Chapter Seventeen
In the morning, Luz and Wim departed early for an obstetrics appointment with Dr. Chavez. “I’ll be back soon,” Luz whispered in Vivian’s ear. “I can’t wait to hear your opinion of last night’s dinner. Privately.”
Vivian grinned. “You’re on.” The night had ended amicably enough, but Vivian could tell none of the Martians had been sorry to see River depart.
As soon as the couple had left for the doctor, Vivian grabbed a hat and walked out the door.
She intended to make the most of her time at the Yarrow Estate after spending so many days isolated within the walls of the dormitory.
The vast, craggy grounds boasted a manicured garden, a badminton court, decorative greenhouses, and numerous modest staff homes.
Walking without a destination, Vivian heard a faint clanging sound.
Curious, she followed the sound up the path to the elevated inner courtyard of Yarrow House.
On the redstone patio, Xavier and August were locked in an altercation. Vivian froze. The two men had seemed so close the night before. What could have changed?
August laughed and brought his sword—his sword?—down hard on Xavier’s bicep, causing Xavier to drop his sword reflexively. Vivian let out an involuntary gasp, looking for the well of blood that was sure to follow.
August stepped back and held up his blade. “Too easy. Where are you this morning, X? Your mind’s not on the bout. Mooning over a certain lady?”
Xavier bent to retrieve his sword and scowled, rubbing the unmarred sleeve of his arm. “I am doing no such thing.” He raised his sword arm. “Again.”
This time, Xavier attacked his cousin with a high, chopping motion, pushing August back farther and farther, closer to Vivian, who stood still and unobserved against the wall.
August parried the thrusts, and the two locked in a flashing dance of steel.
With a hard blow, August disarmed Xavier and knocked him to the ground.
He pressed the sword tip, blunted with a rubber stopper, to Xavier’s throat.
“Your technique is terrible today, X. The lady is available, you know. And it would keep our aunt off my back for a spell. Quit being stubborn. Do you yield?”
What lady? They’d mentioned no one at dinner last night. She wondered if they were speaking of Ivey, who had made no secret of her interest in pursuing Xavier.
Not that it made any difference to her.
Xavier grabbed the sword edge in both hands and twisted it out of August’s grip. In one sweeping motion of his leg, he knocked his cousin off his feet.
“Ow,” August complained, sitting up and rubbing his head. “Not fair. You wouldn’t perform that move with a sharpened sword.”
“I don’t play fair.” Xavier reached one hand out and helped August to his feet.
August’s eyes widened in surprise upon seeing Vivian standing nearby. “Ah, Miss Bowen, good day. I’m pleased to have a witness to X’s unsportsmanlike behavior.”
“I’ve never seen a sword fight before.” Vivian rubbed her arms.
“I’m sure it won’t be your last,” August replied. “Swords are the weapon of choice on Mars.”
“Why swords?” More Regency playacting?
“You don’t know?” August pointed upward. “The integrity of the domes could fail in a gunfight, and we’d all be dead in a matter of moments. We don’t make guns on Arcadia.”
Vivian frowned. “Guns can be smuggled.”
“The Intelligence enforces the prohibition.” Xavier retrieved his fallen sword and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to clean it. “One of the few good things it’s ever done.”
August turned his back to Xavier and quickly put a fist to his forehead. Xavier, rubbing a spot on his sword, didn’t appear to notice.
“Would you care to try it, Miss Bowen?” Xavier asked.
“Me?” Vivian exclaimed. “Wouldn’t I hurt you?”
Xavier gave a scornful laugh. “If you managed to land a blow. I’ll take my chances.”
August’s brows drew together. “I don’t know about this, X. Fencing between Earthers and Martians is dangerous.”
Xavier tossed her a sword, and it sailed slowly through the Martian gravity. Vivian, to her surprise, easily caught it. She smiled and threw her ribboned hat to the side to land on the ground next to the fountain.
“Feet perpendicular, like this. Raise your sword arm. Higher. Keep your elbow clear of your body.”
Vivian obeyed, feeling absurd and hampered by her restrictive skirts.
Xavier’s eyes were bright when he looked at her. “Good. We’ll do a straight thrust. Come forward toward me with a lunge.” Vivian leaned her right foot forward and thrust her sword out clumsily. Xavier easily parried. “Again.”
Learning fencing was a bit like learning Martian dancing.
She moved through the choreographed steps that Xavier showed her.
Their bodies stayed at a distance, a sword’s length away, but Vivian found herself completely focused on the moment in front of her.
The backdrop of Yarrow House and August’s quiet observation faded away.
And then, suddenly, she made it inside Xavier’s guard, pressing the tip of her blunted sword into his chest. He let out a grunt and grinned down at her.
With one long arm, he reached for her sword hand and lifted it to move the sword off his chest. His hand was warm.
“Very nice. You’ll leave a bruise I won’t soon forget. ”
Vivian stepped back. “I’m sorry! Mr. Yarrow was right. We’re unevenly matched.”
Xavier held her hand a moment longer. “I like that we’re unevenly matched.” He pulled her fingers from the sword handle.
August cleared his throat. “X, we should go. The family governance meeting is starting soon.”
Xavier bowed to her. “Miss Bowen. May I—may I call upon you later at the reverend’s home?”
“I suppose,” Vivian agreed. What more did they have to discuss? She remembered, suddenly, Xavier was the reason Delilah had abandoned hope for a love match in favor of the loathsome Mitzi King.
Xavier nodded seriously and clapped his hand on his cousin’s shoulder. “Let’s make this quick, shall we?”
Vivian walked slowly back to the house, replaying the thrilling moment when she’d stepped inside Xavier’s guard. What would it be like to learn to defend herself with steel?
In the house, Luz had not yet returned. Vivian poured herself a cup of coffee and curled up on a comfortable chair to read.
She opened to Chapter Thirty-Three: After Survival: The Next Generation of Martian Collective Sovereignty.
She was puzzling over the fascinating history of the Martian water purification system when a series of sharp taps startled her.
Vivian put down her reader and opened the door. “Mr. Dorsey!” She reflexively stepped back to let him into the room and looked involuntarily to her reader, the law text still visible. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”
Xavier had changed clothing since she’d seen him on the fencing grounds, but his cravat was askew, and he had not brought a hat.
Vivian had never seen him look so disheveled.
He didn’t speak but only paced the room, looking anywhere but her.
Vivian took the opportunity to return to her seat and discreetly close her reader so he wouldn’t see his textbook on the screen. What was wrong with him?
“I—I—”
“Yes?” Vivian prompted.
Xavier ran a hand over his short black hair, still not meeting her eyes.
“Spit it out, would you? I’ve never known you to be at a loss for words.”
This sparked a glare, and then he burst out, “In vain, I have struggled, but I cannot suppress my feelings. Miss Bowen—Vivian, you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
Vivian stared up at him blankly, her mouth opening in astonishment. “You what?”
“You are brazen and opinionated, and you do everything you can to vex me. I’ve tried not to love you. I don’t want to love you. I love you against my will and my reason.” He finally seemed to run out of words and sat down heavily on the couch opposite her.
“Is that all?”
Xavier covered his face in his hands and said in a muffled voice, “That is all.”
Vivian suppressed an absurd desire to laugh. “You don’t seem happy about your feelings.”
“No.”
“And how do you expect me to respond when I know you took Caspian away from my sister?”
Xavier removed his hands from his face to give her a condescending smile that caused anger to rise in her chest. “I do not deny that I did everything in my power to separate my friend from this despicable act of human bondage.”
“Delilah wanted Caspian,” Vivian said in frustration. “She would’ve chosen him. They could have had a love match. It’s not up to you to make decisions for my sister.”
“Your sister clearly did not esteem Caspian above her other suitors. Why shouldn’t she be content with another? My only goal was to persuade Casp away from this path.”
“It is not only Delilah I’m thinking about. Silas Gatlin told me everything.”
“You take an eager interest in that man’s concerns,” growled Xavier.
“Of course I do! You caused his misfortune.”
“Misfortune!” scoffed Xavier. “Yes, his misfortunes have been great indeed.”
“He was owed an inheritance from your father. And because you were jealous, you stopped him from inheriting. What kind of man treats someone who was raised beside him so badly?”
“Ha!” Xavier walked with quick steps across the room to stand in front of her. “And this is your opinion of me? I thank you for explaining it so fully.”
Vivian sprang to her feet. Her heart was hammering in her chest. “From the very beginning—from the first moment I met you, you have been arrogant and conceited. You don’t care about the feelings of others. You are the last man in the world—this world or any other—that I could ever love.”
Xavier’s eyes were blazing. He closed the last foot of distance between them and bent his head toward her upturned face. Vivian wondered for one thrilling moment if he planned to kiss her and how she would respond if he did.