Rinaldo rose like the slow gathering of a storm cloud. “These things do not happen by chance.”
“No, they happen by human folly,” Regis responded. “By arrogance, greed, and ambition. By power without the wisdom to use it wisely.”
“This terrible winter and now this even more terrible loss,” Rinaldo went on, his voice breathy with passion, “these trials are surely sent to punish us for our wickedness.”
He fixed Regis with his icy gaze, then glared at Danilo. “We have tolerated evil among us for too long, even in the highest places. Can you gainsay this, Danilo?”
Lord of Light! I was a fool to think that if Danilo and I were parted, he would be safe!
“Confess now or risk your immortal soul!” Rinaldo cried. “Confess that you have influenced DomnaBettany and tried to sway her from the path of righteousness!”
“I have done nothing to harm the lady or her babe,” Danilo protested. “I have tried as best I could to be her friend.”
“You!” Tiphani shrilled. “You dared—”
Rinaldo cut her off. “You took advantage of my wife’s inexperience. You used her vulnerable condition—you seduced her thoughts—not that you would know what to do with a woman’s body!”
“If that is so,” Danilo answered with a flare of heat, “then she can be in no danger from me.”
“She can be in very grave danger,” came the silky rumble of the priest. “Spiritual danger, far more potent than mere physical lust. Your perverse inclinations, hidden but never abandoned, have struck down the unborn prince!”
“There is no evil in any form of love if it is given honestly,” Danilo said, his voice steady. “I cannot believe that a just god would so punish an innocent child.”
“Aha! There we have the heart of it!” cried Rinaldo. “I have known all along, but I have refrained from taking action for my brother’s sake. I had hoped you would repent, but now I see that is impossible. The evil has taken too deep a hold. It is you, Danilo Syrtis-Ardais, who are the cancer at the heart of this city!”
Rinaldo pointed at Danilo. “There is the sinner whose transgressions have brought retribution on us all. Seize him!”
Before the Guardsmen could respond, Valdir jumped up. “This is going too far! I have no love for your paxman, Your Majesty, but he is no way responsible for the actions of the Federation. I will have no part in this!”
“Rinaldo, I consider it no edifying sight for Comyn to trade insults like a pair of gutter rats,” Regis interposed. “But this matter, as Lord Valdir said, goes too far. Mourn the dead, see to your lady wife, but more than that, I will not permit. Touch Danilo Syrtis at your peril.”
“How dare you speak to me in this manner?” Rinaldo cried. “I have endured this pestilence among us because he was a favorite of yours and the Holy St. Christopher urges us to be compassionate—but Danilo Syrtis overstepped the limits of decency in speaking as he did. And in our very presence! That he should—oh, most insufferable effrontery—link the word loveto such base carnal deviance in one breath and Godin the next!”
“He did no such thing,” Regis countered, keeping his voice even, his words measured, “but only spoke as a man of sense.”
Rinaldo gestured to the guards. “Seize him, I said! If my brother gives you any trouble, lay hands upon him, too!”
“Danilo has committed no crime,” Regis insisted. “He has acted in good faith to you.”
“His own words reveal the blasphemy in his heart.” Rinaldo’s expression turned adamant. “Any man who sins in his thoughts sins in fact.”
“You cannot truly believe that,” Regis said, growing even more deeply troubled. “How can a man be damned for thinking about an act he then chooses not to commit? If that’s the case, we are all lost!”
“But we arelost!” Rinaldo’s eyes went wild and opaque. “Don’t you see?”
“I see that your mind is made up,” Regis said.
“He should be hanged as a warning to other sinners, but youwould make trouble. Your loyalties have never done credit to your rank or education. I must be content to expose him for a day or two in the stocks. That will do him a measure of good and will demonstrate that the eternal Divine Law is no respecter of high estate.”
“In this weather? He would be dead before nightfall!” Now Regis had no doubt of the force of his brother’s delusions.
Blessed Cassilda, my brother truly has gone mad. Danilo,bredhyu , you were right in your suspicions. How I wish I had heeded you then!
“If you intend to send Danilo to the stocks, you had better be prepared to put me there, too.”
“Don’t tempt me, my brother,” Rinaldo said. “If I thought for a moment the people would stand for it, I would do just that!”
I allowed him this power, I welcomed it . . .
“I know what you have been plotting.” Rinaldo’s expression twisted into slyness. “You want my crown for your own. Yes, yes, I see your ambition in your eyes. You deserve to be punished, for you have sinned as well. Oh, don’t tell me that those disgusting lusts are sinful only for cristoforos. God’s commands apply to everyone. Your only hope is to repent and chastise the flesh, which is weak. You should welcome a night in the stocks for the good of your immortal soul.”
Between his teeth, Regis muttered, “If I believed for a moment that you really meant it—”
“Believe it!” Rinaldo snapped. “Believe I mean every word of it, my brother. God has sent a pestilence upon this land and I am the instrument of its cure—”
Entirely out of patience, Regis interrupted, “Oh, go and preach to the crows! I’ve had enough! Danilo, I hereby revoke the transfer of your oath to this—this—to my brother, and require of you all allegiance and service as my paxman.”
His face somber and unrevealing, Danilo inclined his head, the salute of a Comyn lord to one of higher rank, to Regis.
“ Vai dom. I am yours to command.” As I have always been.
“You—you can’t do this! I am Lord Hastur, your sworn liege! I am King!” For a breathless moment, Rinaldo glanced about the chamber. The other members of his council refused to meet his eyes. Tiphani had stopped sobbing, her face as pale as marble.
“Lady,” Regis said to her, “my counsel, if you will have it, is for you to return to your husband. He cares deeply for you. In the days to come, your son will need both his parents.”
She stood there, stunned, until Gabriel led her to the door and delivered her into the care of one of the Guardsmen. Although she left the chamber docilely enough, Regis caught the look of pure malice that she directed, not at himself, but at Rinaldo.
Regis broke the awkward silence. “Rinaldo, you and I are not finished. What I have to say to you next concerns not only Hastur but all the Domains. According to law as well as custom, any such action must be witnessed by the Comyn. In the absence of a formal Council, we will accommodate tradition as best we can.”
“What are you talking about? I am King! You cannot make me do anything! As for the Comyn, they are without consequence. I do not grant them any rights whatsoever over me.”
“But I do.I summon you to answer me in the Crystal Chamber. There, as has been custom since the Ages of Chaos, we will discuss the future of Hastur. I will not insist we meet immediately. You and your lady wife deserve time to mourn your loss,” for although there had never been an actual pregnancy in fact, it had existed in their minds and hearts. “Therefore, the hearing will take place tomorrow at this very hour before all members of our caste who can be assembled.”