That silenced Sir Stephen. He sat down in the chair that used to be his, moving, for once, like an old man.
Pity and affection strove within Zacharias against implacable truth. But they could not triumph forever. Nor could Zacharias’s loyalties ever be as clearly delineated as his guardian’s. He had always understood this. Sir Stephen, he knew, had not.
“You know I have always been grateful to you and Lady Wythe,” he said into the ringing silence. “I can never make a sufficient return for your goodness. You could not have been kinder to a blood relation.”
“We could not have loved you better had you been our own son,” said Sir Stephen heavily. He passed his hand over his eyes.
“I believe it,” said Zacharias gently.
He was conscious of a sensation of relief, as though he had laid down a burden he had been carrying, all unconscious, his entire life. Till that moment he had not known what a trial it had been to be compelled to hide his true sentiments from his closest connections.
Sir Stephen lowered his hand, and met Zacharias’s eyes.
“You may not have chosen England, but England has chosen you,” he said. “I would never have said Zacharias Wythe owed any debt to her. The Sorcerer Royal, however, does. What is at stake is moreimportant than your conscience, Zacharias. If you were not prepared for that, you ought not to have taken up the staff.”
“You know why I took up the staff,” said Zacharias.
He felt no resentment—he had made the decision and he must live with it—but the words, spoken by him to Sir Stephen, could not be anything but a reproach. Sir Stephen’s steady blue gaze was unwavering, though he must have felt the words as a blow.
“Your reasons do not signify,” said Sir Stephen. “What matters is that you did it. You are Sorcerer Royal. Now what do you propose to do about that?”
Zacharias picked up his staff and weighed it in his hand.
He did not think he would miss it. There was very little, indeed, that he would miss.
It was true Prunella could not escape punishment if her familiars were discovered. It was growing increasingly difficult to conceal their existence; it would soon be impossible, now that the Presiding Committee had witnessed her in the act of magic-making. Zacharias had always known they would come to a point at which he must present her to the Society, and brave the consequences. It had come sooner than he would have liked, but he knew now what he must do.
“Come to the Society with me, and you shall see,” he said.
26
AMEMORYSTIRREDwithin Zacharias as he entered the Great Hall among a sea of pale faces: a memory of being small and anxious, wishing very much to please, but fearful of being weighed and found wanting.
Time and use had overlaid the memory with fresher impressions. He was no longer intimidated by the vaulted ceilings, the ancient wood-panelled walls or the portraits of sorcerers past, gazing down upon the proceedings in eternal displeasure. He now knew the measure of those around him.
The Society was hard put to summon a quorum at most meetings, but today the Hall was uncommonly crowded. Curiosity about how the Sorcerer Royal proposed to defend himself against the Hallett proved an irresistible draw. Thaumaturges were packed so close in the Hall that sparks of magic flew in the narrow spaces between their bodies.
They were due to be disappointed, as the sharper-witted among them had already deduced. Zacharias Wythe was so composed one might have thought he had never heard of a ritual sacrifice in his life,and Geoffrey Midsomer sat huddled at the back of the room in a fit of the sullens.
Lord Burrow, rising to speak, put paid to any remaining illusions that the meeting might involve anything other than the usual tedious periods.
“I must apologise for this breach of protocol, but Mr. Wythe has kindly surrendered his precedence today to permit me to make an announcement on behalf of the Committee,” he said. “It has come to the Committee’s attention that a purported amendment was made to the Charter, to remove the clause prohibiting the Hallett procedure. This was done in a highly irregular fashion, and we shall be taking measures to withdraw the amendment. There is no longer any intention to undertake the Hallett; the Presiding Committee deems it unnecessary.”
At the disappointment that rippled through the audience, Lord Burrow raised his voice.
“I might add that the Committee considers the attempt to make use of the procedure ill-judged, and regrets that certain elements within the Society should have gone to such lengths to revive its availability. We are satisfied of Mr. Wythe’s claim to the staff, and no allegation against him has been proven that would render it necessary for him to surrender it.”
So far as this went, this was perfectly satisfactory from Zacharias’s perspective, and he experienced a faint pang of regret at Prunella’s timing when Lord Burrow paused, staring.
Zacharias had bribed a servant to smuggle Prunella into the building through a side-door, but Prunella had decided to disregard the discreet entrance he had painstakingly orchestrated for her. She wafted down the centre of the room on Damerell’s arm, appearing splendidly unconscious of the looks and murmurs she drew.
Midsomer glared. Josiah Cullip clearly longed to speak, but he had been given a stern talking-to by Lord Burrow after the events of theday before, and to draw attention to himself now was to risk his position as Secretary to the Committee. It was another supporter of Midsomer’s who took up the gauntlet.
“At least one accusation requires no proof, for he has admitted it himself,” said Mr. Kendle in a strident voice. “Zacharias Wythe has been teaching women magic, and has even invited one here! Is not that a breach worthy of consideration, or is the immunity of the Sorcerer Royal to shield even that folly?”
“There is no provision in the Charter either for or against the practise of magic by females,” said Zacharias. “The general prejudice against it is founded merely in convention. Of course, even if there were such a prohibition in the Charter, the Charter can be amended, as some of my colleagues will be aware.”
Kendle looked rather foolish.
