News trickling in from Norisle had not been good. The war in Tharyngia did not go well. General Ahab Smalling had made Lord Rivendell look very much the master of war. Smalling had managed to squander the few advantages the Laureates had given him. Lord Rivendell had led through neglect; Smalling managed every tiny detail, demanding reports on powder and shot expenditure by soldier-expecting unit survivors to provide that data for their fallen comrades. He wasn't above flogging those who failed to comply. This included the dead sergeant of a squad that had been wiped out in a rearguard action.
The Prince learned those sorts of details through private correspondence. The official records praised the casualty figures. Smalling was given a knighthood and posted to Her Majesty's colony of Xue Vang, on the Han coast, where he would parade local levy troops before races and other events for Norillian expatriates.
The Mystrian winter was not passed unpleasantly. Though the weather was bitterly cold, with more snow than usual, Gisella's presence brought Vlad great pleasure. She purchased a home in Temperance and the Count took up residence nearby. She often entertained and required the Prince to attend her parties. She invited other friends, including Rachel Warren, for they had become quite close.
Watching Owen Strake's progress toward full recovery had been a joy. Owen had looked horrible when the Prince first saw him. A bullet had passed all the way through his flank and doctors thought bleeding him would help drain toxins from the blood. Prince Vlad outraged them when he dismissed them in favor of Chief Msitazi and Altashee medicines.
Of greatest concern was the magick that filled Owen's steps with pain. Msitazi had managed to unweave du Malphias' magick, but doing so had not been easy. The Altashee Chieftain suggested that had du Malphias been closer, or had chosen to fight him, he might not have been able to accomplish the job.
The gunshot wound responded well to poultices and unguents. Kamiskwa and Nathaniel supplied ample amounts of mogiqua. Because they'd had to dig it out from beneath the snow, it wasn't at full potency, but they made a poultice from the leaves and a bitter tea from mashed roots.
Bethany Frost made certain Owen drank the tea, and she changed his dressings. She also barred any visitors she felt would irritate Owen. The Prince credited her presence with much of Owen's recovery. She and the rest of the Frost family watched over him. Doctor Frost opened his library to Owen, and Caleb even came to treat him decently.
Within two weeks Owen had gained enough strength to walk without more than a cane. Now, in mid-May, one had to look to notice his limp, and that came only after a long day's walk. The Prince had seen pain occasionally on the man's face, but a decoction of pussy willow eased it quickly enough. The Prince admired how the man pushed himself, regaining the weight he had lost and refusing to give in to weakness.
The Prince had only seen Kamiskwa and Nathaniel briefly. This was not unusual, since they both wintered with the Altashee at Saint Luke. Vlad assumed that Zachariah Warren's presence in Temperance made meeting Rachel all but impossible. When they did come around the estate, they generally brought useful news, like that of a Tharyngian ship that had tried to sail up the Argent River to Lac Verleau. A blizzard drove it aground on a sandbar near Fort Dufresne on the east end of Salmon Lake. Before they could get it off again, the lake began to freeze over, crushing the ship's hull. Most of the cargo was saved, but if it was meant for du Malphias, it would take a very long time to reach him.
The nasty weather also worked against du Malphias' fortress in the spring. The Argent River took a long time to clear of ice, so any reinforcements from Kebeton or Tharyngia had to wait. Flooding from abnormally high runoff had damaged port facilities in Kebeton and wiped out spring wheat crops. New Tharyngia's year had not started auspiciously.
Had troops and orders come from Norisle by April, an expedition could have been mounted that might well have taken the fortress. The prince had issued a call for militia units, placing Major Robert Forest in charge of them. He was due up from Fairlee with a levy of their famed sharpshooters. The Prince had resolved to head out on his own come the end of May if he heard nothing from Norisle.
But then a fast packet boat had arrived at the beginning of May, heralding a coming fleet. The message, for the sake of operational security, had been maddeningly vague, but the Prince followed its dictates. So it was that he'd remained in Temperance and even had Baker bring the model to Government House, so he could brief whomever the Crown had put in command.
A clerk found the Prince studying the model. 'Highness, report from the headland: the HMS Indefatigable will reach port this morning. '
Finally. 'Very good, Mr. Chandler, thank you.'
'Beg pardon, Highness, but will you be greeting the ship or receive the commander here?'
'Send my coach for him. Also ask Count von Metternin and Captain Strake if they can attend me.'
'Yes, sire, very good, sire.'
Vlad retired to the Captain's Walk with his telescope. He studied the ship. It came into the harbor under one sail only and dropped anchor well shy of the docks. This struck the Prince as curious, for unless the commander had reasons to keep his troops on board, he should have come directly to the wharves. The signal flags indicated no illness, which was the last thing they needed. An epidemic killing Mystrians and devastating troops would be an ill omen.
Count von Metternin waited for him in his office. The Kessian had dressed in his light blue uniform, having added a red sash with medals and a heavy cavalry saber. His hat he'd set on a chair, its previously jaunty plume replaced by a turkey feather.
They shook hands and the Count smiled. 'I thought it would help our cause if I were properly attired.'
'To be quite frank, I had hoped whomever they sent would not be overly impressed with uniforms and medals.' Vlad sighed. He wanted someone who would take charge and destroy du Malphias instead of an indolent noble focused on his own advancement.
'I do find curious, Count von Metternin, your use of the word 'our'.'
'Do you?' The Kessian smiled. 'I have taken to your Mystria. I find the openness and honesty refreshing. I stand ready to do what I can to preserve this special place, for its own sake, and that of the Princess.'
'Good, a… land like Mystria needs good men.' Vlad turned to the model to cover his surprise. He'd almost said country. Suggesting that Mystria could be its own nation was treasonous. Vlad put it down to his having already called up militia without Norillian authorization. He would have made war on a Tharyngian outpost. If successful, the assault would have been hailed as a Norillian victory and, if a failure, blamed entirely on the people of Mystria.
'Your land breeds good men.' Von Metternin walked slowly around the model. 'You may not notice these things, but I do. A man like Nathaniel Woods, for example, do you know what he would be on the Continent or in Norisle?'
Vlad smiled. 'A highwayman?'
'Quite possibly. He certainly would not be the confidant to a prince. All the forces that could be brought to bear would keep him in his place. Yes, he might enlist in the army and would fight well, but rise to rank even as Captain Strake has? This could not happen. And it could not happen because if it did happen-on merit-men like me, men of the aristocracy, would have to destroy him. His existence threatens the system which exalts us.'
'It sounds as if you do not hold the nobility to be special.'
'You mistake me. I think many are. I am, you are, and there are many more examples. But I wonder if a man like Mr. Woods would not be even more special given the opportunities we have had. He is a very smart man, but he does not read. How much more would he understand and be able to offer if he did?'
The Count pointed at the model. 'Do you not think, had Captain Strake not escaped, that Woods and his friends would have made an attempt to free him?'
'They might have.'
'Defying a direct order is behavior that would lead one to be declared an outlaw in Kesse-Saxeburg-unless, of course, they were successful. Then they would just never be put in a situation to disobey again.' The Count smiled. 'This is not to say that Mystria is free of politics. It is just that the practitioners do not have centuries-long family traditions, memories, and vendettas to guide them.'
Chandler appeared at the office door. 'Prince Vladimir, I am to present Her Majesty's Military Governor, John Lord Rivendell.'
Rivendell! Vlad managed to cover his surprise at first, then Rivendell walked through the door. Whereas he had been expecting an older man, stout and balding, using a cane, a much younger man entered, clad in a uniform of
