Kings of the North - Elizabeth Moon [191]
Arian looked up to meet an expression both puzzled and amused. She had not expected that.
“The taig,” Arian said. “It’s the life of the land, more important than anything else. The king and the Lady, as joint rulers, must cooperate to keep it healthy. Their quarrel tore it, and I felt its pain. I cannot be the cause of that. If I’m not there, they won’t quarrel, and if they make peace, the land may live.”
“But … you want to marry him and he wants you.” The Duke’s voice was gentler; Arian did not look up.
“Only if it helps the taig. I can wait; the Lady may consent later.”
“Can he?”
Arian said nothing. That question had pierced her every moment since she left. That he could wait, she was sure—but would he? Or would he think her faithless, for leaving? “That is the reason I came here,” she said finally. Dorrin raised her brows; Arian went on. “You have known him for years; you know him better than I could in the short time he’s been our king. I know it was necessary to care for the taig more than myself, but I do not know if he will understand. He was not brought up with the taig as I was; he discovered his taig-sense only this year.”
“I do not understand how this—this tree-love, as it seems to me—would force you to leave. You said this taig rejoiced with you at first—”
“It has been my care my whole life,” Arian said. “My happiness does not matter compared to the health of the taig. Think of Falk: He could have gone free and never ransomed his brothers.”
The Duke shifted in her chair. “I am trying to understand, Arian, truly. Clearly you feel your duty to the taig strongly, but to my mind this calls for clear thinking. And you will excuse me, but you have not had my experience abroad in the world. Think back to Falk’s Hall and those lectures on tactics and strategy.”
Arian tried. “How will that help? I thought knowing more about him—”
“The problem is not Kieri,” the Duke said. “He did nothing dishonorable in loving you, did he?”
“No.”
“Nor, by your words, had you done anything wrong in loving him. The Lady accused you, but were you guilty of anything she accused?”
“No …”
“If the Lady’s duty includes ministering to the taig, is it not she who should refrain from anger, put aside her own feelings for the health of the taig? It cannot be your duty alone.”
“She’s—she’s the queen …”
“And what did we learn in Falk’s Hall? High rank never excuses wrong behavior.”
“No … of course … but …”
“Kieri is the king, her co-ruler: how has she performed her own duties, this past half-year?”
Arian felt a deep reluctance to reveal what she knew about that, but the Duke’s dark gaze insisted. “The king has not been pleased,” she admitted. “She has not come when he asked, when he wanted her counsel and aid. And yet other times she has come, as she did in that battle before he even arrived.”
“Were you there?”
“No, my lord.”
The Duke nodded. “I was. I saw her; I heard her. A being of great beauty and power—and yet, Arian, not flawless. She came late, and many died because she had not come earlier. Though we needed that help, she is not someone I would depend on. And now she’s shown herself unreliable when the king needed her help, and hostile to you—creating a problem for the taig. If this were anyone else, what would you think? Imagine if it were another Squire or one of your Siers.”
“It would be … wrong. Very wrong.” Arian felt as if she had one foot hovering over a precipice.
“She seems inviolate to you because you are half-elven, I’ll warrant,” the Duke said. “Perhaps she has special power over you … elven mageries to cloud your mind? It is said the elves can maze humans with their glamours—can they maze one another?”
“I … I am not sure …” It was hard to think, hard even to hear what the Duke said. Could the Lady have cast a glamour on her? Or on the taig? Was that why