Chapter Sixteen #2
“You are quick to defend yourself,” said Lady Margate, “but as yet have not described the crime you’re trying to explain away.”
She was right. Jasper took a deep breath as he wondered where to begin. “My heart has been hers for months,” he said. “Then, when the Welsh mage tried to abduct her and my power broke out, my only thought was to protect her—to rescue her from her attackers and take her away. Which I did.”
“Evidence of devotion, I would have thought,” Lady Margate observed.
I wish Delia saw that. “I was stuck in dragon form, but we managed to communicate after a fashion once I had calmed. And I started to think. I couldn’t miss the implication I was a dragon lord, though currently more dragon than lord.
And Delia is undoubtedly a catalyst—the only one in England in one thousand years.
Dragon lords and catalysts belong together, and they marry if they are not already related. ”
“Exactly,” said Lady Margate.
“When I finally figured out how to change back into human form, I blurted out a proposal. Well, not really a proposal. More an assumption. She mentioned going back to her unicorn, and I said she couldn’t be unicorn maiden after we were married.”
“Oh dear. She was upset of course.”
“I made it worse,” Jasper admitted. “I told her it was our duty to marry, and that, in any case, I needed her. I think I mentioned something about stabilizing my magic. And I pointed out she would be a duchess one day.”
“Let me see,” said Lady Margate. “You told her she is a duty, an obligation, and a convenience, and that you are willing to purchase her compliance at the price of a title you do not yet have. Do I have that right? And then, I suppose, she gave you a well-deserved flea in your ear, and you have been moping ever since.”
Ouch. It sounded even worse in Lady Margate’s summary. There was no doubt about where her sympathies lay. What could Jasper do but grimace? “What can I do to fix it?” he begged.
“What was Lady Cordelia’s reaction to this flattering proposal?” the lady asked, putting sarcastic emphasis on the word flattering.
“She told me that marriage was not necessary,” Jasper said. “I know I misspoke. It was not what I meant. It is not how I feel.”
“I should hope not. What, in fact, do you mean? What do you feel, Lord Baradine?”
Jasper had never been particularly good at naming his feelings. All he knew was that Delia was as necessary to him as food and air. She was the sun at the center of his universe. And he knew one truth as a hard rock certainty: She was his, and he was hers.
“Hmm,” said Lady Margate after a moment or two. “Nothing to say. You had better figure it out, young man. Think about it as you go on about your business.”
Getting to his feet, Jasper said, “I have a report to write. I shall bring my lap desk up to Dee… Lady Cordelia’s chambers, and work on it there.” It was not a request. The meeting had lasted more than two hours, and he felt the separation from Delia like an open wound.
Lady Margate raised her eyebrows and decreed. “You shall stay out of her chambers until she has been seen by Lady Bright, and you shall be permitted entry only once both Lady Bright and Lady Cordelia herself give you leave.”
She must realize that she could not keep him out if he insisted on going in. Nobody could keep him from Delia, not even every member of every Council of Mages in the realm. She was relying on his good manners and his respect for her position.
Neither would constrain him if Delia was in danger. He attempted to speak to her mind to mind, as he did in dragon form. Delia? Are you well? Are you safe?
It worked. The answer came back. Jasper! Yes, I am well and safe.
May I come to see you?
Later. The healer is due to visit shortly. After she has confirmed my recovery, I plan to have a bath. If you have time, could you visit when I am up and dressed?
I always have time for you, Delia. Let me know. And call me if anything or anyone bothers you.
Do not fuss, Jasper. Lady Margate and the maid have been very kind.
He was almost disappointed. Not that he wished anything else for his lady, but he had no excuse to override Lady Margate’s command. “Very well,” he told the enchanter. “I shall wait. Please let me know as soon as possible.”
Lady Margate was eyeing him curiously. “Were you talking to someone? The Lady Catalyst, was it? I sensed… the edges of a conversation, I suppose one could say. Not the words, but more a sound, except there was no sound.” She gave her head a quick shake as if frustrated at explaining an experience for which she had no words.
Lady Margate was, of course, a powerful enchanter, but Jasper was still surprised she had “heard” anything. He made a mental note to figure out how to shield his mental conversations with Delia from outside observers.
There was no reason why he shouldn’t tell her the truth. “Lady Cordelia and I can speak mind to mind. It is useful when I am in dragon form.”
“Yes. I can see how it would be useful. You love her, then. And she loves you.”
Delia loves me? His heart leapt at the thought. But how on earth did Lady Margate deduce that?
She could also see into his mind, apparently. Or maybe his feelings were clearly written on his face, because she said, “You forget, Baradine. My mage-gift is strongest in matters of the heart. I have done extensive research into magical spells that are linked to romance and other types of love.”
Jasper had forgotten. Her love magic was one of the reasons that Lady Margate was a successful matchmaker.
Lady Margate was providing examples. “The magical strength a mother finds at her command when a child’s life depends on it. The bond between parent and child, siblings, lovers and friends that allows one person to know danger threatens the other, even if they are separated by oceans.”
Her smile was that of an expert sharing superior knowledge, slightly condescending.
“Speaking mind-to-mind is vanishingly rare, and all the examples in the literature have been two people who are in love with one another. Ergo, you love the Lady Catalyst, and she loves you.” Her decisive nod said this was the last word on the subject.
I love her. The words settled peacefully into Jasper’s soul, bringing conviction with them. He loved her. Now all he had to do was convince her of that fact.