‘Yes, well.’
They could hear horses now, coming in from the southeast, and the Bolkando camp was suddenly stirring, as exhausted, suffering soldiers left their bivouacs to line the main avenue between tent rows. Voices were lifting — and now Aranict could see the vanguard. She squinted at the pennants. ‘Sire,’ she said to Brys, ‘Letherii, yes, but I do not recognize the heraldry — what battalion is that?’
‘A new one, I would hazard,’ Brys replied.
The battalion commander halted his troop with a gesture and then rode forward until he was ten paces from Brys and the others. He dismounted in a clatter of armour, removed his helm and then walked to kneel before the prince.
‘Idist Tennedict, sire, commanding the Chancel Battalion.’
‘Please stand, Commander,’ said Brys. ‘Your arrival is most welcome. Idist Tennedict — I believe I know that family name though at the moment I cannot place it.’
‘Yes, sire. My father was one of your brother’s principal stakeholders, and numbered among the first to go under on the Day of Losses.’
‘I see. It seems, however, that the Tennedict family has recovered from its … misfortune.’
‘Yes, and the king has seen fit to reward us, sire — ’
‘Excellent.’
‘- in the form of community service, under his new programme of Indebtedness to the Community, sire. As the middle son and facing few prospects, I elected to take the military route for my community service, while the rest of the Tennedict family set to reforming the impoverished conditions of the indigents out on the Isles.’
Abrastal made a sound somewhere between disbelief and disgust. ‘Forgive my interruption, Commander. Am I to understand that the king of Lether, having ruined your family’s wealth, has since seen fit to demand from you a period of public service?’
‘That is correct, Highness.’
‘How is
Idist managed a faint smile as he regarded her. ‘On the matter of fairness, Queen, King Tehol had much to say to my father, and all those others who profit from the debts of others.’
Abrastal scowled. ‘Speaking from a position of great privilege, I find that offensive.’
‘Highness,’ said Idist, ‘I believe that was the point.’
Brys spoke. ‘Commander, you bring not only yourselves, but also resupply, is that correct?’
‘It is, sire. In addition, I carry a written missive from the king, addressed to you.’
‘Do you have it with you?’
‘I do, sire.’
‘Then, please, read it to us.’
The young commander’s brows lifted. ‘Sire? Perhaps, some privacy …’
‘Not at all, Commander. You seem to have the voice of a drill sergeant as it is. Lend it to my brother’s words, if you please.’
All at once the man was sweating, and Aranict felt a sudden sympathy. She leaned close to Brys. ‘You might want to reconsider, love. This is your brother, after all.’
‘Yes, and?’
‘His own words, Brys.’
The prince frowned. ‘Ah, right.’
But Idist had begun. ‘“Greetings to Prince Brys from King Tehol the Only of Lether. Dearest brother, have you slept with her yet?”’ Wisely, he paused then and looked up at the prince. On all sides, from the soldiers within earshot to Abrastal and Spax, there was deathly silence. Sighing, Aranict lit a stick of rustleaf.
Brys stood, one hand over his eyes, and then, with a helpless gesture, bade Idist continue.
‘“Never mind, we can talk about that later, but let it be known that as king I can command from you every detail down to the very last, er, detail, all the while promising that my wife will never hear a single word of any of it. Since, as I am sure you have now discovered, pillow talk can be deadly.
‘“Best I turn now to the dull, official content next, so that we can later return to the juicy details. I feel justified in such expectations since I have discovered that women actually engage in the most horrendously explicit discussions of their menfolk when in the company of their bosomed friends, inviting tit for tat, and what tit could be more inviting than tat?”’
Spax burst out a harsh laugh, and then ducked. ‘Sorry, that was just me, being appalled.’
Idist resumed. ‘“Official now. Bugg formed up his own battalion, found an able commander for it, and then hired a fleet to transport said reinforcements along with all the resupply he could wedge into the holds. And then, following my proclamation of the sovereignty of the indigents out on the Isles, Bugg oversaw all the Teblor who, strangely, rushed to join the Letherii military with the aim of accompanying the Chancel fleet. Between you and me, the Teblor have to be the most contrary people I have ever known. Anyway, with all of Bugg doing this and Bugg doing that, I am understandably exhausted and I graciously accept your sympathy. To continue, the battalion now has three hundred Teblor in its auxiliaries. I believe some ancient prophecy has them in an advanced state of excitement.
‘“Just as my very own prophecy of your impending love-life having now come true (I trust), why,
‘“Sincerely as I am to put into practice a new period of austerity here in the palace, I have just discovered the error of dictating this missive to my wife. So I will take this moment, before fleeing the room, to send to you all my love, and to extend my warmest greetings to everyone else whom you have forced into the awkward position of hearing this.
‘“With deepest affection, your loving brother, King Tehol.”’
‘Prince Brys,’ murmured Abrastal, ‘you have my sympathies.’
Brys sighed, and then, in a remarkably calm and steady voice, he addressed Idist. ‘Commander, when will the battalion arrive?’
‘They have already begun their march, sire. Two days behind us. I left orders to push on into the night and rise before dawn, so with luck they will arrive by dusk tomorrow.’
‘Thank you, Commander.’
As they walked back to the Letherii encampment, Idist and his troop maintaining a respectful distance behind them, Aranict took Brys’s hand. ‘All that cheering and laughter — that was in gratitude. You do realize that, don’t you?’
He frowned.
‘Brys.’
‘He does it on purpose, you know. Sees me as far too serious — but then, it just so happens I am about to lead my soldiers into war. We have marched a long way and have suffered deprivations, and our enemy awaits us, fit, rested and probably thoroughly entrenched. That enemy will be choosing the ground, and to make matters worse they will probably outnumber us by a wide margin.’
‘Nothing he said made light of that,’ she responded. ‘And by his gesture alone, you must know that he worries for you. This resupply gives us a fighting chance.’
‘I know. And of course I’m grateful — how could I not be?’
‘Idist did warn you.’
Brys shook his head. ‘It’s not the letter, Aranict.’
‘It isn’t?’
‘What just happened back there played out in Tehol’s mind even as he dictated the lines to his wife. He knew I would want his words read out loud — my brother is diabolical and thoroughly shameless. I have spent my whole life walking wide-eyed into his snares, and none of it bothers me. In fact, I cannot help but admire his genius. Every time.’
Aranict was baffled. ‘Brys, what is it then?’
‘I cannot recall, Aranict — and I have been trying — I cannot recall Tehol ever saying that he loved me. And that alone is the measure of his concern, and it’s shaken me to the core.’
