“Now, Alec,” Bethany said, “You look much older than sixteen. You’ve changed so quickly! You look like a man carrying a lot of responsibilities around. I hope I can help you to release some of your tension. Please let me know if ever I can,” she insisted.
“You can help me by picking up that end of this frame and helping me take it upstairs,” Alec told her with a grunt, grabbing one end of the wooden frame, and gesturing.
Bethany gamely grabbed the wood, and they transported the bed, piece by piece, up the stairs to a room with a slanted ceiling at one end. “What’s that for?” she asked, pointing to a hatch in the ceiling.
“That’s the way to get out on the roof,” Alec said. “It’s part of the reason I picked this room. Sometimes I like to come up here and watch the stars in the sky at night.”
“You’ll let me know when you go there to see the stars, won’t you?” Bethany asked him.
“I was just about to say I hope you’ll come up and watch them with me sometimes,” Alec said with a smile. “Now let’s go see if we need to do anything for Cassie. Then, you and she probably would like to do some shopping for things you need, I imagine,” he added.
“We do need some things Alec. Every ingenaire who is here does. It’s very uncomfortable to be living as beggars and refugees,” Bethany complained. “You’re exceptionally bright for a boy to realize we have some girl needs,” she batted her eyes in a way that emphasized both the playful retort and the genuine gratitude.
“Well, you know I’ve got money; what do you mean by beggars?” Alec asked.
“None of the ingenaire houses have any money. Whatever remittances they should receive are going to Ingenairii Hill at Oyster Bay right now, while we all sit up here without a copper we can use unless someone gives it to us. Helen and Natha have been very generous to us, and the church has helped many too. But there’s no clear long-term answer on how we support ourselves. It’s why several people are talking about trying to return to Ingenairii Hill now.”
Alec stopped midway down the stairs and turned to look at Bethany behind him. “Return to Oyster Bay? How?”
She saw the incredulity in his eyes. “Some believe that many of us could just go back, and pick up where we left off, now that the killing is over with,” she told him.
“That is the wrong way to think,” Alec replied. “Those men killed the king, and they killed other ingenairii. Elgin told me he was behind the effort to kill Noranda himself. There is no peaceful way to live with them, especially when we are going to face a war with lacertii. We need to unify behind the Duke and protect the Dominion from the evil that is on the inside and the outside.”
“I believe you Alec,” Bethany said. “I’ve never met your Duke, but if you believe he is the man we must follow, then I believe it too. But I also believe that you have to give your fellow ingenairii some hope for the future and a goal to aim for so that they believe their lives are going to get better.”
“You’re right,” Alec said after thinking for a moment. People do need something positive to believe in.” He thought back on Aristotle’s many observations about human nature when they had traveled together in the carnival, and a similar theme had often been expressed; a leader had to give followers a common goal to reach for. “We’ll have to work on that.
“For now, though let’s work on your shopping before the shops all close for the night,” he added. “We don’t need to be so serious on your first day here.”
“No we don’t,” Bethany agreed winsomely, and Alec laughed.
They found Cassie looking out the window of her room in the front of the building. “I’ve never been able to watch so many people before,” she said with a smile. “There were never crowds like this streaming through Ingenairii Hill, and there weren’t this many people in my fishing village in a whole year.”
“Alec has suggested that you and I should go join those folks and do some shopping for necessities,” Bethany told her. “Would you like to go visit around our new neighborhood?”
Cassie was eager to go, and the three of them left the building. “We’ll go down to the plaza so I can get some money out of the bank, then you girls can go do your shopping and we’ll meet back at home. A friend from the Guard, Ellison, is going to join us for dinner. Since he seems likely to marry Ellen someday, I thought we should introduce you to him, because I believe you’ll see him very often,” Alec explained. “And he’s a good man, a friend of mine.”
Alec visited Traders Bank and withdrew funds, giving each girl several golds and silvers. “Buy what you need and don’t worry about it,” he told them, hoping they’d accept the money as a gift without feeling guilty.
“Alec, if we were married I’d take all this and want more tomorrow, just the way my mother did to my father, but I can’t accept this much from you. You’ll go broke!” Bethany said, with the irreverent humor Alec found so appealing, and Cassie nodded her head as both girls held out their hands to return much of the money.
“Believe me, I don’t have to worry about money,” Alec assured them. “All that healing water that Natha sells by the barrel is part of a business that I receive some profits from. The shop is paid for, I receive a salary from the Duke, and there’s no reason to worry. If we decide to get back in the healing business,” he avoided casting a look at Cassie, “we’ll be able to make steady money from that as well.”
“What did you say? After you said ‘I don’t have to worry about money’ my attention faded out,” Bethany said with an even bigger grin. “Come along Cassie, let’s go help Alec support some local shopkeepers. See you at home, dear,” she said as she pecked him on the cheek and then turned and pulled Cassie along with her.
Alec stood and smiled for a minute until they disappeared from view, then decided to go to the palace just to see what was taking place. He had seldom been in many areas in the Duke’s palace, other than the ingenaire corridor and a few public rooms, and wondered if there was a different flow to the pattern of activities.
As he entered the palace, he happened to pass Noah Rastall, the Duke’s adviser, at the main gate. “Alec, what brings you back to our happy palace this afternoon? Do you have a minute to talk?”
With a nod of his head, Alec followed Rastall, who reversed his course and led Alec up two flights of stairs and down a hallway to a room whose three large windows looked out over the bridge to the mainland, the square and the city beyond. “Do you like this room?” Rastall asked.
“Yes, it seems very nice,” Alec said, looking around at the table and comfortable chairs, and the unlit fireplace.
“It’s one of the nicest rooms in the palace, I think,” Rastall said. It hasn’t been used in several months, because it’s your room, and you haven’t ever been up here. The duke was asking me a couple of questions about you between meetings today, and I realized that you probably haven’t been told of some of the items you’re entitled to, and I know you don’t seem to be the type to seek to acquire more. So I thought we might sit here for a minute and chat.”
“Why is this room mine?” Alec asked.
“When you saved the Duke, he made you a member of the River Order, which entitles you to an annual retainer, and a room in the palace. You’ve apparently collected your retainer, but not ever visited this room. More interestingly,” Rastall paused, “you may recall that at one time the Duke also said that upon Airmed’s death you would receive Boston Palace.”
“It’s a very nice estate on the far northern border of the duchy, right along the river,” Rastall told a stunned Alec. “It produces considerable income, all of which will now be yours, of course.”
“What am I supposed to do with all these things?” Alec asked rhetorically. “I’m supposed to try to help rebuild the Guard, I need to turn the ingenairii into a potent force that will work on the Duke’s behalf before they collapse in poverty and self-pity, and we still need to figure out how to fight the usurpers and the lacertii.”
“I don’t know anyone else
who would complain about too much wealth Alec, but the truth is that your priorities are right. If we don’t take care of those other problems you mention, you won’t get to enjoy the fruits of your wealth for very long. By the way, you’ll have to tell me what the ingenairii’s issues are, because I’ve got absolutely no knowledge of their affairs, other than the Duke pays for a number of ingenairii services.”
“The ingenairii who are here have no money, as it was explained to me, and all the payments the Duke is making are going to Ingenairii Hill, along with all the payments anyone else is making, so that the usurpers have those purse strings in their hands. Our ingenairii don’t know what to do, I gather. I’ll know more tomorrow after our first Ingenairii Council meeting in exile and hear what the thinking is. I fear it may be very despondent.”
“Let me make sure we withhold our next payment to Ingenairii Hill and credit it to your ingenairii. Can you pass that message along to the Council?” Rastall asked.
“I’m a member of the Council, so I’ll make sure they know, and I’m sure that will help. If you have any other ideas I can give them to shore up their self-confidence, please let me know,” Alec said. “I hate to admit it, but I don’t know enough about ingenaire administrative functions to know exactly how much they are paid and where the funds are distributed to,” he vaguely remembered once talking to Ari’s secretary about such matters, but couldn’t recall any details.
“I believe our payments are fairly substantial, and we don’t use ingenairii as widely as many other realms in the Dominion do. Perhaps we could arrange to increase our usage, provided Natha continues to be able to sell his barreled water without interference from the Locksforts or the junta in Oyster Bay. The Duke is receiving considerable revenues from that, as you are, I imagine,” the adviser told Alec.
“I expect so,” Alec answered, not really sure.
“Alec, you do astonish me,” the advisor said sotto voce. “The Duke is relying on you a great deal,” he said in a conventional voice, “and I think his faith in you is justified. If you need anything from us, let me know,” Rastall said “You have many resources available to you, and you may not even realize, just as you didn’t realize you have this room or a palace in the north, or the opportunity to give your ingenairii friends some revenues. Just let us know what you want or need for the ingenairii or for yourself or for the Guard.”
An idea popped up in Alec’s head. “I have had an idea for the Guard. I’d like to establish a couple of squads of cavalry that we can use in battle. Is there a way to give us some stable space on the isle here for us to maintain cavalry horses in? That’s besides the money we’ll need to expand the Guard to the size I think it should be in wartime, and to secure the supplies I’ll need.”
“According to the chain of command, that’s something you’ll need to discuss with Colonel Ryder. If he approves, you’ll have everything you need for those things. I can’t imagine that we don’t want the Guard to be as large and versatile as possible,” Noah said. “Talk to the colonel, get his approval, then begin your expansion and implement your training and organization for the Guard. I must be going now Alec. Take good care of yourself,” he finished as he stood to leave. “Here’s the key to your room, by the way,” he added, tossing a large bronze key to Alec.
Alec sat alone in the room for a few minutes, looking out the window. He wondered what Rastall had intended the message to be, because he believed the Duke’s adviser was so subtle that there was always a deeper message hidden in every message.
Not understanding anything but that he should proceed to help Colonel Ryder strengthen the Guard among other things, Alec arose and went back downstairs, locking the door behind him.
He toured the Guard’s square, trying to envision where the stables could be included, and what would have to be removed to make room for them. Satisfied that there was space to accommodate the stables, which would have to be large enough to hold fifty horses, he estimated, Alec turned and returned to the shop on Bakers Street, arriving to find Ellison already present, but Bethany and Cassie not yet arrived.
Ellison and Hannah were wrestling when Cassie and Bethany entered the door minutes later, carrying several packages with them. “Alec, can you help us carry these upstairs?” Bethany asked, and Alec dutifully relieved each young lady of several items, then went upstairs to drop them off.
Dinner was waiting when they went back downstairs, and everyone sat down together to eat a hearty meal of stew prepared by Ellen. Hannah came out of her shell for the mostly female group, and entertained the table throughout, leaving no need to talk about more serious matters. Alec was pleased to watch his new household personalities get along together well, an omen he hoped of good relationships during the unknown length of time they would spend together in Goldenfields.
After dinner Ellison returned to the Palace and the others prepared for the end of the day. “Wouldn’t you like to see the new clothes we bought?” Bethany asked Alec.
“I’ll need to start early tomorrow,” Alec declined. “You’ll let me see tomorrow, won’t you?”
“Maybe, or maybe not,” Bethany said. “Hannah, would you like to come look at new clothes with us?” she asked the child, as Alec said good night to all and headed up to his new third floor room.
Chapter 4 – Rebuilding the Guard
Alec awoke in the morning and decided that he would wear his officer’s dress uniform to his first official day as second in command to emphasize the pride everyone needed to have in the tradition and reputation of the Guard. He realized there was one problem; the uniform was still hanging in the closet of the room he had vacated for Bethany.
Hoping that the water apprentice was awake, Alec gently knocked on her door, and waited. There was no answer, so he knocked again. There was still no answer. Taking a deep breath, Alec pushed the door open slightly. He saw the closet door just a few feet away, but could not see Bethany’s bed. He pushed the door open further and stepped into the room, his eyes locked on the closet door. He opened the closet and withdrew the uniform, then turned. He saw Bethany sleepily looking at him from her bed. He shut his eyes quickly and turned his back to her; he hadn’t realized that she slept without pajamas.
“Alec? What are you doing in here?” he heard a sharpness in her voice that told him she had awakened fully to the situation.
“I wanted to wear my uniform today, but it was here in the closet, and I knocked on your door, but you didn’t answer, so I thought I could pick it up quietly and leave, but you’re sleeping there without any pajamas, and…” Alec realized he was babbling, and stopped.
“Without any pajamas, and what, Alec?” Bethany asked.
“May I turn around now?” Alec asked.
“Go right ahead,” Bethany said.
“Whoa!” Alec said. He turned to find that Bethany was immediately behind him, just inches away, now wearing a fine silk robe in a shade of water blue. “You surprised me again. I’m so, so sorry, I really wanted to just get my uniform and wear it to my meeting this morning to make a point.”
“I think you just wanted to see how I looked in the morning, so you’d see me at my worst,” Bethany said, self-consciously running her fingers through her hair.
“Bethany,” Alec said tenderly, “if this is your worst, the men in the Dominion have no hope!” He kissed her gently on the forehead, feeling especially close to her as she looked so sleepy and vulnerable.
“I need to go get dressed, and head to the Guard compound. I look forward to seeing you this evening after all the meetings are over,” he told her as he headed to the door.
“Alec, is there anything you’d like for us to do today?” Bethany asked.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, if you wouldn’t mind taking Cassie to Merle’s quarters this morning, please ask him if he can test her for healing ingenaire powers,” Alec suggested. “I had asked Ari to do it for me at Oyster Bay.”
“I know she’s good at healing little things, but what are the chanc
es of there being two healer ingenairii born together after none for centuries?” Bethany asked skeptically.
“I think that when we were on the beach by the quarry, the night I, I healed her, I may have put so much of myself into her that I passed some healing powers to her – maybe,” Alec said. “She’s said she felt how bonded we were as it happened, and I did too. I don’t know what to think, and I think a test will help us all to know something one way or another.”
“Oh Alec,” Bethany said softly, and gave him a hug. “You love her that much, Alec? You are such a good friend for her. I remember when you ran away to save her, and the way you looked when she revived, and how exhausted you appeared after that. Could you have reduced your own powers by giving her some of yours?”
“I don’t know. There’s no way to really know. I managed to heal my own wound, and that took a great deal to do, so I doubt I’ve lost anything noticeable,” Alec said, wondering whether such a thing was plausible.
“After you go to Merle’s, please come to the Guard quarters and ask for me, and I’ll introduce you and Cassie to Colonel Ryder,” Alec suggested, letting go of Bethany’s hand. “I will see you later,” he said as he left the room and returned upstairs to get dressed.
Minutes later he was back downstairs, and with a breakfast pastry in his hand, he headed out the door on his way to the Guard quarters.
His uniform drew attention as he entered the palace grounds, with every Guardsman he passed stopping to formally salute him, and he stopped to salute each of them, pleased to see the respect they had for the uniform, and hopefully now for him.
When he arrived at the commander’s office he found Ellison already there, waiting for him. Ellison looked up from his desk, saw Alec’s uniform, and stood at attention, waiting for Alec to return his salute.
The Loss of Power: Goldenfields and Bondell Page 5
