UniLibraryVictorAndGiulianThe next morning, after engaging in his customary exercises, Victor dressed with the help of his valet Melvin and headed out for the University. Once it was in sight, he started to veer off to one side towards the library. He still had questions, and he suspected he knew someone who might be able to point him in the right direction. Giulian could often be found doing research, which Victor presumed was for his graduate studies in History. He quietly asked the young woman behind the desk if she had seen Giulian this morning, and she replied silently by pointing at a series of reading rooms along one wall. Victor quietly nodded and headed in that direction to look. The Anderon heir had indeed settled himself in one of the reading rooms with a stack of large, thick volumes next to him on the table. He was leafing through one of these when Victor came upon him, and Victor could see that what he was reading appeared to be a collection of newspaper clippings mounted in an album. Victor knocked twice on the door jamb, then asked "May I interrupt your research so that we might discuss a little history, Sir?" Giulian looked around. He seemed a bit surprised to see Victor, but answered cordially enough, "Certainly, Hoberty, if you like." He indicated the chair across from him, wondering meanwhile if this had to do with Victor's classwork. As he moved into the room, Victor motioned towards the door and pantomimed closing it with an inquisitive look on his face. If Giulian didn't mind, Victor intended to close the door so that they might speak without disturbing the other patrons... or perhaps so that they could speak privately. Giulian nodded his assent to this. Victor closed the door and took the offered seat. "In history, I'm often struck by how in some years... everything seems to happen. A great discovery in starship drives is made while a galaxy-spanning war comes to a close. Great lords die, and multiple houses announce marriages... and I have to wonder if there is some causal relationship to these things, or if understanding the cause to one mysterious incident... might shed light on another?" he asked with some gravity. Giulian laced his fingers together and propped his chin on his joined hands, regarding Victor thoughtfully. "That's an interesting observation. Are you intending to write a paper on it? "And did you have a particular example in mind?" "I'm not sure if I could write a paper on the subject, as it strikes rather close to home... but the topic does fascinate me for the same reason. I was thinking of twenty-five years ago... the deaths of two lords, the births of two Harry Decumas, and... two kidnappings. Do you think any of those events are related to the others?" "That is close to home," Giulian agreed, "though neither of us was born at the time." Quite. He rested a hand on the large folio volume he'd been paging through. "As a matter of fact, I've been doing research on ... some of that ... myself lately." He lifted his eyes to Victor's. "Duke Atropos' assassination was thoroughly investigated at the time. You may have heard of the Warrens Commission. Their finding was that it was the work of an independent, offworld fanatic. I know that isn't very satisfying, but..." He turned a hand palm up. "I find that... less than plausible as a final explanation. Unless some outside force impelled the fanatic to seek out the Duke... there seems to be insufficient motivation, let alone resources, for an independent fanatic. The problem I have, though... is not too few suspects, but rather, there are so many with motive," Victor said quietly. "That's the same problem the Commission had to wrestle with," Giulian pointed out. "Talk to Lady Bahlmis sometime -- she'll tell you." His dark eyes showed a trace of amusement as he added, "The mere fact that the explanation turned out to be something so improbable still exasperates her. "The rest of it..." His expression grew serious again. "It's hard to say. On the face of it, conception and birth are very much a matter of individual biology -- or in the hand of God, whichever way you want to put it. On the other hand, there are ways to inhibit conception, or to induce or retard labor, even without advanced medical technology. As for inducing death ... even more ways. Is that what you're driving at?" "I'm saying that there were at least two groups grabbing for the Dukedom by any means necessary. The mothers of our prospective Dukes were pawns, and may have had their fertility tampered with as you said. As you're aware, twenty-five years ago isn't the only time someone has tried to kill Aquila's Duke, or Regent..." Victor said, his voice growing sympathetic as he hit closer to home than perhaps he had intended. "I'm aware." Giulian's voice was level. "The fact is that people in power have all that many more opportunities to make other people angry with them." "Someone killed Lord Merian as well... and, later, Doctor Hoberty... perhaps, but probably not unwittingly... helped to cover it up by cremating the evidence against Catholic, and family, tradition. Even if poor great-grandmother Gylda Maun was behind it herself... she must have had a larger reason. Once again... ruthless unseen political forces at work. I wish to know, simply... who they were, and perhaps more importantly, who they still are. What I'm saying is... these crimes and coincidences are the footprints of men... and I would know who," Victor said very quietly, one hand drifting to the hilt of his sword. Giulian followed the gesture with a raised eyebrow. "For revenge?" he queried. "Or for your own protection? Or to keep them from acting again?" "I love my family, I love Aquila, and I love truth... and now that we are about to have a Duke again, I am forced to question... how long until their long knives extend from the shadows again? If you're asking if I intend to rush right off and stab them..." he said as he glanced down to the hilt of his sword as if the hand belonged to someone else before suddenly retracting it. "I don't intend to do anything quite so rash, but I do intend to protect what I love and mend those wrongs that I can. Living long enough to enjoy a better world... that is also high on my list," Victor said solemnly. Giulian's eyes glinted briefly. "Living well is the best revenge," he quoted. "And finally... I need to know if I am the rightful heir. If Stone and Gylda were innocent, and Stone had a son... I will not beggar an innocent man so that I may play Lord of the Hill. If this son has died in the meantime while I lived and grew strong in what should be his house... I owe that dead cousin something as well." "And what if there is no way to determine their guilt or innocence at this late date?" Giulian asked him, with equal seriousness. "Because if there's one thing a historian learns--" His fingers drummed restlessly on the leather cover of the folio. "--it's that when it comes to the past, we never have all the facts. Only what leaves traces, whether they be physical evidence, records, or ... memories." "Which is why I'm exploring the idea that one web of lies, deceit, and treachery... when left unsolved... can lead to another. Assuming that whoever did this did so for a politically or personally motivated reason... and assuming they haven't been caught at something else and terminally punished, which I don't believe has happened... then they are still out there. If I can somehow see the pattern, learn what it is that he, she, they are doing now, or did a short time ago... then perhaps I can learn what they did in the forgotten past and what they might do in the near future. It might not work... but I won't know if I don't explore it." Giulian nodded. "That seems sound enough. And in some ways you're well placed to investigate the Hoberty end of the business. Presumably you have access to the family records? I'm not just talking about diaries and letters and things like that, though they can be very useful. I mean things like household accounts, ledgers, employment records..." Victor nodded slowly. "Do you have any leads I should be looking for connections to? I do know my family's business quite well, but we're looking for where one piece of the puzzle meets the next... and I suspect you've been quietly considering these matters for some time now." "In general, yes, though I admit I haven't given as much thought to Lord Hoberty's death as I have to incidents closer to home. For me, that is." Giulian's fingers continued to drum absently on the leatherbound folio. "If I were you, I'd go through the household accounts and look for anything unusual. Purchases that seem uncharacteristic. Employees taken on or dismissed suddenly." His mouth twitched, wryly. "And, of course, anything that seems to be missing..." "Many thanks, Giulian... and take care of yourself. If, some day, you awaken to learn I've died suddenly... you may open this," Victor said as he reached within his coat and produced a sealed piece of parchment. Giulian's brows flew up in momentary surprise, but he took the parchment from Victor and put it carefully away in an inner pocket. "I sincerely hope that won't be necessary," he said. "Do keep me informed of how you're getting on ... if you find anything. Sometimes it's safer for more than one person to know about these things. And let me know if there's anything more I can do to help." "I will... and the opposite applies as well. Let me know if you need my assistance," Victor said sincerely. |
