The Immortal Heights by Thomas Sherry

Author:Thomas,Sherry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: 2015-04-20T16:00:00+00:00

UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

HarperCollins Publishers

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THE LETTER FROM LADY WINTERVALE to the Master of the Domain, dating from the beginning of his very first Half at Eton, read,

Your Noble, Serene Highness,

It is with both pleasure and sadness that I welcome you to England. I should not be here and neither should you. But since we are, we must make the best of it.

We Exiles have had to abandon a great many traditions, which probably explains the fervor with which I made a place at Eton for my son, Leander. You may not remember him, but he does remember you from his childhood days in the Domain, and he is very much looking forward to being your companion at school—a role my uncle served for your grandfather, and Lady Callista for your mother.

I always loved your mother dearly—many, many people loved her dearly. It was impossible not to be drawn to her kindness and the depth of her sincerity. Her death devastated me. And it devastates me to this day that no matter what I or anyone else does, she cannot be brought back.

But I see in Your Highness a spark of the greatness that she never had the chance to realize. I pray Leander can help you achieve that greatness—he aches for a purpose in life and longs to prove himself in the wider world. For now, I hope you will be good friends and faithful companions at Mrs. Dawlish’s house.

The house is one step above a hovel, but changes that shake the world have come from unlikelier places.

Your humble servant,

Pleione Wintervale

P.S. Before he passed away, Baron Wintervale had commissioned a hot air balloon for Leander’s tenth birthday, forgetting that his son is terrified of being that high above the ground. If Your Highness should be so inclined, the apparatus can be found in the main carriage house of Windsor Castle—before he passed away, Baron Wintervale and I often entertained at the English queen’s home; his funeral, too, was held there.

Perhaps Your Highness will find the hot air balloon amusing. Consider it a gift, from someone who has never stopped mourning the loss of your mother.

As the agents of Atlantis swarmed over Windsor Castle, Iolanthe said to Master Haywood, “I think I’ve got it. On my count, one, two, three.”

She struck a match. It flared to life. At the same time, Master Haywood gave a careful turn to the valve on a gas canister. Flame shot upward, into the opening of the hot air balloon’s envelope. The balloon ascended farther.

“All right. Let’s practice it a few more times.”

They did. Then they practiced some more with Master Haywood striking the match. When he no longer looked as if these nonmage fire sticks were entirely foreign to him, they let the balloon go on rising as they strapped down the contents of the gondola.

They were high above Salisbury Plain, more than a hundred miles west of Windsor Castle. It had been Master Haywood who had pointed out that Iolanthe was being far too optimistic in thinking of going to Lady Wintervale for help getting back into the Domain.

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