{"id":6528,"date":"2026-01-10T10:11:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T10:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/deryni-chronology-16-king-kelsons-bride-kurtz-katherine\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T10:11:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T10:11:57","slug":"deryni-chronology-16-king-kelsons-bride-kurtz-katherine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/deryni-chronology-16-king-kelsons-bride-kurtz-katherine\/","title":{"rendered":"Deryni Chronology 16 – King Kelson’s Bride – Kurtz, Katherine"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nPROLOGUE <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nHe<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nthat is<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\ngreedy of gain troubleth his own bouse. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nProverbs 15:27 <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nM<\/span>
\nark<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\nme well, my brother, for I tell you truly that Kelson of Gwynedd means to wed. He must, now that he has agreed to <\/span>
\nallow the return of Liam-Lajos to Torenth. The way of kings is that of expediency. And it is expedient for the King of Gwynedd to provide his kingdom with an heir before his rival can do the same.\u201d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nThe speaker was Count Teymuraz, acting regent of Arjenol and a younger brother of its duke, Mahael, who was <\/span>
\nseated across from him. The latter was one of the regents of Torenth, and both men were kin by marriage to the woman who had summoned them to this meeting at domed Torenth\u00e1ly, country seat of Torenth\u2019s kings. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nThe Princess Morag Furst\u00e1na, widowed sister of the late King Wencit of Torenth, was standing in the opening of a long, brass-trellised window that looked westward across rolling fields, lush and verdant in the brightness of a sultry June afternoon. Co-regent with Mahael, she was also the mother of the previous king, of the said Liam-Lajos, who was the present king, and of Prince Ronal Rurik, the ten-year-old heir presumptive. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\u201cIf you are telling me that Liam-Lajos soon must wed, I think it premature,\u201d she said quietly, hooking the be-ringed <\/span>
\nfingers of one hand through the brass grillwork. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\u201cPremature?\u201d said Teymuraz. \u201cHe is fourteen, two months into his majority. And the precarious nature of his <\/span>
\nsituation does put a certain urgency on the matter.\u201d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nShe turned to look at him. The dappled sunlight filtering through the pierced brass set aglow the gauzy folds of veil <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nand trailing sleeve and touched with fire the bands of gold <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\nembellishing the royal purple, shimmering around her like the magical Deryni auras all of them could conjure forth at
<\/span>
\nwill. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\u201cDo you think I am not aware of that?\u201d she asked. \u201cYes, he is fourteen. And we have no idea what manner of man he <\/span>
\nhas become, in these four years held hostage at the court of Gwynedd. Best determine first whether he is fit to be king, <\/span>
\nbefore we speak of the getting of heirs.\u201d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\u201cHarsh words, from the one who bore him,\u201d Mahael replied. A faint smile curled within the close-clipped black beard. <\/span>
\n\u201cAnd yet, for the sake of the kingdom, we must all of us acknowledge that it could prove necessary to pass over <\/span>
\nLiam-Lajos in favor of one better suited to rule.\u201d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nAs she glanced at him sharply, Teymuraz gave an amused snort. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\u201cSince my brother has been responsible for the training of the young king\u2019s brother, who is the present heir, I can <\/span>
\nonly think he alludes to four more years of his own regency, if it were necessary for Liam-Lajos to give way to Ronal Rurik. We are all of us aware that Mahael harbors no ambition of his own regarding the throne.\u201d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\nMahael feigned languid interest in a massive seal ring that he wore on his left forefinger, dark eyes heavy-lidded as <\/span>
\nhis thumb absently caressed the design cut into the murky bloodstone. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\u201cI would not see either of my nephews come to harm,\u201d he said neutrally, \u201cbut if any had a right to wield the might of <\/span>
\nFurst\u00e1n after them, it would be myself.\u201d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\u201cNo one disputes either part of that statement,\u201d Morag said briskly, coming to sit between them. \u201cIt is an unnatural
<\/span>
\nmother who does not wish success for her sons; but not having seen my elder one for several years, I cannot, as
<\/span>
\nregent, speak for his readiness to rule this kingdom. We do not know how he may have been tainted by contact with
<\/span>
\nthe court of Gwynedd. He has had his training from Duke Nigel Haldane, who has ever been a fierce and loyal advocate
<\/span>
\nfor Gwynedd\u2019s interests\u2014which rarely coincide with Torenth\u2019s interests. And I like it not that, as a condition of his
<\/span>
\nreturn, we must en-<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\ndure the presence of a Gwyneddan \u2018advisor\u2019 always among us, until my son attains the age of eighteen.\u201d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\u201cWe need not \u2018endure,\u2019 if the situation becomes too inconvenient,\u201d Mahael remarked. \u201cHuman advisors can be <\/span>
\ngotten around, and I doubt that young Haldane will long risk leaving one of his few Deryni intimates among us.\u201d
<\/span>
\n\u201cYou\u2019re aware that if interference is detected, you risk war,\u201d Teymuraz said, his voice trailing off in question.
\t\u201cMy dear Teymuraz, let us not speak of such unpleasantness,\u201d Mahael said silkily. \u201cBut even if the Haldane should
<\/span>
\nleave one of his Deryni among us \u2026 accidents do happen.\u201d <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n\u201cAye, even to princes,\u201d Teymuraz murmured, not looking at either of them, for the previous king, Morag\u2019s eldest
<\/span>
\nson, had died under circumstances many might term \u201cconvenient,\u201d shortly after attaining his legal majority. Suspicions
of Haldane conspiracies had emerged very quickly from the backlash of shocked grief and outrage\u2014though without a
shred of evidence\u2014but it could not be denied that two of those present had greatly benefited by the boy\u2019s death, <\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Book Preview \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 PROLOGUE He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own bouse. Proverbs 15:27 M ark me well, my brother, for I tell you truly that Kelson of Gwynedd means to wed. He must, now that he has agreed to allow the return of Liam-Lajos to Torenth. The way of kings … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[427],"class_list":["post-6528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-katherine-kurtz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epub-book.com\/download\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}