Elizabeth Moon - Hunting Party

“I’ll do more than look,” Petris said into Heris’s ear. “Later . . .”

But the tumult of the others interrupted whatever Heris might have said. Already the tall rooms rang with many voices, and more and more men and women in their formal best came down the stairs. Bunny, looking as foolish tonight as he had at first, chatted with one group after another. Then he caught sight of Cecelia, and came over without obvious haste.

“So glad you could stay for the Ball,” he said, including Petris in the greeting with a nod. “We may have a slight inconvenience. . . .”

“Oh?” Cecelia’s brows raised.

“Mr. Smith. He’s eluded the Minister’s manservant again.”

Again? Heris stared; she hadn’t realized Mr. Smith had been loose before.

“Declared he wasn’t going to be sent home like a naughty schoolboy, in an old lady’s yacht with a battleaxe for a captain.” Bunny’s mouth smiled, as if they discussed the day’s run, but his eyes were cold and angry. “As you know the Minister had refused to let me place him under a proper guard . . . but as the Minister does not know, I put a tracer-tag on him. He dashed off to the woods, silly twit. Captain Sigind will bring him in, but I’d like to sedate him and send him up in a shuttle right away, if you don’t mind. I can isolate him in the Station sickbay—”

Cecelia’s expression hardened. “You’ve got every right to lock him in your local jail. On bread and water. Stupid boy!”

“Since there’s a standing watch aboard, milady,” Heris said, “we can have him aboard your yacht straight from the shuttle. Fewer eyes to see, fewer mouths to talk.”

“Fine. Do it.” Cecelia looked angrier than before; Heris couldn’t understand why. Then she changed expression, to astonishment and relief. Heris looked over and saw Ronnie, George, Bubbles, and Raffa. With them was a heavier man whose resemblance to George lay more in manner than in feature. Bunny turned, and waved them over.

“Good to see you up and about,” he said. And to the older man, “And you, of course, Ser Mahoney.”

“I have no quarrel with you, Bunny,” the older man said. “Don’t go formal on me, or I’ll have to start wondering if I should.”

“All right, Kevil. Just so you know I took this very seriously indeed.”

“I can see George, and I know what happened; that tells me you took it seriously. Your lovely daughter was in it too, I understand.” He patted Bubbles on the shoulder; Heris was surprised at the expression on the girl’s face. She had changed, Heris thought, in some way that none of them yet knew—perhaps not even the girl herself. “And of course Cece’s nephew. Those two have never been in trouble alone, or out of it together.” Kevil Mahoney had a trained voice that could carry conflicting messages with ease; Heris watched both George and Ronnie flush, then subside without saying a word. He leaned closer to Bunny, and let that voice carry another weight of meaning with little volume. “And Mr. Smith? How is that estimable young man?”

“He will go home shortly,” Bunny said. His eyelids lowered. “Transportation has already been arranged.”

“Ah. Well, to be honest, Mr. Smith’s travel arrangements do not concern me, at least not this evening. I’m simply delighted to be here for the festive occasion, with both lads out of the hospital and able to enjoy it.” Kevil Mahoney smiled, bowed slightly, and walked off, leaving the young people behind. They heard him call out to someone he knew, and then he had disappeared in the crowd.

“ I promised,” George said, looking anxious, “but did my father?”

“Enough,” Bunny said. “It’s almost time for the dinner, and I will not have it ruined by speculation. Captain Serrano, if I might have the honor of your company?”

Heris had not expected this. She glanced at Cecelia, who after all ranked her in every conceivable way these people calculated rank, but Cecelia now looked more relaxed, and simply smiled and nodded. Petris, after one startled look, offered his arm to Cecelia, who accepted it with another smile.

Heris took Bunny’s arm and hoped she did not look as confused as she felt. He led her through the crowd, and she could hear the subdued murmurs that must be comments on this unusual occurrence. Just as they reached the entrance to the dining room, a fanfare rang out. Heris jumped, and Bunny chuckled. Under cover of the music, he murmured, “Didn’t mean to alarm you, Captain, but this is traditional.”

His wife, Heris noted, was standing with Buttons. As they made their way into the dining room, she realized that the participants in the recent adventures had been provided with partners that justified their being seated at the head table. Bunny’s wife with Buttons, and George with Bubbles, and Ronnie with an elderly lady, and Raffa with an elderly man of the same vintage.

“That’s my aunt Trema,” Bunny said, “and my wife’s uncle. They’re both quite deaf, and they’ve refused implants. They love coming to a couple of Hunt Dinners a year; they sit together at the ball afterwards and write each other saucy notes on their compads. Eccentric, but harmless.” Petris, with Lady Cecelia, certainly had a place at the family table. George’s father sat at the far end, with another elderly relation on one side, and one of the gawky cousins on the other.

“You see the advantages,” Bunny went on, with a slight smile, “of a reputation for eccentricity and archaicisms?”

“Indeed yes,” Heris said. She looked down the long dining hall, to the trumpeters in their beribboned tunics who were ready to lead in the feast. Most of the guests had found their places, but Bunny waited until even the clumsy soul who overturned his chair had safely reseated himself. Then he nodded at the trumpeters, who lifted their instruments once more.

To the blare of trumpets and the shrill wailing of pipes, the feast came in. Cecelia reached around Petris to say, “It’s about as authentic as the foxes, but it’s fun.” Bunny winked at her, and Heris began to relax. It could be worse . . . would have been worse, if Cecelia hadn’t told her, if they hadn’t told Bunny, if she and Cecelia both had not been good shots. They could all have been dead.

She pulled her mind away from that with an effort, and made herself enjoy the spectacle. Serving trays loaded with exotic foods whose origin she couldn’t even guess. Servants in colorful livery. And the music. The food, when she tasted it, drove the last grim thought from her mind.

“I hadn’t had a chance to thank you,” Bunny said, somewhere between the soup and fish. “It’s been hectic since you got back.”

“I didn’t realize Mr. Smith had been giving trouble,” Heris said.

“Mmm. Although that’s not the reason I asked you to come in with me, it may prove convenient to have you here when he’s found. If you’re sure the transfer to Lady Cecelia’s yacht poses no problem.”

“Not if I have a direct line up.”

“Of course. My debt to you continues to grow. I don’t know if you actually enjoyed the sport, but please consider yourself welcome here anytime.” Under the pleasant tone, the calm expression, Heris sensed tension and even savagery. They ate in silence for some minutes, as the fish course came and went, and slices of roast appeared. Bunny sighed, and resumed as if he had not paused. “Bubbles—says she wants to talk to you.”

“To me?”

“An experience like that would change anyone; I understand. But she’s been the youngest, the wildest—so of course her change had to be greater.”

Heris eyed her host. “Did she tell you about it?”

“Some. Not all. She thinks you—because you were military—will understand her better.”