flying around and the crown is demanding millions of golds from us. People are sitting around talking about killing a man and at the same time saying you should fix his blind eyes first with magics that would probably cost more than any one person holds? That's… It's not sane is it? You don't heal a man, just to kill him later or…” The man kept shaking and looked down.
Right. Good point, that wasn't sane. For his part, Tor had mainly been avoiding even thinking about the issue. He wasn't going to kill Smythe himself, but didn't want to be killed either. Fixing his eyes felt like a bad plan for that very reason. He'd taken off the man's hand, which had to mean that if the guy could, once he'd healed, he'd be coming after him again, right? The Counselor was a warrior after all, old as he was. And deadly clever. He'd nearly managed to kill Tor while he was wearing the best shield available.
True, Tor didn't have a lot of choice at the time, but anger wasn't very rational, not as a rule. As to the rest he just didn't know. Obviously County Printer wouldn't be paying him millions of golds. For one thing, he didn't know what he'd do with it even if he had it. He literally didn't have a place for it. Not at all.
What should he do?
“OK…” He said, not really thinking first, the words just tumbling out like they sometimes did. “The gold… Well, instead of paying that all at once Holly, how about you set up a small delivery of it for me at need? I don't need to have it all at once or even really at all, unless you won't give me the gold I have in my trunks? Then you have to pay up!” He smiled at her and winked. “But really, I don't need that much. How about we…”
What? He didn't have a clue. What did he think they should do with the money? If he'd been able to finish school, he probably would have eventually learned about economics. How to run a building shop if nothing else. He kind of wished Rolph, with his accounting skills, was there to help him. He'd know what to do. School? Could he finish that? Only if he had one to go too.
“Right, so, why don't we support the Lairdgren School, since we both went there, scholarships and stuff and, maybe… Start another one here in Printer?” Tor looked around expecting people to tell him it was a stupid idea, but he'd learned a lot in school, and while it wasn't all good, there was value in learning.
Holly stood and bowed.
“As you wish. How much do you want annually? For your personal draw?” She said, sounding slightly cold.
“I… I don't know. Maybe five hundred gold? I probably won't need that all the time though and I may not need it each year at all, honestly I probably won't, could you keep it for me, until I need it? Is that all right?” Tor hated how meek he sounded, but she looked angry. Well, she had until he spoke the amount, then she suddenly smiled.
“Really?” Holly ran around the table and hugged him in a less than dignified fashion, picking him up off the floor. “We can do that! I thought you'd want a million a year or something. God Tor… you could break us forever if you took it all at once. The interest could sink us even this way. Not that I don't deserve it, but the County doesn't. My wrong doing shouldn't hurt them. What do you want for the schools?”
That, he decided would have to wait. At least until he had the time to build the new school buildings or have it done, and then they'd have to find teachers and all that. Maybe Hardgrove, the dean at Lairdgren would have suggestions? They also needed to get kids into place. A lot of students had left Lairdgren when the war started, seeking military glory or other stupid things like that. Like anything good came of killing? He said all this out loud which started him laughing after a while. That earned him some puzzled looks.
If he felt like that, then what did he do about Smythe? Well, the only real solution seemed to involve him talking to the man and seeing what could be worked out.
There was suddenly so much to do. And almost none of it had anything to do with building. He was a builder… That's what he should be spending his time on, not this garbage. Tor stood and stretched, then plunked back down. So what should he do first? He asked the room and oddly enough it was Kevin, the butler, who answered.
“Sir… if it's all right for me to make suggestions?” The man began, but didn't say anything else.
“With me? Always. I know I'm not so brilliant I shouldn't listen to other people. I may ignore you, but that shouldn't stop you from saying what's on your mind. Or hitting me in the back of the head with a rock until I listen, if I'm doing the wrong thing… What do you have for us?” Tor expected a suggestion that they all bathe, or ready themselves for dinner, something like that, but what the man said next was a real surprise.
“It seems that you have an organizational problem sir. Right now you need to reestablish contact with Count Ward and his lady, and assure them that the proceedings are going forward and that currently you plan an investigation first. I know that if I were personally accused of a crime, I would find that to be greatly reassuring. Especially if I were claiming innocence of it.
“At the same time you, personally, are needed for the common defense and that, if I understand correctly means working undisturbed? Given everything, I think you should delegate some of these tasks. Visit with Ward first, as that is a matter of honor, then establish a working base and send others out to do most of these things for you. Hire a man to manage the school funds and scholarships for instance. That should leave you at least slightly more time to work.”
It was a plan, a good one, but he didn't know how to make it all happen. He didn't want to work out of the palace and didn't have a home to go back to, did he? The military had taken it over. A wave of despair came over him then, which turned into anger. He had to close his eyes and calm himself before he could even think correctly. When he opened his eyes, everyone else was across the room looking worried.
“What?” Tor said, his tongue a bit thick feeling suddenly.
Trice giggled, earning a glare from the room.
“What were you just thinking about?” She said as if it made sense as a question. The tone was serious for all that she was smiling at him.
“Um, the military taking over my house. It's kind of ticking me off. I mean, I was thinking of it as mine, but apparently no one else did. Oh well, I guess I just need to start over somewhere, when I get a chance. I don't need much, but well, later. There's too much to do right now for me to whine about things, right?”
Everyone nodded, though Kevin was starting to back out of the room. Everyone else held their ground well enough. Had he looked that ticked off? Wow, he must seem deranged for people to respond like that. He apologized and closed his eyes, seeking as much calm as he could muster. After all, if he was acting like a jerk or something, or looked crazy, he needed to fix it. After about five minutes he opened his eyes, only to find that everyone else had sat and was staring at him with similar funny expressions on their faces.
“Ah… I wasn't in a thinking trance or anything. If I'm supposed to produce a brilliant plan or something now, you're all out of luck. Well, I think that Kevin had some good ideas. He can be in charge of the school stuff. Holly, would you see that he's paid fairly for his work on that? I should focus on getting the ball rolling in the poison investigation, if the King doesn't have that underway already. If that isn't overstepping what I'm supposed to do I mean. Other than that, well anyone have an idea of where I can go to set up a base for this? I'd rather not stay with the Wards, before anyone suggests that. It would look a little bit like favoritism or something. Same with staying in Printer or Thorgood, even though none of those have been offered. The Capital, well, could I rent something in town maybe? Or… buy some land do you think? I can build fast enough. It doesn't even have to have water on it. I don't know…”
Tilting her blond head, her slightly large nose and full lips giving her face a lot of character, Holly blinked at him several times as if he was speaking a foreign language and finally started nodding. Without getting up she reached over, a large lean across the table, and put her shielded hand over his own.
“Tor… You just went into a combat rage. The aura… how did you stay so calm?” She sounded impressed, and a little scared.
Petra grinned.
“I've seen him do it before, when we were in bed together at Count Thompson's. I'd told him about some of the lies Maria had spread about him three years ago, before she left school and he did something similar. I thought he was going to kill me at first, but he just sat and closed his eyes like that and it went away. I think it's because of all the building work he does, the discipline letting him control himself, even when pushed like that. I don't know for a fact though.” She smiled and him, her white teeth flashing in smooth dark skin.
“If it is the case then I want to learn building too. Could you imagine the power a warrior would have if they could learn to harness the rage like that? Targeting things on purpose, not just lashing out?”
It made sense and felt right, but Tor didn't really know. Varley looked a little put off by it, so he tried to set
