Rinaldo seemed to be going to great lengths to avoid situations like the last flurry of summer festivities or the occasional ceremonial function in which Danilo might encounter Regis or Linnea. On those rare gatherings when Danilo caught a glimpse of Regis, Regis was closely guarded, usually by Haldred Ridenow. A private word would have been impossible.
Danilo was initially skeptical of Rinaldo’s motives; he doubted that Rinaldo acted purely out of consideration for his feelings. It occurred to Danilo, as he got to know his new lord better, the reason might be simply to give him time to adjust. Rinaldo had acted not from petty spite but from compassion. He had made no attempt to force an artificial intimacy while Danilo was still emotionally vulnerable. Instead, Rinaldo had treated him with courtesy, asking only the obedience of a loyal if unfamiliar servant.
Every morning, Rinaldo and Danilo worked in Danvan Hastur’s library. As Rinaldo sorted the various documents and ledger books, Danilo provided detailed explanations and historical context. Whatever his other failings, Rinaldo could be painstaking and meticulous.
A first-year cadet, one of several acting as Rinaldo’s messengers, tapped for admittance.
“Come,” Rinaldo called. Danilo went to the door, and the cadet handed him a sealed envelope. The paper was smooth and thick, of off-world manufacture, and bore the official insignia of the Terran Federation. Danilo brought the envelope to Rinaldo, who studied it with a frown. The frown deepened as he read the enclosed document.
Rinaldo shoved the papers into Danilo’s hands. “You’ve had dealings with these off-worlders. You know their ways. Is this the usual treatment for a man of my rank? Do they intend an insult, or do they simply not know any better?”
The letter was from Dan Lawton, the looping Darkovan script painfully stiff, the castaformal and precise. Lawton acknowledged receiving a communication that Regis Hastur had been replaced as Head of his Domain, without any verification from Regis himself.
Because of the sensitivity of negotiations . . . required assurances . . . appropriate diplomatic credentials . . . mandated observance of autonomous local laws . . . established protocol . . .
As he read on, Danilo wanted to laugh aloud at the audacity of the letter. Someone had coached Lawton on Darkovan law regarding inheritance of Domain-right.
In carefully nuanced language, the Federation declined to acknowledge Rinaldo as successor to Hastur. Lawton indicated he could not in good faith recognize a previously undocumented claimant without ascertaining that his claim was legitimate and not subject to peremptory challenge from his own people. If Hastur spoke for Darkover and if inheritance passed only through biological descent, then Rinaldo must prove he was not an imposter. The Terrananstopped just short of accusing Rinaldo of lying about his parentage.
Then came the pivotal point: If Lord Rinaldo would consent to a simple genetic test, a comparison of his DNA with that of Regis Hastur, his authenticity could be verified. The message concluded with formulaic protestations of sincerity.
Danilo stared at the letter. Not in his wildest dreams could he imagine such a strategy for delaying action on Federation membership. Regis must have had something to do with it.
“Well?” Rinaldo demanded. “Is this an affront or just plain foolery?”
Danilo collected his thoughts. “These Terrananhave strange notions about honor, but I do not believe this was meant to give offense.” He generated an approximation of a tolerant sigh. “If you intend to represent the Domain of Hastur in any official capacity, you must comply with their requirements, however petty. Of course, there is no need for you to do so for domestic purposes. No one will dispute your legitimacy, not after Lord Regis has declared it so. But—” this time, with an careless lift of his shoulders, “—the off-worlders know little of civilized politics.”
Rinaldo took the letter and read it over. “This implies that my brother will be obliged to submit to the same procedure.”
“Yes, that does seem to be the case. I believe it would be possible for Terran Medical to send a technician to collect the samples if it is not convenient for you to go to them.” Danilo did not add that, with a little finesse, the process of setting up those appointments might stretch out for some time.
Rinaldo agreed, as much for the purpose of exercising his power over Regis as satisfying the Legate’s certification requirements. The cadet was dispatched back to Federation Headquarters with the reply.
Summer passed its height, and the days began to grow noticeably shorter. Many of the Comyn who had journeyed to Thendara for the seasonal festivities prepared to return home while the weather was still good.
Danilo attended Rinaldo in a small sitting room overlooking one of the inner courtyards of the Castle. He stood at his ease a respectful distance from where Rinaldo sat, a book of prayers open on a table. Late afternoon sun cast slanting crimson-tinged shadows across the dwarfed trees that even now intimated the coming brilliance of autumn.
Rinaldo directed the conversation to his own role in extricating Danilo from Valdir’s clutches. “Indeed, I was the one who convinced the Ridenow to release you, over many protests.”
An expression of thanks seemed to be called for, so Danilo murmured, “I am grateful, vai dom.”
“ DomValdir made it clear that your continued freedom is contingent upon your good behavior.” Rinaldo stared meaningfully at Danilo, expecting a response.
“What would he,” or you, more like,“consider ‘good behavior’?” Rinaldo gestured with one long- fingered hand. “You should know. To make no trouble, especially not to conspire with Regis Hastur—”
For all his outward calm, Danilo shivered inside. He had thought himself past hurting, past hoping.
Never to speak with him, to walk with him, to touch him . . .
“—in any manner,” Rinaldo went on as if the world had not just shuddered on its axis. “Those are Valdir’s demands. As for my own: to serve me loyally and honestly, as you have. To comport yourself in a morally correct and responsible manner . . . particularly in regard to the faith in which you were raised.”
Regis! It always comes to Regis!
And then, in a rush of self-loathing: I wish I had died before I ever met him!
Rinaldo had gone on, in that gently persuasive voice, “It has troubled me greatly that you and my brother share this . . . sinful practice.” He sighed as might a parent over the disobedience of a beloved child. “I have done what I can to save Regis. He has fulfilled my expectations in turning away from—in changing his course to a more righteous path.”
Could the truth be any plainer? Regis had abandoned everything they had shared, the love, the passion, the bonds of lord and paxman. What was it these women—Linnea in particular—offered Regis that he, Danilo, could not? Was it merely the ability to bear his children? Or was there something deeper, more fundamental? A flaw or shortcoming in himself?
“I expect some sign of repentance from you as well,” Rinaldo said. “If not now, then soon.”
Overcome, Danilo bowed his head.