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He holds out the trump pack to Benedict, the Castle trump now on top.
"I doubt," he adds, "that anyone will even notice I've gone."
"Really? Well, we'll test that theory then." He concentrates on the card in Lucas' hand, and after a moment, reaches for the young noble's free hand. For a moment, Lucas is blinded by the intensity of Amber's sun, low and golden in the sky. It contrasts starkly with the ruddy glow from the pattern Chamber of Xanadu.
Benedict waves to the guards. "Here we are. If you will excuse me, Lucas?"
"Of course, Sir."
If Lucas is disappointed in being dismissed so rapidly and before he can see what his uncle is up to on this visit to Amber, he conceals it admirably. He does pause for a moment to see in which direction his uncle is headed. Then he makes his way to his own rooms rapidly, with quick, light steps.
He makes his way into his study at once, not pausing to see the children or Solace first - the children, he can hear, are busy with another music lesson. Definitely, he thinks, they will have a house of their own in Xanadu - one with long (if well-travelled) corridors and a nursery wing. In the study, he rings the bell by the fireplace that will summon Gaston, and occupies the time while he waits by going to his bookshelves and selecting several volumes from the section devoted to the beauties of architecture. He seems to be selecting an ecclectic mixture - Palladio and Le Corbusier, Norman Foster and Robert Adams, a volume of plates showing buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, and a large volume on Chateaux of the Loire. Another book catches his eye on the shelf and, after a moment's consideration, he slides it out too. One of the volumes his investigation into the Hardwind estate and the Paresh turned up. He has a feeling Solange might be interested.
By the time this has been assembled, Gaston is in the room (or if he isn't, Lucas is docking his wages).
"Ah, good," says Lucas. "Gaston, I need to see Paige. Perhaps you will ask her to join me and Solace for a drink after supper. Inform her that it concerns a little sea trip she was hoping to make. And tell Gouter I shan't require a large meal; some cheese and fruit should be sufficient. Erm ... a soft unpausterised cheese, I think, and a sliver of blue cheese. Some figs - and some muscat grapes ... no, not muscat. And a wine that is almost green in its crispness, redolent of orchards - apple orchards, that is, not pear."
Matters concerning his stomach having been arranged to his satisfaction, Lucas presses on. "We shall shortly be upping sticks and leaving, Gaston. I want you to ready the staff, and tell them to commence preparations. Our living conditions may, for a while, be primitive. I shall expect you all to rise to the challenges, as ever. However, this is to be done with discretion. I will not have my wife or the children disturbed."
He draws a sheet of notepaper towards him and writes something briefly. A pause, and then he writes a second note. Both are folded and sealed - a blob of sealing wax and then the St Cyr signet ring pressed firmly into the malleable red wax.
"See these delivered to Prudenter and M'mselle Silken. Do not confuse the two or my social life could become rather too interesting even for moi. Is Madame la Marquise in her room?"
Lucas enjoys surprising Solace.
Gaston has been taking notes, at least mentally, throughout the conversation, nodding at appropriate points and taking the notes from Lucas once they're sealed. He starts to speak, but before he can do more than utter the first word of his answer, Lucas hears Solace's voice.
"Gaston? Who's there?" Her voice is somewhat shaky.
Then there is a tap and a shuffling step, and another.
Gaston murmurs in a low voice to Lucas, "Madam la Marquise asked for your cane to be brought to her this evening. She hoped to take a perambulation in the gardens this evening, but I am afraid she will not be able to." He waits for Lucas' orders to reply to Solace.
Lucas looks sharply at Gaston. "How long has Madame been using a came?" he says in a low voice.
Gaston says in an equally quiet voice, "M'sieur, she has called for it on occasion since her first falling fit. Regularly since the second, when she is well enough to walk." He looks at Lucas mournfully.
Then he forestalls Gaston's actions (but not his reponse, which he listens to first) by opening the door to see Solace herself standing in the corridor outside. A second is all he will have to observe before she realises who it is and puts on her best assumption of wellness, if that is what she has been doing. But Lucas wishes to judge quite how ill his wife really is.
Lucas can see that Solace is pale and trembling slightly as the door flies open. She gasps and drops the cane when the door flies open. It falls with a clatter to the floor, and Solace totters for a moment before righting herself. "Oh, Lucas!" she gasps. "You startled me! I thought you wouldn't be back for a day or two."
She smiles, straightens, and extends her arms to him a gesture which, in addition to demonstrating her wifely affection, would allow her to lean on Lucas for balance if he accepts the embrace. "I'm pleased you came home, though. How was your trip?"
He takes her in his arms, but is feeling how much she needs to lean on him. Lightly he says, "Interrupted. I ran into Benedict who was watching his daughter walk the Pattern. I have to go back shortly though - want to come and see where our new home will be?"
All the while he is assessing something he fears he has ignored for too long - his wife's state of health.
Solace leans against him, but she seems to need him as much as a balance point as to hold her weight. She's trembling a little. It's almost as if her sense of balance is failing her somehow. There are circles under her eyes, as if she's been sleeping poorly, and his first impression that she was pale holds up under a closer examination.
Her voice is valiantly happy, though, as she replies to his question. "Oh, that would be lovely. But who will watch the children? Shall I send for Mother?"
Lucas kisses her on the tip of her nose. "No," he says. "We shall not be gone long. Nanny and Gaston will watch them while we're away. But I want you to choose where our home is to be built. I fear our first resdient will be rather crude - although we have a couple of rooms in the Castle. You'll like the Castle, ma chere. All modern conveniences. And with any luck, our petit chateau will have them too."
He is speaking as much to soothe and relax her as to convey information - but he is remembering Martin's suggestion that those in danger should be moved somewhere safe. He thinks he can see another reason, now.
"Really? What kinds of conveniences?" Solace asks. "Tell me all about the castle."
Lucas answers all her questions patiently, but when she pauses to draw breath, he asks gently, but firmly, "Solace, what did the doctor say to you when she examined you?"
"She said that I should rest and get better. That it wasn't clear why I'd fainted. That she was consulting with Gerard about it." Solace sounds confused, and a little troubled by the tenor of the question.
Lucas kisses her gently on the forehead.
"Perhaps we should both consult with Gerard again," he suggests. "He'll be in Xanadu. I don't like to see you so wan ... but perhaps Xanadu will put colour in your cheeks ... You'll like the waterfall."
"It sounds very lovely, Lucas. I'll have my maid pack a few things for me," Solace says.
A discreet tap at the door and a cough draws Lucas' attention. He quirks an eyebrow at Gaston.
"My Lady Paige," responds the retainer.
Lucas nods.
"Speak to Nanny about preparing the children," he tells Solace. "I'll see if I can find an easy way back to Xanadu - but rest first. I'll probably be a little time."
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XXXIX: Patternwalk in Xanadu | Index | XLI: We Must Go Down to the Sea
