Chapter 25
Portia found Milo in the orangery with Ripple making an enormous fuss of him.
He was studying the blue dragon as if he had never seen anything so beautiful.
She had left Noah trying to settle all the others down in the snuggery, which was likely to be an impossible job.
They were still far too excited. But he was determined to try.
The dragons would come first. Always. That was how it should be.
Jade called out a greeting to Ripple, who shivered with delight and then took to the wing to join her, high overhead, twisting and whirling together.
‘You never told me what they were like,’ Milo said, with a dreamy kind of look on his face. ‘They’re beautiful. And so intuitive. Their connection to magic really is remarkable.’
‘Are you looking for a new project now?’ she asked. ‘Were you ever planning to tell me about the patent you applied for?’
Milo turned that flawlessly handsome face on her, his expression confused.
‘Of course. That’s why I came here. I thought…
well I didn’t know you were heading for Tesh with your aunt.
We must have literally crossed paths on the way.
When I got here, I felt like such a fool.
Mind you, August does have that way about him, doesn’t he?
Of making one feel like an idiot of the highest order.
And Seb wasn’t too happy to see me, naturally. ’
There was a twinge of pain in his voice as he said it. Portia frowned.
‘I don’t understand,’ she said. ‘They told me at the university that you… I thought…’
His eyes widened in horror. ‘You thought I’d stolen the research? Your work? Great Wenn on the wave, Portia, what do you think I am?’
He fumbled in his inner pockets, pulling out several pens, a notebook, a crisp white handkerchief, and finally an envelope of the heaviest cream paper.
Inside it was an official-looking document, with the most elaborate calligraphy Portia had ever seen.
There was even a wax seal at the bottom with an array of colourful ribbons.
He handed it over to her with shaking hands and then went on searching through the rest of his coat, pulling out more papers. Portia unfolded the letter.
It was a patent for the elixir, in both their names.
‘And there’s this of course. This is why I came in person.
I wanted to be the one to tell you. I didn’t know about everything else, I swear.
And I would have written but I thought… I thought this would be better.
Portia, I had no idea you were in Tesh or I would have…
I’d never…’ He dropped onto one of the wicker chairs, fanning himself.
‘I’d never take sole credit for our work. I would have thought you’d know that.’
The other letter was from the Academy. It was signed by the entire academic council, an abject apology and invitation to return to her position.
‘Because of the elixir?’
‘Well, partially that and because I finally made them see sense. Honestly, they had everything so turned around. Now I wonder if Virginia Moorland had been using her nasty little spells on some of them as well. I wouldn’t put it past her.
We must look into it when we get back, really nail her down, don’t you think? ’
‘I don’t understand,’ she said at last, folding into the seat opposite him.
Jade flew down to curl up in her lap, cooing softly.
To her surprise, Ripple came too and settled herself in Milo’s.
He started at first but then his hands rose, as if drawn by magic, to pet her.
The blue dragon began to purr, much to Milo’s obvious delight.
‘The elixir is the breakthrough we were looking for. Still a huge amount of work to do, naturally. The version I made at the Academy isn’t as powerful as the samples you sent so there’s definitely something to do with the magic of the island as opposed to that of the Academy.
I wonder if there’s some kind of difference in the strength of the prime threads here.
The magic at the Academy is… it’s kind of worn out.
Tapped too many times, I think. This place…
it’s a marvel, Portia. I felt it the moment I set foot here.
No wonder the dragons are so happy here. Thriving.’
‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I never thought about it. It was always just home.’
He blew out a long breath, puffing his cheeks.
‘Well, we’ll have to look into it. Run some concurrent trials and compare the results.
Do you think your aunt would let us set up something here?
Maybe Seb might…’ He trailed off, as if realising what he was saying.
‘Well, no, maybe not. But… Portia, the thing is, they want you back. It was all a horrible misunderstanding.’
‘They want me back because the elixir works. Because they stand to make a fortune from it. Is that the sum of it?’
‘Well… yes. If you want to put it like that. Or they want you back because you’re a genius who made one of the most important discoveries of our time.
And they made a pretty enormous blunder in suspending you and are hoping you won’t take it personally and sue them to the highest heavens.
You can take it however you want. I do know some rather good lawyers if that’s the way you want to go. ’
She gave a bitter laugh, and Milo leaned forward, curling around the blue dragon. ‘Portia, did you really think I’d cheated you like that?’
He sounded so hurt that she felt a pang of guilt. ‘I didn’t think. I’m sorry. I’ve spent my whole career expecting people to let me down, haven’t I? And there was Virginia Moorland, telling the world that I had no right to be there…’
‘But you do. You have every right, now more than ever.’ He held out his hand.
‘Will you come back? It isn’t just the patent, Portia.
The Asher award will be split between us and that will pay for a lot more than just our research for years to come.
And when they do put the elixir on sale…
look, I took advice from Professor Abernathy in legal.
He’s a boring old stick, but my word he knows his stuff.
The contract he drew up relating to the sales and the terms and conditions is the size of an encyclopaedia but it’s going to make us both rich.
More than rich. I think we might be able to buy the whole Academy if we want.
That might be making them a bit antsy as well. ’
She nodded slowly, thinking hard and Milo watched her nervously. ‘Do you really need me there for that?’ she asked.
‘For the money? No, it’s yours whatever happens. What are you thinking?’
‘I’m thinking… I might set up an apothecary shop here. We could still work as partners, Milo but I… I don’t want to go back there. Not immediately. There’s still the sanctuary to think about. And to pay for.’
‘Well,’ he said, sitting back and steepling his fingers. ‘It’s definitely enough to pay for the dragon sanctuary. Several of them, I should think.’
She gave a snort of laughter. ‘You have no idea how much one of these places costs, do you?’
‘I’ve seen the figures, Portia. I don’t think it matters.’
* * *
It wasn’t hard to find Noah. He was exactly where she expected him to be, right in the heart of the snuggery.
The teacup dragons there had settled down for the night and not even Jade’s gentle calls could summon them out of their cosy little dens on the towering shelves.
He was in his shirtsleeves again, each one rolled up above the elbows, and he stood over the basin washing his hands.
She watched him for a moment, before he noticed her – his calm competence, the careful way he did everything, the strength that he tempered with gentleness.
The ring Gilden had given him hung on a strip of thong around his neck.
Too fine to put on a working vet’s finger he had said with a laugh, once they were alone, and then acted as if he had forgotten it and all the promises it carried with it.
‘Portia? What can I do for you? Is Ripple with you? She hasn’t come back yet.’
She shook her head. ‘She’s with Milo. They’re quite taken with each other. We may have an actual adoption on our hands.’
Noah grinned. ‘Don’t tell Iris just yet. Give them a moment to enjoy it before she forces the paperwork on him. What did you want?’
She smiled, cheeks warming. There were so many things she wanted. But that wasn’t why she was here. ‘Just to talk to you. About… about what Virginia said. She was going to pay for your expedition, wasn’t she?’
His face fell so suddenly it was as if she’d struck him. For a long moment he just stared at her and then eventually forced himself to speak. ‘Yes. Well, maybe.’
‘You had a deal.’
‘Portia… I didn’t realise what she wanted. I know I was a fool. Honestly. I didn’t think—’
Portia lifted a hand to silence him. ‘She probably wouldn’t have actually kept her part of it anyway.’
Now he just looked glum. ‘I know that now. I really can’t apologise enough.’ He sighed deeply, a great weight settling on him. ‘I’m forever apologising to you.’
‘Not always,’ she whispered. Not when they’d made love. But she didn’t know how to bring that up without ruining everything yet again.
They sat side by side on the edge of the central table where they usually sorted feed, examined the dragons, or carried out any one of the many ordinary jobs they had worked at side by side. Some of the best times of her life, she realised now.
Portia didn’t know what to say, not now that it came to it. She didn’t know how to broach any of this with him. A part of her really didn’t want to, but that would be selfish. She had to give him this opportunity, even if it meant letting him go.