Perhaps recalling the teachings of St. Christopher, Rinaldo considered the point. Regis offered to take word to the Legate himself, saying, “He trusts my integrity. If I explain the situation, I believe that will put his worries to rest.”
“That is a compassionate thing to do.” Rinaldo wrote out a safe-passage request to allow Regis to enter the Terran Zone.
Since the day was young, Regis rode the dun gelding directly to Terran Headquarters. A wind had sprung up, damp and ice- edged, slicing through his cloak. He wondered if the fairer weather of the past tenday had been a deceit, winter’s mockery, and that true spring would be a long time arriving. At least Linnea and the children were warm and secure. He thought of Mikhail, still at Ardais and well out of Thendaran politics. And Danilo . . .
Here I am,he chided himself, a mother barnfowl making sure all my chicks are safe!
Outside the Terran Zone, Regis paid a street sweeper to look after the horse. He passed the checkpoint without incident. One of the Spaceforce guards escorted him to the Headquarters building. In the man’s friendly manner Regis read a hope that tensions between Federation and Castle might be thawing. Regis did not disabuse him of the notion.
Headquarters had not changed, not the glass and gleaming steel or the men and women in form-fitting uniforms, or the faint reek of ozone and machine oil; it might have been yesterday that Regis had last walked here with Danilo beside him.
As soon as Regis presented himself to the Legate’s office, he was ushered into the inner chamber.
Valdir Ridenow was sitting in one of the two chairs informally placed around a low table.
Dan Lawton stood to greet Regis. Valdir rose as well, an unreadable expression on his face. “Lord Regis, how very good of you to call.”
“ MestreLawton,” Regis said formally, then inclined his head to the Ridenow lord. “Lord Valdir.”
“Lord Regis. Legate Lawton, I believe this concludes our business.” With a slight bow, Valdir took his leave.
Once the door was safely shut, and Regis and Dan had seated themselves, Dan leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees.
“My god, Regis, what’s been going on? One day, Darkover is ready to petition for full Federation membership, and the next, it looks as though we’ll be formally evicted!”
“I believe that my brother, as Lord Hastur, has not yet settled on a course of action,” Regis replied. “Before we say anything more on that subject, may I ask what DomValdir wanted? Please tell me it was not to petition for separate Federation membership on behalf of his Domain.”
“I doubt the Federation would accept the application even if he did. I can tell you this, for it is public knowledge. DomValdir and his cousin Haldred have applied for Federation citizenship. He came here today to ask me to expedite the processing, and there is no reason I should not do so. Is there?”
Regis shook his head to cover his surprise. Had the Ridenow given up the cause of Darkovan membership, seeking instead the rights and protections of the Federation? What would come next—exile to the stars, as Lerrys Ridenow had chosen?
“I didn’t come here to investigate Valdir Ridenow,” Regis admitted. “I’m acting as my brother’s agent. I think he’s tired of getting complaints from you.”
“I’ve run out of polite ways to say, Return my wife or else.What does he think he’s doing, holding a Federation citizen? If he wanted to convince the Senate that Darkover is a barbaric planet that must be pacified for the safety of the entire galaxy, he’s made a good start.”
“I don’t think that’s what he has in mind. He’s not holding Tiphani against her will.”
“He’s standing in the way of her getting proper medical care, that’s what he’s doing!” Dan shoved himself to his feet and began pacing.
“You should have heard the way she was going on before she made a break for it! I knew she’d been exposed to some bizarre cults on Temperance, but I never dreamed—”
Dan reined in his outburst. “I’m sorry. It’s not fair to inflict my feelings on you, but I’ve had no one else to talk to. Oh, the medics here have diagnoses aplenty for what’s wrong with her, but no help for how it makes me feel!”
“Helpless. Desperate. Responsible.”
Comprehension flickered in Dan’s eyes. He lowered himself back into his seat. The color in his cheeks seeped away.
“Regis . . . I didn’t think.”
Regis made a dismissive gesture. “I’ve been granted leave to tell you that your wife is well—in body, at least—and content to remain where she is. My brother regards her as a valuable advisor, not to mention a companion for his wife.”
“Then heaven help them both! Encouraging her delusions is bad enough, but to be guided by them is insanity!”
“My brother doesn’t see it that way, but he has offered to arrange a meeting on neutral ground.” Regis detailed the proposal, adding, “I hope you can persuade your wife to accept treatment.”
“Tiphani is an adult. I can’t force her to come back. Or to get help, unless she’s a danger to herself or someone else.”
“Giving advice hardly constitutes a criminal assault,” Regis observed. “If she feels secure, she will be more amenable to seeing you and Felix, and that may open the door to reconciliation. How is your son, by the way?”
“Confused. Angry. How else should he be?”
“As are you, for good reason. But Felix, having lost his mother, now needs his father more than ever.”
Dan lowered his head, his features hidden. Regis thought how easy it was to become mired in a problem that had no solution.
At last, Dan said, “Thanks, I needed that reminder. I hope things work out for Tiphani and she receives the care she needs and returns to her old self. Meanwhile, I can’t set everything else aside. I have a son who needs me, as you pointed out, and work commitments.” His gaze was steady, his eyes shadowed. “And friends—”
With a quick gesture, Regis forestalled whatever Dan was about to say. “You’re a good man and a good Legate with a deep sensitivity to Darkovan culture, but you will be of no use to either us or your Federation if you don’t remain neutral.” Regis paused to let his words sink in. “Certainly, grant individual citizenship, negotiate trade agreements and leases for the spaceport, and conduct your usual business. But leave the internal affairs of the Domains to us.”
“Have I ever done otherwise?”
Regis shook his head. “No, but these are unusual times. We will come through them, and Darkover will reach a new accord with the Federation. I have opinions as to what that relationship should be, as do others. Until then, let us work out our own concerns without any appearance of taking sides.”
“As much as I can, I will.” Dan paused, his brow furrowed. “Except that . . . you know I tried to delay formal recognition of your brother as Head of Hastur.”
“Your technicians took a tissue sample from me for comparison. I appreciate your efforts, Dan. It was a difficult, confusing time. But what you did was hardly interfering with our domestic affairs. You were within your mandate to establish his identity.”
Dan shook his head. “It’s not that. When we did a genetic analysis of your brother, we mapped all his chromosomes . . .”
Regis still couldn’t figure out what his friend was getting at. Then he realized, all his chromosomesincluded those that determined gender. “I know Rinaldo is emmasca. He has never kept it secret. The condition may cause other anomalies as well . . . Are you saying he isn’t human?”
“I am saying there is no way he could have fathered the child his wife is carrying. It’s biologically impossible. He is genetically sterile.”