Egalion looked at him, frowning. “What did you feel from her, my friend?”
As Maximilian and Ishbel sat down at the table, Lixel retrieved the marriage contracts
from a satchel. He couldn”t believe Maximilian was moving this precipitously. By gods, there
hadn”t even been the time for a convivial glass of wine first, let alone any time put aside for
Maximilian and Ishbel to see if they liked each other or not.
As Lixel sat down at the table, sliding the contract toward Maximilian, he rather hoped
that Maximilian had been so smitten by Ishbel at first sight that the king would grant Lixel
immediate permission to return to Escator.
“I believe you have hashed out the contract with StarWeb, Ishbel?” Maximilian said.
“Yes,” said Ishbel, and Lixel was not surprised to see a hardening of her expression and a
tightening of her shoulders at the mention of StarWeb.
Maximilian nodded, running his eye over the document. “Are you prepared to sign?” He
looked up at Ishbel then, and something passed between them that Lixel could not identify.
“If you are agreeable,” she said softly.
“I am agreeable, Ishbel,” Maximilian said. “Shall we make a marriage, then?”
There was a long pause, then Ishbel dipped her head. “Yes.”
Lixel”s mouth dropped open. Never had he witnessed such an unemotional, almost
clinical assenting to a marriage. Why not spend time together, getting to know each other?
Wasn”t that what this entire exercise of meeting in Pelemere had been about?
“Lixel,” said Maximilian, “can you fetch Garth and Egalion in to witness?”
Lixel closed his mouth, nodded, and did as he was told.
Garth had not answered Egalion”s question truthfully. He couldn”t. Not before he”d
spoken to Maximilian. He”d fudged an answer, and was grasping about for something to say to
distract Egalion when the door to the secondary chamber opened, Lixel appeared, and requested
Garth and Egalion enter.
Garth could not believe what was happening. Maximilian was about to sign the contract
within a few minutes of meeting the woman for the first time. What in the name of all gods was
he doing?
Maximilian was running through the clauses, checking them, as Garth and Egalion
entered.
“This one…” he said, tapping the document and looking between Ishbel and Lixel. “How
did this come to be here?”
“StarWeb insisted on it,” said Ishbel, her tone strained. “She said you would not ratify the
marriage, declare it valid, until I was…um…” She glanced up at Garth and Egalion, clearly
embarrassed.
As she has every reason to be, thought Garth, getting angrier by the moment.
“Until you were pregnant and in Ruen,” said Maximilian. “Well, I think we can dispense
with that, yes?” and with a single stroke of the pen he drew a thick black line through the clause.
“Now, Ishbel, if you would sign here, if you please—”
“No!” Garth broke in. “No. Maxel, I beg you, a moment of your time, please.”
Maximilian looked at him. “Explain yourself, Garth.”
“Maxel,” Garth said, “a moment of your time, I beg you. If you care or trust me at all,
then grant me this moment. Please.”
Maximilian looked at Ishbel. “I apologize most sincerely for this unwelcome intrusion,”
he said, then rose, walked over to Garth, took his elbow in an ungentle hand, and ushered him
out of the room.
“Garth!” Maximilian said. “What was the meaning of that?”
“Maxel, Ishbel is pregnant.”
Maximilian went utterly still. “What?”
“Not much, perhaps a week…she has only just conceived. But she is pregnant. You know
I can feel this.”
Maximilian nodded. Garth had the Touch; determining an early pregnancy was but a
trivial task for him. “And so,” he said, “your point is…”
Garth was growing more astounded by the moment. Maximilian”s anger had faded and he
was now regarding Garth with an amused air.
“The Lady Ishbel is not as virtuous as you had hoped, Maxel,” Garth said, wondering if
he needed to put this into one-syllable words for Maximilian to comprehend. “Dear gods, my
friend, you would take a woman to wife when she”s carrying someone else”s bastard?”
Maximilian grinned, the expression so surprising that Garth felt his mouth drop open.
“It”s my child, Garth.”
Garth was now so shocked he could not speak.
“Where did you think I went,” Maximilian said, “when I rode ahead of the main retinue
and left you and Egalion to your own company for well over a week?”
Garth gazed at him, struggling to come to terms with what Maximilian had done. “You
said…the forest…”
“Yes, yes,” Maximilian said, waving a hand dismissively. Then he smiled, and actually
winked. “Changed my mind. Thought I”d see if I couldn”t make Ishbel”s acquaintance under less
strained circumstances than a formal meeting.”
“Well, you surely made it very well,” Garth muttered.
Maximilian laughed and clapped Garth on the shoulder. “She is well with the child?”
“Yes. Yes, she is well. There is no problem that I could feel.”
“Good. Then perhaps you can come back in and apologize to my future wife for your
behavior.”
Garth wasn”t going to allow Maximilian to get away with this entirely. “And perhaps,
later, when your future wife is safely out of hearing range, you can apologize to Egalion and
myself for your deception.”
“A bargain,” said Maximilian, and led the way back into the room.
Ishbel was growing more certain that her entire time as Maximilian”s wife would be spent
in this terrible state of feeling completely overwhelmed. Maximilian had arrived, greeted her,
swept her inside, asked for the marriage contract, scratched out the clause StarWeb had fought so
hard for, and all within a relatively few short minutes. Ishbel doubted that enough time had yet
elapsed from his arrival for his entire entourage to have completely dismounted.
Adding to this sense of feeling completely overwhelmed by Maximilian was a stab of
hurt that Garth Baxtor had so obviously taken an immediate and deep dislike to her. Ishbel had
liked Garth—he had such an open, friendly attractive face which invited instant trust—but then
he”d taken her hand and within a heartbeat his face had closed over and he had turned his back to
her.
And now he”d demanded that Maximilian talk with him privately.
What had Garth discovered? Ishbel”s heart was beating fast, pounding in her chest, and
her hands were damp where she clutched them in her lap. Garth had felt something when he”d
touched her…Great Serpent, please let it be that he hadn”t felt—
Maximilian and Garth reentered the room, and Ishbel jumped slightly in sheer
nervousness.
Maximilian looked at her with amusement—and something else that she couldn”t quite
fathom—although at least the amusement reassured Ishbel somewhat, but Garth”s change in
attitude was nothing short of extraordinary.
“My Lady Ishbel,” he said, dropping to one knee beside her chair, his face alive once
more with friendliness, “I must beg your pardon for my behavior earlier. Sometimes I can be a
clump-headed fool, and too often I underestimate Maxel”s courage and daring. Will you forgive
my former behavior? I promise herewith that in future I shall ask before judging.”
Ishbel had no idea at all what was going on about her. She glanced again at Maximilian,
more for reassurance than anything else, then, at his slight nod, gave Garth a small and
somewhat uncertain smile.
“Of course,” she said.
Garth”s smiled broadened slightly, then he rose. “I beg everyone”s forgiveness for my
rudeness.” He winked at Egalion, who was looking as confused as Ishbel felt, then stepped back
a little from the table.
“„Maxel”?” Ishbel said to Maximilian, more to fill in the silence than out of any real
curiosity.
“Maximilian is such a mouthful,” he said. “Those closest to me always call me Maxel,
and I hope you will, too.”
Ishbel gave another uncertain smile, unable to stop herself imagining StarWeb calling out
the name in the grip of passion, then cursing herself yet again for being weak enough to allow StarWeb to rattle her. By the Great Serpent, Ishbel thought, what has happened to me? I am a
stronger person than this.
“Now.” Maximilian sat down and spun the marriage contract toward him. He picked up a
pen. “All we need decide on is a date for the marriage. I don”t think we need wait, Ishbel. Shall
the day after tomorrow be suitable?”
“I do not see the need to rush,” Ishbel said. “I had thought this period in Pelemere was to
be spent getting to know each other. I—”
“Ishbel,” Maximilian said quietly.
Ishbel made the mistake of looking at him, and seeing the expression in his eyes. Seeing
the memory in his eyes. Why do I bother with this? she wondered. The Great Serpent wants me
to marry him, after all.
“The day after tomorrow,” she agreed, and Maximilian smiled, then signed the document.
He pushed the contract and pen over to Ishbel and, after the barest of hesitations, she signed as
well, wishing she had the courage to list her true titles under her name.