Previous Richard file.

Narrator:
The two men survey the scene. The man lying beside Wholestein took a hoof to the face and died of a broken neck, most likely. The body beside Bukephelos has a caved in chest and three fingers too few. One each fell to the knight's swords. The man Hesketh threw against the tree died when his top four vertebrae shattered.

As morning breaks, the two men gather wood and pile the bodies on it. Richard says a brief prayer for the souls of the departed and the torch is set. The mood is somber.

The next day's ride puts a new face on the landscape. They leave the road and ride cross-country, lead by Sir Hesketh. As they cross a ridge they see below them a small encampment. The carriage is gone, but there are plenty of horses.

Hesketh gives a loud set of whistled notes, which are answered from below. The men ride forward. After some activity in the camp, a lone rider comes up to greet them. She dismounts and comes forward to talk. The knights dismount but never get a chance to greet her.

Tabytha: [fire in her eyes]
Why that horsewhipped coward! Sending you here to bring me back! I won't hear of it Richard! I *am* the Duchess of Devonshire, and I outrank you! I can't believe he sent you to do something he hasn't got the guts to do himself, that's not like him, but I will not go back there until I am ready. I told him that I would return, and I will. I haven't violated any of his

TRUSTS, nor have I or will I violate any of our

VOWS, but I am not going to be dragged back there by any man!

Sir Richard: [Staring right back and wondering what in hell is happening]
Your Grace should know me better. I was seeking my sisters to discover what brought them out here. I was worried about them, and you, once I found out you were here. I'd have been here yesterday if Elisabeth and Glori hadn't gotten Hesketh to stop me.

Tabytha: [breaks into tears]
Oh! I'm so sorry, Richard. This wasn't directed at you, you and Ariana are going to have problems enough of your own with little Allyson. You can't know what it's like, living with him anymore.

You men make these vows, and they run your lives. His vows were to her, and he has not forgotten them. He has not broken his vows either. He has told no one of this, I doubt if he is capable of telling anyone. But the gentler parts of his nature are at odds with his whole sense of self worth. He can't live with the idea of breaking his sworn word.

And I have to see it all!

I have the family curse, I See Things. Not as much as Gloriana, or as far off as Diane, but I see things. I see them and can't make them stop. I see things in people that are close to me. And as the years with Reg have gone by, I see more and more into his head. I hear his thoughts and see his vision. I see what he sees when he looks at me, Richard.

I have a rival.

Reg has a lover.

Anyone else, I could ruin

in an instant. But not this one. She's my sister and I loved her

but she's DEAD! But he vowed his heart was hers and he'll not go back on that vow. When he is kind to me, he sees her smile. When he touches me, he feels her react. In our chambers, he,

he is with HER, not ME,

I can't hide the way he does. I can't imagine that Reg loves me, because I can't be with him and not hear him talking to her. He has a hundred pet names for me so that he won't have to use my proper name. So he won't accidentally call me by the wrong name.

The only time he sees me is when we quarrel. Then he calls me by my name.

Reg is a good man, and I like him, I always have. I thought Allyson would be so happy. Then I thought that he could learn to love me, as for I while I grew closer to him.

I am The Duchess, and I could get by with just the illusion of his heart but I am afflicted with the truth. I don't want our marriage defined by our quarrels.

When he is gone and comes back, things are better for a short while. There are new things that he has to tell me that I haven't seen before, things that differ in our lives. A slight distance that separation brings. That distance gives me a few days of respite. A few days of illusion, where we both can separately get lost in our heads together.

But he doesn't like the separation. It keeps him from his beloved. But I need this break. I have seen parts of our future together. There is some doubt, but I have never seen any children, even though, for our own reasons, we both want them. Again the duchy will have to choose an heir. But the extended separation will mean that I will have a few weeks or months of time away from *her* when I return.

That is why I flew off at you, Richard.

I thought he'd sent you to drag me back early.

Narrator:
Hesketh shifts his weight from foot to foot, unaccustomed to such emotional displays. He has been carefully scanning the skies for threats, the area around them for threats, anywhere but near the Duchess. There is a long moment of silence while Richard stands with Tabytha gathered firmly against his chest, wondering if there is anything he can do or say to make this right.

Richard: [Quietly, voice filled with sorrow]
I am so sorry, Taby, more sorry than I can tell you. I had hoped that he would have gotten over that by now. Reg never believed he would be in love like that, that he was capable of that kind of emotion, and to have her taken at their wedding... he's not been right since, really. He seems unwilling or unable to understand his obsession. It's not right or fair.

But you didn't need to run all the way to McMannon, cousin. My mother would be glad for a visit, and Ariana. Why come all the way out here with my sisters? Why sic Hesketh on me to keep me away? Why come out here by yourself rather than receive us in the camp? What's going on, anyway?

Tabytha: [pulls herself together quickly, she is a Duchess]
I need the time and separation and newness to best break the extremity of the closeness between Reg and I. Familiar places, near places won't do it anymore. Your sisters were going, I jumped at the chance.

We weren't sure who was following us, and I thought it was Reg. He and you can be much alike to one with The Sight. If you are willing to ride with us, you are welcome here.

If you were doing Regi's bidding then I didn't want to have your sisters watch me try to order you around. I didn't want Elisabeth near if I commanded Sir Hesketh to remove you from our presence, for fear of what might happen to him if you came to blows. I know that sounds desperate, and unworthy of you, but I am steadfast in this. Glori needs this trip worse than I do.

She has been studying with Diane. She's gotten much better with the "gifts" as you call them. But she didn't want to tell you what she'd seen.

It's Allyson, Richard. There have been too many Stanleys marrying Devonshires and Pendletons and she is not well. She will never, ever, speak a word. Nor will she be able to write. But she does have the family curse, the "gifts" you call them. She will see things. Things that scream to get out. Things that the survival of the Realm depend upon. Things that people ought not be forced to see. And she will never in her life be able to tell a soul. She will learn to read and will know what is said to her. But nothing will come from her that is not taken from her mind.

For her sake, I suggest that she spend her summers in Lethbridge with Harold and Judith. Her sanity could easily rest in the hands of the McKitrick family.

Narrator:
Richard's eyes go wide and his jaw drops. His grip on Tabytha's shoulders becomes painfully tight. His whispered "no" floats across the sudden silence. Tabytha winces after a moment, his eyes refocus, and he releases her.

Richard: [hoarsely]
I'm sorry, Taby. But why the McKitricks? No, no, never mind. Let's go talk to Glorianna. I know someone who might be able to help, too.

Tabytha:
It's not the McKitricks so much as -

Sir Hesketh, I am safe here in the company of Sir Richard. If you would be so good as to ride on ahead, I am sure that Elisabeth would be pleased at your safe arrival, and safer with you there.

Walk with me, while we talk.

I'm about to reveal state secrets, two big ones. The first is that Diane and Gloriana have been able to get a handle on the abilities of Judith McKitrick Lethbridge. She has the ability to go through people's mind like an experienced shopper goes through goods in a bazaar. It's a very well kept secret. Anyone she comes in contact with seems to forget that particular realization before they leave. You've forgotten more than once, and Sir Raban forget it quite often. It's been an ongoing work in all of the houses to understand the gifts of the nobility of the other houses. And that knowledge has been as closely guarded as possible. Neither the McKitricks nor Harold know that we know what Judith can do.

It matters because there are things that Allyson is going to be exposed to that she will desperately need to have removed from her mind. Gloriana woke up one night some weeks ago seeing one of Allyson's future nightmares. Glori was incoherent till noon. As far as Glori can tell, Allyson will be five or six years old when this one hits. It will take a skilled hand to remove the worst of these, since it's going to have to be done for more than one or two. That is, if Allyson is going to be as whole as she can be, unskilled meddling will make her terror far the worse.

The other state secret is one of Harold's that Diane told me before we set out. Harold's father had a retainer named Garth who was caught in the aftermath of some powerful sorcery gone bad. Garth was transformed. He lives to this day in the moat around castle Lethbridge and the river through Trent. His outside is monstrous, but inside he is a loyal man, sworn to protect and serve the family Lethbidge. Many times over the years, some foul plan has died in the night when the conspirators crossed water and were never seen from again. Unless some idiot takes it into their head to kill him, Garth should outlive us all many times over. Garth is why Harold disallows fishing in the moat in a duchy where any commoner can hunt on his lands.

Garth reads minds. More than one at a time, in fact. He can also, when it suits him, project his thoughts into the minds of others. He is discreet and utterly dependable. He also gets lonely, and he loves to "chat." In short, he is one of the very few people, if you don't mind calling him such, that Allyson will be able to "talk" to.

While we're alone - Hesketh is in mortal danger. You'll have to ask Gloriana for that tale, along with why all of us are on this journey.

Narrator:
Tabytha doesn't let go of Richard's arm until they make it down to the camp. Hesketh is reassuring Elisabeth that he is fine and that there was little danger posed by a band of thieves.

Next Richard file.