Epilogue
The message arrived in Starfall five days later.
Bastin was breakfasting on the balcony behind his office at the time, watching gardeners trim the winter from the hedges and prepare the grounds for the year’s planting.
The rhythm of spring in the palace was a familiar one: the windows flung open to air rooms long closed against the cold, with miles of rugs and draperies to be taken up and beaten out.
He had given Selenne charge of his private gardens this year, and watched the new patterns emerge with interest. There were traditional forms in the outer hedges bounding the garden, with a fillip of rose trees at the ends, and an impressive tapestry of flowers within, in scrolling, ornate beds that reminded him of Dulcian carpet gardens.
The use of so many bulbs—tulips, daffodils, and dahlias that promised blooms as large as dinner plates—required careful planning and forethought, but Selenne was patient for such a young woman.
She took after her father, in that way.
It should not be wondered that she had ordered the central fountain to be cleared; long dry and overgrown with vines, the first jets were now rushing free to dislodge the debris of long disuse, filling the gardens with an unaccustomed splash and patter.
Three unfortunate apprentice gardeners were barefoot in the chilly water, scrubbing the granite clean.
Along the furthest hedgerows, a white animal appeared and whisked away, the morning sun glimmering off long whiskers.
“Beg pardon, Divinity,” said his door warden, and Bastin turned to accept a sealed parchment from a messenger whose dusty clothes and red eyes spoke of many hours in the saddle.
“Thank you. You may go.” Bastin waved him away. Inside, his heart was thumping as he broke the seal of the message.
“Will your beloved child be joining us for the season?” the Empress asked from the door of his office, and he crumpled the page in his fist. He had not invited her into his office, much less to breakfast, but he had learned long ago that it was safer to allow her a little proximity than none.
“It appears so.”