Everyone had come out to line the parade route. The troops threaded between thick, cheering throngs. Someone had created a flag of green, with a black and red wurm claw at the heart of it. The talons pointed down, transforming it into an M for Mystria. Copies fluttered from hands and hung from windows. Owen's uncle would have seen it as a sign of incipient rebellion, and he vowed there would be no mention of it in his reports.
The column wended its way to the city green, where the troops assembled. The Lord Mayor took his place, welcoming the Prince. Doctor Frost and other local luminaries joined him on the stage. Frost wore a green armband, marking him as someone who had a relative who served on the expedition.
The Lord Mayor invited Prince Vlad to address the assembly, which he did with the customary reluctance that had marked the man since Owen first met him.
Vlad smiled. "Thank you, Lord Mayor, and the people of Temperance. You honor us today in ways we never would have imagined. It is so good to be home. I will not speak very long because I know all of us want the company of our families. So I only wish to say this: Know that your friends and kin are the bravest men on the continent. Know that even if they tell stories that seem outrageous, they could exaggerate them a hundred times and would not even come close to the truth of what they endured. And understand that as happy as we are to be home again and reunited with you, we mourn the passing of our brothers in arms, and honor their sacrifices, which made it possible for each of us to be here.
"I look out over this sea of faces and I see two thousand brothers I never knew I had, and two thousand brothers whom I shall never forget."
Cheers rose, hats flew, and many tears fell. The Prince dismissed the men with a salute and the orderly formations dissolved into chaos. Owen went toward the stage, having seen Doctor Frost head off to the left. And as he got close, the crowd opened and there stood Bethany with her family not twenty feet away.
His heart leaped.
Then Catherine spoke. "At least pretend, my husband, that you were looking for me."
Owen spun. "Catherine!" He smiled, his arms going wide. "I was looking for you. I assumed you would be with the Frosts."
Weariness flashed over her drawn and haggard face. Then her expression softened and she forced a brave smile. "I'm sorry, Owen. It has just been so trying a time without you." She opened her arms, spreading the cloak she wore, then let a hand stroke her swollen belly. "You see why I have missed you so?"
Owen's jaw dropped. "A baby? Our baby?"
"Ours, yes, of course. You are my husband."
"Catherine, I dreamed of this on the march." He clapped his hands and laughed. "This is perfect. We can make a new life here for our child."
"A new life here?" She shook her head, her eyes narrowing. "Did I hear you correctly?"
Owen hesitated. "A slip of the tongue, darling. I mean… for us to return home, of course. It is just… with the land grant, we will have lands here, too."
She reached out and caressed his cheek. "Of course. The land here shall make our life in Norisle perfect."
Owen drew her to him, holding her tightly. "It will be perfect. I might, you know, wish to visit…"
She stiffened slightly within his embrace. "I understand, husband. I much prefer you coming here to visit than your going off to war." She pulled back and smiled. "I shall remain in our home, caring for our children, while you adventure and bring back more glory and wealth."
Owen kissed her forehead. "Nothing could induce you live here?"
"Remain here. Are you joking?" She looked up at him, her brown eyes intently studying him. "No power under Heaven could convince me to stay a moment longer than absolutely necessary."
"I hope, Mrs. Strake, this is not completely true." Prince Vlad, his complexion ashen, gave them a wan smile. "I would ask of your husband a personal service which would delay your departure."
Catherine, surprised, turned and curtsied. "Highness, please, I did not mean…"
Owen's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"
The Prince sighed heavily, shrinking, shoulder sagging. "Baker sent word from my estate. It's Mugwump." The man looked up, stricken. "He's dying.
Chapter Sixty-Eight
September 17, 1764
Prince Haven, Temperance Bay, Mystria
"O wen, you can't abandon me."
He looked at his wife. "I'm not."
"You just returned from war." Catherine's eyes began to brim with tears. "I need you."
Prince Vlad held his hands up. "Forgive me making so unseemly a request."
Owen shook his head. "No, Highness, your request is anything but. I have my duty to you and my desire to help Mugwump." He turned to his wife. "And I am not abandoning you. With the Prince's permission, I will have Mr. Dunsby get a coach and convey you to the Prince's estate. There you can get some peace and we will have time together."
Vlad smiled. "Yes, of course. Mrs. Strake, I would have you renew your acquaintance with Princess Gisella, and I would love for you to be my guest. I would be honored."
Catherine sniffed. "Really?"
"Sincerely."
Owen kissed her. "I want you with me, Catherine. We have been too long apart and now that we are a family, I do not want you away from my side. Were this not an emergency…"
She wiped away tears. "Go. I am so silly. Do not think of me thus. I shall be with you as fast as possible, beloved husband."
Owen signaled Dunsby and explained what he needed. The Private accepted the orders with a smile and led Catherine off to gather her things. Owen then followed the Prince to the garrison stable where Nathaniel Woods had already gotten three horses saddled. The three of them mounted up and made haste for the estate.
The lack of conversation gave Owen time to think. On the road he had been ready to return to Norisle, but his blurted admission to Catherine had relieved pressure that had been building in his chest. He really didn't want to leave Mystria. He really had nothing back in Norisle, but here, in the land of his father, he had a future.
He recalled Mr. Wattling accusing him of being a Mystrian. At that time he'd taken it as a grand affront, but now, he would find it high praise. While no Mystrians would see him as one, they would come to accept him as one. The reverse, no matter how great the service one performed for the Crown, would never be true in Norisle.
The words I spoke to Catherine came from my heart. Owen smiled as they sped over the unspoiled landscape. Can a man live with his heart an ocean away?
Their horses lathered thickly and flagging, they rode straight through the yard to the wurmrest. Owen leaped from the saddle and glanced at Baker, who sat listlessly near the wurmrest's door. He looked up as Owen approached, his eyes red, dark circles beneath them and his complexion sallow.
Owen dropped to a knee. "What's happened, Mr. Baker?"
The wurmwright shrugged. "I don't really know. He was fine, just fine, last evening. He ate. He swam, he came back in. Nothing unusual and then…" Baker opened the wurmrest. "He's dying."
Owen preceded the Prince and his wurmwright into the stable. The stench staggered him. Not only did it wreak of wurm-a cloying, musky scent that lodged deep in the sinuses and started them weeping-but heat blasted him. The heat radiated from the wurm, rising so sharply that every step closer felt as if he were walking into an inferno.
The wurm, or what Owen had to presume was the wurm, lay nestled inside a fat, twenty-foot-long cocoon spun of black and red silk, with hints of gold, reflecting the colors of the creature beneath it. The silk alone would be worth a fortune, but it came with a high price. The cocoon would kill the wurm, though slight movement suggested Mugwump hadn't died yet. Owen took this as a good sign.
Owen leaned on the railing. "I've never seen a molt like this. The scales are outside, as if the cocoon grew beneath the wurm's flesh and exfoliated them."
The Prince nodded. "Normally a cocoon's fibers grow over the scales?"