Before Thessaly could continue, Vitus smacked his forehead with his free hand, fast enough to make a loud and startling noise. “He’s the right age, too. He was. I don’t have my lists.” Then he blinked at her, several times, rapidly. “I told you I was looking at the number of people who didn’t complete apprenticeships. Niobe confirmed some of those lists for me, too. Sigbert was younger than the people listed. I’m older.”
“And Father has kept going on about some of the men my age not being up to snuff.” Thessaly let out a low whistle. “Do you think there’s something to it?”
“I’m not sure there’s any way for us to know. I can’t imagine it’s a topic Laudine and Dagobert want to talk about much.And we don’t even know if Childeric realised anything, or if his parents had concerns, or any of that.”
“He was the golden boy.” Thessaly shook her head. “And it’s not like we can ask any of the professors at Schola. They’d turn us away and be right to. It’s not right to pry into someone else’s records.” Then she coughed. “Even if you very much want to.” Then she swallowed. “But there’s me. There’s Cyrus. There’s you. It can’t be everyone in those years.”
“Talking it through with Niobe, she didn’t think so. No one’s looked at all the information together. Well, maybe Schola has, but if so, they’re not talking. And it’s certainly not the sort of thing families would reveal even if they knew. But think about it. Can you imagine Childeric admitting it? Any of the Fortiers? Other families might have known, but had different responses. Support for their children, for one thing. Training to use what they could do better.”
“Not really.” She leaned back, her head on Vitus’s shoulder. “Cyrus’s magic is hearty, we know that. And recently tested. Mine is, bar some bobbles for being out of practice. And that’s so much better now.” Thessaly shook her head. “I— look, that part, I don’t think we can sort out ourselves. And while I think it probably is a Council matter, I don’t even know where to start with it.”
Vitus nodded slowly. “Look. How about we ask Thirza and Merryn to come talk? Here, if you’d rather, where you can be sure it’s private. They both know a wide range of people, and they’d likely have an idea who to bring it to, or how.”
“And,” Thessaly’s voice went soft, “you like them. I like Thirza, what I know of her, though we’ve never talked privately.” She halted, uncertain. “Would it be uncomfortable for her to come here? Where she visited Aunt Metaia?”
Vitus hesitated, then stroked her hand with his thumb, reassuringly. “How about I ask? If she’d prefer somewhere else,we could talk at home. Or my office, with a bit of illusion to get you there without people noticing.”
“All right. Let’s do that. This is, this is too big, too many, too much to figure it out all by ourselves.” Thessaly nodded once. “Shall we go back inside, and you can write to them and then we can find something distracting to do?”
“Oh, I was thinking something involving a great deal of intimate focus?” Vitus offered, but then he was standing up, offering Thessaly a hand. “That sounds grand. Just what I want in my evening. Though I’d best not stay over, I have work to do first thing in the morning.”
“Some night soon, then.” It meant Thessaly would have something delightful to look forward to. Vitus gathered up the blanket and brought it back, as they talked through their respective commitments for the week.
38
MAY 22ND AT BRYN GLAS
“You could say no, even now.” Vitus glanced over at Thessaly, from where they were waiting by the fence. Emeline was further back, about ten feet, with a good view of people arriving from the portal. Thessaly had chosen green today, not her aunt’s favourite teal or peacock green, but a deeper emerald. Exactly the right shade to go with the stone Vitus had been working on, which meant he could not stop watching her and thinking about that.
Thessaly shook her head. “There are all sorts of reasons to have this conversation. And Aunt Metaia trusted Thirza, I know that.” She hesitated, reaching for a word. “This is too big for us to figure out by ourselves.”
“That does not necessarily mean you must trust my friends.” Vitus pointed out, as gently as he could manage. The fact she did, the way she had offered the invitation once she’d slept on it, had startled him.
The thing he was learning about Thessaly is that she picked her moment. Once she had a decision, she acted on it. Not precipitously or foolishly, but as a duellist, seeking the right response in the moment. For someone like Vitus, who could second-guess himself for hours or days or weeks, it wasstartling. Good for him, most likely, certainly an excellent complement to his tendencies. But startling. Before he could say anything more, the portal opened, and two figures came around to the fence.
Thessaly inclined her head. “Magistra Remerton, Magistra Penforth. Be welcome to Bryn Glas.” It was a nice nod to the formalities, including acknowledging that Merryn had earned her proper full mastery two months ago.
“Oh, please. Thirza and Merryn, please.” Thirza waved off the formality. “Thank you for being willing to host us.”
Thessaly ducked her chin. “You’re my first guests here other than Vitus, actually.” She laid her hand on the fence, shifting the warding, and then opened it. “Please, do come in. We’ve tea waiting in the library.”
“Thirza was telling me a little about the house and the care your aunt took with it.” Merryn came through the gate first, Thirza a little more slowly. Vitus gestured toward the house, leaving Thessaly to walk with Thirza. They began talking quietly, and Merryn was obviously giving them space for that. When they paused by the door to the house, for Thessaly to open the warding again, Merryn stepped to one side.
Once they were all in the library, though, Merryn turned around, delighted. “Oh, this is truly lovely. A place that’s alive. Thirza had mentioned the colours, but a grand effect.”
Thessaly ducked her chin. “I’m thinking of some adjustments upstairs, keeping the style but changing some of the colours. I’m not quite so fond of peacock green as Aunt Metaia was. I’d like a little more range. But I have no plans to change the library. Except perhaps finding some more places for shelves.” They were rather overflowing, with no space to add more books. “Please, do sit.” Merryn’s comments had done the trick, though, easing things into a more conversational mode. Thessaly and Vitus claimed the sofa, with easy chairs for theirguests on either end, which made it easy for Vitus to pour tea and make sure everything was handy. In more ordinary custom, Thessaly would have done this, but Vitus had offered. It made a point about his comfort in the home, and it left Thessaly’s hands free.
Once everyone had tea, Thirza tilted her head, taking the lead. “I’m sure Vitus has mentioned, but Thursdays is when we often chat at the Four Metals. I hope he’s also mentioned that you’d be welcome to join us as a guest at some point.”
“He did.” Thessaly’s voice was clear and steady, but Vitus felt her take his hand an instant later, and he squeezed back. “I admit I’m finding the idea of talking with more people a trifle...” She shrugged. “Duelling is one thing. We all know how the interactions go there, and people are private about who they’re duelling with as a rule.”
“Ah. And we are rather a crowd of chaotic commentary at times.” Merryn nodded. “We’d be glad to see about finding some like-minded people for quieter settings. A private dining room. Or Thirza has a little room for entertaining.” Merryn added, sounding amused, “I have rooms in Trellech, but the sitting room is usually covered in books. And Vitus has room for what, four comfortably?”
Vitus nodded. “Which I would be glad to do, but it limits the invitations. Only four chairs in the place besides my workbench.”
“And we can’t possibly move that,” Thessaly agreed. She’d heard his comments on the precise way it was aligned and adjusted before. Then she took a deep breath. “Thank you for the offer. Let me consider what I’m comfortable with?” She went right on, her voice careful and precise. “Thirza, I know Aunt Metaia thought extremely well of you. And Merryn, your name turns up in some of her notes.”
“She was one of us, as I’m sure Vitus has mentioned by now.” Vitus caught the note of something so complicated in Thirza’s voice, and he suddenly wondered exactly how close Thirza had been to Metaia. “We do have some experience with complicated magical exploration and the risks. You needn’t tell us any details you’re not sure about, and honestly, we’d rather not know. But we can talk about the process of what needs to be handled by someone, and who that someone might best be.”
