Page 14 of The Dragoneers of Longbourn and Pemberley
Nethenabbi looked expectantly at Pemberley, delivering coded messages with his eyebrows.
Pemberley finally said, “I am sure we would not be suitable partners. I cannot recommend myself as a dancer.”
“You are a fine dancer!” Nethenabbi protested, growing in desperation.
“It is my past excellent partners who deserve that credit. The dancers here would not be of a similar talent.” His eyes only gave the smallest touch on Valeraine, as if her poor dancing skills might be catching. He turned to go, giving a parting, “Good evening.”
Mr. Nethenabbi then turned to Valeraine and said, “I am so sorry for the rudeness of my friend. I’ll encourage some other gentleman to come ask you to dance, I promise.” He strode off into the fray of mingling people. He returned with a gentleman moments later.
This was another man whom Valeraine recognized; he had been one of the riders. He was the winner of the derby, with the sharp-spined white dragon. He had black hair, an upturned nose, and a neat beard.
Mr. Nethenabbi made hurried introductions, naming him Mr. Rosings, then left to guide Alyce to the dance floor in time for the song.
With a confident grin, Mr. Rosings led Valeraine after them. He asked, “You are from Longbourn house? The one with the elderly dragon?”
Valeraine tried for an easy smile, but feared her annoyance came through. Was there nothing else to discuss? “The very same. Though our dragon is not so elderly as all that; he is still quite strong.”
“I should say so!” and Rosings’s tone was impressed and admiring now, and Valeraine’s smile became a little more sincere.
The dance began, and Rosings confidently led her.
“At first, seeing the wingspan of that great beast,” he said, “I worried he would disintegrate into bonedust on the spot. In all my experience of dragoneering — and I have worked with dozens of dragons from my nest — I have never seen a dragon that old and still moving, still flying so well.”
“We have taken care of Lelantos for generations. It must be the personal touch of the Longbourn family that gives our dragon such alacrity.”
“I am sure a house as small as yours simply does not have the resources to accomplish such a feat. It must be luck, or perhaps your dragon hasn’t been worked as thoroughly as the dragons at Rosings Nest.”
“You must —”
“In any case, Longbourn had a good showing today,” Rosings said. “You should be proud of your rider. Who is that, anyhow?”
“I couldn’t say.” Demure was not an expression that came easily, but Valeraine tried to affect it. “He was masked to prevent discovery, as you may imagine.”
“You must have someone truly infamous to be masked. Could it be Wilemant, or Bryton? They would both jump at the chance to race here, even for an unknown house like Longbourn.”
“It could be, I —”
“Well, perhaps not Wilemant. Your rider had much more skill than that, to manage a beast like your longwing.”
“You really think that the masked rider showed such skill?” Valeraine asked.
“When you are as accomplished a dragoneer as myself,” Rosings said with no trace of modesty, “you can spot a peer. The masked rider of Longbourn knew his dragon, and was daring enough to truly excel. If only he had a more… spry mount.”
Valeraine didn’t trust herself to make the right response, so she smiled. She, an accomplished dragoneer? She had demonstrably been daring enough to race.
“Now, despite all the flaws of your dragon,” Mr. Rosings continued, “I wouldn’t mind breeding some of that longevity into our nest.”
“Truly? Because Longbourn would be —”
“The results would not be apparent for hundreds of years, but we must plan for the future of our houses, mustn’t we?”
“Exactly. Longbourn is open to —”
“Just imagine how much we could improve upon Longbourn’s dragon if combined with the might of Rosings. It could be spectacular, a new age of dragons ushered in on Rosings’ wings. I may speak to your father about it.”
Valeraine nodded and smiled. If she didn’t say anything, he couldn’t interrupt her, and he was just where she wanted him. If they could negotiate a breeding agreement with Rosings, they could get new eggs for Longbourn. This was exactly what they needed to save the house, and it was all coming because she had been bold enough to race. There was some hope for Longbourn, after all.
The song ended, and Valeraine looked around for another potential dance partner. She saw Miss Nedine Nethenabbi chatting nearby, standing near the refreshments, playing the part of hostess. She was wearing a pink dress to match herbrother’s suit, and it was exquisite. It was in the Fellarik current fashion, with the neckline hanging off the shoulders. Easily the most handsome woman in the room, she commanded the attention of her audience with ease.
