“I know that they were both soldiers before they took up fishing,” Garth stated. “And from the courage they both exhibited, I would think they were very good soldiers.”
“How do you know that?” inquired Arik. “And what courage are you talking about?”
“And now I can tell that they are not boastful men,” Garth laughed. “As for them being soldiers, it is obvious. When a man enters an army, the army breaks the man down to subservience and when he has learned to obey, they bring him up to leadership so he knows how to command. This conditioning marks a man for life. He will never slouch again. He will never walk down a street in a daze oblivious to his surroundings. His eyes will learn to evaluate without conscious thought. Both of your fathers learned their lessons well. As far as their courage, not many men would mess with the likes of me, yet Master Markel shadowed me for an entire day. He knew that I knew he was watching me, yet he refused to be scared away. Very admirable and courageous. Master Clava walked into the Fisherman’s Inn and sat in a seat that no one else in the entire town would sit in. The seat right across from me.”
Garth was amused at the shock on the boys’ faces. Their fathers were good men and the boys were so close to them that they did not see it as other men saw it. “Oh,” Garth continued, “did I forget to mention that Master Clava threatened to kill me if I harmed his son or his son’s friend?”
The boys’ jaws dropped and their eyes grew wide. They knew that Arik’s father went to talk to the bandit, but threatening to kill him? Had he really done that?
“Don’t look so surprised, boys,” Garth said seriously. “Your fathers love you very much and they would die to protect you. You should be proud to be their sons.” Garth’s eyes clouded over and he looked away.
Kalina suddenly came over and entered the conversation. “Garth said that Master Clava recounted the incident with the bandits and that your mothers were taken away. When did that happen?”
Arik looked from Garth to Kalina wondering what open sore Garth was trying to hide. “It was about three years ago,” he replied absently. “The four of us were out fishing at the time. When we returned to port, our fathers left us at the inn and went out to find them. They returned weeks later with no news.”
“You have my sympathies,” Kalina assured them. “The loss of a loved one is a very bitter fruit to swallow. Do you think they still live somewhere?”
Arik’s own eyes started to water and Tedi rose and walked away towards the horses. “I don’t know,” Arik conceded. “I hope they are and that they are well, but I really don’t ever expect to see them again.”
Kalina nodded sympathetically. “Your fathers must have been devastated as well as you. To lose your wife and have to work all day and still look after a young boy is no easy task. How old were you when it happened?”
Tears were forming in Arik’s eyes now. “It was hard on them. Probably even harder than on us although we didn’t realize it at the time. Taking care of us probably wasn’t that bad on them, though. Even though we were only fourteen, we were still able to help with the fishing, but Tedi’s father took it especially hard. It was only this last week that he finally came out of it.”
Kalina smiled now that she knew she had two children who were born in the year of the Collapse. “Well, if you could give me descriptions of your mothers, we may be able to ask some questions. I don’t want to get your hopes up falsely, but it never hurts to keep an eye out.”
“I would appreciate that,” Arik said thankfully. “I don’t expect to find them, but I will never stop looking.”
Garth seemed to have regained his composure and knocked his pipe out. “Enough talk for now,” he said gruffly. “It is time you boys started to learn your skills. Grab your practice swords and we’ll see how that trout affected your balance.”
Chapter 10 Trouble
Fredrik walked into Niki’s suite and closed the door. “Miranda said you wanted to see me, Niki,” Fredrik opened. “I was in the study. You can come see me anytime you want. Is there a problem?”
“A problem?” she snipped. “Why should there be a problem? I’ve done as you told me and not pestered the servants. Now every time that damn Alicia comes in here she has a smirk on her face. It is one thing not to pester the servants, but quite another to be laughed at by them. I really don’t understand why you pamper them. We should fire the lot and get servants that are appropriately trained. I have waited all of my life for my destiny to be fulfilled and now that it is within my grasp, you want to spoil it for me.”
“Spoil it!” Fredrik remarked incredulously. “You can’t be serious. We are set up as Lord and Lady of the Manor at seventeen. This is a dream come true. If some writer made a story up about this happening, nobody would accept it as anything but fantasy. If the old sea captain had any children to receive his inheritance, do you realize how old they would be? Niki, we have got it made!”
“I don’t know how you can be so happy,” she pouted. “The servants act like they own this place and you think that you are the Lord. How long before the people in the streets start laughing at us?”
“Niki, I don’t care if the whole town laughs,” declared Fredrik. “We are rich and they are not. As soon as Orthan liquidates some of the out-holdings, we will have more money than we know what to do with. The people in the town will come around. I have a meeting with Captain Grecho this morning. Imagine that. The Captain of the Mercenaries coming to pay call on me. You said you wanted a private army, well, this is the man to start with.”
“But everything is moving so slowly,” Niki complained. “The people should already recognize me as their queen and you have me worrying about how I treat the servants. And why is the butler liquidating anything? It is our property and you are letting some old scam artist handle our finances.”
“We’ve been through this before,” Fredrik said impatiently. “Orthan knows more about the finances than I can learn in a year. It is only natural for him to handle the books.”
“I think you are just being selfish,” Niki exploded. “You do not really care if I ever become queen. You have some plot with the servants to cash in all of the assets and then desert me here with no support. That’s why you spend evenings in the study plotting with Orthan.”
“Okay,” Fredrik conceded, “I promised not to tell a soul, but I will explain everything. The morning after we arrived, Orthan cornered me in the study. He explained that the servants have served the old sea captain for many years and they knew for a fact that the man had no brothers or sisters.”
“The nerve of the man speaking that way to his Lord,” Niki admonished.
“Niki,” Fredrik pleaded, “please pay attention. I was not his Lord and he knew it. If Amos had no brothers or sisters, he certainly could not have any nephews or nieces.”
“Then why didn’t he go to the authorities?” Niki asked.
“Because,” Fredrik explained, “if there was no heir to become Lord of the Manor, there would be no jobs for the servants. Orthan saw a way for all of us to share in Lord Alrecht’s misfortune. He promised to have me legally accepted as Lord Alrecht’s nephew and heir if I would make certain concessions to the servants. I promised to allow him to handle the finances and to treat the servants with respect and kindness. It really is a good deal for all of us.”
“I can’t believe that you were really taken in so easily,” she chided. “You allowed the Lord to be dictated to by servants’ demands?”
Exasperated, Fredrik sat down. “The Lord was not dictated to by servants, Niki. A young boy was offered a scheme by some servants that allows him to become rich and assume the title of Lord which does not belong to him. One word from any of the servants and we would be running for our lives.”
“But now that you have legal title,” Niki schemed, “you can get rid of them and it will be only servants’ words against the word of the Lord.”
“I have no intention of going back on my deal, Niki,” Fredrik insisted. “I have no need to. From what Orthan says, the estates are plentiful and we will have more wealth than we can spend. If the servants had any idea that I would not honor my pledge, I am positive that they could ruin us. Please, just keep being pleasant to the servants and everything is going to be better than you could ever hope for. I have to see Captain Grecho now, but we will talk more of this later.”
Fredrik rose and left and Niki just sat there lost in her own little world of scheming. Hopefully, the meeting
