“If you would, Governor … Lady…” offered Gahlen, who did not say another word until they stood outside on the portico, waiting for Taenyd and third company.
“You must understand, Governor … at times … my sire is not quite what he might be.” Gahlen spoke in a low tone.
“That can happen,” said Quaeryt, his voice equally low. “I am but Lord Bhayar’s instrument. Lord Bhayar would not wish Extela to suffer more than necessary because a High Holder does not like the idea of a young governor.”
“I will do what I can, sir.”
“As will I,” replied Quaeryt evenly.
Gahlen stiffened. “He is old … sir.”
“Then you must guide him.”
“That is … not easy.”
Quaeryt nodded. “I wish you well.”
Gahlen watched as they mounted.
Vaelora said nothing until they had ridden out through the ornate stone and iron gates of the holding. Then she turned in the saddle. “He was insulting … and rude. Even his son was shocked.”
“He’s the kind that believes that any younger man in authority knows less than he does. Anything I said would have been disregarded. He won’t even listen to his own son. He’s probably threatened to disown Gahlen if he crosses him in any way.”
“What will you do?”
“Nothing … if he keeps his word. I don’t have to like him. He doesn’t have to like me. He just has to be cooperative.”
“He won’t be.”
“We’ll have to see.” Privately, Quaeryt had no doubt that Vaelora was right, but he wasn’t about to act against a High Holder unless and until Wystgahl broke his word.
Quaeryt and Vaelora had no more than dismounted in the post courtyard when Major Heireg came hurrying toward him, followed by Jhalyt.
“Governor, we’ve got a hundred barrels of flour from High Holder Aramyn and fifty from High Holder Chaffetz. I paid them for what was delivered, as you instructed.”
“Start baking bread,” replied Quaeryt. “I’d like to have a thousand loaves by midmorning tomorrow.”
“Sir … we’ll run out of coal for the ovens before long at that rate.”
“Coal shouldn’t be that expensive now, should it?”
“No, sir,” Heireg admitted.
“We’ll also need a wagon set up to take the bread into Extela tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir. We can do that … but … they’ll overrun the teamsters.…”
“I’m not sending it without a large force. I’m well aware of how desperate some of the people are. Have you seen Major Meinyt or Major Fhaen?”
“They were in the officers’ mess, sir.”
“Good. Thank you. I appreciate what both you and Jhalyt are doing.”
As the two men turned and left, Vaelora looked to her husband. “You’re going to be busy. I’ll be in our expansive quarters trying to wash up.”
“I know. It’s scarcely what you’re-”
“Not another word, dearest. The quarters are far better than those inns … or sleeping on a hard wagon bed.”
That might well be true, but Quaeryt still felt slightly guilty, which was probably what Vaelora had in mind, as he walked into the officers’ mess.
Meinyt and Fhaen were sitting at the end of the long table talking.
Quaeryt quickly motioned for the two majors to keep their seats and took the chair next to Meinyt and across from Fhaen. “Do we know when to expect Commander Skarpa?”
“We received word that the rest of the regiment should arrive sometime late tomorrow. They had more trouble with the bridge in Gahenyara than they anticipated. The river had washed out most of the base of one of the stone piers, and they had to reinforce it before they could put the planks in place.”
“Tomorrow, we’re going to begin restoring order to Extela. We can’t afford to wait until we have the Civic Patrol back on the streets.” He paused. “Have the engineers started on repairs on the factorage?”
“Major Dhaeryn says they’ll begin tomorrow. They found a mason and some helpers. He thinks they can keep the materials to less than ten golds.”
“That’s good.”
“Yes, sir. Rather not have the men spending too much time riding the streets.”
“That’s why I didn’t want to have you sending out more than a few patrols until we could provide some food as well.”
“They’ll still fight over the food,” predicted Meinyt.
“No … they won’t. We’ll take enough men to protect the wagon, and we’ll make everyone line up if they want the bread. We’ll have men every ten yards in each area, and they’ll have orders to stop anyone who tries to steal from those given bread. If they have to kill a thief, so be it.”
“People won’t like that.”
“If we don’t do it, then whoever gets food will likely be robbed or end up killing those who try to rob them. Oh … I’ll be with you, and I’ll make an announcement first about how things will work.”
“That will help … for about a quint,” replied Meinyt.
“Then I’ll make it again after we make an example of someone, as many times as we have to. I just hope it doesn’t happen too often.”
“You do have a way of persuading people, sir, “ offered Meinyt, “but still…”
“I know. It won’t be easy, but it won’t get easier, either, especially if we wait any longer. But if we establish order that way, the Civic Patrol, once it’s back on the streets, shouldn’t have quite so much trouble.”
“I hear we’ve already gotten more supplies,” said Fhaen. “How did you manage that?”
“I just told them that Lord Bhayar wouldn’t be very happy if they tried to profit excessively when his ancestral home had been prostrated … and that I’d make sure he knew it, if it came to that.”
“That won’t make you popular with the High Holders, sir.”
“No. But I’d rather have them unhappy than have Bhayar being the unhappy one.”
Meinyt gave a sardonic laugh. “That’s being caught between lava and a flood.”
Quaeryt didn’t dispute that.
26
In the end, on Samedi morning, Quaeryt decided to take twenty bushels of potatoes along with all the bread that the bakers had turned out and, just in case someone wanted it, two barrels of flour. The column left the post later than Quaeryt had planned, partly because he had to draw out golds for Major Dhaeryn for the Civic Patrol building repairs and go over the notices to the former patrollers with Jhalyt. Even so, it was just before eighth glass before they reached the point on the avenue a mille north of the post gates, where the dwellings began to cluster together-what most would have called the southern edge of the city proper. The two majors and Quaeryt had determined that he and Meinyt and the troops would ride to the south market square first, where they would surround the wagon and then let small numbers of people walk inside the perimeter of mounted troopers to the wagon to get bread … and potatoes, if they wanted them.
As he rode beside Meinyt, with a company directly behind them, followed by the heavily laden wagon, flanked by men with bare sabres, and then by another company, Quaeryt could see that the sky over Mount Extel was clearer than it had been since he had arrived, and the air was cool, but not chill. The patrols that he had sent out on the previous days appeared to have had some impact, because the sidewalks were largely swept clear of ash,
