"I'll fill you in on all the details after court tomorrow, if you haven't already found out from other sources by then," Morgan went on. "I'm sure there'll be a briefing, once we've had the Mearan's answer. In the meantime, you should probably get some sleep - and I undoubtedly should go and greet my wife. I a.s.sume, by the way, that Hamilton and Hillary have things under control at home?"

"Aye, m'lord. And my mother has charge of the little ones."

"That's fine. How many men did you bring?"

"Half a dozen - and one maid for Her Grace. I hope you're not angry, sir."

"No, I'm not angry." Morgan sighed, then clapped Derry on the shoulder as he set his hand on the door latch.

"Go get some sleep, then. We'll see you at court in the morning. And thank you for bringing my wife here safely, Sean."

"My pleasure, m'lord."

As Derry sketched a bow and turned to go, obviously relieved, Morgan lifted the latch and slipped into his quarters, softly closing the door behind him.

Only firelight greeted him at first. Near the curtained entrance to the garderobe, he could make out a small pile of trunks and travel valises that had not been there earlier, a fur-lined cloak spread before the fire to dry, but there was no sign of the maid who should have accompanied them. Moving on through the room and into the adjoining bedchamber, a glimmer of candlelight caught his eye from behind the curtains of his canopied bed. He darted a quick Deryni probe inside as he approached, confirming the presence of Richenda and not some lurking a.s.sa.s.sin, but he resolutely shuttered off the part of his mind that dealt with the subject he most definitely did not want to discuss, on this first night back together in months.

"It was too late to join you for Ma.s.s," a soft, tentative voice whispered as Morgan parted the curtains with both hands, "but I've said my own prayers. Shall you come to bed now, my lord?"

Richenda lay in the middle of the bed with the sleeping furs pulled close under her chin, her face aglow in the light of the single candle set in a sconce at the head of the bed. Her eyes, bluer than any summer lake, mirrored a mixture of mischief and uncertainty as she gazed up at him, flame gold hair completely veiling the pillow beneath her head. The gold of his marriage ring on her hand glittered bright and chill as she fingered the edge of the sleeping fur at her throat.

She was nervous. He knew she was expecting him to be angry.

"So. Just what do you think you're doing here?" he asked, his words cool but his eyes warming as her thought reached out in caress. "And stop that when I'm trying to scold you."

Lowering her eyes demurely, she obeyed, though as she raised up on her elbows to look at him again, the furs slipped down a little to expose a bare shoulder and shake his composure.

"I came to keep Christmas with my lord and husband," she murmured, letting another tendril of thought brush more lingeringly against his mind.

"Should I not have come?"

The contact was excruciating pleasure after so long a parting. With a gasp, Morgan dropped his surface shields to her and lurched onto the bed, taking her in his arms and pressing his lips hungrily to hers as she embraced him. The touch of her flesh, intensified by the touch of mind against mind, sent fire pulsing along every nerve. He groaned as she pushed him far enough away to unbuckle his swordbelt, both of them trembling as she slipped it from his waist with one hand and cast the sword on the bed beside them while she worked at the clasp of his cloak with her other hand, her lips continuing to nuzzle kisses on his neck and throat.

"All the clothing, my lord," she whispered around the kisses, starting on the laces of his overtunic. "Especially the boots. I've brought our own linens from Coroth and put them on the bed, and I won't have you ripping holes with your spurs."

He raised up on his elbows in astonishment and burst out laughing at that, causing her to begin giggling as well, then shook his head and sat up all the way, still grinning, the fire in his loins only banked, not slaked, as he drew up his knees to unfasten low indoor boots.

"Fortunately for both of us, I didn't ride today, so I'm not wearing spurs and I can manage the boots myself," he said, as the buckles came free. "It would take far too long to call a squire."

"Oh, aye," she agreed, wide-eyed and dutiful.

Grinning, he kicked both feet through the curtain opening and heard the satisfying slap of leather hitting floor somewhere outside. His overtunic quickly followed the boots. She sat up to help him with his mail shirt, but the sleeping furs slipped down around her waist, almost too distracting even for Deryni self- control, and he had to close his eyes and take several deep, shuddering breaths while together they peeled the dead weight of the chain up his torso and over his shoulders. His overtunic came "P partway as well, tangling around his neck with the mail, and he could sense her mirth as his head got stuck when she tried to pull both off at once.

"Just hold still until I get this sorted out," she whispered.

He could feel her body warm against his back as she rose up on her knees behind to free him, every nerve tingling at the touch of her hair trailing over one of his shoulders. She tugged at the tunic and muttered as something started to rip. He yelped as one ear got bent.

More fumbling at the tangled opening, a grunt as she lifted the weight of the chain, and he was finally free. Drawing a deep breath, he pushed the mail and the rumpled undertunic out of the bed and turned to gaze at her again, doing his best to suppress a foolish grin.

"Thank you," he said softly.

Her smile was still just a little tentative as she nodded in answer, but her eyes never left his as she brushed one hand down his side to play at the waist of his breeches.

"And you are sure you're not angry, my lord?" she murmured.

"You know that I should be," he said, taking her in his arms and bearing her gently back onto the bed with the weight of his body. "But I'm not. That pa.s.sed as soon as I saw you lying here. All I can think about is how long it's been since I've been in your bed. I think you must be some kind of witch - a Deryni witch, perhaps."

She laughed delightedly at that and drew him down to kiss him, lightly at first and then more lingeringly, as their speech shifted beyond mere words.

A witch, am I? she whispered in his mind. And have I ensorcelled you, my love?

Totally and utterly, he managed to reply, before losing himself in the growing urgency of what her hands were doing, working at the laces of his breeches. G.o.d, how I've missed you, Richenda!

But even in the sharing of minds as well as bodies, he was not totally ensorcelled. Some things he knew she understood he could not share, for he held the trust of other minds besides her own and might not grant those trusts even to a wife without leave.

But the thing he would not share remained a niggling frustration, doubly irritating to Richenda because Morgan would not really acknowledge its existence. To ease the rebuff, he gave her his perception of the events since their last reunion: the color and intrigue of the synod at Culdi; Loris' escape; the attempt on Duncan's life; Kelson's foray into the borderlands of Transha - and Dhugal and his shields.

"Shields?" Richenda whispered, drawing back to search his eyes even as her mind continued to read what he offered. "Is he one of us?"

"We think so," Morgan replied, "but we're not sure. No one can get past the shields, and he doesn't know how to lower them. Most attempts to read him have been so painful that he's become afraid for anyone else to try - except Duncan. Duncan doesn't hurt him, but Duncan doesn't get past the shields, either."

"Does Dhugal want to be read?" Richenda asked.

Morgan shrugged. "He says he does - though he hasn't gone out of his way to let us try. Not that any of us have had the time to pursue the matter. Maybe you'll have some ideas for new approaches. Duncan's actually the logical choice to do it, but he's been as busy as the rest of us."

By the time he had given her the rest of what he knew of Dhugal - the capture by Loris, Istelyn's mortal danger, the daring escape from Ratharkin, with its resultant royal hostages, and Dhugal's totally unexpected reaction to Duncan's consecration - Richenda was quite taken with the challenge the young border lord presented.

"I have a few ideas already," she said thoughtfully. "Be sure I get to meet him at court tomorrow."

"You'll hardly be able to avoid it," Morgan chuckled. "He's being formally invested as Earl of Transha. And then the real excitement begins."

"Caitrin's answer to Kelson's ultimatum," Richenda guessed.

Morgan sighed and nodded. "Aye. And since we really don't expect her to submit, it's almost certainly war in the spring - and a royal wedding for Kelson and Sidana at Twelfth Night."

Richenda stiffened in his arms and turned her face away at that, and Morgan could only hold her close in comfort and wait for the moment to pa.s.s, regretting the off-handedness of his last remark. He had never pressed her for the intimate details of her own first marriage, but he knew she had had no more say about it than Sidana would have. Unless they entered the religious life, marriages of state were almost inevitable for daughters of great houses. Richenda had been just sixteen when she married Bran Coris, and had never even seen her future husband before their wedding day.

"Oh, I understand all the dynastic reasons for a marriage between Gwynedd and Meara," she finally said, huddling back into the curve of his arm for rea.s.surance. "They've been fighting for generations. It could finally resolve that old, old argument."

She gave a heavy sigh before continuing.

"But Kelson and Sidana - they're people, Alaric, not kingdoms. I don't know the girl at all, but I know Kelson. He's a kind and generous young man, and I know he'll do his best to make the marriage more than just a legal form for getting heirs, but - but - "

"But neither of them really has a choice," Morgan said, answering what she could not articulate. "I know. It doesn't make me very happy either.

Unfortunately, such duties go with a crown."

"I suppose." She was silent a long time, her thoughts shuttered inside those private areas Morgan would not have thought of invading, until finally she sighed again.

"Well, if the marriage happens, you're going to have to take charge of Kelson," she said. "I don't know how a man feels about such things, but I do know how a woman feels. Despite whatever she may want, Sidana of Meara will probably be our next queen. She's bound to be afraid and unhappy and upset, but there's no reason it has to be as bad as it could be. I've been in a similar position; perhaps I can help her see the positive aspects. If you'll allow it, I'll ask to be a lady-in-waiting - and her friend, if she'll have me. I feel so sorry for the girl, Alaric."

"My beautiful Richenda," Morgan murmured, drawing her closer into the circle of his arms. "I am so very, very glad I found you."

He had also found, he reflected, as he drifted off to sleep, at least a temporary diversion for his wife's discontent so long as she remained in Rhemuth, at any rate.

Early Christmas morning, Haldane scouts reported the approach of a Mearan herald and a man-at-arms, perhaps two hours away at their present pace.

A page brought the news to Kelson in Dhugal's chamber, where king and border lord had been speculating on that very subject while Dhugal dressed for his invest.i.ture. The king himself wore an ankle-length court robe of Haldane scarlet, ermine showing at wrists and hem and along the deep slits front and back, but he had not yet put on his crown Or the other accoutrements of his kingship.

"I don't like the sound of that, do you?" Kelson asked, when page and squire had been dismissed, watching Dhugal knot a narrow sash over his grey woolen tunic. "A herald and one man-at-arms. Not even a delegation. What do you suppose it means?"

With a snort, Dhugal shook out a cloak of fine MacArdry tartan and slung it around his shoulders, holding it closed with one hand while he rummaged in a wooden casket for a suitable brooch. The yellow, black, and grey plaid made bright contrast to the nubby grey wool beneath.

"Not a surrender, I'll warrant - but then, we never did really expect that, did we? I take it you will receive them?"

"I will - after we've finished with your invest.i.ture. It won't do them any harm to cool their heels for a while. That's part of what heralds are paid to do."

"That's true, I suppose."

As Dhugal threaded the pin of a heavy ring brooch through the two edges of his cloak. Kelson raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, tipping the carved silver toward the light with two fingers underneath the edge.

"That's a striking piece. Border silver?"

Dhugal nodded and turned the ring into place, fussing with the arrangement of the cloak's folds on his shoulders.

"Aye. This one's a MacArdry clan motif. It's been in the family for generations. I suppose I really ought to wear the chief's tore, too. Ciard said he'd put it in the bottom of the casket. Would you see if you can find it?"

With a grunt for answer. Kelson turned his attention to the wooden casket.

He remembered the tore. Old Caulay had worn it when he came forward to swear fealty at Kelson's coronation. Underneath several other brooches and rings, something the right size and shape lay wrapped in the folds of a white rabbit pelt.

Ornately chased end bosses in the shape of golden horses' heads protruded from the fur as Kelson slid it out from under the other things, but he handed it off without a second look as he continued to poke at what was left in the chest.

"It looks like Ciard brought you the entire Transha treasury," he said, pulling out a ring encrusted with granulated gold. "Is this a Transha seal?"

"That? Oh, aye. Transha, as opposed to MacArdry." Dhugal burnished the tore against his sleeve and then slipped it around his neck, pulling his braid free and adjusting the cloak and collar so they would not interfere. "It probably ought to be added to the rest of the regalia, actually. I think it goes with the coronet.

Does someone have that?"

"Probably Ciard," Kelson replied. "One of your men, at any rate." He slipped the signet on his own finger, where he would not lose it, and poked in the casket some more. "Here, this one's nice - the cloak clasp with the lion's head.

Why don't you wear that instead of the ring brooch?"

"That?" Dhugal gave it a perfunctory glance as he took it from Kelson, they shook his head and put the clasp back in the casket.

"Not today for that one, I think - though I promise to wear it to your wedding, if you end up marrying Sidana." He closed the lid of the casket with a hollow clunk. "I'm told my father gave it to my mother on their wedding day - which makes it far more suitable for a celebration of love than for the creation of a warlord, don't you agree?"

"Hmmm, I suppose. I still like it better than the ring brooch, though."

Dhugal, thrusting a sheathed dirk through the back of his sash, grinned and gave a sheepish nod.

"So do I, if you really want the truth. But if I didn't wear the proper badges of my rank as chief, especially for my first formal reception at court, I might offend my clansmen. They think it's far more important to be their chief than it is to be your earl. You know how it is in the borders."

"Oh, aye," Kelson said, mimicking Dhugal's broad border accent and smiling as he bade him twirl around for inspection.

He was sober again by the time Dhugal finished turning, though, the grey Haldane eyes shadowed with just a trace of apprehension.

"What's wrong?" Dhugal asked.

Sighing, Kelson glanced at his boots. "I wish that all I had to do this morning was to make you an earl," he said quietly. "I'm not looking forward to the rest."

"Neither is anyone else," Dhugal replied.

"Then, why do we do it?"

"I suppose - because we have to."

"We have to," Kelson repeated.

Drawing a deep breath, he let it out explosively and looked up with a grin that was only a little strained.

"Well, if you put it that way, I suppose it's time I finished putting on the badges of my rank, don't you think? Can't make you an earl without them, you know."

"Certainly not!" Dhugal retorted, picking up the cue.

They continued to banter on that level all the while Kelson finished dressing, and even up to the very doors of the great hall.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

And I shall even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness.

- Hosea 2:20 Christmas Court: The tang of evergreen and cedar in Kelson's nostrils - more pungent scent of pine knots dipped in pitch, lighting his way through the packed, murmuring hall. Silver trumpet voices, a flourish of drums. Bright-clad forms giving him obeisance as he moved among them; rows of courtiers in holiday finery, some lightly armed, ladies bright and graceful as songbirds.

As on most great feast days, he wore the jewelled state crown of his coronation rather than the simpler circlet of gold he usually favored. His black hair fell loose on his shoulders. A belt of gilded leather girded his father's sword at his waist; a jewel-encrusted sceptre lay cradled in the crook of his left arm.

Before ascending the dais to the canopied chair of state, he pa.s.sed to the left where the bishops waited and knelt briefly for Bradene's Christmas blessing, h.o.a.rding the brief peacefulness as he took his throne.

It was to be the only island of calm. No sooner was he seated than the drums rolled to command attention to a herald who proclaimed the opening of Christmas Court. The loyal greetings of his va.s.sals followed - mostly a rapid blur.

Head inclining to acknowledge their bows, hand extending to receive the brush of lips in homage, murmured words of thanks, of inquiry after their families and lands, each man replaced by the next in rapid succession.

He brightened at the unexpected approach of Derry - for he had not known the young lord was coming to Christmas Court - then rose to kiss the smiling Richenda's hand when Morgan brought her forward, suddenly understanding Derry's presence. Still, one presentation ran into the next all too quickly, the pace slowing only when Dhugal came forward to be invested. And even that sped by too fast to really savor.