“What are you doing?”
“Working on making myself look a little older, in the hopes of discouraging propositions from people I consider to be children. I don’t think I’ve been very successful, do you?”
“Well, you definitely look like you’re trying to look older,” Eluned said diplomatically, handing over the envelope and turning away to tweak at the arrangement of the flowers.
“Have you been in Hurlstone? How’s Monsieur Doré?”
“In a different spot, but again there was absolutely no sign of a shift while I was there. Shouldn’t we try more to communicate with it?”
“The pattern of movement suggests a desire not to communicate,” Aunt Arianne said. “Out of distrust, or perhaps simply a need to adjust to what must be a very odd state of being.” She put down her letter and began wiping clean her face. “Will you check if Griff and Eleri are up?”
Eluned hesitated, shifting her weight from one foot to another. Perhaps the day ahead wouldn’t be nearly so awkward as she anticipated, and there was no need to speak. But just because she hadn’t created the school situation didn’t mean she could ignore it, so she made herself say: “We…would it be so bad to pay someone’s fees?”
Light brown eyes met hers in the mirror. “It’s left to you to follow through on whatever plan Eleri had for Melly Ktai? Does your sister often decide to arrange someone’s life for them, and then lose interest halfway through?”
What to say to that? Angry as she was, Eluned couldn’t let Aunt Arianne misunderstand.
“Eleri sees things that are broken and she can’t help but to fix them. Automatons, crockery, people. Sometimes she barely realises she’s doing it. She…she hasn’t talked to you about this at all?”
“The only thing your sister has said to me the last few days was to demand to be present when the Suleviae come to Forest House.”
Though this was said as calmly as the rest, Eluned’s heart sank. Instead of her usual effortless arrangements, Eleri had put Aunt Arianne’s back up, and then spent all her time in the attic drawing. Even the visits to automaton workshops had been put on hold, and all because of a princess!
“I’m sorry,” she said, and added helplessly: “Eleri’s not usually like this. She’s taken leave of her senses.”
Aunt Arianne began applying light touches of colour to her face. “Don’t be too hard on her,” she said, to Eluned’s surprise. “She’s adjusting to a new experience.”
“Adjusting? She thinks she’s going to marry Princess Celestine!”
“So I gathered. Not technically an impossible goal, since the princess could choose to not offer herself to Sulis when the next succession is on us, and thus would not be subject to the Suleviae’s ban on marriage. Though I expect Eleri would be perfectly happy to be Princess Celestine’s lover.”
Eluned boggled. When Eleri had returned from the palace talking and thinking of nothing but Princess Celestine, it had seemed self-evident that the whole idea was madness.
“The princess didn’t even speak to her. I’m not sure she more than glanced at her!”
“Very taken up with her new puppy.”
“The whole thing doesn’t make sense,” Eluned said. “Eleri can’t know what Princess Celestine is like, can’t really like her properly. Love at first sight is a silly idea.”
“Silly is not going to change how your sister is feeling right now. Call it passionate attraction, if that makes it easier to understand.” Aunt Arianne picked up her brush and began arranging her hair. “After a few days or weeks she’ll have more attention to spare.”
Eleri would get over it. Of course. It was obvious, inevitable. “She’ll see that princesses don’t mix with ordinary people like us.”
That won an amused glance. “One thing you three are not is ordinary. Though I imagine Eleri is well aware there’s a vast gulf separating her from Princess Celestine. It’s difficult to romance someone you have no opportunity to meet.”
“She lives in a different world.”
“Your grandmother used to say that genius transcends all social boundaries, but then, your grandmother was…transcendent. Still, Eleri is a remarkable girl, and she at least has a possibility of meeting Princess Celestine again, at the Moonfire Feast. It’s highly likely that most of the Gwyn Lynns will attend the Treaty’s renewal, so she can try to forward the acquaintance then.”
“Shouldn’t you discourage her? She’s going to end up hurt!”
“Probably,” Aunt Arianne agreed. “But I expect she will enjoy herself along the way.”
When Eluned drew an outraged breath, Aunt Arianne put down her brush and turned to face her, a hint of sternness succeeding in making her look more like an adult.
“Yes, Eleri almost certainly will be hurt. Princess Celestine will have power, wealth and beauty, and despite being rather young is no doubt already courted by many who are far better positioned to win her affection. Should Eleri concede defeat? When you meet someone who fills you up until there’s no room for anything else, trying to put all those feelings away is harder than even the most hopeless pursuit. Unlikely as her chances are, there’s no reason not to support your sister in her feelings. Love requires a certain bravery, but it’s one of life’s great gifts when it’s not making you miserable.”
Eluned squeezed her hand into a fist. She had never been angrier at her aunt, and her voice shook when she said: “You think this is funny, don’t you?”
Aunt Arianne’s eyebrows lifted, then she smiled sympathetically. “I think it ironic. Though I must say, Eleri took your sudden passion in much better part than you are receiving hers.”
“Me? I haven’t lost my sense over anyone.”
“You fell in love with Hurlstone, didn’t you? Something that led you to give your allegiance to Cernunnos, a thing likely to have far greater consequences than Eleri’s heart-twisting. Cernunnos is both hunter and prey, and his dual nature is something we will both face, for the choice we each made.”
“I—” Eluned’s hand had stopped constantly itching, but she knew that gods did not bestow their blessings lightly. And it was true: Eleri had made no fuss at all when Eluned had decided she wanted Hurlstone.
“To address your earlier concern,” Aunt Arianne continued, “Dem Ktai runs a very successful store, and is perfectly capable of sending his daughter to school. From what I can gather, Melly has made a pragmatic choice not to pursue an education she considers unnecessary to her plans for expanding their business. Possibly she will come to regret that, but there is certainly no drama attached to her joining our trip to Tangleways. We will not be taunting her with a future out of her reach.”
“Oh.” Relief cut the tightly-wound wires that had troubled Eluned for days. “I’m glad.”
With a nod at the sketchbook Eluned still carried under her arm, Aunt Arianne added: “Speaking of futures, it was the Morris Atelier you wanted to enter, yes? With ambition that high, you should be working seriously on your portfolio even though it’s a few years away.”
This was the last subject Eluned wanted to discuss, so she said hastily: “Is it that Roman you knew when he was twelve that you consider a child?”
“Felix?” Aunt Arianne glanced at the lilliums crowding the windowsill. “Perhaps, though I suspect he’d have wasted no time dispelling the notion if he’d had the chance. A moot point. Felix’s family have a great deal of ambition centred on him, and have hauled on the reins once again. He’ll be halfway to Rome by now.”
Wondering if Aunt Arianne was disappointed, Eluned recalled that she’d been told to make sure Eleri and Griff were awake, and took the excuse to escape.