Out of the Darkness

Vanai feared it was true, too. As he usually did, Ealstan made hard, solid sense. That was one of the things that had interested her in him from the beginning. Now that she’d seen a letter from his father, she had a better notion of how he came by it.

I don’t know how your money is holding out, he wrote: a bookkeeper’s son and a bookkeeper himself, he thought of such things. If you need more, let me know. If you don’t, buy passage on the first ley-line caravan car you can and come east. Don’t wait to write us which caravan you‘II be on. You know where we live. Take a cab from the depot. This old town went through a lot in the siege, but the rubble is out of the streets and you can get from there to here.

All my kin here can’t wait to meet you and see you and find out what you look like-both ways-and to see our little girl. Conberge is going to have a baby, too, so Saxburh will have a cousin to grow up with. And I miss you more than I can tell you, and I can’t wait to hug you and kiss you and do whatever else I can talk you into. With all the love there is-your husband, Ealstan.

Pack up everything she could carry? Wait not a minute? Vanai started to shake her head, then paused. She’d done that before, when she came here to Eoforwic with Ealstan. How glad she’d been to get out of Oyngestun, too! And how likely it was that getting out of Oyngestun had saved her life.

No Algarvians lurked these days, waiting to throw her into a special camp. But she’d spent too much of her time here in Eoforwic in hiding. She had no friends here, and she didn’t really want to make any. She’d been through too much. Things might be better in Gromheort. They could hardly be worse.

Ealstan was right. Before the Derlavaian War, the capital had been the best place in Forthweg for Kaunians, mixed couples, and half-breeds. Nowadays, Vanai doubted any place in the kingdom would be very good.

I can go on looking like Thelberge when I show my face outside the house, she thought. Inside? Inside, I don’t think it will matter. Now that I’ve seen Hestan‘s letter, I really don’t think it will. She glanced over to Saxburh, who was standing by herself in the middle of the floor and looking enormously proud. And you will learn Kaunian, too, along with Forthwegian.

“Come here,” Vanai called. “Come here-you can do it.” Saxburh toddled about halfway to her, then fell down and crawled the rest of the way. “Good girl,” Vanai said, scooping her up. “How would you like to go to Gromheort and meet your grandfather and grandmother?”

Saxburh didn’t say no. No wasn’t a word she’d discovered yet. From things Vanai had heard, that would change when her daughter turned two or so. Vanai checked her dwindling store of silver. She didn’t know what caravan fares were like these days, but, unless they’d gone altogether mad-which most prices hadn’t-she still had plenty to get to Gromheort.

She took the money. She packed a couple of tunics for herself and clothes and cloths for the baby. She made sure she had a length of golden yarn and one of black so she could renew their sorcerous disguises. And she packed some food for herself and her daughter, though she was glad Saxburh was still nursing. That made travel much more convenient.

The silver went into her handbag. Everything else filled a duffel bag. She put Saxburh back into the harness that let her carry the baby without using her hands, then went downstairs. When the first of the month came, the landlord would come knocking on the door for the rent, and he’d get a surprise. Till then, who would know-who would care? — whether she was there or not?

She headed for the street corner to get a cab to the caravan depot. She knew she might be there for a while, and hoped Saxburh wouldn’t decide to fuss.

“Hello, Thelberge,” someone said, pausing on the corner along with her. “You look like you’re going somewhere.”