by P. S. Power
Gwen tilted her head back and forth, then smiled.
“Yes? With a note so people don’t expect to hear from me for about a month? Or… Maybe I should get with Agatha now and see what she advises me to do? That or my other main advisor.” That being King Ferdinand. Except that this didn’t feel like the kind of thing to bother the guy with at the moment. He was busy after all.
Talking to former prisoners and working on how to get at the rest of them. She felt a bit bad about not staying on to do that part herself, but the truth was, they knew where she was going to be. Gwen was on call for them all, if they recalled she was there for them.
The other side might even be true as well.
Gwen was shaking a bit, though it wasn’t from fear for once. It was just that her blood sugar had kind of crashed. The butler, Charles, nodded to her.
“I’ll see to that. Would you like me to get in touch with Madam Longbranch? I’ve memorized the number.” He didn’t say why that was, but Gwen knew it was probably from Mrs. Vernor having called the lady so many times. She was pretty much the other woman’s best friend. The one that had stuck with her through everything. Including the messes with Katherine.
“That would be great. Thanks, Charles. Right now I need to go and change, then find something to eat. A cookie or something? A biscuit?” She thought that the man would get the strange names she had for a few things, but she didn’t snack on things like that most days, so she tried to be clear about it.
The man smiled at her, then glanced at her leg.
“Some juice as well? Very good Miss. I’ll see to that all immediately.”
She grinned, betting that he was going to be faster than she was, if she didn’t get a move on. It was a race, after they got inside, the man taking off without even looking back. Even as Carlisle, the footman, stood by the door, still armed. Just in case anyone changed their mind.
“We’ll work this in shifts. Can you take the first one? No longer than two hours?” She sounded funny saying that, but wasn’t going to rest easy without a guard on the door at the very least.
“Yes, Miss Farris. I’ll see to a schedule. Should I place you on it? You were in the thick today…”
She nodded and rolled her eyes at him, since he was staring at her leg. It was a bit improper, no doubt, since unlike Charles, Carlisle was just built, dark, handsome and as far as she knew both straight and single. Gwen wasn’t, so she didn’t want to lead the man on. A thing that he’d probably take as her not wanting to mix with the hired help, even though that wasn’t her point.
“Wake me up at four in the morning? I can get a walk in and patrol at the same time.”
That got a single nod.
“I’ll see to that as well, Miss.”
The man didn’t leave, so she did, hurrying away. It wasn’t exactly late at night or anything, but she’d gotten a good, fairly early start on the day which meant it wasn’t dinner time yet. Not even close enough that she was going to be expected to not eat for an hour or two when she needed to have something to balance her out.
So, she quickly showered, rewrapping her leg with the same gauze, since it was still clean. The wound was sealed over, even though it hadn’t been earlier. That was the power of a good healer. Peter was getting great at it, she was willing to bet. More than most ever would be.
When she dressed, it was in a skirt and blouse. One of the new things that she’d had made for her, before Katherine had taken off. It hadn’t been worn before. It was a light summer garb, she thought. Not that it was all that hot yet. The day had been nice there, but it was early in the spring still.
There was no spirited running down the stairs, since she was sore. A crin was no joke as a weapon, after all. The blow had been a glancing one, or she might well have lost her leg. So luck had been with her that day, she knew. That and foolishness. No one hearing about what crazy Gwen had done should have thought of it as anything other than that. Small children would have worked out a better way of doing things, rather than what she’d done. Rushing in like it made sense.
People should have come to get her. To take her off to the funny farm.
Instead they gave her a small plate of cookies, along with some rather sour cherry juice. That was in a large tumbler, though the biscuits, which were almond, were sweet and crunchy. Fresh as well, from the taste of them. That was served in the front room, along with Ethyl who seemed worried about something.
It wasn’t hard to figure out what that was.
“My dear! We should get you to a hospital! Or… or… perhaps a holiday? I know a nice spa in the country. Near the high mountains, in the west? We call those the Rockies here…”
Gwen smiled then, nibbling a tasty snack before speaking.
“Hm? We call those the same thing. I’ll be fine though. It’s been a day, but tomorrow will come.” That had been her motto for a very long time. Even when she hadn’t been certain it was the truth.
Mrs. Vernor took a long slow breath, shuddering on the exhalation.
“But… Those people thought that you were being held against your will.”
That, the way it was said, explained a lot. The woman was, rightfully, mortified by that idea. So she was trying to get Gwen into a safe, secure place. Not to protect her from the noble crowd. No, it was to show that Gwen was loved to them. Virtue signaling.
It wasn’t a horrible idea. She was just too busy for that. There was a war on, after all.
“No. I’m leaving for a trip in a few days anyway. After that… We should put together a drive for the soldiers. Knit them caps for the winter, or send care packages. Not all of them will have family to do that for them. We can’t send them girls, but we can send pictures, letters, that kind of thing? Or is that already happening? Or… Can we send them girls? I bet that would go over well. With the troops, I mean. Not so much back here.”
Ethyl snickered a bit and smiled, sitting across from Gwen, smoothing her dress as she did it.
“Provisions and comforts? That isn’t a bad plan. I should… Well, I should see to that, but I doubt that anyone will join us, if I do.”
“No? Countess Goebbels will, I bet. Agatha… If they can’t get a good crowd in… Oh… Get with James’ wife? Ella? I haven’t seen her for years now. The children must be huge. There’s no reason that this shouldn’t be taken large. Also, we need kids to work the shipping routes. The Students Service? I have places for some of them. We can find more.”
The words got Ethyl to hop up, calling Agatha at home, from the other room. Gwen found out about it when one of the serving ladies came in and told her that she was needed.
“Miss? Ma’am asked me to get you? The telestator in the second chamber. Countess Goebbels?” The woman, Laura, didn’t seem nervous about her being there or anything. She’d been around for a while though. Long enough that the poor woman had seen some pretty real shit, just working as a maid. Assassins… Protestors… It was probably a bit different than working in a normal house would have been for her. Hopefully it wasn’t too stressful for her to handle.
Gwen didn’t need help to get to the other room, or a guide. She got one however, with Laura standing by her arm the whole time, ready to grab her if she started to fall due to her wounds. It was sort of obvious, but not mentioned in the slightest by the woman.
“Thanks, Laura. I should be good now. I can call for you if not?” She meant it for once. Normally it would have just been lip service.
She really had been kind of hit pretty hard though. That meant not being a moron about her care.
“Yes, Miss. I can stand in the hallway?”
Gwen grinned at her.
“Not needed. I’ll yell pretty loud if I need help! Go ahead and do what you normally do. You’re too busy to be bothered by me that much.”
That got a smile in return, which was a bit conspiratorial for some reason, instead of just polite.
“Certainly. So much for getting to just stand around for hours.” The woman smiled, which was fu
nny, for some reason. Gwen thought that was the point.
In the room, Ethyl stood in front of a rather nice telestator on a tall table. The whole thing gleamed. At least the wooden part. The silver globes were made of what seemed to be the actual precious metal, instead of lead. The wood was a dark teak color. It was, in all, the nicest such thing that Gwen had ever seen. It was even nearly the perfect size for Ethyl to be standing there, her right hand out, touching the center of the five globes with her right hand. It was simply resting on the top of it.
For a long time Gwen hadn’t known why they did it that way, instead of just pushing a button. Now she kind of did. There was a constant drain of magic from the person that kept the line open. Even if they were a low magic individual it worked, since it took nearly nothing. Being alive was enough to make the link happen. Not the rest of it, which took a crystal pack on the bottom of the unit, but that single part was almost free.
You could also do it with a button, but the original inventors had all been magicians, who had magic to spare, so they’d made it that way. Over time they’d altered the basic pattern so everyone could use it.
“Here she is, Countess Goebbels. Gwen has a rather ambitious plan to aid the troops. Also a need for the Students Service? I fear I haven’t been as involved there as I should have been. Matters…” Her voice trailed off, as Gwen moved in.
“Hi! We should meet and go over things? Tomorrow… Or in three weeks? I’m leaving in a few days. Working on an airship. As a loader. They’re shorthanded, since a lot of the crews are former Air Navy, meaning they reenlisted if they were young enough.”
The voice from the device was pleasant, if a bit high pitched.
“Ah! Hence the jobs for the kids? That would go over well. We’ve been working on the idea of some kind of children’s patrol as a way to keep them engaged. No one has wanted to do that. The Europans aren’t attacking the kingdom yet. Do we risk frightening the poor dears, do you think?” She was asking a real question, not just making some kind of point.
Gwen thought that was right. The truth was, she knew, that she wasn’t that great at reading people most of the time. Not when they were dealing with her. Especially people that came from a different world than she did.
“I think we should? It will probably be a bit scary for them, but having people do anything at all is better than just sitting at home, worrying about things they can’t affect. We should press for advanced officers training, too. Maybe enlisted as well? Combat training, conditioning drills for… Really, everyone. Just in case. As well as the comfort boxes.” She just said the words, but Ethyl nodded suddenly.
“I like that name. Comfort Boxes. Bits of candy, treats, letters and news from home? What else do the men need?”
She didn’t know what was provided to them, but there was probably something left out. Shields would be nice, she didn’t doubt. They didn’t have those however. Not in the world she was standing in. Others did, but she hadn’t worked out how to get any yet.
“I don’t know. I can find out, if I try. For that matter, I can ask around and work out what kind of thing might be desired that way. I’ll start on that now. So, a meeting? Say at noon tomorrow? Is that too early? It isn’t for a party, but I really should send a real invitation to you. Some others as well.”
That got a nod from Ethyl, which looked a bit tight. Stiff to be honest.
“There are some others who should be requested as well. I… Would it be too much to invite the new Queen?” That was being addressed to the Countess directly, so Gwen kept her mouth shut.
“I don’t know. I can ask my husband to put a word in? That might not… I hear that she’s a bit…” There was no sound for a few seconds.
Gwen grinned.
“Bitchy? I think that’s the word you’re looking for. It isn’t really true. She’s a bit of a pain at times, but a lot of that is just her getting her feet under her. That and her stupid dislike of Westmorlands. As if regular people can’t blow up?” It was a bit hard sounding, but got a polite chuckle.
“I wouldn’t have been that harsh, but it is close to what I’ve been notified about. You’ve had the pleasure then? I was led to understand she wasn’t out for the season.”
Gwen smiled about it all. That part was mainly down to her being a horrible guard. Taking vacation time like she was. They didn’t have enough women to travel with the Queen.
“I have. Really, I think we can get her in for this, if we’re careful about it all. We might have to move to a different location. I mean we had people protesting here. Trying to Free Gwen. That’s got to stop. Otherwise they’ll all forget to do it if I’m ever actually locked up. I’ll be willing to accept suggestions on that?”
There wasn’t a lot right then, but they did set up a time to meet, starting at noon the next day. Even if it was there, in an unsecure location.
Chapter ten
It was interesting, but the next day at noon a half dozen people showed up for the party. It wasn’t one, even if it was kind of hard to tell that. There was a full lunch served, which was nice. Enough so that everyone that came seemed impressed with the service.
The conversation was all on business however. Gwen was called on to go over the basic ideas, since it was kind of her thing, but Countess Goebbels took over, along with Ethyl after ten minutes of yammering. Then they worked out some basics for each Comfort Box, which included some kind of candy, a shelf stable baked good, socks, scarves and woolen mittens. Not gloves, since the men would have their leather fingerless fighting sets for that part.
They couldn’t guarantee color of course, but the best guess was that something dark or at least not shiny and bright would almost always work. On top of all of that, school kids and young women were to be encouraged to write hopeful letters to help keep morale up. It wasn’t exactly hookers for the front lines, but Gwen had to figure that anything would be better than nothing at all.
The Countess looked at Gwen, then smiled.
“Miss Farris? I was thinking last night and it occurred to me that the best way for you to assure everyone that you are indeed free, would be to move. That, or marry. I hear that you have a new gentleman friend? That’s exciting. Is it a secret from his wife?” The words got a scandalized gasp from both Agatha and Ella.
Ethyl went very quiet however her eyes downcast.
Gwen just shrugged.
“He’s single, actually. We just started dating though, so bringing up more than that might be a bit premature. Worse, people have already hinted at the idea, which almost has to be freaking him out. I suppose I can move. It’s… Not to seem mercenary, but this is a pretty nice place. I doubt a single occupancy efficiency would be as comfortable. Which… I don’t really need. I can live with less.”
Ethyl took a deep breath, then tightened her lips. So much that they went white.
“That… It’s fine if it’s what you wish, Gwen, but even if people are going to talk about us negatively, this is your home.”
Oddly enough, it was James’ wife Ella who spoke then. She looked a bit better rested than she had several years before. The woman wasn’t a grand beauty, but she wasn’t old or anything, either. She was a bit quiet, or had been each time Gwen was around, but the last years had been good for her it seemed.
Then, her husband had gone from being a fancy chauffeur for a bratty rich girl, to a shoe manufacturing mogul in that time. Mainly while Gwen was gone.
“Why does it matter? Gwen can just go on the telesar and tell everyone about her real life. A big portion of things is that no one really knows how she’s being kept. We hear drips and splashes about her life. That she’s off fighting the Europans for instance, with her own hands. Or she’s off to work like a slave on an airship… We never get to know what she’s doing or thinking, not directly or in full.” There was a pause, but no one spoke, everyone just watching Ella.
Who had a finger on the pulse of the world, as far as real people went.
Agatha nodded then.
/> “What do you suggest then? How can we address this?”
Ella flipped both of her palms up then and stared at Agatha directly.
“Give her a telesar program. Once a week or so? People could write in and ask her questions directly that way. She could share what her world is like and other things from her life. Programs like the Comfort Boxes and Students Service? It wouldn’t have to be forever. A year or two? Once a week?”
Gwen smiled and shook her head, ready to beg off on that one. Agatha just started to nod.
“Right. Ethyl, you and Robert own WGN, don’t you? I bet we could get them to free up an hour or so for Gwen. Excellent idea, Ella!” The older lady didn’t look over at Gwen at all, just locking eyes with Ethyl.
Who, being a traitor, smiled and clasped her hands together.
“That… just might work! Gwen dear, what do you think on the subject?”
She wanted to grumble, feeling more than a little tired of life already. Instead of doing that, she sighed. It would give her a way to get the word out on some things. It sounded dangerous to her, really.
“I think that I’ll bomb, horribly. Which, before you ask, means that I believe I won’t be very good at it. Not that anything will blow up for real. Still, I suppose I could sit there for a while each week and talk nervously about things, if anyone wants to bother listening? I wouldn’t give me a good time slot though. Maybe a morning show? Something that won’t lose a lot of advertising revenue.” Everyone at the table looked at her like she was insane then.
Except Agatha, who nodded.
“Don’t underestimate your drawing power, Miss Farris. I happen to know that Brian Weathers is about to retire in a few weeks. He has a daily program, at noon. A newsie… I bet that he’d be willing to sit with you. Especially if it doesn’t come out of his pay envelope at the end of the week. A darling man, Brian. You’ll like him, I think. Very honest.” Her eyes glinted a bit.
Gwen had actually listened to his program a time or two. He was a horrible loudmouth, who made a living basically being a shock talk show host. Which didn’t mean she couldn’t work with him. Even if they fought on the air, it could please his audience, given what they normally tuned in for each day.
