Morian shook his head, still trying to take in the concept of a nephew who might also be the son of the King of Gwynedd.
«Morian», Oisín said softly, guessing the line of the other's thinking, «it isn't as if we're simply talking about another royal bastard».
«I know that», Morian replied. «And if it was done, it appears to have been done deliberately — and if deliberately, then for a reason. The question is, what reason?»
«We'll worry about that once we discover whether he is Donal Haldane's son», Oisín said, tipping back the rest of his wine. «I'd best be off — or shall I stick around, so that you don't have to explain my sudden departure to the governor?»
«No, go ahead. I might as well begin setting up the idea of sending me to Rhemuth, while I already have him in control. And if I'm going to do that, it's easy enough to cover your departure».
«As you will, then», Oisín replied, standing. «Good luck to you».
In fact, it did not prove feasible to go to Rhemuth that season or even the next, for the rumblings of unrest in Meara were sufficiently troubling that Iolo Melandry preferred to keep his aide close by his side — or else out in the field gathering intelligence, as only a Deryni might do. During those two years, the king sent his brother Richard twice to that troubled province to observe and report back, and sensed that the time was approaching when only his own presence would suffice to restore order.
But he put it off, because unrest of another sort was brewing closer to home, in Carthane to the south, where an itinerant bishop called Oliver de Nore was gaining notoriety for his rigorous enforcement of the Statutes of Ramos — yet another cause for concern to the Camberian Council.
The Statutes of Ramos had been formulated nearly two centuries earlier, in the wake of the Haldane Restoration, and severely limited the participation of Deryni in the life of Gwynedd. Though de Nore had no specific authority to enforce the secular aspects of the Statutes, canon law was a bishop's stock in trade, and sometimes allowed him leeway surely never intended by the formulators of those Statutes. As the decade wore on, de Nore could take credit for the persecution, incarceration, and even execution of scores of men and women, some of them of long-hidden Deryni bloodlines. Most poignant were the deaths of those discovered while trying to gain access to the priesthood, long forbidden to those of their race; and for such men, the penalty was always death by fire. Their fate, in particular, elicited impassioned anger and debate among the members of the Council, for they were well aware that, until all were once again free to take up priestly vocations, Deryni would never regain a full partnership with the humans among whom they lived.
Fortunately, de Nore and those who constituted ultra-conservative elements within the Church's hierarchy in Carthane did not yet seem inclined to insist that their interpretation of the Laws of Ramos should extend beyond Carthane's borders, much to the relief of the three Deryni then resident at the Convent of Notre Dame d'Arc-en-Ciel. Since the ouster of Bishop de Nore's brother as a chaplain, nearly four years before, royal patronage and the convent's proximity to Rhemuth had kept at bay any further infiltration by would-be zealots. Or perhaps the presence of two important royal wards had buttressed the status of Arc-en-Ciel as a sanctuary for certain select Deryni.
Nonetheless, by late April of 1085, as Alyce de Corwyn helped with preparations for the clothing of a new novice and the profession of final vows by the Deryni daughter of Jessamy MacAthan, initial reports were trickling into Arc-en-Ciel of renewed violence in Carthane, and an outbreak of rioting in Nyford. The day before the ceremonies were to take place, Father Paschal arrived with more detailed news that kept him sequestered with Jessilde and Mother Judiana for several hours, while the community continued to prepare for the next day's celebrations.
Much had changed at Arc-en-Ciel since Paschal's last visit. Much to their delight, Alyce and Zoë now shared a room, though the circumstances by which this had occurred had surprised them both. For Alyce's original roommate, Cerys Devane, had experienced a religious epiphany the previous winter that surprised even herself, and had moved into the postulants' dormitory at Easter to prepare for reception as a novice at the same time Jessilde made her final vows.
«Cerys, are you sure?» Alyce had asked her, remembering the other girl's protestations when they first met, that she could never be a nun.
«No, I'm not at all sure», Cerys had admitted, though her face had glowed with an inner radiance that none could gainsay. «I only know that I've never been happier in my life, and that this seems to be the place God wants me to be».
«But, you were here before, and you're still here», Alyce had said reasonably.
«Of course I am», Cerys replied. «But God is here.» she touched the flat of her hand to her heart, «and I sense that there's more I'm meant to be doing in His service. I don't yet know what, but isn't that part of what a novitiate is all about?»
Whatever the true reasons for the decision, it had left Alyce without a roommate after Easter — and Zoë's roommate, a rather plain Llanneddi girl called Edwina, had announced her plans to leave early in June to be married out of her father's castle near Concaradine.
So Zoë had asked permission to move in with Alyce, leaving Edwina the privacy of her own room for her last few weeks at Arc-en-Ciel. The arrangement had allowed the new roommates far greater privacy to continue exploring their enhanced relationship, but even so, they preferred not to speak openly of what they were doing.
Father Paschal told me that the king and queen are coming tomorrow, Alyce sent to Zoë, when they had settled into bed and doused the nightlight.
That's nice, Zoë returned sleepily. I think my father is coming, too. I may not get to see him again before he takes off for Meara in June.
The exchange was not the same kind of mutual rapport that might have been enjoyed by two Deryni, for it required physical contact, and that Alyce initiate the link — and that Zoë offer no resistance — but the result was useful, nonetheless, especially in an environment where one must be circumspect.
I hope he'll be safe, Alyce sent. My father and brother are going as well. Meara isn’t a place I'd particularly want to go, with all the troubles there.
Speaking of «safe», Zoë said, should I be worried about other Deryni who might be there tomorrow?
I'm not sure, Alyce replied honestly. But Father Paschal told me that he tried to probe you from across the room, since that's what another Deryni might do — though only if he or she had reason to be suspicious. Still, there will be at least a few here tomorrow: Jessamy and her children, and maybe some of the in-laws from her eldest daughter's family. There could be others as well, that we don't know about. But you passed muster.
Well, that's a relief, Zoë, responded. But maybe, just to make sure, you ought to shut me down until tomorrow's ceremonies are over.
That's what Father Paschal suggested, Alyce sent. You know, you're getting far too good at this.
We'll credit that to your ability as a teacher, Zoë returned, as she yawned hugely. I am but a mirror to reflect your own brilliance. Why? Did he think there was any real danger?
I don't think so, Alyce replied. But it doesn't hurt to be safe. I'll do it in the morning.
Maybe we should just go a-Maying instead, Zoë said. Tomorrow is going to have entirely too much ceremony and far too many important people.
Go to sleep, Alyce ordered. Tomorrow, we're both going to need all our wits about us.
Chapter 11