Unicorn Saga - The Unicorn Peace Part 52

Your happiness is quite irresistible, even if it is occasioned 287.

by something as mundane as siring a foal. I admit, though, that it has generated a strong urge in me to return home and join in the rut.'

'Stay a little while longer,' Jarrod thought back as he guided Nastrus through the busy courtyard and out through the gate. 7 shall need your support if anything happens to Marianna.'

'Typically human,' Nastrus rejoined as he broke into a canter. 'If you spent more time enjoying the moment and less time bothering about things that you can't con- trol, you'd be a lot better off.'

7 know you're right,' Jarrod said, leaning forward to adjust to the change in gait, 'but I have a lot on my mind.

There's Marianna and now this business of having very large new estates to take care of and, on top it all off, I had a very peculiar dream last night. About the castle we built.'

'Show me,' Nastrus responded laconically.

Jarrod transmitted the memory and waited for Nas- trus to comment. Nothing came.

'Well, what do you think?' he asked.

'It makes no sense,' Nastrus said dismissively.

'Nor did the first one,' Jarrod thought back with rather more heat than he had intended, 'but I saw conical tur- rets in that one and it turned out that Chatham Greygor had a fondness for them. I didn 't seek him out. I didn 't say anything about the place that I had dreamed about, but he reproduced it. How do you explain that?'

7 don't,' Nastrus replied. 'It could be happenstance, it could be destiny. How should a unicorn know? Besides, how do you know that this latest night vision has anything to do with you? You didn't know the person on the walls.

If there is any truth in it, and I'm not saying that there is, what makes you think that you will be involved, human vanity apart? If I recall correctly, there was much talk between you humans when we were building the place

288 about how it would be many of your generations before humans came there again. As I said. if you spent less time gelling into a lather about things you can't control, you'd be a lot happier.'

'Fat lot of help you are,' Jarrod said grumpily.

'Ah well, maybe one of these days you'll listen to me,'

Nastrus said complacently. 'In the meantime, I'd like to get in a decent gallop.'

As Nastrus accelerated smoothly, Jarrod began to meld into the flow and control of the powerful muscles as they ate up the ground. The unicorn's pleasure at the speed and movement became his own and his worries seemed insignificant. He breathed in deeply. There was a tang and crispness to the air and the wind of their pa.s.sage felt cleansing. His spirits rose. Nastrus was right. The countryside was lovely, the weather was spar- kling^, his duties at Gwyndryth far from arduous, his daughter was healthy and sure to be beautiful. He was indeed the most fortunate of men.

'Of course I'm right,' Nastrus thought condescend- ingly and accelerated before Jarrod could reply.

Marianna's summons came the following day. Jarrod made Semmurel show him five outfits before he settled on one. Then he changed his mind. He shaved himself, though he had done it when he first got up, and he spent a long time brus.h.i.+ng his hair. Semmurel watched him with a knowing smile and helped him to dress. Jarrod felt absurdly nervous and the feeling lasted through the corridors and into Marianna's room.

She was still in bed, propped up against the pillows, but there was color in her cheeks and her hair was neatly dressed. He walked over and kissed her on the cheek.

"How are you feeling, my dear?" he asked.

"Almost human," she replied.

"I was beginning to worry," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

289.

She took his hand and pressed it gently. "You're very sweet, but I shall be fine. We Gwyndrths are a tough lot. I shall be up and about again in a day or so." She let go of his hand.

"You take all the time you need," Jarrod said quickly- "You don't want to overdo it too soon."

One eyebrow went up. "Have you been studying to be a Wisewoman?" she asked with a touch of her old mischief.

"How's our girl?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Sleeping for now. She'll be hungry soon." Marianna shook her head as if in disbelief. "She's always hun- gry."

"That's a good sign, isn't it?"

"I suppose so."

"Is she big for a girl baby?"

"Is she going to grow up to be Talented, that's what you man, isn't it?"

"Well, it's a natural question." Jarrod replied defen- sively.

Marianna's hands plucked at the coverlet and she watched them as if they belonged to someone else. Then she lifted them in the equivalent of a shrug and looked up at him. "There's no way to tell. They don't start growing tall until they're six or seven. At least that's the way it was with Joscelyn."

"You'd rather she wasn't Talented, wouldn't you?"

"Frankly, yes." She was blunt. "I've already got one child who's going to be a Magician, I'd prefer that this one stayed home. Besides, it would make things harder for her. I doubt that young female Magicians are much courted, or have an easy time finding playmates."

Jarrod nodded, not knowing what to say. "It's a shame that Joscelyn couldn't be here for the birth," he ventured.

"I know," she said. "I thought about it, but, given

290 his record, plus the fact that he came to the wedding, I didn't think that Dean Handrom would take kindly to the suggestion."

"I'm sure you're right," Jarrod concurred.

"But what I wanted to see you about was the baby,"

Marianna added.

"Her being a Magician?" Jarrod asked. "We can't do anything about that. She'll either turn out to be Tal- ented, or she won't."

"No, silly, not that. About calling her 'the baby,' 'the child,' 'the girl.' It's time that she had a name. Do you have any preferences?" She glanced up at him. "There's no need to look so surprised," she said.

"I'm surprised at myself. The fact is that I really haven't given it thought." He smiled sheepishly. "The fact is that I had sort of a.s.sumed that it would be a boy."

"Are you disappointed?"

"Not in the least," Jarrod said with conviction. "I loved her the moment I saw her." He noticed her smile and misinterpreted it. "How about you?" he asked. "I know you wanted another son to continue the line."

The smile widened. "We'll just have to make sure that Josceyin marries and has children. Still, that's in the future. What we have to decide on now is a name.

If it had been a boy, I wanted to call it after my father, but I don't have any strong preferences about a girl's name."

"That reminds me," he said, "I rather expected that your father would be here by now."

"He's on his way. It takes a little longer without a unicorn."

"We could call her Daria," Jarrod suggested. "It's got an nice sound to it."

Marianna's eyes lit- "Daddy would love it," she said, and then paused. "There's only one problem."