much as he would have preferred to wait on Giulian, he knew he needed to get inside and be seen by Doctor Gomast. Putting on as brave a face as he could he called out, "Shouldn't we go on inside?" Gently patting the neck of his stallion before handing the reins to one of the servants, reluctant to let his horse go, Xavier nodded and moved over to Decuma's side. "Sounds good to me. I believe the both of us should go inside and find this Doctor. Come on, sir, lean on me," he said, offering his good arm and side. "Thank you, sir." Decuma nodded, though he didn't wish to appear weak. "I know the way," he offered to make up for his disability. "Let's go inside," Harold agreed. "And find the Doctor." He went in beside Decuma and Xavier.
About half an hour later, Giulian returned from the stables. He'd stayed to see Castor and Pollux unharnessed, rubbed down, and supplied with food and water in their respective stalls. He'd petted and praised them and fed them sugar, all the time feeling that Elissa should have been at his side, doing the same. Such a short time, really, since they'd met, and already he felt incomplete without her. A servant directed him to the family dining room where an array of dishes waited on the sideboard. Hungry as he was, the smell of coffee was the most tantalizing. As he entered he glanced around to see who was here already. A chair slid backwards and Maple Gallfrey stood up. "Lord Giulian," she greeted him. There may have been a small sign of relief as she saw for herself that he was unharmed, but she still seemed to be more curt than usual. The plate on the table in front of her held a sparse breakfast, mostly fruit and a pastry, though her teacup was mostly empty and a pot waited nearby. "Maple," Giulian greeted her in return, his own relief plain to see. "I'm glad you made it back here. With Martin, I assume?" There was just the slightest hesitation in his voice as he added the query, "Did you bring ... any news?" Harold came down some minutes later. With a slightly haggard look, he gave a nod to Jules and to Maple once he entered into the family dining room. The smell of food and coffee, and the recent release of some of the stress he had undergone caused his stomach to growl audibly. "Sorry, Giulian. Maple," Harold said as he stepped forward. Giulian was at the sideboard, pouring himself coffee to go with the single boiled egg and slice of toast on his plate. "Hello, Harry." "Good morning Jules." Harry tried to strike up the tone of his voice as he approached the sideboard. "No need for apologies, Lord Harold," Maple replied quietly with a respectful bow of her head. Xander Windhaven was already seated at the table, with a pile of food on the plate before him. He looked up from his eating and smiled. "Sorry I didn't wait. How are you holding up?" Harry looked to Xander curiously. "I hardly think that any of us is going to fault your stomach for it. To answer your question, I suppose time is going to tell. I am relieved, at the least, that Renata is safe. I will not forget you or your brother's part in that." "And neither will I," Renata said as she entered the room. She had taken the time for a long, hot bath, and when she'd emerged, there was a fresh jumper waiting for her. How typical such a gesture was of Anderon House, regardless of the crisis or mood of the day. Now, more refreshed, the abduction behind them, she was ready to face the next round of challenges -- or as ready as possible. "Has there been any news?" she asked. "I was just asking Maple that," commented Giulian, with a nod toward the Dean. Maple frowned in response. "Nothing since you arrived, and nothing that should interrupt a solid breakfast." She looked down at her plate and resumed picking at her fruit. A slice of apple was carved into smaller pieces before lifting one to her mouth. After being cleaned, poked, prodded, and stitched up by Dr. Gomast, Xavier walked into the dining room, his right arm in a sling to prevent him from pulling out the stitches and using his arm, and dressed in a new shirt. His other one was now going to be used for rags if it could be saved. He looked down at his arm, wiggling his hand and grumbling about being hampered at a time like this. He looked up as he entered the room and gave a sheepish smile as he saw the lovely Renata in the room. He looked at the pile of food in front of his brother and rolled his eyes. "I see my brother has already plowed through breakfast. Has he left anything for us?" he asked, laying a hand on his twin's shoulder. He smiled at the others in the room, giving Renata a warm smile and small nod of hello. "Oh, a few crumbs," Giulian said with a grin as he seated himself at one end of the table and propped his crutches within reach. His expression sobered as he asked, "How is Decuma?" Harry turned to listen to the answer to Jules' question. Before Xavier could answer, however, a young man whom Giulian recognized as Dr. Gomast's aide appeared at the door. "My lord," he addressed Giulian, "Dr. Gomast sent me to tell you that he has treated Lord Decuma's wound and put him to bed in the small guest room." At Giulian's worried look he added, "No vital organs were touched, and the doctor's prognosis is favorable, but there was considerable blood loss, and he needs rest." Giulian nodded. "All right. I'll speak to the doctor later. Thank you." The aide bowed and left. Maple nodded in confirmation of the aide's report. She had heard as much from her friends within the Anderon household staff. Giulian closed his eyes briefly. "Rest. Sounds like a wonderful idea." "It does at that," Harry agreed. At that moment, however, seven-year-old Gallfrey charged into the room crying, "You're back! You said you wouldn't go without telling me! Where did you go? Hi, Harry, hi, 'Nata, hi, Maple. Is Father back yet?" "I left you a note," Giulian explained, "only we got back before it was time to give it to you. No, Father's not back yet. Say good morning to Lord Xavier and Lord Xander Windhaven, and don't make so much noise. Decuma's trying to sleep. My brother Gallfrey," he told the twins with an apologetic half-smile. "Hi Gallfrey." Harry gave the lad a tired but sincere smile. Xavier smiled at the young boy and nodded to him. "Hello, Gallfrey." Gallfrey looked from Xavier to Xander and asked the inevitable question, "Are you twins?" Then he went on to ask Xavier, "How did you hurt your arm?" Xavier chuckled and nodded. "We're twins. Only I'm the cuter one." He glanced down at his arm and then at Giulian with a raised eyebrow. "Just ran into a little trouble this evening. It'll be all right." "Lord Gallfrey," Maple addressed her husband's namesake with just a trace of sadness. "Don't neglect your breakfast. After a rough night, how about flavored milk this morning?" She hoped that a treat might keep him from asking too many questions. Gallfrey nodded vigorously and said, "Can I have chocolate?" while sliding into a seat at the table. The prospect didn't serve to damp his curiosity much, though. Turning back to Giulian, he asked again, "Where did you go? I thought you said you weren't going anywhere till morning." "Decuma and I wanted to make sure Harry and Renata were all right," Giulian answered circumspectly, "and bring them back here where they'd be safe." He wondered how much to tell his little brother. He didn't want to frighten Gallfrey too much, but he did want him to be aware of the danger they might all still stand in. He glanced over toward Harry and Renata. On the whole, he thought he should leave it to them to tell Gallfrey about Renata's kidnapping, if they wanted to. "And so he did, and so here we are," Harry confirmed for Gallfrey, giving a glance to Renata before looking back at Giulian's brother. Renata nodded, smiling at the cute little boy. "Enjoying the hospitality of Anderon House. Is chocolate your favorite flavor? It used to be mine and I still like it sometimes... not so much in milk, but as a ganache on a piece of cake, or as a truffle..." "I like chocolate cake too, but we don't have it for breakfast," said Gallfrey. Giulian, meanwhile, took a sip of his coffee and then regarded his younger brother over the rim of his cup before taking up where Harry left off. "We're all safe here, Gaffi, with our people to look after us, and Mother and the girls are safe in the secret hideout. But you need to stay inside today and not give the guards extra work. Promise?" Gallfrey gave a put-upon sigh but said, "All right. Can we play fox and geese? Or skat?" "Maybe later," said Giulian. "I need to take a nap first." His brother gaped at him. "A nap? But it's morning! You're having breakfast!" "I know, but I was up all night," Giulian explained. "And it's going to be a busy day." "Adults sometimes have to work through the night, Gallfrey, and then sleep a bit in the day. And of course," Harry smiled, "didn't I tell you about what life was like aboard spaceships?" "You said daytime was whenever they turned the lights on!" Gallfrey remembered, laughing. Renata joined Gallfrey's laughter and, taking a small bit of food, sat next to her brother. "We still need to send word to Daddy... I imagine he is still at the hotel?" "That would be the place to start, anyway," suggested Giulian. "I'll be sending a messenger there this morning, for sure. He can carry letters for you." Turning to Xavier, Renata said, in a more normal tone, "Has anyone looked at that arm? We don't want it to get infected..." And certainly not on my account, she thought privately. Glancing over at Renata, Xavier smiled and nodded. "The doctor did and one of his assistants finished up with me after I insisted on Decuma going first. How are you doing? After all... you were the one..." He looked over at the little boy and back to Renata. "You know..." She nodded. "I know... and I'm fine. Really fine. Thank you." Fine, she thought, and lucky. Terribly lucky, knowing what might have happened, what might still be happening to others. Not for the first time, or even the fiftieth, she wondered what was happening and how they could stop it, if it could be stopped. She thought of Jovanna and decided that this was not what her friend had meant, not what she had wanted.... Xavier smiled again. "Good. I am glad to hear that you are all right. That you were not harmed in any way. Did you overhear them say something? Anything that could help us figure out what happened this night?" He glanced at his twin. "We ahh... may want a message sent to our home, if possible." He then looked at the table and his fork and knife and his hands. "Hmm... Brother of mine, I may need a wee bit of help here." Giulian swallowed the last of his coffee and reached for his crutches. "I'm going to look in on Decuma," he announced. "Harry, Renata, you know where the morning room is, where Mother writes her letters." His glance included everyone in the room. "Feel free to use it. There's an escritoire and plenty of writing paper." He stifled a yawn, then added apologetically, "I'm not going to be able to write a coherent letter until I've had a little sleep." He began to move toward the door. Renata, having finished her light breakfast, got up. "I -- I really should see how he is... under the circumstances, don't you think?" she finished with a bright smile. "Harry, why don't you start off a letter and I'll join you, and we'll send it together?" Giulian paused at the door to wait for Renata, giving her a smile over his shoulder. Maple took advantage of the pause to ask a favor. "Lord Giulian, I have imposed upon you enough, but may I use a messenger to send word to Isabel?" "Certainly you may, Maple," answered Giulian. "I hope he'll bring back word of how she is, too." Harry walked up to Renata and spoke in a low, quiet voice that was really not much above a whisper. "Be careful, all right?" he said to her. "Of course," she said, a little puzzled. What danger could there be walking to Decuma's room with Giulian? The danger, for now, was behind them. "Right," Harry said. "I'll get working on the letter," he added in a louder voice. Looking away from his plate as Renata rose to join Giulian, Xavier dropped his eyes back down. He glanced at his brother. "Perhaps... we should find our way home instead," he muttered in a lower voice. Xander gave his brother a subtle sympathetic look and nodded. Harry looked to the twins. "Gentlemen, if you are going to leave so abruptly..." Harry began. He stopped, losing the words and then finally he started. "I...I wanted to thank the both of you for your help in getting my sister free." In a lower voice, he muttered, still audible to hear, "And saving me from my foolishness. "It's still dangerous out there, though," he added. "I can't personally speak for the hospitality here, even if I am on good terms with the House. However, if you don't have to leave now, with things in such flux, I should think that you should rest here as planned." Xander stood and offered Harry his hand. "You are very welcome, Lord Harry. I hope that we did what any honorable and able men would do, and I hope that you'll realize soon that you've got a lot more guts and skill than you give yourself credit for. A little foolishness can be a good thing sometimes. "On the other hand, our father will be so worried, and probably our sisters too. Unless you have more that we could help with, we're probably just fourth wheels eating up your food at the moment." He smiled. "Take care of your sister, and your brothers. I think you've all proved just how strong your mettle is tonight." "My lords, for your safety, don't leave just yet." Maple Gallfrey turned toward the twins. "Anderon is one of the most secure Houses, but trouble could be watching the house, waiting for someone to leave." Her tone was respectful to the young lords, but she seemed to speak from experience. "If you can wait just a little longer, I have an idea which could make your trip home safer." Xavier let out a little sigh. He beat himself inside for even trying to court a lovely lady during the time of crisis. Like he could even match a potential heir to all of Aquila. He stared down into his cup of dark, strong tea and swirled it in his hand. He looked back at his twin. "It appears that Dean Gallfrey is correct, my brother. I was too hasty in our insistence on leaving. Father would want us to stay safe instead of trying to rush home and cause more trouble. Father and Trystan can handle things at home as well as the girls. If not, we know Gabriella will do her best to fight off anyone. We taught her too well," he said with a lopsided grin. "It would do me a mite better to go find a soft bed and catch an hour or so of sleep and recuperate a little." "Is everybody just gonna go to sleep?" protested Gallfrey. Harry gave the young lad a tired smile and a weary nod. "Unlike you, young sir, we've been up all night, racing around. We don't have the same kind of energy that I'm sure is running inside you," Xavier teased the young boy with a playful smile. He reached out and ruffled Gallfrey's soft hair in a playful fashion that he did with a younger Trystan. "Xavier is right, Gallfrey," Harry said with a smile. "We old adults who stayed up all night need an hour or three of sleep now. We'll be up soon enough." "I'm sure you have lessons to do," Maple suggested to the young boy. "Get them done now, and you'll be free when everyone has rested." Gallfrey rolled his eyes in a put-upon manner, but subsided, giving his attention to his breakfast. Turning back to the twins, Maple said, "When you are ready, my lords, your beds will be. Korine had several rooms prepared, assuming they would be needed." Xander shook his head. "I couldn't sleep -- too much adrenaline. Maybe there's something else I could be doing -- help some ways? Even a messenger rider? If you think the house may be watched that's all fine and good, but we got home safely enough last night. I am worried this paranoia may keep us from discovering what is about elsewhere in the City." Xavier pushed himself up to his feet with his good arm and stood. "I'll take the room." He pressed his hand to his brother's arm for a moment. "Do what you can to get word to Father, even if it is just a note." "I am writing a letter myself to my own father," Harry said. "For the sake of me and Renata, to let him know we are safe." He looked at Xander as if considering him for a long moment. "If I can't go, I'm not sending anyone else, Xav," Xander said. "But rest assured I'll do the best I can." He met Harry's eyes and nodded silently. "I'll take it. Let me take it. You saw how I ride, and you saw the quality of our horses. Besides, if anything did happen to me, there's a spare." He winked in the direction of his twin. "That's me. The spare heir," Xavier said with a yawn and moved on over to where Maple waited. "I'll take that room, Dean Gallfrey." There was an odd look on Maple's face, but it disappeared as she wiped a hand across her tired eyes. "Lord Xander, once I get your brother to a room, I will write a quick note to my daughter. I will feel better if you slip away with the other messengers, rather than on your own." Harry nodded his agreement with Maple's assertion. Maple stepped into the hallway, calling a young maid to her. "Penny, please show Lord Xavier to one of the guest rooms." Xavier smiled and nodded to the young maid. Xander smiled and reached out to clasp his brother's hand again. "Sleep well. I'll let everyone know you're all right, and that you're a hero." Xavier turned when Xander clasped his good hand and turned his hand to clasp his brother's back. "Thank you, brother. Ride well." He turned and followed the maid out of the dining room. Once he had left, Xander turned to look at Maple. "Mistress Gallfrey, why do you worry more about me than the other messengers? Let's be frank with one another: I'm new enough to the city I doubt, in my torn and stained clothing, anyone's going to guess I'm nobility." "Perhaps," Maple conceded. "The other messengers are trained for this. You're not helpless, but the streets and citizens are new to you. Let us get the letters written. I'll be in Lady Anderon's Morning Room." She turned, and with a light swish of her skirts, she was out the door. Harold looked around the room for a moment, and then followed Maple to the Morning Room. Xander nodded as Maple and Harry left the room, turned to a servant and asked politely for a few sheets of paper, a pen and ink, to write his own letter. The servant obligingly went off to fetch these necessary items. In the meantime Gallfrey Anderon finished up his breakfast, and seeing that all the grownups were occupied with dull things like sleeping and writing letters, muttered a perfunctory excuse and made off in the direction of the schoolroom. |
