Hearts in Cups Read Free Page A

the, shall we say ‘interested parties,’ have sons of
marriageable age. To many, you are the logical solution to their problem."
    Hollin rose with a
frown and paced to the window. "This is completely absurd! That
handfasting was not binding even at the time it was made. Besides, with
Gwyneira dead, I am the Duchess of Langstraad, not some younger daughter who
can be married off for political alliance. I am sole ruler of one of the five
Great Houses and no one else outranks me in the Pentarchy." She returned
to her seat, still frowning.
    "True enough, but
I doubt that those facts will change the minds of those who consider you a
viable alternative to the inevitable anarchy that will ensue if Percamber dies
without an acknowledged and agreed upon heir."
    "I hate
intrigue," she spat vehemently.
    "I don't
particularly," was his equable reply.
    She laughed derisively.
    "I like games-playing,
which is all it is actually,” he said. “Plots within plots. You're a bit too
honest, if you want my opinion. You'd hate the court at Challis."
    "No doubt."
She smiled and leaned back in her chair. "Any suggestions for the coming
fray?"
    He drew his brows
together in thought. "First, you have to decide where your own feelings
lie. How do you feel about the regency? About Lord Percamber? What are your
feelings for, or about, the missing prince? Do you want the throne yourself?
What can you do? And what will you do?"
    She mulled this over.
"I really haven't thought much about those things," she confessed.
"Up until this point I was prepared to let events take their own course.
Naturally, I accept and support Lord Percamber, both politically and personally.
He has been an excellent Regent and I have always been most comfortable with
him. I don't have any personal feelings for Prince Brian. The handfasting
ceremony was so long ago that I hardly remember him." She paused, trying
to recall the event. All that remained of the experience was the impression of
very tall people in splendid dress milling about.
    "And the
throne?"
    She shrugged. "You
know that I don't want the throne for myself. I am quite content with running
my own House."
    "It's more
complicated than that!" he protested.
    "True. And if what
you say is correct, then I cannot afford to wait until the initiative is taken
away from me."
    "No, you
can't."
    "Tell me Ian, are
you ever ambitious in a grand way?" she asked with a sigh of frustration.
    "Me?" He
laughed quietly. "No, not really. I like my comforts and I like being on
the fringe of power, but real ambition is entirely too tedious. I am content to
advise you, as best I can, from behind the curtains."
    "Sometimes I wish
that you were not my cousin," Hollin said smiling down at her lap.
    "Me too," he
replied simply.
    There was a stillness
in the room. At last, Ian rose and bent to kiss the top of Hollin's head.
"When you decide how you are going to deal with your fellow
council-members, send for me. Remember, I'm always here for you, Holly."
    She raised her smile to
his face. "I know that. Let me brood by myself for a few hours, then come
dine with me this evening if you're free." Ian sketched a brief bow and
left her alone in the sunlit tower.
     
    Three hours later
Hollin was awakened from her ruminations by a quick knock on the door followed
by the appearance of a stout, pink-cheeked woman. Dame Edwinna Heath had been
principle lady-in-waiting to Lady Morwen ap Lir, Hollin's mother, and had risen
to become chatelaine of Castle Lir upon Hollin's succession to her mother's
coronet. Like a great mother-hen, she viewed the residents of the castle as her
chicks, to be continually fussed over. At times Hollin, who cherished her
privacy and solitude, found Edwinna's ministrations suffocating, but she
recognized in the woman an excellent manager with a genuine desire to be
helpful.
    "Well, well, well,
there you are my dear, your grace!" Dame Edwinna bustled in, speaking in
her usual breathless fashion. "I was getting quite worried