"Darling, what an unexpected surprise," he said, rising to greet her with an embrace. "There's nothing the matter at Ruatha, is there?" he added with a fair pretense of alarm. He ignored Piemur, who was rolling his eyes.
"No, nothing's wrong at Ruatha," Sharra said in the tone that always made him wary. But she smiled with genuine warmth at the others. "It's just that the biology team is starting the dissection tomorrow. Mirrim said shed convey me up. G'lanar pointblank refused. I hope I'm not interrupting..."
She was disabused of that notion by offers of klah from Lessa, wine from Robinton, and sweet breads from Jancis, while Piemur hastily drew another chair up to the table.
"G'lanar bring you?" D'ram asked.
As she nodded, Jaxom left Piemur to settle his wife and strode out to the porch to offer hospitality to the Oldtimer. But Lamoth and his rider were already airborne, circling to the east above the lagoon, disappearing into the night sky.
"I didn't catch him," Jaxom said. "He ought to have at least joined us for a cup."
D'ram brushed away Jaxom's discontent. "G'lanar was always a surly one. How does he happen-to be at Ruatha these days?"
Jaxom grinned. "The weyrling we had was judged old enough to fight and was sent to join K'van's wings. He asked us to accommodate G'lanar and Lamoth in their stead. The old bronze sleeps almost as much as G'lanar does."
"It does them both good to feel needed," Sharra said, her eyes glittering at Jaxom although her tone was social.
Jaxom wondered what on earth Meer had conveyed to her that had brought her to Cove Hold. His own message had been innocuous enough: the Egg knew staying over at Cove Hold was nothing out of the ordinary. But he was glad to see her.
It was also very like Sharra to say nothing to the point in company. But he began to worry about how to dissemble when they were alone in their sleeping quarters. As the dragonriders whiled away the after-dinner hours, no hint of their morning's plans was raised-partly because the young men and women of the Archive were present but especially because Sharra was there.
"I've a new song from Menolly," Master Robinton said, gesturing for Piemur to bring him his gitar and to get his own. He unrolled the score, passing a copy to Jancis to put on the rack for Piemur. "An odd tune, unusual for our Masterharper Menolly. She says the words were written by young Harper Elimona," he went on, plucking a string to tune the instrument. Piemur corrected the pitch of his and, reading the music, soundlessly fingered through the chords. "But a lovely haunting melody and words to lift hearts at this point in a Pass."
Then he nodded to Piemur and they began. Having sung and played so often together, they interwove and harmonized as if they had rehearsed the brand-new song a hundred times already.
A heart that's true in harper blue makes song from heart's own fire, and though betrayed, is not afraid: in danger, leaps up higher.
Jaxom suppressed the start of surprise the words gave him, and dared not look at either Lessa or F'lar.
No world is free of minstrelsy, nor noise, nor rage, nor sorrow. A harper must discharge his trust before he asks to borrow.
My Harper Hall is free to all who serve with song and playing. But you who'd hide your song inside are very sadly straying.
At those words, Jaxom wondered what cryptic message Menolly and Elimona were giving, and to whom. The next verse was even more germane to the problem of those who considered Aivas to be "the Abomination."
Will you withdraw beyond the law, lie safely in your slumber, while dangers shake your world awake and Death makes up his number?
Did harper here betray those dear he'd feel more than my tongue. If place you'll earn, you'd better learn more music than you've sung.
For if you die, while safe you lie halled in your selfish bone, no chant will come, no harper drum, and you'll lie long alone.
Jaxom, watching Robinton's face as he sang, wondered if the words could possibly have been prompted by Robinton or Sebell, who so often suggested themes to their harpers. But then, Menolly had such an uncanny knack of catching exactly the mood of the moment that this could have been merely serendipitous. The two harpers played a bridging passage; then their voices, which had been light and almost taunting, deepened for the final verse.
Get up, take heart-o, make a start, sing out the truth you came for. Then when you die, your heart may fly to halls we have no name for.
As the last chord died away there was a respectful silence before the audience burst into loud applause. Robinton and Piemur disclaimed humbly, Robinton saying that with such music any harper would find himself doing his very best.
"Who's next?" Piemur asked, strumming his gitar into a complicated alteration, minor to major.
The next hour was spent happily enough so that Jaxom relaxed, holding Sharra's hand and playing with her long fingers and trying to ignore the distance she had put between them. Talla was coiled up on her shoulder, but he saw nothing of Meer.
Ruth, did Meer tattle on us? he asked when Sharra was occupied in singing descant for one of her favorite songs.
He has curled up on the beach and pretends to be asleep. What could he tell her that would make sense?
Sharra's perceptive, Ruth. She could guess.
She knows you are always safe with me.
But she also doesn't want me risking my neck... more than I already do.
She will not refuse you, Ruth added encouragingly, though his tone held a nuance of doubt.
At last Lessa called an end to the evening's entertainment, murmuring something about never quite becoming accustomed to double-ended days. Robinton acted the perfect host, making certain, with Jancis's help, that all the guests were comfortably installed; his behavior was so calm and ordinary that when Sharra and Jaxom were alone in their usual corner room, she frowned in puzzlement.
"Why was Meer so agitated, Jaxom?"
"He was? Not much happened today." He began to pull his shirt off, which served to muffle his voice and hide his face lest his expression give him away. Sharra had become adept at reading him, a skill that usually smoothed matters between them, but this time he really didn't want to risk upsetting her unnecessarily. He had written notes for Brand and for her and given them to Piemur-not that he expected that Piemur would have to deliver them, but he had to plan for contingencies. "Anyone at Ruatha got a randy green or gold?" he continued as nonchalantly as possible.
He could see her considering that possibility. "I don't think so," she said finally. "Are you all going up to the Yokohama tomorrow?"
"Yes." Jaxom gave her his best grin, which he expanded into a yawn as he gestured for her to climb in first. When she was settled, he lay down and put his arm around her, cushioning her head on his shoulder as he so often did-only now he did it consciously, not merely in response to the habits of five Turns.
"What's the schedule?" she asked.
"More of the same. Getting accustomed to free-fall."
"Why?"
"Well, Aivas let us in on that today," Jaxom said, choosing his words carefully. "Seems like all the Weyrs of Pern are going to be needed to hoist the engine part of the ships to that big rift on the Red Star."
"What?"
He pushed her back down in the bed, grinning at her astonished expression, clearly visible in the moonlight flooding the room. "That's what I said. He's going to call our bluff that dragons can lift anything they think they can."
"But-but-why?"
"Those engines will be made to blow up, and the force of the explosion will nudge the Red Star into a new orbit."
"Oh my!"
Jaxom grinned. It took something as fantastic as that to reduce his beloved to an incredulous whisper. He pulled her close enough to lay a kiss on her forehead, meaning only to reassure her. But as his lips touched her soft skin and his nostrils inhaled the spicy fragrance she used, he felt desire well up inside of him. And, though at first her response was reflexive while she was still mulling over his news, he had no trouble in getting her complete attention.