[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"I married a very intelligent woman," Jarrod said.
He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll see you at the stables in
half an hour."
So Jarrod spent his wedding night in his own bed, a bed that had never had a
woman between its sheets before. Marianna had gone to sleep almost immedi-
ately, but the headache he had acquired at the feast kept
Jarrod awake awhile, curled protectively and content-
edly around his wife. He smiled at the word- He was aware that he did not love
her as he had loved her when he was a boy, but, he decided, he did love her.
He knew, too, that she had never been in love with him. She was fond of him,
of that he was certain, and they had been good together in bed. She would come
to love him. He hugged her gently and drifted off to sleep.
ChAptCR 21
u e are informed that you demanded an au-
dience, Revered Mother." The Emperor's voice, manip-
ulating the cadences of the Formal Mode into sarcasm, emphasized the
"demanded."
The Mother Supreme compressed her lips. She had taken a risk in forcing this
meeting, but Varodias had given her no other option. She had been petitioning
for an audience for a fortnight and his refusal to see her was both a personal
slight and an insult to the Church.
That could not be tolerated. She felt the anger rise in her again and pushed
it away. She could not afford to be emotional with this man.
"Access to Your Majesty's presence is one of the tra-
ditional privileges of my office," she said quietly. "I do no more than claim
what tradition has sanctified."
Varodias turned to stroke the feathers of the gyrfal-
con that sat on the perch to his right. Let her stand and wait, he thought.
She may have coerced my Chamber-
lain but she will not coerce me.
"We have been much preoccupied of late," he said lazily, his attention still
on the raptor. "The times are unsettled. There are a great many things that
demand our attention."
"Oh, I am aware of that," Amulpha replied. "I did not return to Angorn in
search of frivolity." She kept her voice pleasant. "It is precisely the
troubled times that I wish to discuss."
240 + JOHN LEE
Varodias turned his head back slowly. "Indeed?"
She put on her professional smile. "It was my im-
pression that the last time we spoke we had reached an agreement." Her knees
and her ankles hurt. The Em-
peror had yet to descend from the throne as custom required and did not appear
to be ready to offer her a chair. Blast the conceited little man, she thought,
but she was not about to give him satisfaction.
"An agreement?" Varodias was enjoying himself and he let it show.
"As I recall, I agreed to dismiss the Church's retain-
ers and you agreed that Imperial troops would be de-
ployed to protect Church property. I was to encourage our priestesses to
preach support for the Imperium and you were going to open the Alien Plain to
settlement, with a provision for the establishment of new churches in the
conquered lands. I have kept my part of the bar-
gain, but you have not kept yours."
It was a simple declaration, devoid of overt animos-
ity, but she radiated the authority that accretes to a person who has been
obeyed for twenty years.
Page 122
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The Emperor watched her with distaste. He was aware of her aura of power, but
it could not daunt him. Irri-
tate him, yes; intimidate him, no. She had presumed to treat him as an equal
at their last meeting and it was fitting that she suffer for it. Besides, the
unpopularity of the Church was proving to be a useful diversion for the lower
orders and it did not seem to be hurting his own popularity.
"You do us wrong, Lady," he said. "Our troops have indeed been deployed and
new maps of the Outland are even now being drawn. Old soldiers are drawing
lots for land. Our contributions to the Church have been paid in timely
fashion. In short, we cannot see the jus-
tice in your complaint."
She gave him a long, level stare. It was obvious that
THE UNICORN PEACE + 241
deference was getting her nowhere and she decided to change her tactics. "Oh
spare me." she said contemp-
tuously. She looked around and spotted a chair by the wall.
''Since you have not thought to provide a chair for me, I suppose I shall have
to get one for myself." Her
tone was that of a mother addressing a son on a breach of manners.
She stumped off. got the chair and brought it back.
She gathered her skirts and settled herself. "Now, let us start with the
troops," she said.
Varodias' lips were drawn down, his gloved hands gripped the arms of the
throne. Bad signs, but her blood was up. Let him do his worst, she thought. No
Emperor was a match for the Great Mother.
"It is true that Imperial troops have been deployed around the country, but
they have studiously avoided any action. This abominable hermit person travels
freely and is inciting people against us once more. Novitiates have been
attacked and postulants have been violated, Church estates have been raided
and the kina driven off. property has been vandalized and congregations put to
flight. Your men have stood by and done nothing.
What say you to that?"
Varodias forced himself to relax. "We say that it is unfortunate that the
Church of the Mother is losing its appeal for our peoples. Your priestesses
are seen as rich and slothful and the Church has the reputation of being a
harsh landlord. On the other hand, the nobility, with-
out the rowel of war upon its flanks, seem to have be-
come more materialistic and disputatious. The common people tend to ape their
betters."
"I did not ask you for a lecture on the moral climate of the realm," Arnulpha
said coldly. "I asked you why your men have stood by and done nothing."
Varodias sat very still. The gyrfalcon tossed its head
242 + JOHN LEE
and let out a screech. The Emperor was very angry.
How dare this pudding of a woman talk to him in that tone of voice. He would
not, however, afford her the satisfaction of seeing that she had provoked him.
His face remained bland.
''We understand that a troop of the Imperial Guard turned back a mob at
Hallenberg and they have re-
sponded elsewhere according to reports." He kept his voice matter-of-fact.
"Hallenberg was the sole occasion that they arrived on time," she responded
tartly.
"We can assure you that the commanders have their orders," the Emperor said
enigmatically. He permitted himself a wintry smile.
"And what of this Simian the Hermit?" The Mother
Supreme asked, changing her tack slightly. "Why is he still at large?"
Page 123
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"He has some powerful friends, as you pointed out when last we conversed. He
appears suddenly, mostly in towns, preaches and then vanishes again. That re-
quires organization and money."
"The Electors ofOndor and Flaxenholrne," she said flatly.
"So it appears," Varodias said smoothly, though he was surprised at the
accuracy of her information.
"And have you asked yourself why they are spending time and money on this
man?"
"They are approaching middle years and they are bored," he responded. "They
led their men in battle when they were young; now they are reduced to making
mischief."
Arnulpha let the jejune characterization pass, though it annoyed her. "They do
it because they aim for the throne. The Church is but a stalking horse,
practice for a bigger game. I suggested that before and I am certain of it
now."
THE UNICORN PEACE + 243
The Emperor froze and the raptor stirred uneasily.
The Mother Supreme knew that she had penetrated his armor. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl karpacz24.htw.pl
"I married a very intelligent woman," Jarrod said.
He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll see you at the stables in
half an hour."
So Jarrod spent his wedding night in his own bed, a bed that had never had a
woman between its sheets before. Marianna had gone to sleep almost immedi-
ately, but the headache he had acquired at the feast kept
Jarrod awake awhile, curled protectively and content-
edly around his wife. He smiled at the word- He was aware that he did not love
her as he had loved her when he was a boy, but, he decided, he did love her.
He knew, too, that she had never been in love with him. She was fond of him,
of that he was certain, and they had been good together in bed. She would come
to love him. He hugged her gently and drifted off to sleep.
ChAptCR 21
u e are informed that you demanded an au-
dience, Revered Mother." The Emperor's voice, manip-
ulating the cadences of the Formal Mode into sarcasm, emphasized the
"demanded."
The Mother Supreme compressed her lips. She had taken a risk in forcing this
meeting, but Varodias had given her no other option. She had been petitioning
for an audience for a fortnight and his refusal to see her was both a personal
slight and an insult to the Church.
That could not be tolerated. She felt the anger rise in her again and pushed
it away. She could not afford to be emotional with this man.
"Access to Your Majesty's presence is one of the tra-
ditional privileges of my office," she said quietly. "I do no more than claim
what tradition has sanctified."
Varodias turned to stroke the feathers of the gyrfal-
con that sat on the perch to his right. Let her stand and wait, he thought.
She may have coerced my Chamber-
lain but she will not coerce me.
"We have been much preoccupied of late," he said lazily, his attention still
on the raptor. "The times are unsettled. There are a great many things that
demand our attention."
"Oh, I am aware of that," Amulpha replied. "I did not return to Angorn in
search of frivolity." She kept her voice pleasant. "It is precisely the
troubled times that I wish to discuss."
240 + JOHN LEE
Varodias turned his head back slowly. "Indeed?"
She put on her professional smile. "It was my im-
pression that the last time we spoke we had reached an agreement." Her knees
and her ankles hurt. The Em-
peror had yet to descend from the throne as custom required and did not appear
to be ready to offer her a chair. Blast the conceited little man, she thought,
but she was not about to give him satisfaction.
"An agreement?" Varodias was enjoying himself and he let it show.
"As I recall, I agreed to dismiss the Church's retain-
ers and you agreed that Imperial troops would be de-
ployed to protect Church property. I was to encourage our priestesses to
preach support for the Imperium and you were going to open the Alien Plain to
settlement, with a provision for the establishment of new churches in the
conquered lands. I have kept my part of the bar-
gain, but you have not kept yours."
It was a simple declaration, devoid of overt animos-
ity, but she radiated the authority that accretes to a person who has been
obeyed for twenty years.
Page 122
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The Emperor watched her with distaste. He was aware of her aura of power, but
it could not daunt him. Irri-
tate him, yes; intimidate him, no. She had presumed to treat him as an equal
at their last meeting and it was fitting that she suffer for it. Besides, the
unpopularity of the Church was proving to be a useful diversion for the lower
orders and it did not seem to be hurting his own popularity.
"You do us wrong, Lady," he said. "Our troops have indeed been deployed and
new maps of the Outland are even now being drawn. Old soldiers are drawing
lots for land. Our contributions to the Church have been paid in timely
fashion. In short, we cannot see the jus-
tice in your complaint."
She gave him a long, level stare. It was obvious that
THE UNICORN PEACE + 241
deference was getting her nowhere and she decided to change her tactics. "Oh
spare me." she said contemp-
tuously. She looked around and spotted a chair by the wall.
''Since you have not thought to provide a chair for me, I suppose I shall have
to get one for myself." Her
tone was that of a mother addressing a son on a breach of manners.
She stumped off. got the chair and brought it back.
She gathered her skirts and settled herself. "Now, let us start with the
troops," she said.
Varodias' lips were drawn down, his gloved hands gripped the arms of the
throne. Bad signs, but her blood was up. Let him do his worst, she thought. No
Emperor was a match for the Great Mother.
"It is true that Imperial troops have been deployed around the country, but
they have studiously avoided any action. This abominable hermit person travels
freely and is inciting people against us once more. Novitiates have been
attacked and postulants have been violated, Church estates have been raided
and the kina driven off. property has been vandalized and congregations put to
flight. Your men have stood by and done nothing.
What say you to that?"
Varodias forced himself to relax. "We say that it is unfortunate that the
Church of the Mother is losing its appeal for our peoples. Your priestesses
are seen as rich and slothful and the Church has the reputation of being a
harsh landlord. On the other hand, the nobility, with-
out the rowel of war upon its flanks, seem to have be-
come more materialistic and disputatious. The common people tend to ape their
betters."
"I did not ask you for a lecture on the moral climate of the realm," Arnulpha
said coldly. "I asked you why your men have stood by and done nothing."
Varodias sat very still. The gyrfalcon tossed its head
242 + JOHN LEE
and let out a screech. The Emperor was very angry.
How dare this pudding of a woman talk to him in that tone of voice. He would
not, however, afford her the satisfaction of seeing that she had provoked him.
His face remained bland.
''We understand that a troop of the Imperial Guard turned back a mob at
Hallenberg and they have re-
sponded elsewhere according to reports." He kept his voice matter-of-fact.
"Hallenberg was the sole occasion that they arrived on time," she responded
tartly.
"We can assure you that the commanders have their orders," the Emperor said
enigmatically. He permitted himself a wintry smile.
"And what of this Simian the Hermit?" The Mother
Supreme asked, changing her tack slightly. "Why is he still at large?"
Page 123
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"He has some powerful friends, as you pointed out when last we conversed. He
appears suddenly, mostly in towns, preaches and then vanishes again. That re-
quires organization and money."
"The Electors ofOndor and Flaxenholrne," she said flatly.
"So it appears," Varodias said smoothly, though he was surprised at the
accuracy of her information.
"And have you asked yourself why they are spending time and money on this
man?"
"They are approaching middle years and they are bored," he responded. "They
led their men in battle when they were young; now they are reduced to making
mischief."
Arnulpha let the jejune characterization pass, though it annoyed her. "They do
it because they aim for the throne. The Church is but a stalking horse,
practice for a bigger game. I suggested that before and I am certain of it
now."
THE UNICORN PEACE + 243
The Emperor froze and the raptor stirred uneasily.
The Mother Supreme knew that she had penetrated his armor. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]