Volle (35 page)

“But he hasn’t talked to you since?” Dewanne said.

Volle shook his head. “Not at all. I mean, pleasant chit-chat, but whenever I bring up Ferrenis, he clams up.”

“I wouldn’t have thought he’d even be capable of pleasant chit-chat,” Ryngs said. “With his wife running around behind his back and all.”

“She what?” Dewanne turned to look at the raccoon, who seemed pleased to find an audience.

“You must be the last person in the palace to hear. Lady Oncit and Lord Deverin?”

“I never hear anything,” Dewanne muttered. “With Lady Dewanne being indisposed and all.”

“Ah yes, how is dear Delia?” Tish said, cutting off Ryngs, who was about to make another remark.

“She’s very well, thank you. The two weeks at Salinas Springs did her a world of good.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Volle asked.

“What isn’t?” Ryngs got his remark in this time.

Dewanne shot a glance at him before continuing. “Lady Dewanne has a very delicate constitution,” he said. “She suffers from an imbalance of humours…”

“And a lack of humor,” Ryngs muttered so low that only Volle heard him.

“…and she is congestive and has trouble breathing sometimes.”

“She’s not consumptive?” Volle asked cautiously.

“Thank Canis, no. But she is very delicate and stays in bed most of the day. She thinks she has a weak heart.” He smiled fondly as he said it.

“It astonishes me, Dewanne,” said Ryngs, “that you laugh only at that self-diagnosis and treat the others seriously.”

“Her condition is real,” Dewanne said stiffly, “even if her speculation as to the cause of it is rather naïve.”

Ryngs sighed and turned away, giving up so quickly that Volle was sure they’d had the same argument many times.

Dewanne turned pointedly to Volle. “I hear you’re courting a young vixen yourself.”

Volle flicked his ears and nodded. “Tika introduced us.”

“How is that going?”

“Is she ‘delicate’?” Ryngs put in, earning a glare from Dewanne and Tish both.

“Drop it, Ryngs,” Tish said softly.

“All right, all right. Just looking out for a friend.”

They were silent for a moment, so Volle answered Dewanne’s question. “It’s going very well. She’s a lovely, bright vixen, and her family is very nice. She’s having her cotillion in a few weeks, and I’ll formally announce my courtship then. Or she will,” he said with a glance at Tish. “I confess I haven’t quite figured it out yet.”

“You will dance the first and last dance, and that will serve as the announcement,” Tish said with some amusement. “Don’t worry. We’ll go over it all several more times before it comes up.”

Volle’s ears flattened involuntarily, drawing chuckles from around the table. “No, really, I’m glad,” he protested.

“And Tika and I will be there too. You’ll do fine.”

“You’re helping with the planning, I hope,” Dewanne said to Tish, who nodded. He turned to Volle. “Good. Tish knows everybody. I wouldn’t plan a trip to the pub without consulting him.”

“You don’t drink, anyway,” Ryngs pointed out.

“When Lady Dewanne is not present, I have partaken of the occasional glass of wine.”

“You should get stinking drunk sometime. Do you good.”

“It doesn’t seem to have done you much good,” Dewanne retorted. “Didn’t you end up in the moat last time you got drunk?”

“Only because you pushed me there.” Ryngs grinned at the fox, who clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, how am I supposed to get revenge if you won’t get drunk?”

“Children,” Tish rumbled with a smile. “Perhaps we could do the socializing later.”

“That’s what I’m trying to set up!” Ryngs said. “Volle will come with us, won’t you?”

“Sure.” Volle grinned.

“All right, all right. I can’t think of any way to get at Oncit without alerting him, so Volle, just stay available and talk to him. Maybe something will happen to make him talk.” Volle nodded. “Dewanne, are you taking the wife on another vacation again soon? Maybe see what’s near Oncit this time. I think there are some hot springs in or near his borders.”

“What about me?” Ryngs said.

“What have you been doing?”

“Nothing. But I always hope you’ll give me something.” He grinned. “Okay, I’ve just been nosing around Fardew and the Defense council.”

“Did you hear about Dereath?” Volle interjected.

“That he got sent away? Yeah. Good riddance. He’s far too anxious to make a name for himself and he asked me a lot of questions a couple months back about my loyalties. Since then I just try to stay out of his way.”

“Good luck,” Volle said fervently.

“Easier with him gone.”

“What was he sent away for?” Dewanne asked.

“Fardew had some operation going on that he wanted kept low-profile, and Dereath blabbed to a couple people about it.”

“What operation?”

Ryngs shook his head. “Don’t know. But Fardew wasn’t happy. He kept showing his fangs all through the day.”

Tish looked at Volle, who laid his ears back a little. The wolf nodded very slightly and remained silent. Volle didn’t especially want to discuss the whole experience again, and if Tish thought it wasn’t important enough to tell them, then he preferred to hold off.

Chapter 15

The cotillion dominated most of his conversations for the following few weeks. Ilyana came to the palace a few days later, the same day Tarka returned with a scroll from Anton that Volle could present to the Agricultural Council.

To his surprise, Ilyana wanted to come see his chambers. “Why?”

“You say you have other clothes. I just want to see them. We’re going out to get me fitted for my gown, and if you don’t have anything suitable, you can come along and get fitted too.”

“Oh, that would be …great.”

“You’ll love it.” She winked. “The tailor is a cute little bunny boy.”

“I’ll alert Helfer,” he said, trying to think whether he’d left any Zinsky books out on his table. He didn’t think so, but he still hesitated after telling Welcis that Madame wanted to examine his wardrobe.

The skunk picked up on the hint. “I was just cleaning the bedroom,” he said smoothly. “If Madame can wait five minutes? Or I could bring the formal outfits out.”

“No, I can wait,” Ilyana said, wandering over to the windows of the parlor and looking at Volle’s desk, which had become as messy as any Lord’s in the palace.

He followed her there and indicated the scroll from Anton. “I just got word from Vinton that they’re expecting a good harvest this year.”

“That’s good.” She smiled, and turned to the window, looking out over the gardens. “This is a nice view.”

He stepped up beside her and put his arm around her waist. “I like it. It’s nice to sit here in the evenings and watch the light fade over the flowers—and trees, this time of year. Most of the flowers are gone. It’s interesting to watch the scene with all those colors blending into each other, and then as the sun goes down the colors fade and turn grey. But they’re not gone.” He paused. “Just sleeping.”

She nuzzled him. “That’s poetic. I like that. The flowers are sleeping, or the colors?”

“Either. Both.” He chuckled. “See that bare patch there?”

“The one between the red bushes?”

“Yes. The flowers that were there before were yellow. The whole garden looks different now, even though just that one bed was changed. Know what I mean?”

“I think so.”

“Nighttime is like that. It’s the same, but it’s different. You can see different patterns when you take the colors away.”

“I just see that those red ones shouldn’t be next to the violet shrubs. That’s too much red.”

He smiled. “You have good color sense.”

Welcis coughed behind them. “His lordship’s bedroom is ready.”

As they turned, Volle extended a paw. “After you, Ilyana.”

She smiled and glided after the skunk. He watched her tail swaying in front of him, imagined Arrin’s, and was excited for a moment. But her scent was undeniably feminine, and he just couldn’t sustain the illusion. He sighed inwardly. With luck it would never get that far.

“I warn you, it’s not as luxurious as you might expect.” She had already stopped at the entrance.

“Good heavens, Volle, don’t you even have a carpet in here?”

He shook his head. “Never really needed one. There’s a fire, and I spend most of my time in the bed anyway.”

“But just for appearances!”

He smiled. “Maybe you can help me pick out a nice one.”

She brightened, ears perking up, and walked over to the wardrobe, which stood open.

Volle turned to Welcis and spoke in a near whisper. “Thank you, Welcis.”

The skunk whispered back. “You’re welcome, sir. I moved any potentially embarrassing items to my own cot in the sitting room.”

“Thank you, again.” He patted the skunk on the back.

“Simply doing my job, sir.”

Ilyana had taken down the formal outfit Helfer’s tailor had made, which Volle liked quite a bit. “This might do. Is there another set of pants to go with it?”

“No, just those.”

She eyed them critically. “They’re not bad, but would you be upset if I asked you to get another pair? The cut is a bit too new and the color is a little darker than it should be.”

He started to reply that he liked the color and the cut, and then remembered that it was her big day. “That would be fine.”

“Thank you.” She replaced the clothes, came over, and kissed him on the muzzle, and her eyes were sparkling. “Let’s go back up and get Tish and Tika.”

They took a carriage to the tailor, though it was a distance Volle could easily have walked. The wolves sat together on the front seat of the carriage while Volle and Ilyana sat in the back facing them.

“Where did you find this tailor?” Volle asked Ilyana.

“Tika found him for me.” Ilyana smiled. “Last year, when I needed a new dress.”

“Tish found him, actually,” Tika put in, and her husband smiled.

“Friend of a friend,” he said.

Volle chuckled. “Is there anyone in Divalia who doesn’t meet that description?”

“Very few,” Tika said with a smile. She nuzzled Tish and he put an arm around her as the carriage bounced down the road. Ilyana leaned closer to Volle, who was looking at Tish and thinking hard about something. It took a couple nudges before he got the hint and put his arm around her. Tish returned his gaze with equanimity, almost inviting him to ask a question, but Volle remained quiet.

“What sort of color are you looking for, Ilyana?” Tika asked.

“A blue, I think. Something light.”

Tika nodded. “That should look nice. So a darker blue for Volle?”

“Yes. With purple trim, I think.”

“On both? I’m not sure it’s proper to have outfits that are that closely coordinated.”

“I could have green,” Volle put in, but the two of them ignored him.

“It’ll be okay. Mine will have more of a lavender color, and his will be royal purple. It won’t be quite the same. And the proportions will be different.”

Tish grinned at Volle and shrugged his shoulders, and Volle grinned back, settling against the seat as the two ladies discussed the color patterns and fabric and myriads of other details.

At the tailor, Tish took Volle aside while Tika and Ilyana were getting their measurements taken. “Just let her take charge of everything,” he said. “It’s her day. The wedding will be like that too, except you’ll get even less to say.”

“Wedding?” Volle coughed. “What if I—what if there isn’t a wedding?”

Tish flicked his ears. “What do you mean? You don’t like her? You should have said something before now.”

“No, I do like her. But what if…what if I screw up at the cotillion or something and she doesn’t want to marry me?”

Tish clapped him on the back. “Is that what you’re worried about, m’boy? I wouldn’t. I think you’d have to set fire to the place and poison her parents before
she
would call off the engagement.” His eyes searched Volle’s. “As long as you’re not thinking about it.”

“No,” Volle said, but Tish pressed on regardless.

“You know, Volle, if you’re worried about giving her the kind of affection you think she expects, don’t. She knows what she’s getting in for.”

“I know.”

“She was Tika’s first choice over all the others. If you reject her, I won’t be able to stop Tika from moving down her list, and likely the second one won’t be as good a match.”

“I know.”

“I know it’s strange for you, having only known her a while and having this marriage thrust upon you. You’ve never had a chance just to get to know her. But that’s the way things are done. My father arranged my marriage to Tika when I was sixteen. Luckily, it turned out well. You have even less to worry about—just get an heir and send her off to Vinton to live, then go about your life here. It’s an obligation; maybe it will be easier if you think of it that way.”

“All right. I’ll try.” He resolved not to leak any more of his doubts to Tish, at least.

“Volle.” Ilyana poked her muzzle out of the door and beckoned him. “Your turn.”

Tish laughed and patted Volle as he walked toward the door. “Enjoy, m’boy.”

“Tika says you’re next,” Ilyana said to him saucily, and disappeared. Volle turned in time to see the wolf’s crestfallen expression, and his folded-back ears, though from the twinkle in the dark eyes he was sure at least some of it was an act.

He laughed. “I’ll stall them as long as I can.”

“You’re a good fox,” Tish said with exaggerated relief, and sprawled back onto the chair.

The tailor was a very cute young bunny, as Ilyana had promised, and he was wearing a short shirt and short pants that showed off his stomach and hips to good effect. Volle supposed that he had made the clothes himself and was just modeling his wares, but he was also selling himself, and that accounted for the giggling he and Tish had heard even out in the waiting room.

“Isn’t he cute, Volle?” Ilyana said, and the tailor’s resigned expression and spread ears told Volle that he’d been putting up with a lot of this sort of teasing.

“He is, yes. I should tell Hef about him.”

The tailor shot him a quick glance as he dropped to measure Volle’s waist. Volle didn’t know how to interpret it, but he thought maybe he should stop teasing.

Ilyana and Tika commented on his measurements as the tailor called them out, especially the hip. “How does he stay so trim?” Ilyana wondered, with a teasing look at Volle.

“He runs with Lord Ikling every day,” Tika said. “I don’t know what other exercise he gets.”

They giggled again, and this time, the glance that the tailor gave him was sympathetic. Volle smiled and shrugged slightly, and the tailor smiled back.

He and Ilyana went out to the waiting room when it was Tish’s turn, and she kissed his muzzle. “Thanks for going along with this. It means a lot to me.”

“I know,” he said softly, nuzzling her back.

“My father said for you to come by anytime to make your request.” She lowered her eyes shyly at that last word.

“All right. How soon will these clothes be ready?”

“One week. They’re paying him extra to rush. I hope they turn out okay.”

He stroked her fur and nodded. “I’m sure they’ll be lovely.”

They were. The tailor delivered them himself and waited while they tried them on. He made some small alterations to Ilyana’s dress on the spot, but the other three all fit perfectly. Volle saw Tish give the tailor a gold piece on the way out the door.

“They’re just as lovely as I’d pictured!” Ilyana was enraptured, running her paws through the fabric. “I’ll never be able to pay you back for these.”

Tika smiled. “Consider them an engagement present. An early one.” She smiled at Volle, who flashed a quick smile back. “Your intended looks good too.”

“We’re not official for another two weeks,” Ilyana reminded her, but she was beaming and her tail wagging.

“You’re nearly there,” Tika insisted.

Volle had visited her father two days before and formally asked to court her. Her father had happily given his permission, and had been delighted at Volle’s gift of a free night at the Jackal’s Staff, which he’d set up with Tally the previous day. He’d invited Volle to join him, but Volle had declined, feeling slightly awkward about it all. To make sure he didn’t run into her father, he’d put off his weekly visit to Richy until the next night the wolf was available.

He and Ilyana dined with Tish and Tika that night before Volle’s appointment, talking mostly about the arrangements for the cotillion. Tish got Volle alone for a few moments after dinner.

“Any progress with Oncit?”

Volle shook his head. “I’m just trying to get him to chat at this point. I think Ikinna isn’t part of any group, though.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“He talks too much. He talks about everything and he loves being the center of attention. If he had a secret, you can bet everyone would know he had a secret, even if they didn’t know what it was.”

“Hmm. I’ll trust your judgment. What about Rhyshko?”

“Not sure, but I tend to think the same. He hangs around with Ikinna all the time. I can’t imagine one of them being in on a secret without telling the other.”

“All right. I’ll consider that.”

Tika opened the door. “Volle, Ilyana’s ready to leave.”

He escorted her home, and met Helfer on his return to the palace. The weasel had postponed his weekly visit to the Jackal’s Staff to match Volle’s, for which the fox was glad. He liked the weasel’s company; even if they took their pleasures separately, they still talked on the way there and back, and often shared a drink afterwards.

“I hardly see you anymore,” Helfer complained as they left the palace. The air was chilly enough that Volle kept flicking his ears to keep them warm. It wouldn’t be long until the snows came, he thought.

“You see me every day for the run.”

“I know. You just postponed our visit to the Jackal’s Staff and didn’t have dinner with me, so I thought I’d give you a hard time.”

Volle rolled his eyes. “I’m already marrying someone else. I don’t need a hard time from you.”