Page 36 of Elemental Truth (Mysterious Fields #3)
36
MAY 20TH AT ARUNDEL
“ W e do appreciate you coming.” It was Dagobert who stood to greet Vitus as he entered the parlour. Vitus had never seen it before. He’d never been invited so far into the house. Laudine was settled on the chaise under the window, with other chairs pulled around in a conversational grouping. The entire room was what Vitus had expected from the house. Dark wood panelling with shades of purple, along with touches of gold, including gilt bees climbing the edges of the mantlepiece.
Vitus nodded, shaking Dagobert’s hand and then sitting in the indicated chair. “I. Erm. Yes?” It was certainly not his most suave. “You mentioned you’d prefer sooner than later.”
“Oh, that’s mostly in case Isembard is in a hurry.” Laudine spoke more lightly about it than Vitus had expected, and it was the first time Vitus had heard the name. That must have shown on his face, because Laudine added, “It is a Fortier custom to tend toward Merovingian names. In this case, Isembard— well, one of them— was a vassal of Charlemagne, well-regarded in battle. It means either iron-bright or iron-axe.”
Who was not Merovingian? That was part of the point of the Carolingians. Vitus wondered, entirely inside his head, how deliberate that choice was. Though presumably there might have been other people, back further in time, who were named Isembard. “I hope all goes well, and that he lives up to the hopes for his name.” Vitus considered. “I’m familiar with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the engineer. That seems a hopeful sort of precursor, too. Axes being slightly less in demand these days for many people.”
Laudine favoured him with a smile, one he thought might be truly sincere. “We appreciate your good wishes.” She shifted slightly, and it became clear that she, not Dagobert, was going to be the one doing most of the talking for the moment. “We would like to commission a talisman, a complex one, and a highly personal one.” She lifted her fingers. “I have reasons for not asking my father.”
It was and wasn’t what Vitus had expected. “Pardon, Lady Fortier?”
“None of that, either. For one thing, I’m not at all used to the name yet.” Laudine looked Vitus square in the eye. “Let me lay out the parameters, and then you can tell us what you think is possible. It will require innovative work.”
Vitus nodded. They had, in fact, paid a generous consultation fee up front for this time, and he bore these particular Fortiers no ill will. They’d been thoughtful and helpful to Thessaly, which was also a mark in their favour. “Please, go ahead. May I take notes, or would you rather not?”
“I’d prefer not, for the moment. And I will ask for oaths on what is shared here. Though I’d prefer to make them once you decide if you will accept the commission, since that may affect the terms. We trust your discretion in a general sense, but there are nuances that are complicated.”
Vitus nodded, folding his hands. “Please, go on.”
Laudine let out a breath that was near enough a sigh. “My husband and others in his family were involved with a project of substantial magical scope and innovation. I am not able to speak of the details, neither is he. At a particular point in time, he came to realise that it was a poor decision.” She glanced at her husband appraisingly.
“More precisely, a sequence of increasingly bad decisions.” Dagobert spoke quietly, as if some doom were still lurking over his head. “I was cursed for my disagreement by two people, and the combination has been lasting.”
“Specifically, my husband tires far more easily than he ought, and our Healer, excellent though he is, has been able to mediate it only so far. Being here, on the land, as Lord, has been some help, but not as much as we hoped. I have been able to assist, to some degree, but not while expecting, and likely not with a young child. Or at least not in an uncontrolled setting, the sort of ordinary daily interaction of vitality between people who are close.”
Vitus realised they were not touching, that he had not seen them touch other than in formal ways in some time. That was another thing he absolutely could not inquire about, except, well, they had opened a door to it. “I presume that you have noticed the vitality as a concern in ordinary daily contact?”
Laudine pursed her lips. “Yes.” She glanced at Dagobert, one of those unreadable silent conversations, then added, “We often used to share a bed, and that is… not a good idea. Not for the entire night. And yet, we rely on Dagobert’s tending of the land, of the land magic. And his ability to join me for a meal, or spend time with Garin. Or Isembard, in the near future. And more than anything, I want to protect them from that drain.”
“It is like water, flowing away, too fast to dam up sometimes.” Dagobert’s voice was even more of a whisper now, a roughness to it. “And I will not hurt my family. I would stay away from them if I had to, but that will hurt them. Does already.” He said the last part rapidly, as if his wife had indicated something.
Vitus nodded slowly. “And the goal would be a talisman that would dam the flow, stabilise it. And also something that you, Laudine, could add to, in a controlled manner?” He was thinking already how it would need to be two pieces, matched. Even cuff links, if he could get the form needed small enough. One to stem the drain, the other to provide something to draw from.
Laudine nodded precisely. “Just so. Paired pieces, or something of the kind.”
“I was thinking paired, yes, but where you would wear one of them for a time. Perhaps a week, a fortnight, a month, depending on how it works in practice. And then swap. Something suitable to wear on a watch chain or a brooch or something of the kind, hidden or obvious.” Vitus was, he admitted, already deeply intrigued by the challenge inherent in the project.
“You think you can do the work? Not immediately, if that would help. We understand that you would need to research, design a proposal, and then look for a proper time to implement it.”
“I would also need to ask some rather personal questions. A full astrological chart, naturally, but then additional questions to take your native inclinations into account. Strengthening the places there is already suitable potential is easier, and more natural, than creating it out of nothing.”
“And the stones?” Dagobert leaned forward. “We understand this will have necessary expenses. Your time and magic, as well as the materia.”
Vitus nodded. “I am thinking rubies and pearls - the former from elsewhere, obviously, but British pearls if I can find suitable sets, to anchor them nearer home. Likely other materials as well, and I expect extensive inscription work. I may need to lease a suitable ritual space for a week or two, depending on the specifics, to allow the work to be done over a period of days at a propitious time. I’ll have to look at the charts in detail once I have more specifics, but it may be necessary to do a temporary piece or pair of pieces if the best days are not soon.”
Laudine snorted; something in her had relaxed during Vitus’s explanation. “That is all understandable. We will want the steps laid out, you understand. Not your crafting secrets, but what each part is designed to do.”
“Certainly, my lady, you have more than enough understanding to follow.” The honorific came out easily this time, and Vitus glanced at her, suddenly wondering if that form were more palatable. “I have two prying queries to begin with.”
“Yes?” Laudine took a breath. “We had best know what they are.”
“First, I will need a list of the other household talismans, architectural magics, and so on. Anything that needs routine upkeep or renewal, whatever those lists include, as well as personal jewellery items you wear regularly. Let’s say once a lunar month or more.”
Laudine’s eyebrow arched at that, and Vitus added, “It is a tad cautious. But I’ve found that Philodorus Minor’s investigations of the impact of talismans in the same geomantic location have been more reliable than either William the Elder or Honoria Bessette’s.”
“At some point when I can focus on it, we might argue about the Bessette, but no, I see your point.” Laudine nodded. “I will look forward to that debate in due course. It is pleasant to have something to anticipate.”
Vitus smiled suddenly, before he said, “The second point?”
She nodded. Dagobert leaned forward. “Go on.”
“I would ideally need to know the date and time of the curses. I can guess near enough to within a few days, but a precise chart would be far better.” Vitus said it as evenly as he could, because he could think of a dozen reasons why they would not tell him.
“Last summer solstice.” Dagobert gave it quietly. “I would have to— Laudine, would you?”
“I’ll have to check my notes on the time, but I can likely get it to within an hour, possibly closer. Is that sufficient? Not long after midnight, at the latest.”
It wasn’t as if people normally kept track of that sort of thing in the moment. “I might need to consider rectification against the ebbs and flows of the effects. More prying questions, I’m afraid.” At least they were not horrified at the idea. Laudine had been trained well, and her father had obviously shared a lot about the general expectations for these kinds of pieces. Though that raised a question that Vitus very much wanted answered.
Laudine nodded. “I will have some notes for you promptly. Or as promptly as I can.” She grimaced, and Vitus suspected that Isembard was perhaps being active or somehow uncomfortable. “You had further questions?”
“This one is prying, but also— um. Relevant?” Vitus swallowed. “May I ask why your father is not consulting? I would have thought that in terms of prying questions, he might be perhaps more comfortable. He is obviously fond of you, as his daughter.”
“Ah.” Laudine glanced at her husband again, then went on with barely a pause. “My husband’s oaths on the matter explicitly excluded speaking with any of the family by blood or marriage who were not involved. You do not qualify.” She waved a hand. “Neither does Thessaly, I should note. Betrothal and marriage being two different magical rites.”
“I did not expect to speak to her about it. With your permission, that I was doing work for you, but that is all, in keeping with the Guild’s standards of confidentiality. I maintain a private workroom for a number of reasons.” Vitus attempted to sound proper.
Laudine shook her head. “That is fine. Just— we could not ask Papa. Even for recommendations, without revealing the scope of the problem. I know he has guesses. If he asks you directly, you may use your best judgement outside the specifics covered by the oath.” With that, she took a couple of pieces. “Here is what I would like you to swear here and now. And here is what I would like you to agree to, in the contract, witnessed by representatives for each party. Your solicitor, a representative from your bank, whoever you prefer on your side. That gives no details, simply confirms the contract as made in agreement with the documentation.” She waved a hand. “The top oath now, the other when you have presented a complete proposal.”
The oath for the moment was what Vitus had expected. It had the terms of a confidential consultation, not to be shared with others without permission from all parties, with a release at death. It obliged him to take the usual precautions for such things with his papers and notes, and to store them in a locked vault once the work was completed. Nothing there was unusual, and Vitus made the oath promptly.
“There.” Laudine grimaced this time, as if something in the magic had upset some balance in her own system. Dagobert, too, had begun to look rather faded. “If you do not mind, we should rest. Can you find your way out?”
Vitus stood, promptly. “Of course. I’ll send a note round when I’ve got a proposal in hand.” With that, he excused himself, and a footman walked him out to the portal in silence.