Clovis looked back at Morgan. "Isn't this something of a moot point? You were going to be leaving Lyons within the month anyway. Right?"

Morgan nodded. "That's our plan. We've got a meeting scheduled for Ryde at the beginning of June. Whether or not we would have left Lyons on our own, part of me hates to appear to be following Lestrade's order. I suppose it can't be helped in this case. We cannot afford to be late arriving on Ryde."

Dan clenched his teeth. Morgan calls it a meeting, but all of us know what it really will be. Morgan and Yorinaga Kurita will once again do battle to determine who between them will live or die. While this war engulfs all the Successor States, Morgan Kell and Yorinaga Kurita are also holding their own little war. Were Morgan not preoccupied with—hell, obsessed with—his private conflict, he'd drop the Kell Hounds in on Aldo Lestrade just to deliver an answer to that madman's order.

"So, we'll get the Kell Hounds out of here on time, just to keep Lestrade happy." Morgan went on, his countenance darkening. "But if our compliance plays into one of Lestrade's schemes, I swear the Kell Hounds will make the Duke regret it for what little of his life he'll have left."

8

Tharkad

District of Donegal, Lyran Commonwealth

20 April 3029

Jeana Clay hit the pause button on the holodisk recorder as she turned toward the door. The instant the Archon entered, Jeana rose from her chair and crossed the room quickly. Before the guards had closed the door, she threw her arms around Katrina Steiner. "Hello, mother. How good to see you today."

Jeana's voice—a perfect match for that of Melissa Steiner-Davion—did not betray her unease. Why has the Archon come to my chambers? Has something happened to Melissa?Jeana pulled back from the tall, platinum-haired matriarch and gave her a respectful bow. "Forgive me, Archon, but I did not expect you."

The gray-eyed woman smiled easily and waved Jeana back toward her chair as she seated herself on the edge of the bed. "There is no emergency. Don't be alarmed. According to the holodisk I received this morning from the Federated Suns, Melissa is well."

Jeana caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the mirror on the closet door. The long golden hair and carefully sculpted features matched Melissa's face in all details. The gray eyes, given to Melissa by genetics and Jeana by contact lenses, stared back at her from the mirror. I wonder if I’ll ever get used to wearing another's face.

Jeana turned to the Archon. "Is Melissa pregnant yet?" Katrina Steiner shook her head. "No, you are not pregnant yet." They laughed together, but the Archon's smile turned pensive. "Your look, your manner, your laugh. There are times when I think you and Melissa conspired to switch places and fool all of us."

Jeana shook her head. "No, Archon. Your daughter has been with her husband since we left Terra after the wedding."

Katrina looked fondly at Jeana. "I had a message from Morgan Kell today. He says the Kell Hounds have been ordered off Lyons and will be proceeding to Ryde. If I read between the lines correctly, he thought you would be interested in this information. He also said to tell you, 'The Sanglamore Sash has kept Dan quite safe.' "

Jeana felt her heart leap. Please, God, let it continue to do so.She looked up at the Archon, then blushed. "I gave Dan Allard the sash I got when I passed my final 'Mech test at Sanglamore ..."

Katrina Steiner nodded knowingly. "I noticed you were quite taken with him during the festivities before the wedding. I know we're not really mother and daughter, but I also realize you've got no one to talk to about such matters. If you wish .. ."

Jeana smiled. My father was right to help you escape Alessandro Steiner's trap so many years ago. You actually do care about your people."It is difficult." She pressed her lips together into a think-line. "I wanted very much to tell Dan who I was and what I did, but I could not violate security like that. If people knew your daughter was in the Federated Suns, your political enemies could accuse you of selling out the Commonwealth to Hanse Davion."

Jeana looked up into the Archon's steel-gray eyes. "What makes Dan so remarkable is that he did not press me on the subject. He just wanted to know if I was happy, and if so, he said that was enough for him. I know it's crazy because we've had so little time together, but it seems like I've known him all my life."

"You love him very much, don't you?" Katrina asked softly.

Jeana nodded. "I remember the first reception on Terra. It seems like we danced forever. He was so gentle, yet so strong." Jeana covered her mouth to smother a giggle. "Archon, I don't know if you've noticed, but all Mech Warriors from the Federated Suns wear ceremonial spurs on their boots. They're just small things, with no rowls, and are said to recall the old days when cavalry troops moved quickly and hit hard—just like 'Mech regiments."

The Archon laughed. "Silly superstition. Just like a Sanglamore Sash, right?"

Jeana blushed. "Touche, Highness. Anyway, while Dan and I were dancing, the hem of my gown caught on a spur during a turn. I began to stumble, but Dan managed to lift me up and continue the dance without so much as losing a beat of the music. Then he spent the next minute or two apologizing for his clumsiness in getting his spur caught. Not often you find strength, agility, intelligence, and consideration wrapped up in so handsome a package."

The Archon nodded. "And in a Mech Warrior, even more rare." Katrina stared off over Jeana's shoulder. "It does not surprise me that Morgan selected him to join the Kell Hounds."

Jeana noticed a change in the Archon's voice. "What's wrong? Forgive my presumption, but you seem apprehensive."

Katrina Steiner raised an eyebrow. "You have my daughter's perceptiveness as well as her face. I am worried . . . about Morgan. He left the monastery on Zaniah when he learned Yorinaga Kurita had returned from exile and killed his brother, Patrick. I think Morgan's preoccupation with Yorinaga may be clouding his judgment."

Jeana chewed her lower lip. "It almost sounds as though Morgan is engaging in a vendetta like a Leutnant fresh out of Sanglamore or Nagelring."

Katrina rose and moved to the doors leading out to the balcony overlooking the Triad's garden. "I've known Morgan Kell for twenty-three years. Morgan was there with me and my future husband, Arthur Luvon, when your father whisked the three of us to safety. Morgan, Arthur, and I traveled a long way and saw many things in the year we spent running from Alessandro Steiner's assassins.

"I learned a great deal about Morgan in that time. He might have been considered reckless and daring, but he was never one who wanted to engage in personal competition with an enemy. Morgan was more the type to fight as hard as he could, then offer the winner or loser his hand in friendship and respect. You're a Mech Warrior just as I was. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Jeana rose from her chair and walked over to the Archon. She slipped her arm around the other woman's shoulder and gave her a hug. "Yes, I've seen Mech Warriors like that, and I've the utmost respect for them. Still, Morgan changed after Mallory's World back in 3016. He quit the regiment he and Patrick created, scattered all but a battalion of the Kell Hounds, and then retreated to a monastery for eleven years. That's not at all like the Morgan you describe."