Chapter 105: The Dangerous Game Part 3
"My Lady is doing fine. As are your children."
"Children?" Pentam put a hand out to steady himself.
"Twins, Mr. Booksdale. A girl and a boy."
Hyansea clapped her hands and said something in her liquid language. La and the women from the Embassy bowed deeply to Pentam twice, then broke into a song which tugged at Cal's heart. Hyansea opened the box to pull out another blanket, this one black with a fearsome tiger roaring embroidered on it. La handed Hyansea a lacquered tray. She put the figurines on the tray along with a bowl of clear broth.
"For mother, to make her strong."
Pentam put the cloths over his arm and picked up the tray to follow Matilde up the stairs. He had a smile on his face which looked like it would never leave.
A short while later, Pentam and Matilde came down the stairs each carrying a tiny bundle wrapped in silk.
"Meet Andrew." Pentam lifted the baby wrapped in the black cloth, "and Calli." Matilde lifted her bundle in red. "Crysabel wanted to name her Calliope, but I told her you threatened violence, so we shortened it. It is all right?"
Cal opened her mouth to reply with some smart remark, but to her horror tears flowed from her eyes and words couldn't pass the lump in her throat. Matilde handed Cal the infant girl. She vaguely knew the Zithayans were singing again. The students were trying to join it to the amusement of all. Pentam was saying something to Hyansea.
Cal's entire world had shrunk to the tiny perfect girl in her arms.
"I will teach you to draw, to build things, to sail the oceans. Whatever there is in the world I can give is yours." Cal whispered and ran her finger across the incredibly soft skin on Calli's brow.
***
"I hear congratulations are in order." Bri handed Cal a glass of water as they milled with the crowd waiting for intermission to end. "I am happy to hear of such joy. I remember my daughter's birth." A flash of pain crossed his eyes. "She is so like her mother, but I don't get to see her often enough. If only her mother could have watched her grow up." He drank from his wine glass and closed his eyes for a moment. "My apologies, I should not be bringing my pain into your joy."
"Pain is part of life, too." Cal put her hand on his arm briefly.
"In any case, I have a small token for your friends' children." He reached into a pocket to bring out two small velvet bags. Opening one, he dumped out a crystal cut in innumerable facets.
"My hometown is famous for its crystal. Hang these in a window and the room will be filled with rainbows." He put the crystal back in the bag and handed them to Cal.
"Why don't you come by and deliver them yourself?" She held the surprisingly heavy bags in her hand.
"I cannot." Bri put his glass down. "I am risking too much already." He looked at Cal. "You won't let me go. I can't..." He bowed over her hand and left, leaving a wake of whispers behind him.
Cal hefted the crystals, and for some unfathomable reason felt like crying.
***
She didn't see Bri for a week, forcing herself to make small talk and not scan the room for his rugged face. When he did show up, a blonde woman in an elegant dress on his arm, his eyes paused briefly on Cal's face before sliding along
Toward the end of the evening, Bri crossed paths with Cal.
"Lady Shillingsworth, meet Sigrid. She is newly arrived at the embassy and wanted to see the town." He bowed over her hand as Sigrid frowned at him. She dragged him away before Cal could say a word.
It was just as well. The tiny piece of paper in her hand shocked her beyond speaking.
Cal greeted a few more people then wandered to the washroom. The message sent cold down her spine as she read it.
Your life's in danger. Not my people.
Cal crumpled the paper and sent it down the drain. Then she went back out to mingle until she could safely leave without revealing the panic churning in her gut.
"This is why I guard you," Bundo said when she sat to talk with him in the barn. The envelope had begun to take shape.
"It's more the risk he took to warn me." Cal shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if Sigrid is here to get him under control. I knew I was playing with fire, but I never imagined it could burn him."
"He is an old hand at this." Bundo stretched. "A warrior with many scars to his honour. Don't discount that he is also playing the game."
"I won't." Despite her words, Cal had trouble sleeping. Bri's face haunted her. Not the polished mask with Sigrid at his side, but the anguished, trapped look she'd seen in his eyes before he ran away from her at the conce.
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