The Wyvern's Spur - Kate Novak [61]
She crept back into her blackened stall, keeping a sharp eye out for any telltale sparks Cat might have missed. The mage seemed to have done an adequate job keeping the carriage house from destruction. Too bad she hasn't got the same concern for Giogi, the halfling thought.
Even if she was concerned for the young Wyvernspur noble, Olive couldn't picture Cat standing in Flattery's way should he decide to destroy Giogi the way he murdered Jade.
It was beyond Olive's capacity to understand how Cat could transform from a clever and confident mage, able to manipulate foolish young men into taking her home, to a humble and frightened slave, who watched in silence while someone wrecked carriages and burned down horse stalls. What kind of power did Flattery have over her that he could bully her like a whipped child and had even coerced her into marriage?
Somehow, Olive realized, she had to keep Cat from doublecrossing Giogi. Olive snorted derisively at herself. I have as much chance at that, the halfling thought, as I do at convincing her to help me destroy Flattery to avenge Jade.
She would be the perfect choice, though, Olive mused. Flattery trusts her as much as his insanity will allow. It would be so fitting if he were destroyed by someone with the same face as the woman he murdered.
Olive pondered the idea while she munched on hay in the smoky carriage house.
*****
Giogi reached out and stroked his new cousin's tiny left hand. Her delicate fingers opened at his touch, like a moss rose in the sun.
"She's just perfect, Freffie," Giogi whispered. "As pretty as her mother."
"Well, she gets some of her good looks from me, don't you think?" Frefford asked.
Giogi looked up at his Cousin Frefford and back down at the baby girl sleeping in the maple cradle. Then he looked up again at Frefford, then back down at the baby. "Not if she's lucky," he said with a grin.
Frefford chuckled.
"It's so exciting, Freffie," Giogi said. "You're a father now, and I'm an uncle. Wait. I'm not really, am I? Just a second cousin once removed."
"You can be an uncle if you want, Giogi," Frefford said. "Lady Amber Leona Wyvernspur," Frefford whispered to the sleeping baby, "this is your rich Uncle JoJo. Learn to say his name, and he'll buy you all the ponies you want."
Giogi grinned.
"I'm going to check to see if Gaylyn's awake yet," Frefford said. "You can stay here if you like."
Giogi nodded. "Give Gaylyn my regards," he said.
"I will," Frefford whispered. He tiptoed from the nursery, where his daughter lay on display for well-wishers to view while his wife slept undisturbed in the next room.
Giogi had the baby all to himself now, since the well-wishers had been few so far. Some, no doubt, had been discouraged by the awkwardness of having to deliver congratulations and condolences in the same breath. The majority, Giogi assumed, had been put off by the awful weather.
The sleet had wrapped everything in a thick coating of ice and Immersea looked like it had been encased in glass. Unwilling to risk Daisyeye on the slick roads, Giogi had once again hiked up the path to Redstone. It had been rough going, but the fields and marshes had offered his feet far more traction than the cobblestone roads would have. This latest exertion, combined with having risen at dawn after a late night of drinking, followed by walking miles through the catacombs, had left the nobleman exhausted.
Giogi slid a rocking chair up beside the cradle and collapsed into it. "There's nothing I'd rather do than just sit here with you, Amberry," he whispered to the baby. "It's so snug and peaceful here, I could almost forget all the bad things that have happened."
Giogi closed his eyes and lay his head back. His breathing slowed and grew more shallow. Giogi felt himself beginning to soar. He was dreaming again. He opened his eyes in his dream and found the field he soared over covered in ice, like the fields surrounding Immersea. A little burro trotted into view.
Giogi gasped. Not Birdie! he thought. Unable to speak in the dream,