A Rose Point Holiday Read online

  Reese covered her face with a hand.

  “You get the idea.”

  “I get the idea,” Reese said. “And I’ll think these things through before I do them next time.”

  “That usually works out better than leaping for them,” Irine said. “But… not always. So don’t second-guess yourself too much, all right?”

  “All right.” Reese sighed. “And the dogs will be here in two hours, so… let’s get back to this.”

  “That sounds good! We can do that after we see why Kis’eh’t’s flagged us a priority message.”

  Reese frowned. “That’s all we need. What’s exploded now?” She spread it and paused. “Okay, well, maybe nothing. Or everything?”

  Irine leaned over the desk to squint at the message. “Talthien’s coming back. With one of the Eldritch women?”

  Reese checked the transceivers: steadily making their way up the road. “Looks like they’ll be here in half an hour.”

  “You want to meet them downstairs?”

  “You’re assuming they’re here to see me.”

  Irine awarded her a skeptical look.

  “All right, the chances of them being here for any other reason are tiny,” Reese admitted. She sat back and rubbed her head, the beads capping her braids clicking. “If I was Liolesa, I’d probably be sitting here thinking ‘what’s more advantageous—to go down there and meet them so that they can figure out that I’m a lot less formal and a lot more interested in their welfare than the average Eldritch noble? Or to stay up here and make them travel through the castle to find me so they can see what I’m doing to the inside and get covetous?’”

  “You’re not Liolesa, though,” Irine said. “Do you really want to model yourself on her?”

  Reese rested the data tablet on the table and folded her arms. Did she? On one hand, you couldn’t argue with success, and Liolesa was probably in the dictionary next to the word given everything she’d managed to accomplish in the face of opposition. On the other… Liolesa had chosen Reese because of who she was. Granted, who-she-was needed some work. But who-she-was had also been molded by some of the more romantic values she’d found in her quasi-historical romances, many of which were congruent with Eldritch mores. So what did Liolesa want out of her? The woman who’d run the Earthrise? Or the woman who’d fallen asleep in a rocking chair over the happily-ever-after of her book?

  “You’re overthinking it,” Irine suggested.

  “No... I don’t think so.”

  Both of Irine’s brows went up. Ears perked, she sat back. “Okay, this should be interesting. What’s going through your mind?”

  “Well, I’ve run the Earthrise in the past. Not very well, but well enough to keep you all from deserting me, and not to be completely in debt. Not counting… you know. This.” Reese waved a hand at the study.

  “Right,” Irine agreed. “It’s too bad not all debts end up getting paid by foreign queens who eventually make you into princesses.”

  Reese eyed her.

  “Can I also have a unicorn?” Irine added, and this time Reese knew her well enough to see the mischief under the earnest request.

  “Be careful what you ask for,” she said instead. “I might give it to you. Now! As I was saying.” She looked out the window at the horizon. “The Earthrise... that was small change compared to what I have to handle now. This isn’t just six people and a ship. This is… this is a handful of towns full of people—”

  “Eventually!”

  “Eventually,” Reese allowed. “But it’s in the plan. And it involves off-world assets too. The Earthrise used to be my only concern, arii, and now it’s so small a part of my responsibilities that I’ve had to delegate it to someone. I don’t want to become another Liolesa because I don’t want to run an empire, and Freedom knows I’m not as devious as her and won’t ever be. But… I need to learn how to do this from someone who knows how, and that means I have to figure out how to… manage people. Better than I do.” Irine’s eyes had been steady on hers throughout this speech, and her golden-eyed regard made Reese self-conscious. “That probably sounded ridiculous.”

  “No. No, I think it’s one of the most introspective things I’ve heard out of you. I’m… it’s…” Irine shrugged helplessly. “I didn’t expect it, that’s all.”

  “What did you expect? Or should I ask?”

  Irine’s ears sagged. “Umm... more of the putting yourself down sort of talk?”

  Reese exhaled. “Well. Yeah, I can see that. But the stakes are a little higher these days, right? A lot of people are counting on me. I owe them not to cut myself off at the knees before I have a chance to run the race for them.”

  That put both fuzzy ears up so hard they trembled. The expression of shock was so patent Reese found herself laughing. “You did say I’ve been growing up.”

  “Not in those words!” Irine managed a winsome—and apologetic—smile. “But… more or less, yes. I’m glad, so glad that you’re trying not to beat yourself up anymore. Especially since you’re not into that sort of thing.” She paused, grinned. “Sorry, had to say it.”

  “Harat-Shar,” Reese muttered.

  “Harat-Shar,” Irine agreed, amiable. More seriously, “But you’ve brought up some really important questions, and only you can answer them. There’s nothing wrong with role models, though you’ve got more than one. The Queen’s a really good one, but... that’s like... you’re an apprentice and instead of trying to copy a journeyman’s efforts, you’re trying to copy a master artisan’s. It might be better to start lower first.”

  “And who do you suggest?” Reese asked, wry. “Araelis? Also head of a large household?”

  “Sure,” Irine said. “Or... you know, your fiancé? He ran Jisiensire, too. That’s part of what marrying is about, right? You share your strengths, your experiences. You help each other. He’s there for you to lean on.”

  Reese nodded slowly, her eyes traveling from the data tablet to the anachronism of the Eldritch pen, with its bottle of ink and blotting pad. “That’s a good idea. But... I want to be careful there. You know? Araelis just lost everything. And Hirianthial... him too, twice over. Liolesa might be a safer role model at this point—I’m not likely to accidentally depress her.”

  “You sure?” Irine asked, for once uncertain herself. “They were her people too, you know.”

  “I’m sure she’s upset about it,” Reese said. “But I think she’s too driven to ‘fall into despond.’ So... yeah. I think for now I’d rather be asking her. Maybe... Hirianthial next.” She grinned. “I’ll leave Araelis to the Harat-Shar to rehabilitate. Once she’s established her harem, I’ll write her long letters asking for help.”

  Irine laughed. “All right. As long as you know you’ve got options.” She drummed her fingertips on the edge of the desk, thinking. “So. Anyone who has to lead has to figure out how they want to handle people and politics. There’s no avoiding that. It’s just a question of how.”

  “I don’t want to be fake,” Reese said, feeling through her ideas.

  The tigraine’s brows went up. “You think the Queen is fake?”

  Did she? “No. It’s just… she’s playing the game so far ahead of everyone that it makes it look like she’s manipulating you.” Reese nodded. “I see what you mean about jumping directly to the top of the class. If I tried to act like her, it would be fake, because I’m not that….”

  “Don’t say ‘smart’,” Irine warned.

  Since that was exactly what she’d been planning to say, Reese hesitated, then finally went with, “Experienced.”

  “I’ll accept that.”

  “Thanks,” Reese said, rueful. “Given that… I don’t know how to make decisions like this, where I have enough time to think about all the possible ways to handle it. If I’m surprised by something, I seem to do pretty well. It’s the planning part that I trip on.”

  “Are you sure?” Irine said, tilting her head. “Because you handled all the planning for the holiday reall
y well. You put a lot of thought into the gifts for your tenants, and I think they were the right gifts. Plus, all the other decisions you made, including the way you dealt with the glass from the Vigil? Don’t underrate yourself. You have good instincts.”

  Put that way….

  “The only question you have to answer right now,” Irine said, “is what do you think the Eldritch from town need to know more. Who you are, or what you’re offering.”

  Reese let the words sink in.

  “First reaction,” Irine prompted.

  “They’ve already seen who I am,” Reese said. “Too much more and I might frighten them away. I’m not Eldritch; they need to get used to that, and pushing it in their face is a good way to back them into a corner.”

  “Personal experience there,” Irine guessed, grinning.

  “Maybe I should just assume they’re all going to react like me and act accordingly,” Reese said, chagrined.

  “So, what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to stay here in this office and figure out the rest of the details for the feast,” Reese said, determined. “And if they want to talk to me, they can come find me.”

  Irine rested a hand on her wrist. She enunciated all the words very clearly, and there was no doubt in her eyes… no doubt, and a lot of pride. “You’re doing great.”

  “So far so good,” Reese said, exhaling.

  “Begin as you mean to go on?”

  Reese laughed. “You’re always telling me what I need to hear. So now you can tell me about why you think I should be worried about utensils.”

  They worked for another twenty minutes or so before Kis’eh’t poked her head in the door. “Busy?”

  “We’re mostly done,” Reese said. “Why?”

  “I thought you’d want to know a woman with modern heaters has arrived to ask how they can be recharged.” Kis’eh’t sounded smug. “She’s with Taylor now.”

  Irine and Reese looked at one another; Reese broke into a grin first. “She did, huh?”

  “I took her to Taylor’s office,” Kis’eh’t said. “The long way.”

  “There is no long way to Taylor’s office,” Reese said, eyeing her. “It’s off the main hall.”

  “I was creative! She liked the firebowl.”

  “Did she like it or did she stare at it because it was weird?” Irine asked.

  “Both? She said it was interesting.” Kis’eh’t preened.

  “For an Eldritch, that’s pretty effusive,” Reese said. “I hope Taylor doesn’t make her feel dumb explaining how to recharge the things.”

  “I think the danger is more that she’ll overwhelm the woman with her enthusiasm. She was so excited that someone was willing to embrace any of the technology that she was practically bouncing out of her chair.”

  Reese thought of the ear-warmers with their pompoms. “I bet that was an unforgettable experience.” Shaking herself, she said, “If the woman’s here, then Talthien is too? I should go down and tell him to stay since the dogs are almost here.”

  “This I’m definitely going to have to see,” Irine said. “Hinichi dogs!”

  Fortunately, Talthien was still present when they made it outside: loitering in front of the stables, in fact, which wasn’t a surprise given how often he and Shoran did their chores together. But he wasn’t alone, which was a surprise, and so was his companion; the senior seal servant was with him, and they were having an impassioned conversation that Reese wished she could understand. Had she come with the senior manse servant? Or had the seal servant brought the heaters herself? And if so, why?

  The discussion was becoming heated. Just as Reese was wondering whether it would be rude to interrupt, Talthien looked past the other Eldritch and said, “My lady!”

  “Talthien,” she said. And inclined her head to the woman. “Alet.”

  “Lady,” the woman said, and there was nothing in her voice to cue Reese about her feelings at all... which was its own tell.

  So Reese kept her attention on the youth. “The dogs should be here within an hour. I’d like you to be here to greet their handlers with me. You can get instructions directly from them that way.”

  She’d always thought the whole ‘eyes sparkling with excitement’ description was poetic license. Staring at Talthien’s, she couldn’t pinpoint how his face had changed to make it seem like he’d lit up like a firecracker, but he had, with an eagerness so obvious she couldn’t help her grin. “That’s fine with you, I take it.”

  “Of course, Mistress!” And hesitated, glancing at the other woman. “In an hour?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I’ll… need to prepare, then!” he said, but this sounded less like enthusiasm and more like defiance. Or an excuse. For a long moment she wondered what was going wrong, and then she looked at the two of them. And then she knew.

  “I’ll let you do that,” she said. “Shoran’s in the stables?”

  “Yes, Mistress.”

  “Then I’ll go inform him as well. He’ll want to make a start on those preparations while you finish up here.”

  This time Talthien bowed. “Yes, Mistress.”

  Reese walked around them into the stables and had that conversation with Shoran. She thought about bringing up Talthien’s problem—the youth hadn’t had any qualms sharing Shoran’s, after all—but remembering how she’d been as a teen, she restricted herself to a single question and that was enough for her. By the time Irine slipped inside to join her, Reese was sitting on a hay bale, thinking that it was warm and the horse-and-leather scent in the air was actually kind of nice.

  “Well!” Irine said. “Poor kit.”

  “Yeah.”

  The tigraine canted her head. “You figured it out?”

  Reese smiled a little. “Let’s say I’ve had plenty of experience with my own family heaping abuse on me. Enough to recognize the body language. That’s his mom out there, Shoran says.”

  “I don’t know if I’d call it abuse,” Irine said, perching alongside her. “He wanted her to stay and see him meet the dogs. She told him it wasn’t proper, and that she had a duty back at the village.”

  Reese’s eyebrows tried to climb off her face. “Should I ask when you started picking up the language?”

  “No, because you’re not surprised?” Irine hugged her knees, socked tail resting over her feet. “I like languages. And Val offered to teach me. Plus, I asked Felith to start requesting baby books for the forthcoming heir—”

  Reese burst out laughing. “You didn’t!”

  “And that delighted her so much I thought she was going to explode,” Irine finished and grinned. “You done?”

  “Not… quite.” Reese rubbed her eyes, waiting to see if the incipient tickle in her chest was going to turn into another round. “Blood and Freedom, arii. That was low. Raising her expectations like that.”

  “I wasn’t! You are planning to have kits eventually!”

  “Eventually isn’t the same as ‘quick, let’s start decorating the nursery and knitting baby blankets!’”

  “It is for an Eldritch! We’re positively hasty compared to them! They’d be dithering about kids for half a century.” Irine hesitated. “You’re… not going to wait that long, are you?”

  Was she? “I hope not,” she said. And, a little more carefully, “I… kind of hope we’ll start soon. And have a lot.”

  “How many’s a lot?”

  Reese paused, then laughed. “Not enough to make you think it’s a lot! Three? Or four? Maybe?”

  Irine grinned. “You’re right. That’s positively cozy.” She rested her head on Reese’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll make up for it with Narain’s sister.”

  “I… don’t think Narain’s sister is capable of helping you with that particular problem.”

  Irine giggled. “No, I mean she and I will have enough to make up the numbers.”

  Reese rested her nose in the fluffy golden hair. “You don’t even know if Narain has a sister.”
>
  “Can’t stop a girl from hoping!”

  Reese grinned. Then thought of Talthien. “So… I’m guessing that was ‘I want my mom to be proud of me.’”

  “’And see me as a man and not a kit,’’” Irine agreed. “And that was mazer refusing. But she was determined to take the heaters back to the village because they were needed. I can’t tell if that’s just them being Eldritch—you know, ‘duty before everything’—or his mom being… well, obnoxious.”

  “We might not know that for a long time. Or even ever.”

  Irine wrinkled her nose. “She’s taking the heaters back. That has to mean she’s at least willing to change, right?”

  “Maybe. But as you’ve no doubt noticed, Eldritch don’t do anything very quickly. And I bet they take changing even slower.” Reese shook her head. “Hirianthial says the women might not come around as soon as we wish. But… we’ve got time. And pushing them will just make it take longer.”

  Irine huffed softly. “You should tell Talthien that.”

  “Maybe I will, when I know him better.” Reese grinned. “So, as long as we’re stuck here waiting for the dogs, tell me what you know about the language.”

  “I don’t know as much about it as I want yet, but I will say this: if there’s a way to make a word longer, they’ll take it.”

  Some ten minutes later, Talthien joined them, and hearing the conversation topic gleefully weighed in. Reese wasn’t sure she learned anything, other than the very real possibility that she’d never master her fiancé’s language, but she enjoyed listening to Talthien coach Irine between enthusiastic linguistic tangents. It amazed her that he could sit so still, with his hands clasping his knees and his posture so impeccable, while still giving the impression of wild gesticulation. When the telegem she had in her pocket chimed, she was almost disappointed. Almost.

  “The dogs are here. Someone should find Shoran—”

  “The dogs!” Talthien exclaimed, darting for the door.