Samh
9.28.1342 16:00
Right after the ball, Abaledina feared that by
being independent, she had created bitter enemies of her family. She had fallen
asleep forming plans of reconciliation with those whom she feared she had
offended.
Viscount Elwynalam became a frequent and
unceremonious visitor. Upon his first visit, she spoke privately from her heart
with him. At that time, she reminded him that until Eriath formally released
her from their engagement, she would not allow herself to think of loving
anyone. In her heart, she believed she would eventually be free, but she would
never make a man wait for her on such uncertainty.
Once she had explained this, he displayed all the
kindness of a brother to her. He never brought up tender subjects and never
tried to pressure her into giving more of her heart than she felt was proper.
This respect he afforded her made her feel at ease, and by degrees, she shared
more of her private thoughts with him.
Abaledina noticed that from the night of the ball,
Jeanilotta was an altered being. Abaledina had attempted to reconcile with her
cousin, but she was cold and haughty. Had this been her only personality change,
Abaledina might have worked harder to resolve their differences. However, her
cousin also treated Theodomani icily. She was nervous and irritable toward him.
On the other hand, Jeanilotta did all she could to show the viscount that she
was brilliant and beautiful.
Abaledina noted that Theodomani continued spending
his evenings in their home, but when Viscount Elwynalam was there, he was all
but ignored. She tried to be as attentive as she could without misleading Jeanilotta’s
beau. She saw his confidence in the viscount falter instead of placing the
blame where it belonged. Whenever he glanced at Jeanilotta, Theodomani was
affected by her attitudes and reactions. She knew Jeanilotta’s indifference did
nothing to ease her betrothed’s suspicions.
Viscount Elwynalam was the one person who had not
changed.
One evening a fortnight after the ball, he took Abaledina
to the art museum. It was a brisk evening, but they had both agreed to walk.
The bottom floor of the La Soutain Museum of Art
contained ancient and modern works from all over Samh. They were first grouped
by era and then by location. The middle level contained ancient and modern
works from other planets in Upsilon Andromedae. The top floor contained
replications of important artwork from ancient Earth.
“Which is your favorite collection?” he asked as
they stood in line in the great entrance hall for tickets.
“I like all art—as long as it’s good,” she said
with a smile. “My favorite collections as a whole are Ancient Western Guillway,
Medieval Dathuane, and Modern Anorraq and Swienzea. I also like some of the work
from Earth. How about you?”
“Ancient Western Guillway and Modern Anorraq are
good, but I like the Medieval art from some of the other planets in Upsilon
Andromedae.”
“I haven’t spent much time on the items from other
planets. Why don’t we start there, and you can explain what you see in it.”
With that, they were off to the second floor. Viscount
Elwynalam showed her a corner gallery she must have previously missed. Inside
it were sculptures made of layers of what looked like jellyfish in different
shapes and orientations, nestled slightly apart from each other, and floating
in the air. She had to agree the designs were unique and quite beautiful.
Then, he led her down a corridor where metallic
shards were arranged in different formations. As the light hit them, they
revealed the faces of the founding colonizers of each planet.
“This is a series by Blyricht. I am not overly
fond of most of his work, but these are fascinating.”
“I think I have been here hundreds of times, but I
never discovered the treasures on this floor,” she said.
“I’m glad you enjoy them,” he replied.
She felt his gaze and turned toward him curiously.
Their eyes locked, and her breath hitched.
“You are more beautiful than any of the art in
this museum,” he said, his voice raspy. She could not stop the blush from
rising to her cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” he swallowed loudly. “I know you are
still engaged. I should not have voiced that thought. I find it very difficult
to sit on the outside and watch you struggle with your marriage contract—doing
all you can to behave honorably even though he is absent—while at the same time,
your cousin flirts shamelessly with me in front of her betrothed. The only way
I can be in your presence and behave honorably toward you is by sitting across
the room from you, which puts me next to her dishonorable behavior. Here, with
you alone, where I was not under such pressure, I allowed my guard to drop.
Please, forgive me.”
“I—I don’t know what to say. A small part of me
whispers I should kill my conscience. But then I would be like my cousin, and
her behavior right now is detestable to me. I enjoy spending time with you, but
I must keep you at arms-length as best I can. I can’t even promise you what will
happen once I’m released. I believe we would get along well together, but if
you are tortured over me, perhaps we should not be in each other’s presence
until my fate is decided.”
“Staying away from you would torture me even more.
I will do better at controlling my words and keep reminding myself it can’t be
too much longer until you hear a response from Eriath.”
As they walked home in silence, Geodor tried to
sort through all his thoughts. He had already used his resources and spare time
to discover that Abaledina was almost as rich as he was—and that she had no
access to her fortune for another year. He confirmed she had been betrothed at
a young age to her purported cousin, but he had found no record of birth for
Eriath Gillfillian—yet. He had also learned that the Gillfillians were in deep
financial trouble. On the surface, it looked to him as if they were trying to
claim her income through their son, but loose ends made the situation messy. To
Geodor, messy loose ends were just more mysteries to solve.
As they approached the Gillfillian’s home,
Theodomani stormed out of the front door, flashing a jealous look at him
without responding to his greeting.
When they entered the main parlor, Jeanilotta was
alone, dabbing a bit of rose water behind her ears.
“My dear Abaledina,” she said, “someone is
awaiting your return in our parlor; she desired to see you immediately.”
“I had a lovely evening, Viscount Elwynalam. Thank
you for opening my eyes to a whole new world of artwork.” Abaledina said,
curtsying slightly.
“It was my pleasure,” he replied. He watched as
she hurried out of the room.
Turning back to Jeanilotta, he noticed she wore an
almost malicious smile of triumph.
“Where is Theodomani tonight?” Geodor demanded, knowing
he had just left.
“Mr. Montrevor will not be visiting us in the
future,” Jeanilotta replied with slight disdain. “Indeed, our engagement was
one formed in comparative childhood two years ago, and it has never been deemed
a very suitable alliance by my parents.”
“What could they possibly find wrong with his
proposal? He is doting, and I believe his wealth is greater than that of your
family.”
“I’m sure my parents have given few thoughts to
his wealth. Their wealth is more than sufficient.”
Geodor kept his face a mask, knowing the truth
behind that lie.
“If they’ve always been against it then why was it
allowed to continue until the present time?” he asked with an air of
indifference.
“Circumstances favored it. Indeed, they regarded
it as a thing in the very distant future. They have long believed we would
eventually separate.”
“But as it approaches—”
“As it approaches,” interrupted Jeanilotta, “I
find the thought of marrying him repugnant. When I realized my feelings, I knew
I immediately needed to destroy any expectations he might have. I saw this as
the kindest way to save him from prolonged heartache.”
“I must agree that one should not marry where one
does not love,” he replied, secretly amazed at how such a fickle woman could be
related to Abaledina. Their conversation languished for a few moments. Geodor
remained in deep thought even when she attempted to engage him. He absentmindedly
nodded his head while she continued prattling.
The light touch of a finger upon his arm jerked
him back to the present. He turned his eyes upon Jeanilotta.
"You are dreaming,” she merrily exclaimed. “You
forgot my presence.”
“True. I beg your pardon,” he replied. With that,
he did his best to focus on the conversation, pretending to disregard everything
else. He could see Jeanilotta was proud of her brilliance, and she apparently
thought she was making a magnificent impression on him.
Geodor neither encouraged nor denied her clear
aims. He did not care how she felt about him. He could play her game as long as
she wanted to play without falling victim to it. He maintained his engaged
indifference until he deemed he had stayed long enough to be polite.
“Oh, must you go so soon?” she cooed as he turned
toward the door.
“Yes,” he replied firmly, quickly exiting the
house to keep her from pressing him further.
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