Starstruck

Chapter 14b: Coronal attributes (part 2)

CHAPTER 14

Coronal attributes (part 2)

The living room was large but cozy, with a sofa, loveseat and several overstuffed chairs, along with several antique-looking tables--and a whole lot of people. I counted seven as they all leaped to their feet, five men and two women. I was pretty sure seven qualified as "several" rather than "a few." Mr. Stuart, the only one I recognized, came forward.

"Welcome, Marsha," he said. A couple of the strangers--the taller woman and one of the older men--flinched visibly. "Let me introduce you to everyone."

Before he'd even finished speaking, the smaller woman hurried forward, both hands outstretched. She was shorter than I was, maybe five feet tall, and clearly older than the Stuarts, with curly reddish-gray hair and crinkles around her eyes and mouth. She looked about sixty, but since Martians lived so long, I figured she could easily be twice that.

"No introduction is necessary for me," she cried. "Princess Emileia is the very image of her mother--but with her grandfather's eyes. My dear Banfriansa . . . Excellency . . . this is such a tremendous honor!" She paused to sink into a deep curtsey. "I never thought I would live to see the day . . . that is--"

"Nara," snapped the taller woman, her voice surprisingly deep. She looked maybe fiftyish in Earth years. "I thought we were agreed that the tests would be performed before--"

"Oh, but just look at her, Kyna! Feel her brath. How can you doubt it?" The little woman, Nara, looked back and forth between us, her expression radiant.

"This is Nara Gilroy," Mr. Stuart said. "Nara is a pediatrician, microbiologist and specialist in childhood diseases. She was well acquainted with your grandmother back on Mars."

Though I appreciated her effusive welcome, my smile was completely forced. Tests!? No one had said anything about tests! And where was Rigel?

"Kyna is right, Nara," said the older man who had flinched when I first came in. Moderately tall, with a squarish face and salt-and-pepper hair, he had an air of authority about him. "While it's clear the girl is of Martian blood, we can't allow ourselves to be swayed by emotion."

He turned to me then, practically dissecting me with his pale, blue-green eyes before he bowed. "Allister Adair, ranking Royal member of the Echtran Council. No disrespect intended, your--ah--Miss Truitt, but we must be sure."

"Sure?" I echoed, growing more confused by the second. Ranking Royal? Echtran Council? What did that mean?

Now the tallest--and oldest--man in the room stepped forward. "You must forgive my colleagues, Marsha. They are understandably skeptical, though hopeful, as we all are." His voice was deep, resonant and pleasant.

He crossed the room with a measured, deliberate pace, studying me as he approached. He was an imposing man, completely apart from his height, with a sweeping shock of pure white hair above a long, deeply lined, aristocratic face. His eyes, the same clear gray as Mr. Stuart's, seemed almost supernaturally intelligent--or maybe that was just my inferiority complex. I felt like a silly child under his knowing gaze.

But then he extended a hand and smiled, and the smile transformed his face into something kindly, wise . . . and utterly trustworthy. I found myself smiling in return, my momentary panic subsiding.

"Hello, Marsha." His voice calmed me as well. "I am Shim Stuart, Rigel's grandfather. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance at last."

"The . . . the pleasure is mine," I stammered, shaking his hand. The tingle was similar to what I felt when Dr. Stuart touched me--in other words, about a tenth of what Rigel created.