Parno's Company (The Black Sheep of Soulan Book 1)

by N. C. Reed

  “Hello, Parno!” she exclaimed, kissing him lightly on the cheek. “I’m delighted to see you back so soon!”

  “Thank you, my lady,” Parno bowed slightly. “I have brought this for your home,” he told her, handing over the basket. Inside was a bottle of very good wine, a smaller bottle of excellent brandy for the Duke, and various delicacies he had acquired from a sutler from Nasil. Edema took the basket with a gracious bow.

  “You honor us, and our home, with your presence, Prince Parno.” Handing the basket to a maid, she took Parno’s arm.

  “Edward is away, I’m afraid,” she told him as they entered the house. “Perhaps I can impose upon you to take lunch with me on the veranda?”

  “No imposition, Lady Edema,” Parno assured her. “I’d be delighted.”

  *****

  “So,” Parno said as they sat at the small table on the veranda, “I’d like to hear more about your travels in the Nor lands, my Lady.” Edema looked at him closely for a moment.

  “Very well,” she nodded. “I suspected as much, since you were so interested in what I said at the ball. It’s odd, you know,” she added. “When I spoke to Edward about my suspicions, he simply ignored them. Politely, of course.”

  “I’m not ignoring them,” Parno told her plainly. “I am not satisfied that all is well between us and the Nor, despite their aggressive outreach to the King. I have suspicions, but no proof. I need evidence of what is happening in the North, Edema. Something I can show to Memmnon, if it’s warranted.” Edema nodded again.

  “As I said earlier, Parno, all I have is suspicions as well.”

  “But you have seen, Edema,” Parno insisted. “Whereas I have not. Tell me, if you will, what you have seen.”

  For the next hour, Edema rattled off the things she had noticed during the Willow’s last trip to Norland. Some where small, especially taken alone. Others, however, stood out at once to someone who knew what they were looking at.

  “And you say they now have much greater numbers of mounted soldiers?” Parno asked, as he clarified what he’d been told.

  “I honestly lost count of the groups, companies I suppose, of mounted men that we encountered along the trade routes, Parno. It became so common place, I came to ignore them, I’m afraid.”

  “I’m more interested in their skill, at this point, than in their numbers,” Parno admitted. “If those you encountered are an example of how well they’re training their cavalry these days, then that, alone, should be cause for concern.”

  “I thought that as well, considering that it has always been our own advantage in horsemanship that has helped us prevail in the past,” Edema replied. “Granted, I’m not a military historian, but I can read.” Parno laughed at that.

  “You’ve no need to be a historian to see good horsemanship, and count flags, Lady Edema,” he assured her.

  “I’m used to being ignored, I’m afraid, when it comes to such discussions,” Edema sighed. “I’ve come to expect it from everyone, I fear.”

  “Well, I’m not ignoring you,” Parno replied. “In fact, I have a favor to ask. When do you think you will go north again?” Edema looked surprised at that.

  “I usually don’t go this time of year,” she admitted. “But Edward will always try to make one last trip before the winter sets in. In fact, that is why he’s not here, today. He has another expedition scheduled to leave in a fortnight.”

  “Could I prevail upon you to take that trip?” Parno asked bluntly. “More importantly, would you make notations of what you see?” Edema looked stunned.

  “Parno, dear boy!” she exclaimed. “I wouldn’t know what information would be useful to you!”

  “You needn’t know,” Parno told her calmly. “In fact, it’s better that you don’t know, to be honest.” He was skating on thin ice here, and knew it. He was all but asking Edema Willows to be a spy.

  “What I’d like you to do, My Lady, is simply keep a diary. Something airy, and light. What most men would call ‘typical female drivel’,” he laughed. “For instance, ‘we passed a splendid looking cavalry unit today. All one hundred of them turned out in uniform, looking and stepping smartly. What a wonderful sight to see!’ That sort of thing.” Edema looked at him for a moment, then burst out laughing.

  “Oh, my boy!” she was nearly whispering. “How sly and clever you truly are. Is your brother, Memmnon, aware of how smart you are?”

  “I doubt it,” Parno replied honestly. “None of them care much for me, in truth.”

  “Tut, tut,” she shook a small finger at him. “None of that in my house!” She leaned back for a moment, studying her visitor.

  “Very well, Parno,” she agreed. “I will do this. I don’t know how much good it will do you, mind. But I will do it.”

  “Thank you, Lady,” Parno sighed. Taking her hand, he kissed it lightly. “I appreciate this. My suspicions may be nothing, of course, but. . . .”

  “But if they are something, it’s best that we know it now,” she concluded. Parno nodded. He was about to speak again when Benson appeared.

  “Beg pardon, milady,” he spoke quietly, “but the Tinker is here. You wished him to look at the mantle clock, I recall.” Edema stood suddenly.

  “Yes, I did,” she nodded. “I’ll see him at once.” Benson bowed, and departed. Edema looked at Parno.

  “Come with me,” she ordered. “This is a man you should meet.”

  Parno wordlessly followed Edema back to the front portico of Cumberland house. He wondered who or what a Tinker was.

  As the two of them followed Benson out onto the porch, Parno saw a man standing at the foot of the large steps. He noted that one of Berry’s troopers was nearby. He wasn’t doing anything obvious. Just watching. Parno sighed, and turned his attention to the man before him.

  Tall, slender without being skinny, prominent nose and cheekbones. Skin dark, though not just from the sun. The man was dressed in blacks and browns, including a flat brimmed black hat. Several gold rings dangled from his ears, and a smaller chain hung around his neck.

  He’s a gypsy! Parno realized with a start. Well, probably not an actual gypsy, as I learned about in history. But a descendent of them, I’d wager.

  “Tinker!” Edema enthused. She allowed the man to take her hand, which he kissed lightly. He smiled in return, showing a mouthful of white teeth.

  “Hello, Lady Edema,” his voice was firm, yet soft. Cultured even, Parno decided.

  “I’m very glad to see you, Tinker,” Edema said, turning to Parno. “Prince Parno McLeod, may I present the Tinker. Tinker, this is Prince Parno, of the House McLeod.” Parno stepped forward, offering his hand, which the Tinker accepted. Firm handshake, but not overtly powerful.

  A very confident man, Parno decided. He liked the man at once.

  “Pleased to meet you, Master Tinker,” Parno smiled.

  “The pleasure is mine, Milord,” Tinker bowed deeply. “I apologize, Lady Cumberland. I did not know that you were entertaining.”

  “Oh, stuff!” Edema slapped the Tinker lightly on the shoulder. “Come inside, you swindler. I really am glad you’re here. I wanted the Prince to meet you. Come, and regale us with tales of your travels. You will stay the night. No, no, I insist,” she pressed when the man began to object. Her eyes were twinkling.

  “I think you and Parno will have much to discuss.”

  *****

  The Tinker was as much an entertainer as he was a repairman, Parno decided. Edema had allowed most of the staff to gather on the Veranda as the Tinker spoke, all the while working on her mantle clock.

  As his fingers deftly searched for, and then repaired the problem, the Tinker told them of his last several stops, news that he had gathered, and a few tidbits of non-malicious gossip. Parno could tell from the way everyone had gathered so quickly that this must be a normal routine.

  “How often do you pass this way, Master Tinker?” Parno asked, later on. The clock was repaired, and Edema had ordered food brought for him
. It was still early enough in the day that the sun warmed them.

  “Depends on which way the wind blows me, Milord,” the Tinker shrugged. “I was here last time, in May I believe.” He shrugged again. “Dates mean little to me, Milord, traveling as I do. When I am here, I am here. When I am there, then I am there.”

  Parno smiled at that, suddenly very envious of the Tinker. To have such freedom! To go, and do, and see, and be, without anyone telling you that you shouldn’t, couldn’t or won’t be allowed to! How marvelous that must be.

  “I envy you, Master Tinker,” Parno told him honestly. “I would, I think, likely enjoy work such as yours.” The Tinker looked at Parno for a moment, head cocked to the side. Finally, he leaned back in his chair.

  “You want to ask me something, Prince,” he remarked. It was a statement, not a question. Parno regarded him carefully for a moment, then nodded.

  “Yes, I do,” Parno agreed. “But I would not wish to offend you, and I worry that my question might do so.”

  “Ask your question, Parno McLeod,” the Tinker told him firmly. “There will be no offense taken, if none is meant.” Parno chuckled at how carefully that had been phrased.

  “I was wondering if you ever traveled among the Nor lands,” Parno admitted. The Tinker smiled.

  “Indeed I do, Prince McLeod. But it is Soulan that I call home.” Again, Parno noted how that was spoken. The choice of words.

  “I wonder if you might tell me of what you’ve seen there,” Parno leaned forward. “Certain things, anyway.”

  “Things like whether or not the Nor have learned to ride a horse, perhaps?” he smiled. “About whether or not they are buying large numbers of horses from the Wild Tribes from across the Great River? Or perhaps that they are buying large numbers of cattle from our own Kingdom in order to feed their people, yet their people remain hungry? Things like that, perhaps?” Parno felt a chill at the words, spoken so calmly, yet so full of information.

  “Just like that, Master Tinker,” Parno agreed. “If you’re willing. I’d be glad to compensate you, of course. In whatever way you may desire,” he added, trying to make sure he didn’t offend the man.

  “A Royal Favor, eh?” the Tinker smiled. “That might be. . .interesting, milord. Perhaps you and I should take a walk.”

  *****

  “I have no love for the Nor, Prince McLeod,” the Tinker told him. “They persecute people like me all the time, when they can find reason. I give them no reason. I work for them, repairing their machinery, their gadgets, and still, they look at me as if I am something to be removed from their shoe before entering the home.” He looked out across the field. The hay had recently been cut, and the smell was almost intoxicating. The two men had walked a short distance from the house, with one of Berry’s men trailing at a respectful distance.

  “I know what it is you want, Prince,” he said finally. “And I will do it. It will require money,” he warned. “I have not the resources I would need to travel in the Nor lands during winter. And I would need gold to provide those who gave me information. It is the way of things,” he shrugged.

  “I’m aware,” Parno grinned. “And I can give you anything you need, including the gold. But, will it be safe for you?” The Tinker laughed at that.

  “I’m safe nowhere, Milord,” he replied. “My kind have been hunted almost to extinction. I, myself, am a half-breed. But it will be as safe as anything else I would do across the border.” Parno considered that.

  “What do you need, and when?” Parno asked. As the two walked back toward the house, the Tinker explained what he needed, and why. Parno listened raptly, but his ears perked up even further when the Tinker began to tell him of the things he’s already encountered.

  “Their discipline in the ranks is a savage as anything I’ve ever seen, milord,” Tinker told him. “And I’ve been traveling their lands for a good while. Their horsemanship has improved, but it’s more than just individual horsemanship. The troopers, and their horses, move as a unit. Well drilled, well instructed, and well equipped. They are rebuilding their army from the ground up it seems, and doing a magnificent job of it.”

  “And I keep wondering why, considering their overtures to the South, of late. Some of which allow me to travel openly now, whereas before I was forced to slink about.”

  “Yes, surely that is a coincidence,” Parno remarked drily, and the Tinker laughed.

  “I cannot promise you the results you seek, you know,” the Tinker told him as they neared the house. “I can go, and I can look. That is all.”

  “That’s all I’m asking,” Parno nodded. “That, and when you return, you visit me at my home, and place all that you’ve seen on a map for me.” The Tinker considered that briefly.

  “Yes, I will do that,” he nodded finally. “I have your word that a favor is owed?”

  “If I am able to grant it, yes,” Parno agreed. “Bear in mind, however, that I am limited in what I can do, Master Tinker. I’m not exactly well liked in Nasil.”

  “It will be within your power, milord,” the Tinker assured him. “But if you renege, then I will be forced to curse you,” he warned, eyes twinkling.

  “That might actually improve things for me,” Parno told him ruefully. “I’ve been cursed since about an hour after I was brought into this world.”

  The Tinker’s laughter rolled across the hills.

  *****

  At Edema’s insistence, Parno had also spent the night at Cumberland House. Berry had dispatched a man back to the Canton to inform Colonel Nidiad, informing him of the change in plans. Edema had placed Parno’s escort in an empty bunkhouse, not far from the main house. Two men stood guard through the night, despite Parno’s insistence that it was unnecessary. Berry was almost as immovable as Darvo himself.

  Parno and the Tinker had talked quietly into the wee hours before the fire in Parno’s room. The dark man had told the King of everything he had seen, or heard, and Parno made notes of it. If Edema was disappointed in that the two of them had left her early in the evening, she showed no sign of it.

  Finally, with the lamp oil beginning to grow low, the two men had retired.

  The next morning Edema had a good breakfast prepared, for Parno and the Tinker, and had sent a similar repast to Sergeant Berry’s men as well. Parno offered his good-byes to her perhaps an hour later.

  “It was good to see you, Parno,” Edema smiled from the porch. “Please, do visit again when you have time. Hopefully Edward will be here next time.”

  “I will come back whenever I can,” Parno replied truthfully. “I do enjoy spending time here. It’s peaceful. Homey.” Edema beamed at that praise, and then Parno was off, heading for Cove Canton.

  *****

  Once he had returned, Parno set off again, ditching his escort deftly by simply telling them to report to the stables. He would ride the training fields, and then go to his office. He hated to lie to Berry, but would make sure the man didn’t get into any trouble.

  He rode a short distance away, to the east. There, near an abandoned line cabin, the Tinker waited. Parno smiled, and returned the man’s greeting.

  “I made sure no one would know that we had met here,” Parno told him. “I’m sure that my men are trustworthy, but the fewer who know of our connection, the better for you it is, I think.” The Tinker nodded.

  “Very good, milord,” he replied. “I don’t know when I will be able to return, exactly. I cannot simply ride through, you understand? To variate from my usual patterns will draw attention. I’m already changing enough, just going North when I usually go south.”

  “How will you explain that?” Parno asked, curious.

  “Ah, there is a woman, you see,” the Tinker shook his head theatrically. “I must see her again, though it be the death of me.” Parno laughed. The Tinker, for all his seriousness, had a sense of humor.

  “You know,” the Tinker said, pocketing the bag of gold the Prince had just handed over, “I could just take your gold and r
un with it.” Parno nodded.

  “You can,” he agreed. “And you might, I suppose, if you take a notion. But I think you won’t.”

  “Why?” the Tinker asked, his own curiosity pricked.

  “I don’t really know,” Parno admitted. “I just have the feeling I can trust you. You’re trusting me,” he shrugged. “It has to go both ways.”

  “That is true,” the Tinker agreed. “I will do as best I can for you, Prince. I have no love for the Nor. Well, at least not their Emperor, and their ruling class. Their common people are not so unlike Soulan’s, to be honest.”

  “I’ve heard that more than once,” Parno shrugged again. “Perhaps, one day, we’ll be able to live in peace. But I don’t think that day has come, just yet.”