Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey [89]
Chapter Eighteen
We spent two days in Bryn Gorrydum before departing for Innisclan.
Phèdre had hoped that Hyacinthe might visit while we were in Bryn Gorrydum, but Talorcan shook his head when she voiced it. "No, my lady. I believe he will attend the nuptials, but Master Hyacinthe seldom leaves his Stormkeep. He bears a great responsibility.”
Somewhat in his tone made her cock her head. "But all is well?”
"Oh, yes." He nodded. "He wards the Straits as ever.”
"Who choose?" Brigitta made an impatient gesture. "What ship?”
Talorcan blinked at her. "My lady?”
"Who chooses which ships are granted passage?" Eamonn clarified helpfully. "The Cruarch or the Master of the Straits?”
"Ah." Talorcan frowned. "Well, 'tis a complicated matter. Master Hyacinthe has agreed to bar passage to no ship of Alba, nor"—he nodded in my direction—"Terre d’Ange, save at his extreme discretion. As for trade-ships from other nations, only those which the Cruarch has approved are permitted, pending Master Hyacinthe's agreement. 'Tis but a formality, as they are generally in accord. My lord Drustan often hears petitions when visiting the Queen. Thus far, Master Hyacinthe has been in agreement with my lord Drustan.”
Eamonn translated for Brigitta. "Skaldia?" she asked.
"Including Skaldia, yes." The Cruarch's heir smiled at her. "I believe their suit was brought at the behest of others. 'Tis a recent development and a cautious one. But perhaps your charm will hasten the process.”
This time Brigitta understood him well enough to color at the unlikely—to my mind—compliment. Phèdre still wore a thoughtful look. "What of the matter of a successor, your highness? Has…" She hesitated. "…Master Hyacinthe made any decision?”
"I don't believe so." Talorcan turned his gaze toward her. His dark eyes were unreadable. Sidonie wore a similar look in public, sometimes. Strange to think they were cousins, more closely related than she and I were. I pushed the thought away and wondered instead what manner of husband Talorcan would make for Alais. I had the sense she admired and respected him, but of a surety, there was no passion there. "You would know if he had, would you not? It is well known in Alba that Master Hyacinthe holds you in the highest regard.”
"Well, he damnably well ought to," Joscelin muttered.
"We're friends, yes," Phèdre said. "But I don't believe he would inform me in such a matter without speaking to the Cruarch first. I wondered, that's all.”
Talorcan shook his head. "Nothing is resolved.”
The conversation turned to other matters. I thought about Hyacinthe, the Master of the Straits. In Night's Doorstep, Emile and others remembered him as he'd been when Phèdre first knew him: a merry Tsingano lad, quick with a laugh, with a knack for making a profit. It was hard to reconcile that image with the man I'd met aboard the Cruarch's flagship, who had eyes that looked like shadows crawling at the bottom of the sea and held the power to tame the waves in his hands. He was still young, but something ancient had looked out of him. I suppose facing the prospect of aging eternally would do that to a man.
Small wonder Hyacinthe held Phèdre in the highest regard. She'd freed him from the curse that had bound him to such a fate.
I wondered how old he must be now. Not so old, really. A little over forty, mayhap; he and Phèdre were near the same age. He was wed to Sibeal, Drustan's other sister. They had two young children, a girl and a boy. In accordance with the Cruithne's matrilineal line of succession, either one would have been eligible to be named as the Cruarch's heir. Alais had told me in utmost secrecy that her father had asked Hyacinthe if he were willing to allow either of his children to serve. Hyacinthe had told him flatly, no.
And one did not argue with the Master of the Straits.
Not even the Cruarch.
We departed Bryn Gorrydum in good order. If the city had proved larger and more sophisticated than one might expect, any notion that Alba was tame vanished within a half day's ride. At first we followed the course