Heart Fortune (Celta) (27 page)

Laev bent in laughter and his HeartMate cuffed him.

“Great emotions also affect the taste buds. Stop laughing,” Glyssa said.

A housekeeper appeared and opened the door to the small sitting room facing the back gardens that led to the ocean. “The goodies are ready.”

The sun cast black shadows of midmorning, dappling bushes still heavy with summer flowers, and the perfectly cut lawn of a green that epitomized lush abundant growth.

Glyssa took Jace’s hand and drew him to the twoseat and sat next to him. They all nibbled on small cakes and had caff and tea.

Finally, she dug into her bag and pulled out the manuscript pages that she’d recopied earlier.

Jace sat stiffly beside her, waiting in dread. She bumped him with her shoulder.
You will be fine.

The Hawthorns leaned together on a sprawling sofa, Camellia encircled by Laev’s arm, against his chest, her bright gaze and easy smile fixed on Jace.

He made sure his fingers didn’t tremble when he took the pages. “It would be better if Raz Elecampane read these.” He could swear his voice was a whole tone higher.

Camellia D’Hawthorn’s stare narrowed and her mouth set. She made to sit up straighter, but her husband kept her close against him. Both formidable people, but T’Hawthorn was in charge of that relationship, Jace thought, and wondered how he managed the feat. It wasn’t just because of his status and wealth.

“I don’t want Raz Elecampane to orate this. I want you, Jace Bayrum. You wrote it, right?” Camellia asked.

“Glyssa—”

“No, you wrote it!” Camellia insisted.

“No.” He was firm. “I told the story—”

“And I transcribed it. We revised it together.” Glyssa’s mouth drooped. “I don’t have the storytelling or writing ability.”

“You can’t cook as well as I do, either,” Camellia said. “Nor multiply silver slivers into vast piles of gilt like Laev. We all have our abilities. Jace, is your primary Flair storytelling?”

“No,” Jace said.

“Maybe,” Glyssa said at the same time.

“I don’t have any large primary Flair,” Jace said. He was beginning to sweat, now wanted to do nothing more than read the damn words and get it over with. This dragging the event out was torture.

“I’m not sure of that,” Glyssa said in a thoughtful tone that caught his attention. “I’ve seen your leather-crafting work. It’s exquisite.”

Heat flowed up Jace’s neck to his face. Man, he hoped he wasn’t turning red! Ruddy. He’d look ruddy, right?

“If your wonderful leatherworking is your creative Flair, your primary Flair should be equally strong and lovely,” Camellia said.

Laev frowned. “I haven’t seen his leatherworking.” He drilled Jace. “Why is that?”

“Maybe because it’s none of your business?” Glyssa put in.

Before Jace’s eyes, the coin purse he’d given to Camellia appeared in her lap. Since she wore a midnight blue gown, the white-dyed leather with the fancy gold tracing showed up just fine.

Exclaiming, Laev touched the tiny pursenal before Camellia snatched it away. “
My
gift,” she gloated.

“You didn’t bring me a present?” Laev asked, though he didn’t turn his penetrating gaze Jace’s way. The GreatLord still stared at the coin purse.

“He brought my good friends gifts,” Glyssa said.

“Tiana got something, too, and I didn’t?” Laev held out his palm to his HeartMate, obviously asking to see the small work. This whole thing jittered Jace’s nerves.

“You have to be a friend more than a few weeks to be counted as a good friend,” Glyssa said, teasing.

But Laev just waved that aside as he gently rubbed the leather with his thumb, studied the golden pattern of flourishes that Jace had made. Laev opened and closed the coin purse, and when he shot Jace a look, it held irritation. “The metal for the closure is far inferior to your work.”

Jace’s flush had just begun to settle down when those words brought it back. The clasp was the best he could afford at the time, as usual. He sure wasn’t going to say that.

Finally Laev glanced at him again. “I’ll commission you to replace—”

“No!” Camellia said, grabbing the leatherwork away from him and holding it to her breasts. “It’s mine and I want it as it was originally made.”

Laev’s eyes gleamed. He rubbed his hands, looked at Jace. “Perhaps if you and I were to deal—”

“No,” Glyssa and Camellia said together. Glyssa continued, “Laev, you can’t go into business with all of your friends.”

“Why not?” He grinned wickedly. “They should want to go into business with me, I’m the best. What do you say, Bayrum? I could give your work to T’Ash or offer it at the Enlii Art Gallery.” He nodded to Camellia. “You might want to take it to the Enlii and see what Apple says about a show.”

Your mouth is open,
Glyssa said through their private bond.

Jace shut it.

One of the glass panels along the wall out toward the lush gardens opened and a cat strolled in.
You said you got a gift! I heard you.
She bounded across the room and hopped onto the couch next to Camellia, pawed the coin purse from Camellia’s grasp and sniffed loudly.

It is like the present I found at the Salvage Ball and gave to Glyssa,
the creature said, and Jace heard her perfectly.

The cat scanned the room, opened her mouth and curled her tongue in that way cats had of using their extra sense, then hopped down from the sofa and trotted over to Jace, sniffed at his boots. He wasn’t sure he liked that. Zem never did that. She jumped up and stretched, putting her claws in the fabric of the twoseat to anchor her as she got close to Jace, sniffed again, and revved a purr.

“Take your claws out of the furniture, Mica,” Glyssa snapped.

He smells very good, too good for you.
Mica gave him a wide smile.
You will make a present for me?

“Friends of mine for only a few weeks don’t receive gifts from Jace,” Glyssa repeated.

Mica butted her head against his shoulder.
He smells of bird, too. FamBird. I met your FamBird, Zem. He is a very interesting Fam.

Camellia sighed. “I’ll commission a piece—”

“Jace has a lot of things going,” Glyssa said. “He’s bought a few shares in the excavation of
Lugh’s Spear
and he’s helping me with—”

“We haven’t heard from Bayrum,” Laev said. “Want to deal?”

“I’ll consider it,” Jace said, just to stop all this.

The cat crawled onto his thighs and licked under his chin. He winced.

“Come here, Mica,” Camellia said. “Come and sit and think about what you might want Jace to make you.”

With a tiny nip at his chin, the cat left him for her FamWoman and Jace was real glad he had a bird.

The three Hawthorns settled in and Laev nodded at the papyrus sheets Jace held. “And if the story is as good as your leatherwork, we can talk to a playwright or Raz—”

“No. Absolutely not. The story is
mine
, too. My ancestor’s life. I will decide how to handle it.” Camellia leaned back and crossed her arms until her cat pawed to be petted, then her expression relaxed.

And it was time. Jace began to read.

Twenty-eight

J
ace cleared his throat one last time and read. He paused for breath after
the opening.

“Oh, oh, oh,” Camellia’s voice sounded like mournful coos. Tears ran down her face and her husband pulled her close and her Fam purred louder.

“We already know it ends happily,” Glyssa said in a soothing tone.

Camellia gave a watery sniff and looked at Jace. “I think I’d rather stop for now, until Tiana can join us.”

He put the papyrus down with relief, but another big feeling moved in his chest . . . he’d made a GreatLady cry with his words, his storytelling! Incredible.

“You have another gift,” Laev said to him.

“Just modified the man’s journals,” Jace said. Glyssa picked up the papyrus and took them to Camellia, set them beside her.

“I doubt that,” Laev said. He stood and picked up Camellia who held the cat and papyrus and nodded to Jace. “You’re a man of many gifts.”

Jace stood, too. Glyssa slid her arm around his waist. “We’ll teleport home,” she said.

“To the Licorices,” Jace said.

Lepid zoomed through the open door bringing with him the coolness of the ocean breeze.
Zem and I want to stay here for a while,
he announced. His feet pattered as he jiggled a dance, leaving damp spots on the carpet.
We can play in the ocean! It is not like the Sea that Zem knows. WE CAN FISH!

Everyone laughed. Glyssa flapped her hands and said, “Go!”

He came over and rubbed against Glyssa and then Jace.
MY FamWoman. My FamMan.
He lifted his nose and fluffed his tail at the cat.

Foxes
, the cat sighed.

I caught you and your mate a rat, cat.

The cat’s ears perked.

Brazos is eating most of it,
Lepid said, barked a laugh, and ran out into the day and to the GreatLord’s estate. The cat followed. Jace quashed a thought that he would have liked to see the place.

Good day, FamMan, I will be back in a couple of hours,
Zem said mentally.

Where are you?

In a large oak just outside the door. The hunting has been unusual and good. There is excellent prey in the tide pools I want more of.

That’s fine,
Jace replied. He was walking arm in arm with Glyssa. She hugged the Hawthorn couple, Camellia still in Laev’s arms, then stepped aside.

He decided to bend down and kiss Camellia on the cheek. After all, she was one of Glyssa’s best friends, and more importantly, she loved his gift and his story. “Thank you for praising my work.”

She reached up and patted his chest. “It deserves it.”

Jace bumped his fist against Laev’s shoulder. “Later.”

Showing teeth whiter and more perfect than Jace had ever seen, Laev said, “Yes.”

“He means that, you know,” Camellia said. “He’ll hunt you down.”

Jace winked. “I think I can handle him.”

Camellia chuckled and rubbed her head against her husband. “They all do. But even Glyssa got entangled.”

“I’ll watch out for traps,” Jace said.

“You’ll never see them coming,” Laev said, nodded at him. “Merry meet.”

“And merry part,” Jace said, the response coming automatically now. He’d never said the phrase so much in his entire life as in the last couple of days.

Laev lifted a brow. “And we’ll definitely meet merrily for both our profit again.” He turned and walked up the stairs with his wife.

After a sigh, Glyssa said, “They look so good together. I’m glad they found each other and worked through their problems.” She tugged on Jace’s arm, so he followed her down a wide corridor.

“They had problems?”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

He didn’t think she wanted an answer, which was good because he wasn’t going to address that topic. She opened the door to a small room with a tall, opaque window, closed the door, and flipped the teleportation indicator that would show the pad—the whole room!—was in use. “A whole room set aside for teleportation,” he said.

“One on every floor,” Glyssa said. “Like in the PublicLibrary. But unlike the library, most visitors here
can
teleport. There’s a marked-off area in most of the rooms here, too.”

“Huh,” Jace said, stepping up onto the pad and opening his arms. He could provide Flair for Glyssa if she needed it to teleport them, which she didn’t. Otherwise she’d be doing all the work, ’porting them. “Where are we landing?” he asked.

“My bedroom.” She paused. “I hope you will stay.”

“Sure.” Energy ran through her, too, and he finally said what they’d been ignoring. “We can spend time together before your hearing. And Camellia approved of the novel, so your Family shouldn’t be able to use that against you—us.”

“Probably not.” Glyssa sounded doubtful.

“
Camellia
is the judge of the quality of the story, not the FirstLevel Librarians, and I think she’s happy with what we’ve got so far.”

“Yes.”

“I know something that will ease those nerves.” He grinned, and she leaned back against him and his body hardened. She snuggled her ass around his cock and the blood drained from his head.

“Glad we’re going to your bedroom,” he said hoarsely.

She said, “You’re right. The reading, as short as it was, went well. I’m sure Camellia will say so for my progress report hearing.”

Before he could say anything else they were in her bedroom, a couple of minutes later naked and rolling on her bedsponge.

He was having a difficult time getting enough of the woman. But he wouldn’t stay in the city with her.

* * *

S
till, in two septhours he sat on a hard wooden bench in the corridor
behind the door marked “PublicLibrary Administrators Only.” Across from him was the door the Licorices had gone through, Glyssa lagging two steps behind for a quick hug and kiss.

“You can do it!” he said, though he didn’t know whether she’d be successful in defending her fieldwork or not. He sat on the bench and waited, completely out of his element.

* * *

I
nside the room, Glyssa blessed her bespelled formal tunic and trous that
wicked away sweat as she gave her progress report and answered questions about her studies and work at
Lugh’s Spear
.

Her mother, mouth down with lines bracketing her lips, examined every detail—still not happy at all with the project, with Glyssa being outside of the PublicLibrary and Druida City.

Her father watched her with a shuttered gaze. She had no clue whether he’d vote approval of her report and continued support of her work or not. She did decide that how her father voted would be partially due to Jace. And she had no idea what her father
thought
of Jace.

Enata simply scowled and drew sketches—no doubt unflattering ones of Glyssa—with her writestick.

“You continued to work with Maxima Elecampane and Jace Bayrum on the blueprints of
Lugh’s Spear
in your third day at the excavation,” D’Licorice said.

Lady and Lord help her. They’d only gotten to the third day. Maybe she could move it along, jump along the timeline a bit.

“Yes. And I began my work on the novel for D’Hawthorn. Later, I heard GentleSir Bayrum’s storytelling at the bonfire and within a week we were working together.” She smiled as she lilted Jace’s name, couldn’t help it.

Despite everything, she’d achieved one goal. Yes, she desperately wanted to become a FirstLevel Librarian, and it would leave a hole in her, destroy her notion of the future if she didn’t . . . but Jace remained more important.

So did the sheer discovery of
Lugh’s Spear
.

Her sister snapped up straight. “With the current information we have regarding the SecondLevel Librarian’s field project and paper, we can determine whether they are acceptable and can be continued or whether they are unacceptable. Further, we can promote or demote her instead of wasting any more time on this issue now or in the future. So, I call the question of the SecondLevel Librarian being approved to become FirstLevel. And if she fails, that she be remanded to the Gael City Library immediately.”

Glyssa gasped. Why would her sister do this to her?

Her parents appeared surprised. Her mother recovered faster and wiped expression from her face, turning impassive.

Her father looked appalled. “Enata,” her father snapped, then shut his mouth, but his brows went down over his eyes.

Enata flushed and lifted her chin. “It’s an acceptable action.” She coughed. “I have doubts about SecondLevel Librarian Licorice being at the excavation of
Lugh’s Spear,
about the importance—uh, her recording of that project, since nothing much seems to be occurring. As for her transcription of Captain Hoku’s journals, she has help with that.”

“I have help with
telling Captain Hoku’s story
, creatively.” Glyssa lost her temper. “I thought writing such a story would be easy for me. It’s not. It’s not one of my talents, is that what you want to hear?”

“SecondLevel Librarian!” Her mother’s voice was frigid.

Glyssa pulled the old shell of professionalism around her. Too small and tight, it hurt. It
hurt
being the person she’d been before the camp, before Jace. She stood straight and stiff. Her eyes burned and she shifted so her whole body faced her sister.

Who looked defiant and scared and . . . miserable? Glyssa hadn’t checked on her bond with her sister lately—it tended to be prickly. Her sister was unhappy and blaming her unhappiness on Glyssa. Why? Glyssa searched her face. She couldn’t tell. All she could feel was that discontent. Her own irritation died, though it wouldn’t have a month before. She’d have fought and fought her sister hard, lined up arguments. Her mind would have scrambled for defense, words cool and logical would have emerged from her brain, issued from her mouth. Her brain would have lined up options . . .

Instead, with the experience of the additional close bonds of Lepid and Jace, she did what she’d do with them—her young FoxFam and her touchy HeartMate. She opened her bond with Enata wide and sent love. Just complete acceptance and love. The situation would work out some way or another in the future, Glyssa didn’t have to handle that now. She only had to love her sister.

Enata’s eyes rounded and her mouth opened in surprise.

“The question of promoting SecondLevel Librarian Glyssa Licorice to FirstLevel has been called,” their mother said. “The vote must be unanimous.”

“I believe this vote is untimely and untoward,” their father said. He stared at Enata. “But I vote that SecondLevel Librarian Glyssa Licorice be promoted to FirstLevel Librarian.” There was a rare note of challenge and warning in his voice that Glyssa had heard only a few times and that had her standing straighter still. Her father supported her.

The silence from her mother stretched longer than Glyssa anticipated, giving her time to become nervous as she yet looked at her sister, continued to send the woman love, mixed with a little wish for forgiveness if Glyssa had hurt her feelings somehow. Glyssa didn’t look at her parents, thought there might be a private, mental discussion between them.

“Ah.” Her mother began, paused a few seconds, then spoke. “With regard to the promotion of Glyssa Licorice from SecondLevel Librarian to FirstLevel Librarian, I state her work is acceptable by . . . our . . . standards and affirm her promotion,” D’Licorice said.

Now Glyssa’s feet unstuck and she turned to see her frowning mother. Glyssa could barely hear over the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.

“I . . . I . . . vote for Glyssa to become FirstLevel, too,” Enata said. There was a clunk as her heavy empty water glass tipped over when she pushed back her chair and rose from the table. She rushed from the room.

Glyssa goggled.

D’Licorice’s gavel hit. “SecondLevel Librarian Glyssa Licorice has been considered and raised to FirstLevel. The board has spoken and it is done.” Another bang of the gavel. “Congratulations.”

This was supposed to have been a progress report hearing. Now she was a FirstLevel Librarian! Wonderful!

But how would this change her life, and her relationship with Jace?