Page 64 of Ties of Legacy

Elliot froze, his attention successfully diverted and all thoughts of a walk forgotten. How could their purpose at the record keeper’s hall have slipped his mind?

“Why do you want to know that?” Sylvia asked, turning back to the table. “Do you think there’s a way for other people to do it?”

The obvious hope in her eyes hit Elliot hard, reminding him of an infinitely purer version of his mother’s dream.

Avery looked at him questioningly, and he shrugged, giving her family a basic outline of his situation. It should have been difficult to tell four virtual strangers at once, but somehow it wasn’t. They were Avery’s family, and they were a unit built on love and trust in a way his family had never been. She trusted them, and he did, too.

“A lamp?” Dahlia asked, fascinated. “Of all the strange things! I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“No one has,” Elliot said dryly. And he usually made sure to keep it that way.

Avery gave him a private smile of encouragement, slipping her hand into his and squeezing it gently. His earlier tension melted away at the feel of her hand in his, despite the fact that he had no new answers. He kept their fingers wound together, as they all turned questioning looks on Mattie.

The record keeper leaned back with a smile that indicated she was pleased to have an audience.

“It’s not something the histories spell out explicitly,” she said. “But I’ve spent years studying the issue and piecing together what happened from mentions in various accounts.”

“And do you think you’ve found the answer?” Avery asked eagerly.

Mattie’s face lit up, swept away in the topic. “Yes, actually.”

“Well?” Elliot asked, unable to keep himself silent.

“The first roving merchant—our distant ancestor—was from Halbury.”

Avery nodded, so clearly that was general family knowledge.

“That’s undisputed,” Mattie continued. “But most people assume he was one of the rare individuals whose desire to travel and find new horizons was so strong that it overwhelmed the Legacy’s tie to his home kingdom. But from what I’ve read, I don’t think that was true at all. I think he was someone who loved his hometown and was perfectly content to remain there. It was only after the tie was broken that he became interested in travel.”

“What?” Avery stared at her. “How is that possible? Why would he ever have broken the tie in that case?”

“Exactly!” Mattie sounded triumphant. “Most of our family are interested in the more recent histories—the accounts of the various regions that can be of use in their own travels. But I discovered a mention of our original ancestor’s personality before the tie was broken, and I was so surprised and curious that I combed through all our oldest records, looking for clues.” She paused dramatically. “And my conclusion is that he didn’t want to break the Legacy at all.”

“You mean someone else did it to him against his wishes?” Elliot asked. “But why? And how?”

“Don’t forget he was Halburan,” Mattie said.

“You mean a bargain?” Avery eyes widened, as if she was picturing the scenario playing out.

Elliot sucked in a breath. The Halbury Legacy loved bargains. But it also required stakes of real value. If you wished to make a bargain in Halbury—one with the weight of the Legacy behind it—you had to be willing to put something valuable on the line.

“So the tie wasn’t something he wanted to give up, it was a price someone enacted from him. His sacrifice was breaking his tie to his beloved home.”

Mattie nodded. “And it was only after it was broken that he developed any interest in travel. Even then, he didn’t actually leave his home town until his wife passed away. After that, it was too painful to stay there, so he began traveling—and discovered he loved it.”

“Did she die very young?” Elliot asked, surprised.

Mattie shook her head. “Younger than him, but it’s another mistaken idea that the tie was broken when he was a young man. He was already married with grown children before the crucial bargain.”

“So his children had their tie broken at the same time—not when they were born but as adults?” Dahlia asked, sounding fascinated.

Mattie nodded. “There are several mentions that confirm it.”

“So you’re saying his love for his home was false?” Sylvia sounded unexpectedly frosty. “That anyone who doesn’t want to live a life of travel would feel differently if only they were freed? Don’t you think it’s a bit insulting to suggest that anyone who thinks differently from your family is just a puppet of the Legacy who doesn’t know their own mind?”

Elliot looked down at the ground. Part of him wanted to defend Avery and Mattie, but another part of him agreed with Sylvia. The two of them were in the same unique position—they had traveled for years because of a family member and found the experience wanting. Although Sylvia seemed to find some appeal in having her tie to Glandore broken.

Perhaps she wished for a future where she and her husband could alternate between periods of travel and periods of being settled, all without any ongoing discomfort from the Legacy? Would such a life be bearable for both parties?

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