The Porfian Princess: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 4

by L J Dalton Jr.

  Duchess Morinia, Petor’s mother, was there with the whole family. They were all excited for Petor. Morinia saw that Mathias had her son well in hand, so she proceeded to relax and enjoy herself.

  Sharon was excited beyond belief, and the women all decamped to help her with whatever they could. The men set about doing other things. Mike met with Marsha and Alan. Roddrick came along, and pretty soon, Normon joined them. Mike made sure that Normon knew that he was welcome in Centralia, and the young man jumped at the opportunity. He sent a note to his parent letting them know what he was doing.

  Mike and his group spent some time planning what they would do once they got to Centralia. Roddrick had filled them in on what the current thinking about a corporation was at the Palace. It would be a company chartered by the King. There would be stockholders whose only liability was what they put into the company. It would also be limited in what business ventures it could engage in. That would stop the idea of trusts and long-term monopolies. The company would get a monopoly for a certain number of years. Roddrick thought that depending on how much work they had to do, and the effective monopoly would be ten years. The actual terms would allow time for them to get up and running, and then they’d have ten years without competition in the kingdom.

  They would also not be able to establish enterprises in other kingdoms without Nordia’s agreement. All in all, Mike thought that was fair, and he could work with that. He expected that with Duke Marvon’s help, he’d be able to find people willing to invest. He had the weaving improvements and turbine in his resume, so that should help as well.

  Mike discovered that Elizabeth had recruited one of her friends, Talia, to come to Akari with her. Talia was another agricultural expert and had worked closely with Elizabeth in the past. Her husband, Wilhelm, was a doctor. More people from Sudlund were coming to be taught at the medical school, and the first student from Tantulus had shown up. It was clear to Mike that the school would have to be expanded, and perhaps a branch opened somewhere like Sudlund or maybe Sorbia. Things were starting to move

  The wedding went off without a hitch. Petor showed up, and Sharon looked beautiful and was thrilled. Mathias and Annette supported their friends. Roberta didn’t find a lot of eligible men because most were family, but she expected that. Both Brandt and James found young women who were interested in them. And James did his Fred Astaire impersonation, which did put him in a good light with all the girls.

  Mike and Roddrick were talking. “Roddrick, I don’t know what it is, but back home, single women become particularly amorous at weddings. I only am passing on what friends of mine told me when they were single and went to weddings. I was too young when my brother Jack and then my sister Julie got married. Although I did help one of Julie’s friends recover from a bad breakup.

  When my sister Sharon got married, I was away trying to keep a bunch of religious fanatics from killing me.”

  Roddrick and Mike talked about this until Roddrick noticed their wives approaching. “Michael the wives are coming. If they hear us talking about this, they’ll strangle us in our sleep.”

  Both of them turned and greeted their wives. Roddrick took the lead. “Both of you look absolutely stunning.”

  Christiana looked at her sister. “See, Cat, he’s getting better.”

  Catrina laughed. “When Mike says things like that, he just wants to get my clothes off and get me in bed.”

  Christiana looked at her husband. “Well?”

  “I am guilty as charged.”

  She grabbed his arm and started walking off. “Good, I’ve got some things for you to work on.”

  Mike started singing

  Lookin' for some hot stuff baby this evenin'

  I need some hot stuff baby, tonight

  I want some hot stuff baby this evenin'

  Gotta have some hot stuff

  Gotta have some love tonight

  Catrina smiled at Mike. “You told me a woman sang that song, am I correct?”

  “Yes, you are.”

  “Good, that’s what I’m expecting from you.”

  Mike laughed and looked at Catrina. “Shall we?”

  She took his arm and leaned against him, and they went off to their quarters.

  Refuge

  Cherion was a very successful Porfian businessman. His grandfather had been a prospector who struck it rich. He’d found a motherlode of gold in the Sud. He’d set up a mine and started the business. His father had grown it, and Cherion had continued to make it very profitable. He’d sent prospectors out and discovered a major silver mine.

  His two mines produced an abundance of gold and silver. Enough to make him very, very rich. He didn’t skimp on safety in his mines. It was a practical matter. In a land where labor was scarce, and people lived long lives, nobody wanted to work in an environment where a lot of men got disabled or killed. If somebody did get disabled or killed, the man or his family were taken care of.

  He maintained a large estate near the Sud and the first mine. The processing center for gold was nearby. He had another compound near the silver mine. Cherion employed over two hundred men to provide security for the mines and transportation of the precious metals. Once a quarter, he took the output to Peseus to sell to the crown. He always had at least fifty guards with him when he went.

  The family had not done well with producing heirs, that is, boys. His grandfather had only one son, his father. His father likewise only had Cherion. Unlike his father and grandfather, Cherion was blessed with two sons - Derion and Serveus. He had four daughters, who were used for advantageous marriages. One of his daughters, Antiope, was both beautiful and personable. She wound up in the harem of Leonades.

  This was good for the family business. When Antiope gave birth to a son Pindar, Cherion was not happy. He realized the boy was much younger than his brothers, and when one emerged victorious, then the young boy’s fate was sealed. Unlike royalty and high nobles, people like Cherion did not set their sons against each other. They taught them to be partners. They were a blessing. They would carry on the family name and add to the family's wealth and prestige.

  When Bartrum emerged victorious from the vicious competition with his brother, Cherion feared the worst. He was immensely pleased when Leonades sent the boy and his mother south to Peta. His daughter, Antiope, told him that the King was holding him for an advantageous marriage. That made sense to Cherion.

  Cherion had just finished his negotiations with the crown for the sale of his gold and silver. He’d been accompanied by his son Derion so that the young man could see how the negotiations worked. It was pretty simple, Cherion turned his gold and silver over to the crown to be minted into coins. The crown took a percentage for the minting, and then there were the taxes. In the end, Cherion would wind up with about 50% of the value of his gold and silver. Not a bad return on his investment.

  How much he paid for making the coins and how much he paid in taxes was negotiable and varied around a range based on the economy and the needs of the crown. He was supposed to bring all his gold and silver to Peseus to be turned over. In reality, he kept some in reserve and cast them into ingots, which he stored in several secure locations. He even had some stored in Turkmenia. Their banking system wasn’t closely tied in with other kingdoms like Nordia, so his accounts weren’t frozen.

  He and Dorian were staying at the best inn in Peseus. They were eating their evening meal when a man passed the table and surreptitiously passed a note to Cherion. He was astute enough just to pocket it and keep eating and talking with his son and the key members of his company who were with him. Only the head of his security noticed anything, and he said nothing.

  When he got to his room, he opened the note and read it.

  You’ll be having close relatives arriving soon. Keep them safe.

  That could only mean that Antilope and her son would be coming to his estate. They were the only close relatives that he could think of. He burned the note, opened the window, and dumped the ashes in
to the wind. Then he sat and thought.

  He kept his finger on the pulse of the kingdom. He had an agent in each of the major cities. Cherion knew that Tantulus would soon be lost to the kingdom. That meant nothing to him, nor did the embargo. What he did know was that there was a distinct possibility of civil war.

  The Dukes would not take the loss of Tantulus quietly. They would blame the King. His heir, Bartrum, was a conniving and untrustworthy individual. He may stab his father in the back when the time looked right. This move meant that Leonades was protecting his other potential heir and may even strike at Bartrum first. Wheels within Wheels.

  Cherion returned to the estate and prepared as best he could. He made sure that his guard was alert, and he strengthened his defenses. He couldn’t stand against a push by either the King or the two major Dukes. Against the two lesser Dukes or anyone else, he could hold his own.

  He let his family know that Antilope and her son may well be on their way to the estate. “I received a somewhat cryptic note while I was in Peseus. It said that close relatives will be arriving shortly and that they need protection. The only people I can think of that fit that description is Antiope and her son, Pindar.

  We must keep this quiet. They were sent to Peta to keep them safe from Prince Bartrum. The kingdom is in flux. There may well be a civil war as the Dukes are unhappy about losing Tantulus. Blood will flow. Whose blood is the question. I don’t want any of my family’s blood included in that.

  The young man doesn’t know who his father is. All he knows is that he was a rich man. He thinks that he’s dead. We need to keep it that way.”

  His four wives, his sons, and their wives and his one daughter still at home listened carefully. They all understood what this meant to them and the sister that they hadn’t seen in years. Alannis, his wife, and Antiope’s mother mused. “Then we might have a King who is a reasonable man. Hopefully, he got his mother’s intelligence and not his father’s.”

  Cherion looked at his wife, and she looked back innocently at him. He wanted to say something, but he looked at his other wives and realized that he wouldn’t win. He also hoped it was true.

  Ten days later, Antiope showed up with a caravan of ‘merchants.’ her whole family met her. She introduced her son to his grandfather, grandmothers, aunts, and uncles. At first, he was shy. That wouldn’t last. He also had his friends brought with him.

  Arvond, the head of Cherion’s security, was there as well. Cherion turned to him. “Arvond, please integrate my daughter's guards into your security. Please put them in our livery. Also, my grandson and his friends should become familiar with the use of a rapier. I don’t expect them to take on an experienced swordsman. I hope that they would give a brigand pause.”

  Arvond smiled at that. “Yes, sir, I’ll make sure that the guards are integrated, and I’ll set up training for the young men.”

  That evening the family got together and talked. Once Pindar went to bed, they got down to a serious discussion. Antiope told them what she knew, and they shared their information. Together they put developed a picture of what was going on. It appeared that Leonades was preparing to strike. He wasn’t brilliant. But the man was cunning and opportunistic. Cherion couldn’t imagine how he figured out that his heir may be planning to kill him. Antiope had an idea that the information came from his mother.

  “Father, the harems always kept an ear to the ground, so to speak. They had a good intelligence network that they used to promote their children and also protect themselves. Melita is a cunning woman. She would have suspected Bartrum, and eventually, with all that was going on in Tantulus, she knew the King would probably listen. I doubt that she could have said anything before this all blew up.

  I do not doubt that Bartrum and his mother Solara came up with the scheme against the Nordians. It blew up spectacularly. But from what I can understand, the only reason it failed was that the Gods introduced this man from the home world. They were clever enough to convince my husband that it was his idea and leave their involvement in the background. Unfortunately, taking advantage of the King’s ego is not hard.

  I’ve raised Pindar to be prescriptive but not prejudiced or so sure that he’s always right. He’s bright, and I’ve made sure that he is getting a good education. I’ve included the other young boys in our household as well. It would be difficult to make him study if the other boys he knew didn’t have to do so. I want to continue that.”

  Cherion agreed. Pindar soon came to enjoy living with his grandparents. His grandmothers spoiled him, although his mother kept that in check. He followed his grandfather and uncles around, asking questions and listening to their answers. He was learning about the business and how the kingdom worked. Arvond made sure that he was becoming proficient with weapons. Eventually, he’d be quite capable of defending himself. It was turning out to be a good education for a future ruler.

  Leonades knew where his youngest son was. He knew that neither Bartrum nor his mother knew that he’d been moved from Peta. He doubted that the Dukes had any idea at all. If they did, it wouldn’t matter. His plan was progressing. He discussed all of this with his mother, and in truth, much of this was her idea. He also started to put out feelers to the Assassins’ Guild. He had potential work for them.

  Centralia

  They left the Research Station and headed west to meet up with the road to Centralia. Catrina, Marsha, and Alan’s wife LeeAnne road in the carriage and all of them fussed over Jack. LeeAnne was an agricultural specialist, and Marsha’s husband, Dan, was a doctor. LeeAnne had just found out that she was pregnant so raising children and pregnancy were the major topics of conversation.

  The journey took eight days. They spent each night at a regular inn with enough room for their escorts, and the accommodations certainly beat sleeping on the ground or in the carriage. People were happy to meet Catrina and Mike and, of course, little Jack. Jack was doing his best to get mobile. He was pulling up and attempting to navigate by holding on to furniture. Mike told Catrina. “Pretty soon, we’re going to have a laughing, naked baby running down the hall.”

  That brought a smile from his wife. Who told him to get used to it because he’d have enough children that he’d need to.

  When they arrived in Centralia, they were met by Duke Marvon, his wives, and little Thimotie. There were hugs all around, and Mike introduced everybody. His assistants would have accommodations near the palace. Normon would be bunking with a couple of other young men around his age.

  They went up to their apartment and started to get settled. Things quickly moved into a pleasant routine. Catrina worked with Duke Marvon, learning to run the city. Mike and his assistants went over plans to get steel making up and running. In the evening, the two families spent time together. Thimotie found Jack to be very interested. He was disappointed that he couldn’t play with him. Ollie just thought of Jack as another young human he needed to watch over and be kind to. When Darken realized the little human was mobile, he immediately retired to high spots where the little tyke couldn’t get to him. Everyone else just fussed over him.

  Marvon gave the two the lay of the land politically. Who were friendly, who were neutral, and who weren’t their friends. “Unfortunately, your biggest problem is going to be my nephew, Bjorn.” Said Marvon. “My sister is convinced her son is brilliant and should have been the one to succeed me. He isn’t stupid, but he’s nowhere near what his mother thinks he is. Luckily his father sees the truth.

  Make no mistake; he’s going to try and make mischief. There’s no way around it. But if you know, that’s what he’ll do; you’ll be somewhat prepared.”

  Duke Marvon wasn’t wrong. Bjorn felt that the easiest way to attack Catrina was through her husband, Michael. He felt that there were two areas that he could concentrate on. The first was that Michael wasn’t from Nordia or even Cornu. Therefore, he couldn’t fully understand the culture. The second was that he was a soldier, which meant he’d think of war and fighting.

  Even be
fore they arrived, he had his campaign underway. He was holding forth to a number of his acquaintances in one of the better Inns. “I’m concerned about the future of the city. Princess Catrina will be succeeding, my Uncle. Given her training and upbringing, I would expect her to do a good job if she had time to work with my Uncle. Unfortunately, we’ve all heard the rumors that I believe are true that he will be heading to Tantulus in a few short years to take over one of their large cities to add some experience to that kingdom.

  If Princess Catrina could look to a strong husband, that might not be so bad. However, this Count Michael isn’t from Nordia. He isn’t even from Cornu. He arrived here a few short years ago from the Home World. We all know about how different they are from us. He’s still years away from truly understanding us and our problems.”

  He could see that it was having some effect. “We also know that vicious wars consume the Home World. My Uncle spent a lot of time with Dr. Jorgenson and learned from that distinguished gentlemen how horrific they are.

  Count Michael was a soldier and fought in those wars. Just recently, he organized the resistance in Tantulus and showed the rebels how to defeat the Porfians. That’s all well and good. But do we need that kind of expertise here in Centralia? I wonder if he will be a problem for us.”

  One of the listeners spoke up. “He’s done some things that have helped. I understand that he is a scientist as well as a soldier. Cloth production has gone way up since he introduced his innovations in weaving. That means we’re selling finished goods, not just raw material. Also, he’s developed this very fine ceramic, he calls porcelain. It’s a big seller in Astica, which means much less of our gold and silver flows to that continent. Master Lindal is impressed with this water turbine that he’s developed. It’s much better than the water wheel.

  I hear that he has plans for more innovations. If he does that, it will help our local industry and the city.”