Jack Vance, page 50
Madouc gave a poignant cry: “I can choose my friends, Mother, but as for my father, the choice was yours!”
“True,” said Twisk equably. “Indeed, it was from Sir Pellinore that I learned the caution I am now trying to teach you.”
Madouc turned to Shimrod. “Are you truly Sir Pellinore?”
Shimrod attempted an airy gesture. “Many years ago, I wandered the land as a vagabond. It is true that I occasionally used the name Sir Pellinore when the mood came upon me. And, indeed, I remember an idyll in the forest with a beautiful fairy, when I thought the name Sir Pellinore rang with romantic reverberations—far more than simple ‘Shimrod’.”
“So it is true! You, Shimrod, are my father!”
“If the Lady Twisk so asserts, I shall be honoured to claim the relationship. I am as surprised as you, but not at all displeased!”
Aillas spoke: “Let us take our places at the table! Our goblets are full with wine! Madouc has found her father; Shimrod has found a daughter, and the family is now united!”
“Not for long,” said Twisk. “I have no taste for maudlin domesticity.”
“Still, you must acknowledge the moment. To the table then, and we will celebrate Lady Twisk’s surprising disclosures!”
“First: we shall salute my absent queen Glyneth and the new Princess Serle!”
“Second: to the Lady Twisk, who astounds us with her beauty!”
“Third: to Madouc, one-time Princess of Lyonesse, who became demoted to ‘Madouc the vagabond’, and now by royal dispensation becomes once again: Madouc, Princess of Lyonesse!”
Madouc (epub), Jack Vance
