Carte Blanche Read online

  Carte Blanche

  © 2005 Camille Anthony

  carte blanche

  NOUN: n. Inflected forms: pl. cartes blanches: kärt bläsh, kärts blänch, blnch)

  Unrestricted power to act at one's own discretion; unconditional authority'

  ETYMOLOGY: French : carte, ticket + blanche, blank.

  In the days before the world burned, the original definition of the term: carte blanche literally meant blank ticket. If one could obtain a blank lettre or ticket stamped with the King’s seal, one could write whatever they wished upon the paper. Many such papers were secured and sold for a price to ruthless men of power. Many people disappeared—some into the dreaded prison called the Bastille and others into the murky waters of an undisclosed and unmarked death. And so carte blanche came to be known as limitless power and authority. The years passed and in the latter days of the kings of Great Britain, men took mistresses as they always did. Also as always, the women who captured the lusts and interests of such men demanded something in return for their favors. The bargaining was intense as the eagles—disguised as doves—negotiated for everything but a wedding dress. The highest any kept woman could aspire to was to be given a home of her own and a blank ticket of credit. --Ananda, Ship’s librarian Diaspora a.p. 194

  Prologue

  The last of the original colonists from Old Earth, Liana stood the balcony of her high rise bungalow, rheumy eyes narrowed against the hot rays of Paradyse’s suns. One hand shaded her face as she gazed out over the verdant teeming jungle of New India.

  It was an hour past high noon and the huge orange sun that was this planet’s primary shone down on the vast blue expanse of trees and underbrush, highlighting the turquoise fronds of the fur tea plants—so named because the leaves of the indigenous plant were covered with a soft, velvety covering that resembled the fur of some Old Earth animals. The smaller dwarf sun, blizzard white and dying, bathed everything in double shadows.

  Liana sighed. Sometimes she missed Earth with a pain that threatened to rip her heart apart. Green trees and grass, blue water and skies…Lord above, she missed those simplest of things. Closing her eyes against the memories of a long-dead reality, she drew in a deep breath. Above all, she missed her parents and siblings, who had not been among those rescued. As she’d grown older, she’d mourned the nephews and nieces she should have had, the relationships she’d been denied.

  She alone, of all her family, had survived Earth’s death throes, growing to maturity aboard the colony ship, where she had ironically been looked upon as one of the leaders, despite her young age. Her visions had given her a place of authority. After all, she had been the first to sound the alarm, though in the beginning no one had heeded her. When they had, it had almost been too late.

  Midst the cataclysmic turmoil of global catastrophes and driven mad with terror, the people had turned against all scientists, claiming rampant technology had stripped them of the atmospheric protection the Earth had needed.

  Liana’s lips quirked up in a sardonic sneer. Never mind that scientists had been telling people for decades that they were destroying the stratosphere…that the ozone layer grew dangerously thin…at that point the people weren’t looking for answers, they were looking for scapegoats.

  She’d lived through the time of panic and horror, hoping never to be involved in such again. But now, years after she’d thought the curse dissipated, she dreamed anew of a growing disturbance, a dissonance in the fabric of this new world. Something was stirring; something evil and insane rode the winds, its target the family she’d adopted as her own. Right now it was a small glitch in the rightful order of things, but soon it would grow to threaten all she held dear on this new world.

  I am an old woman, retired and forgotten. I have earned my peace. What have I to do with the trouble coming upon this place and these people?

  Liana shook her head, her grizzled curls brushing against her thin cheeks, mingling with the unheeded tears. She had seen the end of her birth civilization, had seen her home world burn. Just like then, she knew herself incapable of ignoring the danger to those she had come to love. She couldn’t stand by and neglect to give warning, much good it would do. Against her will, she recalled the emotional devastation of that never forgotten time…

  Long before earth’s sun had exploded, she’d dreamed the great conflagration over and over again. Telling her parents had been futile. They wouldn’t listen to the flighty child she’d been, didn’t believe such powerful, important visions could flow through her. The other adults had responded in the same vein. A melodramatic dreamer, they’d called her, idly brushing off her warnings and dire predictions. Nearer the end, they’d all believed, all listened, but they’d waited too late to take meaningful, effective action. During the chaotic days just before the end, they’d managed to save only a pitiful few. There were times when she still wished she hadn’t been among those chosen to occupy a berth on one of the seven colony ships sent off before the massive nova that destroyed the sun. From their vantage point light years out from Earth, before they’d entered the sleep chambers, they’d watched in horror as the sun flares engulfed the planet, instantly killing those who’d had no other means of escape…

  Throwing off the memories that haunted her still, Liana turned her back to the world outside, retreating to the shadowed coolness of her covered lanai. There was much she needed to do to prepare for the threat that drew nearer her foster granddaughter every day. Evil’s stink surrounded the figure of the father and she feared it might be beyond her capability to aid him. Even if she succeeded, the attack against her father would devastate Chastity. Her baby would need her old ayah in the days to come.

  Liana tightened her lips as she called upon her inner resources. She would use everything in her power to shield Chastity within whom she’d sensed the seedling talents of a visionary in the girl years ago. That was the reason she’d accepted the position as her ayah. Without the father’s knowledge, she’d trained the young child’s innate talent and during those idyllic years, had grown to love the intelligent youth as the granddaughter she’d never had. Chastity must be protected at all costs. Liana had learned the hard way the All Creator always prepared a prophet before the evil days. Something was on the rise, something inimical to this new world. Paradyse Colony couldn’t afford to lose the talents of a budding seer.

  Bending over her storage chests, Liana began packing for a prolonged visit. She just hoped she wouldn’t arrive too late to do what little she could…

  * * *

  The loud retort of a musket shot rang through the air, startling Chastity out of her light doze.

  “What the hell--?” That sounded like it came from father’s rooms.

  The book she’d been skimming fell from her lap as she jumped up from the divan. Rushing out the library door, she tore through the corridors separating the Duke’s private quarters from the rest of the house. Her scandalous pantaloons—held in oft-reiterated aversion by papa--gave her the freedom of movement she needed to reach her father’s side as quickly as possible.

  Heart pounding from the double rev of exertion and fear, she exploded around the last corner and skidded to a halt. Lungs laboring, she frantically dragged in air enough to shout, “Father!” as she burst through his bedroom door.

  Sheer curtains fluttered at an open window. Beneath the tall opening, her father lay sprawled, his bloodied chest resting half out the narrow marble ledge.

  “Oh, my guardian angel-serpents... Papa!”

  Chastity dropped to her knees beside her father, fingers scrabbling, pressing against his carotid in hope of finding a pulse. Her hands shook badly, hindering her efforts. A curse and a sob broke free as she took a deep breath and held it, fighting to steady herself and her
hand.

  “Powers Above…help me!” She pled, trying again for a pulse, this time at the wrist. Recalling a bit of medical trivia, she made sure not to grip with her thumb. A faint, thready beat pulsed against her forefinger and she collapsed in a weak huddle, thankful tears raining down her face.

  She slid all the way to the floor and cradled her father’s head in her lap. “Why would someone shoot you, daddy? What enemy do we have that I don’t know about, because anyone who attacks you is my enemy, too!”

  Just then, the thud of retreating footsteps sounded on the cobbled flagstone walkway, followed by the jingle of harness and the whinnying of a horse. An outraged yell, a cry of pain and the sound of clanging metal rang in the stable yard. She listened to the clattering hooves clip-clopping down the long dirt drive and ground her teeth. Anger seethed within. Torn between wanting to catch the person responsible for harming the most important person in her life and staying to see him out of harm’s way, Chastity cursed the unknown person but chose to remain with her father.

  The perpetrator may have escaped today, but she would see them captured and repaid if it were the last thing she did in this life. No one would hurt her loved ones and live…no one.

  * * *

  “Oh, hell, no, Liana, I refuse to go! How could you expect me to just up and leave while my father is still struggling to survive?”

  Liana sighed at the truculent look marring the earthy beauty of her previous charge’s face. She’d raised this turbulent child and knew better than most what that expression presaged. If she wanted Chastity to walk the only path of safety she could design, she’d have to present her with logical, overwhelming reasons for going against her deepest instincts.

  “And if you don’t go, who will catch your father’s would-be killer?”

  The arrested glare was all she could have hoped for. Those velvety brown eyes went vague as the young woman’s focus turned inward. Her shoulders slumped. “Just the thought of having to deal with so-called ‘polite society’ turns my stomach. I don’t have it in me to sashay around like a weakling, leaning on the strong, protective men around me. I am a capable woman and I—“

  “Of course you are capable. You are also a smart woman and smart women know when to bend.”

  “Bend?” She threw up her hands, her frustration and angst obvious to her old nurse. She’d never liked being confronted with a situation she had no control over.

  “Don’t you mean break, ayah? How far am I supposed to bend, Liana? If I go there pretending father is…has died…Uncle David will believe he is my guardian. I haven’t turned eighteen and by law, he will have control over me until that time. You know how greedy he is. What if he tries to marry me off?”

  “Really, Chassy, why build mansions out of servants’ quarters? You need only insist on your right to grieve the obligatory year. Barring that, you may demand any betrothal last until your birthday, which isn’t so very far away. Once you reach your majority, you have but to refute the match. Think, girl! Where else can you ferret out the culprit? It is up to you to give your father the time he needs. Our enemy can’t learn the attempt at eliminating the Duke didn’t succeed. The next plan will definitely be more lethal.”

  “Liana, why can’t we tell my uncle and let him help?”

  “Didn’t you just bring up your uncle’s greed? Unfortunately, your mother’s brother has always coveted wealth and power. I cannot dismiss the fact that he might be involved someway. If he felt he could gain control of your family’s wealth through controlling you…” she shrugged and shook her head. “We won’t take that chance.”

  “I feel so torn. On one hand, I want to find my father’s enemy, but on the other, I dread not being here if he should need me.”

  The fear in Chastity’s eyes hurt her. If it were in her power, her former charge would never have to deal with the pain of losing a parent or loved one before the ordained time. Unfortunately, those kinds of resources belonged to Beings of higher elevation than herself.

  Sighing, she laid her palm on Chassy’s cheek. “Child, if I could go for you, I would. I give you my word—I won’t allow further harm to come to your father. I have grown to tolerate him over the years. I will guard him for both of us. Go to your uncle. Find out what you can.”

  “What if I find…him?” Fear and anticipation warred in her voice and expression.

  Liana chuckled, refreshing amusement momentarily displacing the dread she’d felt since before arriving at the Duke’s plantation. “I don’t doubt that you will. It is fated, after all. I suspect what you are really asking is, ‘How should I respond to the man who has been haunting my dreams for the greater part of my young life?’ and my answer is: with honesty and courage.”

  “Huh! I’m no coward! I fear no man.”

  “I didn’t say you did. However, you do fear giving in to the emotions of love.”

  “Love weakens a woman, steals her autonomy, and leaches her power. Once a man claims a woman, she becomes less in his eyes. I’ve seen it happen too many times to doubt my conclusions. Much as I love my father, I remember how he treated my own mother. She died of a broken heart.”

  “Chastity, you must stop allowing the past—and someone else’s past, at that—to influence your future. Grab your destiny with both hands and wrestle it into a shape you can live with. Do not bow your neck to strictures, but in the same vein, do not allow fear or bitterness to color your decisions so you reject the one thing that can fulfill you.”

  Chastity sneered. “You think I need a man to fulfill me? Are you saying a woman cannot reach fulfillment without a big strong man to lean on?”

  “I’m not saying that at all. I’m saying that you need love to fulfill you. Do not be so focused on not allowing any man to dominate your will that you allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice.” She placed a gnarled hand on Chastity’s tense shoulder and squeezed. “Take my advice, young one. Don’t be like your old ayah, Liana, who passed up the most glorious opportunity of her life and has lived to regret it.”

  Chastity wandered over to the window, eyes roaming the contours of her family holding. “It has been years since I’ve journeyed away from this plantation.” She turned her head and met Liana’s gaze. A small laugh escaped her. “My heart pounds at the thought of leaving these familiar surroundings, my home.”

  Over in the stable yard, the grooms were saddling two celebeasts. The two women watched the giant steeds prance and stamp, their six huge feet shifting and moving in the odd pattern they used to produce the smooth gait they were so prized for.

  Chastity swung back to face her old nurse, a frown on her face and accusation on her lips. “All right, Liana, I’ll go. But then, you knew that or the grooms wouldn’t be settling the celebeasts in preparation for a journey.”

  “You give me too much credit, little one. The grooms are preparing to travel to my home and fetch back my healing supplies. I’ll be here longer than I had thought since I plan to remain until this is all over. Besides, the celebeasts are better suited for country riding. You’ll be taking the ducal flitter into the city.

  As she spoke, the air was gently displaced as a smooth, multi-windowed cylindrical coach glided up to the main drive and hovered silently two feet off the ground. The door whooshed open and a liveried chauffer stepped down and out and stood beside the craft, awaiting orders.

  Chastity hugged her mentor and teacher. “I’m only doing this because you’d never give me a moment’s peace, otherwise,” she teased, knowing it was usually the other way around.

  “Report to me often,” Liana begged. “And watch your back. Trust no one. Let no one know you suspect foul play.”

  Jaw hardening, Chastity nodded. “I’ll take care. You make sure to keep me up to date on daddy’s status. Let me know immediately if he…” she broke off on a shaky breath…“takes a turn for the worse.”

  “I will, dear.”

  The maids came out with her luggage and loaded them into the cargo section of the hovering vehi
cle. One maid remained in the transport. She took a seat facing a window, hands folded calmly in her lap. With a last goodbye embrace, Chastity entered the flitter and motioned the pilot to take off.

  The plantation fell away below her, the panoramic view well-known and well-loved. Chastity had a fleeting notion to order the flitter about and return home. A frission of fear slid down her spine and she knew—as clearly as if she’d been in vision—her life was about to change forever.

  Chapter One

  Well, this is certainly not the way I’d choose to celebrate my birthday! Hunting for would-be assassins and breaking the stupid engagement my uncle has forced upon me.

  Standing beside her soon-to-be ex-fiancée on the wide landing of the lofty ornate stairway, eighteen year-old Chastity Tilson glared at the long que of aristocrats lined up to make her re-acquaintance. Pert breasts riding high in a barely there bodice with no visible means of support, she managed to look both demure and daring in shimmering glowing yards of shifting silver chiffon and lace.

  Wasting half the evening greeting the stuffy upper crust of society was the last thing she wanted to be doing. She needed to be following the few clues she’d been given, not hobnobbing with people who all hated what she stood for: female independence. She refused to be at the beck and call of any man. Bowing and scraping didn’t suit her. She’d never done so and had no intention of starting any time soon.

  Her uncle may think himself her guardian, but he and his hand-picked puppet would soon learn better. Only her father had ever tried to boss her and he’d ceased that exercise in futility before her eighth birthday.

  On her other side, Lady Stanton, Marchioness of Avondale leaned over and hissed at her to please smile.

  Chastity glanced around and up, a sneer curling the right corner of her mouth as Alicia’s quiet plea sounded in her ear. She felt so much older than her cousin it was always a surprise to realize the woman towered over her own petite frame.