Chimaera's Copper by Piers Anthony

Author:Piers Anthony
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media

CHAPTER 16

Charlain

Charlain arrived at the palace at noon. In her bag on the dappled gray plowhorse were only her fortune cards and the remains of the lunch she had prepared. She had thought about bringing herbs in case Heln had nausea or other child-carrying complaints. Then she had realized that the doctor here was the best and that she wasn't versed in anything other than amateur prophecy.

How grateful she should be for that one lone skill, she thought, dismounting from her horse and turning the reins over to the stable groom. True, it had deceived her at times. She had known she would lose Hal after a time and she had feared it would be by death. Better to another woman, she had tried to believe. Better to have him happy than to have him destroyed. But what would John think of it? What would his decision be, should he ever return? The cards so far had revealed nothing.

“Mama! Mama! I'm so glad to see you!”

A sudden tattoo of feet and the shock of collision. A slim boyish figure was suddenly in her arms, hugging her as though life had trickled to its inevitable end.

“Not so hard, Jon, not so hard! Goodness, I can hardly breathe! Only boys are supposed to hug this hard, you roughneck!” She held her daughter back at arm's length. Long yellow hair, greenish eyes, properly filled bosom-- she had produced a beauty! She and John. To think that when the children had left on their great adventure with the dragon, really not that long ago, Jon had more resembled the tow-haired skinny boy than the rapidly maturing girl she had actually been. Now Jon was satisfied to be all girl, and that was just as well.

Without knowing why she did so, Charlain reached out and tweaked her daughter's pointy ears. She had done that years ago, mostly from affection. Jon had always resented it because her big brother hadn't ear tips that could be tweaked as effectively.

“How's Heln?” No sense in delaying it. Get right to the problem.

“She's . . . doing well.” Jon's tone nullified her words, just as they had when as a child she'd tried to conceal the full truth.

“You're hiding something.” Just sharp enough to make her answer.

“Mother, why would I do that? You're the one who reads cards. You know everything.”

Yes, Jon would still think that. Charlain permitted herself a smile. She walked meekly with her daughter into the royal palace holding her hand. Not long ago it had been she who had led her daughter.

Into the guest wing and down the hall, through a door, and they were there. Heln was sitting up in bed. Brown eyes gleaming, black hair shining as she brushed. She appeared well. Considering what the cards had shown, Charlain wondered.

“Heln.” Simple, careful greeting to a daughter-in-law.

“Mother-in-law!” Heln put down the hairbrush on the comforter. Her tone was right but her action seemed mechanical.

They embraced. Heln seemed rigid, not at all the warm girl Charlain had met when she and Kelvin and his bride visited.

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