The captain bowed, "Emissary."
Bowing in return, "Captain."
"The king is honored to receive Lady Whitehall and party. I am here as escort."
"I shall inform the Lady."
Back aboard the Mistress, I asked Isla, "Ready?"
"Yes, but we'll make them wait a bit,” she grinned.
Apparently, underlings make haste; royalty take their time. Amused by all the posturing, I wondered if there was a book of rules regarding mutual silliness. About a quarter of an hour later, she was ready to go.
At the bottom of the ramp, I announced, “Lady Isla Whitehall Greenwell, cousin of King Micha Whitehall of the Southern Kingdom. Accompanied by her daughter, Lady Alyse Greenwell."
They came down the ramp regally, looking wonderful. I followed behind Isla with Alyse at my side as we were escorted to the palace. Before entering the throne room, we were announced. There were no dignitaries or courtiers present, only the king.
Isla approached the throne, then bowed. "King Edward, I bring you greetings from your friend, King Micha."
King Edward came down from his throne and took her hands, kissing her cheeks. "Isla, it has been too long, and is this Alyse? My, how she has grown!"
Alyse curtsied. "Your Highness."
"My friends, let's not stand on ceremony. Come with me to my private dining room for refreshments."
Before we were seated, Isla nodded in my direction and said, "Your Highness, may I present Baron Du-cat, Emissary, and trusted friend of the Whitehall family." The introduction seemed a bit over the top, but it was her show now.
I bowed. "Your Highness."
"Well met, Emissary Baron Du-cat." The king studied me for a moment, then gave an ever so slight wink, so small no one else would notice.
Isla continued. “King Mika sends his regards and personal correspondence. Baron, the documents.”
I opened the diplomatic bag and gave her the documents. She passed them to Edward.
"Please everyone, take your seats," he said. We sat as Edward began reading and looking at signatures. There seemed to be a personal letter along with the other documents, which he took his time reading and re-reading. He took a swallow of his drink, thinking. "Thank you, everyone for coming. Forgive me, but Lady Whitehall and I have much to discuss. “
Chapter 11
"Lord Du-cat, would you remain as well please?" King Edward asked. Once everyone else had left the room, the doors closed. "Isla, I deeply regret sending my emissary may have put your life and the life of your daughter in danger. Please accept my apologies."
"My dear Edward, the dangers were already there. Your emissary brought them to light before their plans were ready. In doing so, he may have saved our kingdom as well as the lives of the king, my daughter, and my own.
"So Micha says in his letter."
"I ask your indulgence for our subterfuge regarding our emissary. He was attacked so many times while with us, we wanted his identity to remain a secret. Very few can recognize C-cats in their different colorings."
"A wise move." He looked at the southern king’s letter again. "King Micha speaks highly of you, Lord Du-cat. I see he named you a lord and gifted you land for your service to him and his family. Your counterpart, Sir Cam Highreacher, was also raised in rank. He is now Lord Highreacher. He has served us well and is a valued member of court. Though I doubt we'll see much of him at court," he smiled with a half-shrug.
I was shocked. "I'm sure he'll be almost as speechless as I am when he hears that he is now a lord, Sire."
Edward chuckled and shifted to clannish. "I doubt it; he seems to speak his mind easily enough."
"But only ever in private, Sire," I replied in kind.
"So, Isla," Edward began. "The north is moving against both of our kingdoms. Does Micha have any plans?"
"To start, he must clean out the snake's pit in his house. We’ve been patrolling our borders from the air, but we are hearing of Westie scouts on the ground. It’s crucial to counter these incursions."
"We have the same problem, Isla. I think perhaps Lord Highreacher can help with the Westie scouts. Perhaps, Lord Du-cat can also lend a hand."
Keeping a straight face, I answered, "I think we can help with that problem, Sire."
"Good. Now, to keep the enemy guessing, Isla, I think you should leave in a huff. Let them think the treaty negotiations have failed." He looked at me. "Have Rook keep in contact with us."
"I will ensure that he does. However, there is one other thing, Sire. Lord Highreacher wishes to open trading houses and will need the crown’s approval to move forward."
"He has it. Perchance, did he mention where the first house would be located?"
"Windford, Sire."
"I'll have the approving documents sent to Lord Windford. What's the name of the trading house?"
"He hasn't decided on a name yet."
"Name it ‘Highreacher Trading House’," Isla suggested.
"Highreacher Trading House it is," he ruled. "Is there anything else?"
“Nothing at the moment, Edward. Together, there’s a chance of saving our respective kingdoms and our peoples’ futures.”
“Stay safe, the both of you.” With a concerned look, the king hugged Isla and shook my hand. “It’s time for the play-acting to begin.”
"Guards!" Guards entered quickly, scanning the room for dangers. "Lady Whitehall and company are leaving. See them to their ship.”
"Very well," Isla replied in a snit, rising from her chair. We were taken straight to our ship and boarded. Mooring lines were cast off, and the ship lifted straightaway.
My first task after changing into work clothes was to check the lines, netting, and balloons. Satisfied that all was well, I returned to the cockpit.
"Back to High Reaches?" Isla asked.
“Yes, it’s time to go home. By the way, what was all that business about ‘Lord Du-cat’ owning lands in the Southern Kingdom?"
"Ah, yes. I was wondering when you would ask. Lord Du-cat does own lands, quite a lot actually. King Micha was very thankful for his life and the lives of his family. He legally confirmed your rank and name as Lord Du-cat and gifted you those lands in the south that adjoin with Lord Highreacher's. But don't get too excited, the only thing there are forests."
"Yeah, I’ve heard that story before. And of course, he'll tax the land."
"Of course, but as a lord you are entitled to keep a portion of the tax for yourself.
“I'm not sure I can afford being a lord, much less two," I sighed, rubbing my forehead.
Feigning sympathy, Isla spoke as though to a very young cub. “There, there. Life is sooo difficult. Two lordships. Lots of land, and the right to establish trading houses. Perhaps, I should get you some hot tea to ease the pain of it all.” Laughing heartily, she walked away.
* * *
Back at High Reaches, life was settling down at least for a short while. Eventually, trouble would either be at our doorstep, or we would have to seek it out and deal with it elsewhere. It was a fight that could not be avoided. But for this moment, we enjoyed the peace at High Reaches.
We moved our personal items into the huts, clothing, books, trinkets and such. When we weren’t performing chores, we had our pastimes. Alyse continued with her clannish language studies, learning quickly. She had a sharp mind, and I enjoyed spending time with her. Isla had started going over the other skyship to assess its condition. Most repairs were minor, and except for occasional help, she handled them on her own.
I had Seeker’s tool trunk, which held his tools and books. Looking through it, I recognized most but not all the tools. As I put everything away, I noticed the lid had a second hinge alongside the large one. Running my finger over it, it wasn’t a hinge but a locking latch with another compartment under the lid. Well, surprise, surprise. There were papers and a large notebook like artists use. The book was filled with drawings, designs, notes, equations, and other references. There were detailed drawings and notes on
guns, cannons, skyships, boilers, propellers, drives, chemicals, and chemical equations. I put all of it back into the concealed space and latched it.
Closing the trunk, I sat staring, thinking of all the knowledge and information it contained. Its loss would mean all of Seeker’s work would be gone, a frightening thought. What would be the best way to ensure that the information was not lost? The trunk or papers could be misplaced or stolen. No security was foolproof, but learning it would provide another level of protection.
The thought of trying to understand all of Seeker’s work was overwhelming. My father had a saying, "How do you eat an elk? One bite at a time." I could do this; it would just take time.
Finally, I got up and went outside. It was a nice night with a cool breeze. Staring out over the valley, my eyes kept drifting over to the second ship. Now that La-mar had a bigger ship, he probably would not want that one. A plan started to take shape, so I let it run, taking my imagination where it would.
* * *
"Is everything alright?" Isla's voice pulled me out of my trance.
"Everything is fine, in this valley at least."
"You seemed 1000 miles away."
"I was thinking about the future."
"And what did you see?"
"Well, if I were the northern king, I would start hitting supply shipments on sea, land, and air. This would create shortages for the military and the population."
“Any thoughts on what we can do to protect ourselves?"
I shrugged. "Arm our skyships, travel in twos and threes, or have an armed escort ship. Tell me, why don't the east and the west have skyships?"
"We would never sell them skyships or train them to sail. We knew that sooner or later they would gain the knowledge. Someone would find a crashed ship and fix it or take one by force, but we decided to keep the technology to ourselves for as long as possible."
"Makes sense. See that ship over there? I’ve been thinking about making it more like the Mistress. Well, at least arm her, if you want to keep the vacuum tanks a secret. But with the design changes I want, it might be easier to build a new ship.”
"Let's go take a look at her."
Boarding the ship, we did a walkabout, looking and discussing whether to modify her or build new. I had been on her before, but, at the time, knew little or nothing about skyships. Isla was the master when it came to sussing out skyship options.
"She's an older design, Cam, but she's solid. You could add a belly gun to her if the sails were reconfigured. Bow cannons could be put in, but that would require tearing out a substantial part of the deck, adding supports, installing the cannons, and then replacing the decking. I’ve seen how modifications to existing ships can led to one unforeseen problem after another. Can it be done? Yes, but with a lot of time, money, and aggravation. It would be easier to build a completely new ship. Also, by building new, it’s easier to get things exactly the way you want. So tell me, where are you going to have your new ship built?" she asked, smiling.
"Here. We'll build her here."
Her smile turned into a frown.
"What's stopping us from building our own ships?" I asked.
"Oh, where do I start? Most of the building supplies are common enough, except for the balloons, tanks, boiler, and cannons. The problem is the skilled builders. Sky shipwrights have special skills, they are not just ordinary carpenters. They build for different strength and weight limits."
"Can we hire them? Bring them here to work? Here’s my thinking, if war comes, the enemy may go after shipyards to destroy production capabilities. But if we had a small shipyard here…,” I pointed around the area. “…two birds, one stone. And you seem to know a lot about ship building, anyway. It can’t be all that hard."
"Ha!” she said as she raised her arms and let them slap back to her sides. ‘It can’t be all that hard,’ he says! It's not hard once you have the expertise, Cam. I’m not a shipbuilder. I know theory and yard management."
Striking a smug pose and lifting my nose slightly, "Well then, we’re halfway there."
"Slow down, Mr. Self-Assured. I agree with you about having an alternate shipyard, and this would be a good place for it. But we need a lot more of…of… everything!"
"So we get it. We build or rebuild our own armed merchant and escort ships. We'll have to get the tanks and cannons from the south. If we try to buy any from the east, they'll want to know why. Then they'll want to buy ships. That's a conversation that kings should have, not me."
"Even if Micha gives his permission, this will take a lot of planning. I'm going to have to think on this for a while."
“Don’t think too long. If this is to be done, it must begin soon. The time to prepare is now, and it grows shorter each day.” I left her alone. I'd not broach the subject again until she did.
* * *
We sat around the fire, each involved in our own pastime. Alyse worked on her clannish book, Isla on varying sketches of armed cargo ships, and I studied Seeker’s small journal.
"What are you reading?" Isla asked.
"A cat's journal. He was an inventor.”
"May I see?" I handed her the book. She thumbed through it, stopping in a few places. "It's written in clannish. Do you understand it?"
"The clannish or the explanations?"
"The explanations."
"Some of the scientific words give me trouble, but I understand most of it.”
She opened the book toward me, showing the pump wheel gun. "Do you understand this?"
"Yes, that is a wheel gun that fires eight rounds before you have to reload it by changing the plate or disc where the rounds are loaded."
"Hmm...I wonder if it would work?"
Decision time. Do I share information or not? After a moment’s hesitation, "It does.”
"Do the notes say it does?"
"No, I've seen the prototype."
"Are you joking? Where have you seen one?”
"It was in the trunk I captured. I gave it to King Edward to be mass produced."
"Why didn't you say anything?" She looked stunned.
"It never came up. Kingdoms have their secrets."
"Would you share these secrets with the Southern Kingdom?"
"Would the Southern Kingdom share its secrets with me?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure."
She handed the journal back to me and went back to sketching. I went back to reading, but it started me thinking about the secrets in the journals. Information can be a weapon; information is power.
Watching Isla and Alyse, I could tell that neither were happy here. Who could blame them? Overnight, they went from home in the capital to living in a cave. Especially Alyse, she had to leave her friends and school, which she enjoyed. When La-mar returned, depending on the news, we would discuss going back to the Southern Kingdom.
To help myself learn, using the paper in the tool trunk, I began translating the pump wheel gun section of the journal from clannish into common. It began slowly, but with practice, I became better. I even thought my drawings were better than the originals.
* * *
It was 10 more days before Captain La-mar arrived with only one of the cargo ships, which was a surprise. Once the ship was moored, the next surprise was that it was loaded with just trade goods, not people.
"Sorry, it took me so long," La-mar said, as we went aboard.
"I take it everything did not go smoothly?"
“Yeah, you could say that. Let’s go down below. I could really use some hot tea.”
As the kettle was heating, La-mar continued his report. "After you left, things got really heated. There was an uprising led by the Greenwells. It failed, but it was bloody."
"The King?" Isla face went pale as she clutched the side of the small galley table.
"He is well and in full control. Lady Isla,” he said, looking at her. “King Micha sends word that the worst is over. You and Lady Alyse may return home."
"Yesss!" Alyse said, pumping a fi
st. We laughed.
"Anyway," La-mar continued. "I crewed the other ship, hired an experienced trading captain from our clan, and sent them south on a trading mission. I also paid my family’s debts, which made me an honored member of the clan. Funny how money seems to do that," he shook his head.
"So I’ve noticed. Good thinking on the other ships. That will start making us money."
"What trading house did you use?" Isla asked.
"The one Cam set up or the one I assumed he set up. A package from King Micha arrived by courier with all the proper letters and seals for the Du-cat Trading House."
I smiled. "King Micha has been busy."
Isla turned toward me. "What are your plans?"
"This changes things,” I sat, weighing my options. "I think you ladies should return to the capital. If she desires, Lady Isla should start running the Du-cat Trading House. Take the old cargo ship from here and put it to work hauling cargo."
"You’re not coming?" Alyse asked, wide-eyed.
"I have some things I need to take care of here in the east, Alyse. Once I have my business dealings settled, I'll come south. Isla, I'll send the plans for the pump wheel gun with you for King Micha. We need to arm our trading ships. The north will start applying pressure now that the coup has failed. Advise the king to put the pump wheel guns into production and arm all southern skyships. Better to have and not need, than to need and not have.”
"You don't want to keep a ship?" La-mar asked in a tone of that seemed to say, “Why in the world would you walk if you could fly?”
"I can’t handle any of these ships alone, La-Mar. I'll do better without having to worry about someone stealing it. Maybe someday, I'll have one with a crew, but for now, I'll stay on the ground. You can drop me off outside of Windford when you leave."
"How long will your business in the east take to complete?" Alyse asked.
"I'm not sure, but you can contact me through Lord Windford if you need."
"Don't take too long. We have a lot of work to do," Isla said, smiling at Alyse.
Chapter 12
Supplies were left at High Reaches for future needs. The tool trunk with all Seeker’s books and sketches came with me. It was decided to split the crews between the three ships as needed, and that all three vessels would travel as a convoy for mutual protection.
Lord of the High Reaches Page 10
