The Porfian Princess: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 4

by L J Dalton Jr.

  Juggling a toddler and baby gave both Mike and Catrina an idea of what to expect. Catrina let Mike know that there would be children in their lives for a long time. Based on their experience, they felt that they could do it. However, the idea of having a helper like Slaine would be a good idea.

  This interlude gave Mike a good idea of what is involved in running a kingdom or a duchy. Catrina already had a good idea. They were supposed to handle all the routine matters and anything that needed immediate action. Any critical items that could be put off should wait for the King’s return.

  Mike dug in to help Catrina with all the paperwork and other administrative duties. One, in particular, was the weekly ‘court’ held by the ruler of the city. This happened mid-week, and anyone with a grievance or petition to the court could present it at that time. Typically there were maybe a dozen a week. The first week over thirty people were waiting to petition Princess Catrina.

  She sat on the throne, and Michael sat a bit lower down on her right. He was in his best dress and maintained a neutral look, as did Catrina. When it was announced how many people were waiting, they just looked at each other. It was clear to both of them that this was likely that they would have some spurious requests.

  Mike had told Catrina how when his father was in the Navy, people who wanted to get out claimed they were suicidal and would then go to the doctors and get a medical discharge. One evening a young sailor came up to his father and held out his wrists. “Mr. Mulvaney, I can’t take it anymore. I just tried to kill myself.”

  Mike said his father could barely see scratches on his wrists. So, he said to the young sailor. “Son, I can barely see the cuts. By the time you get to the doctors, there will be nothing there, and they’ll send you back. You need to do a better job. Let me lend you my gun.” When he turned to get the gun, the young man ran away. The moral of the story is - don’t fall for a bunch of malarkey. Put an end to it quickly.

  It was just as they both suspected most of the supplicants were there to see if they could take advantage of a young ruler. As far as Mike could tell, Catrina saw through most of them. Only once did he interrupt to ask a question that would clarify the issue and expose the subterfuge.

  That seemed to work. The following week there were a little over twenty petitioners. One of those got a bit out of hand, trying to berate Catrina. Mike stood up and, in his best command voice, said. “Didn’t you hear the Princess, sir? She disagreed with your position. Now, I suggest that you move along. If you have a problem, you can come back and talk to her father about it. Do I make myself clear?”

  The man looked at Mike and looked like he was going to argue but then thought better of it, bowed, and left. That particular incident, plus the inability to really put one over on the Princess, soon spread throughout the city. Many of the people weren’t surprised and made fun of those who tried to trick the couple. Also, in the back of people’s minds was that Michael was there to support his wife, and crossing him may not be the brightest idea.

  Both of them made sure to walk the streets of the city, talking to the citizens and getting a feel for situations. Jack was in a carrier that Catrina used. It hung in front of her, and Jack could look and see everything. That way, they could uncover problems while they were still small. Mike called it ‘Managing by walking around.’ Catrina agreed with him. She liked to get out and see the people. She especially liked to get with young mothers and just talk about children and issues in raising them.

  They visited the three libraries that had been established in the city and made sure that there were children’s books and toys available. Also, at Mike’s suggestion, the libraries had storytime twice a week. There the children could come and be divided by age and have stories read to them. Older children could read them on their own and have help with them if needed. These were after the school day.

  School ran from morning to about noon. That gave the children time to learn, but also time to help their parents. Society was still at the point where child labor was an essential part of the economy as many businesses were family affairs. The lack of people did mean that every pair of hands was valuable to the economy. This was especially true in the villages.

  By the end of the month, Mike and Catrina had fallen into a good routine. It did mean more administrative work for Mike, which cut into his time planning for and working on his various projects. But they were partners. It did forge a more consultive relationship between the two. Mike discussed more about his projects, and Catrina gave more input. Her perspective proved valuable. She did have a better idea of what was possible than her husband.

  The King Returns

  When Fredricke got back from the wedding, they were delighted with the way Catrina and Mike had run the city and the kingdom while they were away. Christiana and Roddrick were also impressed and made sure to get briefed by them.

  Roddrick wanted to know what Mike did. His answer was pretty simple. “I just helped Catrina with the routine paperwork, and when needed, I was the ‘duty asshole.’ If somebody needed to be hammered, I did it. Besides, who would believe a beautiful young woman could do that?”

  Catrina replied. “You’re just looking to score as you say, ‘brownie points’ with me; it might work.”

  They told Christiana and Roddrick about the extra petitioners and how it took a couple of weeks to get back to normal; once the word got around, Princess Catrina wasn’t a pushover and easily fooled.

  “I wonder if father is going to put some of that work on Roddrick and me since you seemed to have handled it so well. It does take up his time. Grandfather has delegated most of that to him, and I expect that he’ll do the same with us. Just to help us get trained.

  I expect that he and grandfather will still take care of relations with the Dukes and foreigners.”

  It took a couple of weeks, but that’s what came to pass. Catrina helped out with the work. Mike went back to his projects. He welcomed Normon warmly and encouraged him to get Petor’s building technique documented. It would help make building more efficient and, in a land where manpower is a limiting factor in many things, that’s a good thing. It would also get Normon into the swing of things. Mike gave him a couple of books to start reading. All of this would give the young man a firm foundation for a career as an engineer, and there was a strong demand for such people.

  At dinner one evening, King Fredricke complimented both Catrina and Mike. “I see that the city and country were in good hands. You both did an excellent job. I expect that you’ll do well in Centralia.

  Marvon does tell me that the nobility is back to plotting and maneuvering. I don’t think we keep them occupied enough. There are always a few that think that they should be running things. Sometimes, I think that maybe I should bring them in and make them handle all the administrative tasks that take up most of the actual governing of a city or a kingdom. They wouldn’t find that so glamorous. Now to other things.

  Congratulations. I also see that you handled a toddler and a baby admirably well.” The King looked over at his wives who’d taken Jack, and he’d fallen asleep on their shoulders. Lauden was back to sitting between his mother's eating his mashed-up food. Jack now recognized Lauden and smiled and laughed when he saw him. There were times when he made it clear that he wanted to see what the older boy was doing.

  After dinner, Catrina collected Jack and brought him up to their apartment. He’d been fed and was sleeping, absorbing the food that he’d gotten. As far as Mike could tell, the little tyke was hitting all the markers that a baby should hit. In the back of his mind was ‘The Choosing.’ That was where the unwell and genetic defects that weren’t weeded out in pregnancy were eliminated from the gene pool. He was confident that that wouldn’t be Jack’s fate.

  A few days later, the King announced at dinner that Noria was marrying Harlold and that Alla was joining Prince Arken and Elizabeth’s marriage. It would be a double wedding, and it would be held in Koronus. “Christiana, Roddrick, the two of you will be represen
ting the crown at that wedding. I want you to keep your eyes peeled and report back to the Crown Prince and me how the transfer of power is going and me. There is a list of people I want you to bring with you.”

  Christiana agreed and had some questions. “Certainly, grandfather, we’d be thrilled to go. I’ve got a couple of questions. Why is the ceremony for Harlold and Noria being held in Koronus and not Sandford? I can see why Alla joining the marriage wouldn’t happen in Akari. Do you think that King Menounos will attend the ceremonies?”

  “Good questions Christiana. First, everyone wants to show as much support for Duke Harlold as possible. Queen Lonidia is sending Mathias to the wedding. That will give him a chance to establish relationships with the young Duke and Prince Arken. Everyone expects Arken to succeed Menounos, so both the Duke of the second-largest city and their neighbor and what looks like the future king are important relationships for Mathias to form. He’ll succeed his mother, and good relationships with such neighbors are important.

  As you may have heard, Menounos’ former Porfian minder, Samos, met an unfortunate end. Everyone suspects that the King arranged it and that the death sent a message to the remaining Porfians that things were changing. Yes, I expect that he fully intends to go. I wouldn’t think the Porfian who tried to stop him would live that long.

  He, too, is waiting to see how things go in Koronus. He’ll have similar problems in Akari. He’ll learn from how that goes. What things work and what didn’t. They’ll be developing the blueprint for the transfer of the other cities.”

  He then turned to Brandt. “Brandt, I want you and your friends to go as well. It’s not too early to start establishing all sorts of relationships in Koronus. They will be looking for new business partners. You and your young friends are getting to the age where this will be important for all of you. Meet people and let me know your impressions. Young people aren’t nearly as discreet as their elders. You and your friends must be like your elders when there.”

  Brandt nodded. He was thrilled with this assignment. He also suspected that his grandfather was thinking of marriages. It wasn’t too soon to let people in Tantulus and Sudlund see the potential husbands in Nordia. He took that with a grain of salt; he didn’t have to worry about that for a while yet.

  After dinner, Christiana, Catrina, Mike, and Roddick retired to Mike and Catrina’s apartment. Jack was sleeping away in his aunt’s arms. Not a care in the world. The topic turned to the upcoming wedding in Koronus. Roddrick and Christiana wanted to know more about the city and the journey.

  Mike told them what he knew. “I never really saw the city, but I did see the countryside. It could be a rich land, but now it is poorly managed. The roads are a joke. I think they’d be difficult to navigate after the spring rains. They’re just wide dirt roads with very poor drainage. The villages are poor. The houses aren’t much better than huts. They don’t have the resources they need to exploit the land fully. I’m sure that Elizabeth will work to change that.

  There are no inns. Once you get past Vinfarm, you don’t run into an inn until a couple of days out from Sandford. Sandford is a well-maintained city. Much smaller than even Midport. Once you leave Sandford, there are no inns until you reach Koronus.

  The one thing I would warn you about is that there are probably Porfians in the city who are unhappy. They may be a danger. So, I’d go armed at all times. The wedding may be an event where they’d try something.”

  Catrina added her thoughts. “I agree with Michael; everyone should have a derringer on them at all times. As to the travel, on the way there, we had to bathe in the streams until we got to the first inn near Sandford, or we would have stunk terribly. On the way back, we brought along a tub. I was pregnant and wanted to keep as clean as possible. Michael helped a lot and made use of it.

  You’ll probably be traveling with Mathias and Annette, along with Petor and Sharon. I expect that Duke Edwin will send somebody from Midport to the wedding. They should have the most trade with the two kingdoms coming over the Nordia Pass.”

  Christina mulled that over. “Well, I can certainly sleep in a traveling carriage, and we’ll definitely take the tub. The ladies will certainly want to use it.” She looked at Roddrick. “The men will probably use it as well if they want to sleep with their wives. Of course, they could sleep on the ground with the horses.

  That does remind me, though. We’ll get to meet this Alivina. I understand she’s very attractive. Then we can see for ourselves how suitable a reward Michael received for rescuing the village and avenging her husband.”

  This caused Michael to blush. Both sisters laughed. “Catrina, he’s still so cute when he turns that shade of red. What’s he going to do when you bring another wife into the marriage?”

  “I’m sure he’ll turn red, but he’ll adjust fast enough.”

  A couple of days later, Mike and Brandt sat down to talk. Mike asked Brandt. “Well, dude, how did it go at the wedding. Learn anything?”

  “Yeah, Marta is still mad at me.”

  Mike cracked up. “She’ll eventually forgive you. A good lesson about women. You’ll just have to be more discreet in the future.”

  “I learned my lesson. She wasn’t mad at Rolf, though. She took him out for some private lessons. Rolf was more than happy to go with her. I did meet Princess Sylvia of Turkmenia. She wasn’t too happy with me either. I couldn’t understand it until I found out her parents wanted her to marry me, and she wasn’t going to be pushed. We made a deal - no marriage. After that, we got along great. I danced with her and some of the other girls there. It was fun.”

  “Well played, well played with Sylvia. I know Turkmenia is looking for a strong royal family, and she’s apparently the brightest of the daughters. If she can find a good husband, they’d make her the heir. You should be flattered that they think that highly of you. But I agree with you and Sylvia; that would put me off too.”

  “I understand what you’re saying. I met her older sister and her husband. Nice people, but they don’t hold a candle to Christiana and Roddrick or you and Catrina. They might be able to run a small duchy, but a kingdom. I don’t think so.”

  That evening he told Catrina about it. “Serves my brother right. Marta is turning into a very attractive girl. You keep telling me that some of this is influenced. Do you still think that Brandt will end up with Princess Sylvia?”

  “I do. This like a story where they start out uninterested in each other. Then become friendly. Finally, ‘Here comes the bride.’”

  Catrina laughed and threw a pillow at him.

  Getting Organized

  Duke Harlold had put together a governing council. Dedessus was made a Baron, and he handled security. They had recruited a finance minister from Sandford. Dante was the nephew of the Duchess Morvinia’s finance minister and jumped at the chance to take on the role in Koronus. He’d been an assistant to the finance minister along with the minister’s son. It was inevitable that the son would take over from his father, so the nephew saw this as his opportunity. Arturos, his stepfather, was in charge of commerce. His future wife, Noria, was also on the council. Prince Arken, Elizabeth, and Alla were all ex-officio members.

  It had taken a couple of months to take stock of where they are. Finally, they were ready to start planning and instituting the changes that needed to be made. The first order of business was finances. Baron Dante gave the report. “Your graces, I’ve gone over the finances for the duchy. Since the ‘tribute’ didn’t get to Porfia, we have a very good reserve. The amount of gold and silver we take in on taxes is far more than what we need to meet our current expenses. I know from talking to Baron Arturo that there are many things that need to be done. Roads, better housing and sanitation in the villages, and upgrading the sanitation facilities in the city.

  We’ve got the funds to start on that. We should be able to cut the taxes on the villagers by 60% and not have an issue. That will give them the where with all to pay higher taxes to pay for the improvements we will b
e making to their villages. Their taxes will be lower, and they’ll be much more productive. The higher taxes the merchants pay now are fair. As we transition from Porfian ownership, we should expect that we will have a drop in revenue for a few years. I would expect that will increase.”

  Harlold was pleased. “Thank you, Baron Dante, for that summary. I’ve read your detailed report as I think most of us have. It’s an excellent summary of where we are financially. At least our finances are in good shape. Now I expect everyone else will tell me where we have to spend it.”

  That brought some smiles from everyone. “Baron Arturo, would you please let us know about the state of commerce in the duchy.”

  Arturo started off. “The city itself is in good shape. We’ve got a transition council going, as you all know, headed up by Prince Arken. The idea is to move the businesses into the hands of our own people and out of Porfian hands. That will happen slowly. Before your father was overthrown, we had established excellent trade relations with Sudlund. Those will have to be revived, and we should be able to trade with the other northern kingdoms as well.

  The main impediment to that is the state of the roads. As you know, the roads between here and Sandford, which is the closest city in Sudlund, are poor, to say the least. We should undertake the effort to build a road as they have in the northern kingdoms between here and Sandford. I’m sure that Duchess Morvinia would be happy to build her end.”

  At that, Noria spoke up. “Yes, she would. We’d discussed this before we left, and we all wanted to re-establish that trade. It would mean a lot to both cities. The geography means that a lot of goods going through the Nordia Pass are going to go through here and Sandford. We not only need roads, but we also need good places for people to rest, eat, get needed repairs, and farrier services as needed. We all experienced the journey from Sandford to here, and it’s not like a journey in the rest of Sudlund, to say nothing of Nordia. My mother and the Queen will need to work on such rest stops from Sandford to the Nordia Pass. But that is their concern.”