by Rick Shelley
“I see they know you already,” David commented.
“Yes, and they let me in anyway.”
They drove straight through into the inner courtyard and parked at the bottom of a wide formal stairway leading up to the main entrance of the “palatial” side of the building. There were footmen to open the doors of the floater. Alfie hurried around and gestured up the stairs.
“His Highness has really been keen on getting you here,” Alfie said. “You were off on holiday and nobodyknew where you had gone. He was afraid that this would all have to be postponed.”
“What do you mean?” David asked, hesitating on the stairs. “‘This all’ what?”
“Oops. Nearly put my foot in it there.”
Alfie was saved from further explanation by the arrival of Prince William, Duke of Haven, at the top of the stairs.
“David!” the prince called, starting down the stairs. “I was afraid we weren’t going to be able to find you in time.”
“Good afternoon, Your Highness,” David said with a proper bow of his head. “I’m beginning to think I’ve been shanghaied and I’m not sure why.”
The prince laughed. “I was afraid that your friend wouldn’t be able to keep the secret.”
“I didn’t say a word, sir,” Alfie protested.
“He didn’t let on anything but that there is some sort of secret, and some sort of schedule,” David confirmed, “and that just in the last few seconds. I was about to grill him when you came out, sir.”
The prince and the captain shook hands. William took David by the elbow, as if to guide him up the remaining stairs and into his home.
“It’s not all that much of a secret, actually,” William said, humor clear in his voice. “This is just a little something I’ve been promising myself ever since we survived that minor set-to back on Buchanan.”
“Sir?”
“I only wish there were more,” William said—quite cryptically, David thought.
The double doors were both opened as they approached, William in the center, David at one side—his elbow still firmly in the royal grasp—and Alfie a half step behind on the other side. The foyer they stepped into was huge. And crowded.
David stopped just inside the doorway. All of the people, guests, in the foyer were in civilian clothes, but David recognized most of them at once. There were clearly more people present than would fit comfortably in the entryway, even though it was twenty-four by thirty-six feet. The crowd seemed to extend into the rooms beyond and to either side, framed by doorways large enough to let a private floater drive through.
“What is this, sir, old home week?” David asked.
The prince grinned. “Something like that. Come now, no call to stand here in the draft.”
The round of applause as William led David through the foyer embarrassed him considerably. Brigadier Laplace, who had been 2nd Regiment’s colonel through half of the war, stood with Colonel Zacharia, who had succeeded him. Admiral Truscott was with Captain Shrikes. But the guests weren’t all brass.
“We collected everyone we could find who was with us on Buchanan,” the prince said. “Everyone who is still around. And all of your lads who made it back from Camerein.”
The civilians rescued on Camerein were there as well, all but Prince George. David did not mention his absence. He was almost beyond speaking at all. People came over to shake his hand or to offer compliments. There were claps on the shoulder, and more attention than Spencer would have cared for in a lifetime.
The next two hours were a blur to David, and an emotional roller coaster—part joyful reunion, part painful nightmare. He was relieved when he was finally allowed to escape to the room that had been prepared for him, to rest and change for dinner. Alfie showed him the way, then left him alone.
David’s room turned out to be a large suite, better than the best available in the finest hotels in Westminster. In the RM, we’d fit two platoons in this much space, David thought as he wandered through the three rooms. And they’d cut the height in half and fit two more platoons on the floor above.
The bed looked tempting, and large enough for six people to share without crowding. David stared at the bed. He was tired—again, or still. He closed his eyes and let out along sigh. He almost missed the soft knock on the entrance to the suite. The door was in the next room. But the sound did bring him out of his reverie. He crossed into the other room.
“Come in.”
That it was Prince William was as much a surprise as anything else that had happened since he had landed in Haven.
“Your Highness.”
“Not in private, David. No formalities, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s sit over by the windows.” After both men were seated, the prince stared at Spencer. “You appeared, ah, somewhat distressed downstairs,” he observed finally.
David hesitated. “It’s with too many ghosts, I think. All the lads who didn’t make it back. Friends, comrades, men I had shared everything with. It was like they were all hanging on my shoulders, weighing me down.”
“‘The dead are always with us.’ “
“Sir?”
William shook his head. “I don’t have the foggiest notion who said that first. Someone or other, before we left Earth. I’ve been more than a little worried about you, David.”
“Me, sir?”
“I understood that you had been having a spot of bother adjusting since coming home this last time.”
David shrugged. “I can’t deny that, sir. Everything has been just too much to handle. I’ve been tired all the time, no enthusiasm about anything. Twice, sir, I lost more than half of the lads I was responsible for. I can’t escape the feeling that I should have done a sight better. I was responsible and I failed, but people treat me like a bleeding St. George, like I’d been out slaying dragons, rescuing maidens in distress, and all that rot.”
“You have slain your ration of dragons, David, I assure you, and rescued people as well. You and your lads, those who came back and those who didn’t. And, though somein this Commonwealth of ours might fault you for it, you have saved the lives of two members of the royal family.”
David looked up quickly, caught by surprise by the way William had said that last. The prince was smiling.
“No, we are not universally loved. That Caffre woman, for one, has voiced definite opinions to the contrary. After she had spent seven years isolated with brother George, one can hardly fault her.”
“Sir?” David was beginning to feel extremely confused.
“I have the deepest respect and affection for my brother George, but I do understand him as well.”
“Yes, sir. Seven years of that life would have been near impossible for anyone. May I ask how His Highness is doing?’ ‘
William hesitated. “Improving. But what about you? Are you improving as well?”
“I don’t know. I can’t tell. Perhaps I’ll require treatment myself before …”
“Before you go completely round the bend?” William suggested when David stopped talking in the middle of his sentence. “Like my brother?”
“Begging your pardon, sir, but yes. I do worry about it.”
“It is possible. Combat veterans sometimes do require counseling, often for many years. But the fact that you worry about it might be the best sign that you don’t need to worry about it. Have you made any plans for your future? You’ve taken a lot of time to yourself since Camerein.”
“As a matter of fact, sir, I have. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for weeks, I guess. Just this morning I realized that I had already made up my mind without realizing it, and that I’m comfortable with the decision. As soon as I get back to barracks I intend to file my request for retirement. I’ve got my twenty years in, and with peace all over the place, I’d likely end up passed over for promotion eventually anyway. There are too many officers looking for advancement for the likes of me to have much chance.”
“I can’t say
that I’m surprised by your choice. I accept that you’ve thought it over at great length.”
“Yes, sir, I have.”
“Have you given any thought to what you’ll do on civie street, as Master Edwards calls it?”
David tried to grin but failed. “To be honest, not much, sir. With my pension, back pay for leave not taken, and standard maintenance allowance, I shan’t need to do much. I suppose I’ll give some thought to finding a wife and settling down. And try to put my ghosts to rest.” As if that will ever be possible, he thought.
“I do hope you’ll keep an open mind about that future, for a bit longer, at least,” William said as he stood. “As a favor to me, if nothing else.”
There was another half hour of mingling with the other guests before dinner. The meal was formal, with the seating in the dining hall arranged in as egalitarian a fashion as possible. Good food and more than a modicum of alcohol lifted David’s spirits a little. It was hard to remain glum among so many old comrades, even with the ghosts they shared.
As servants came in to clear away the last course of dinner and make sure that everyone had drinks, Prince William stood. He used a spoon to tap on the rim of a crystal goblet for attention.
“I intend to break with tradition,” he said. “I know that it is customary in military and naval messes for the first toast to be to His Majesty. Tonight, however, there is one other toast that should come first.” He raised his glass. “A moment of remembrance for those who are not here. To fallen comrades.”
His guests stood silently and raised their glasses toward the prince. William drained his drink, then set the glass, upside down, on the table in front of him. Everyone else imitated those actions. Waiting servants quickly collected the downturned glasses and replaced them. Nothing was said at table, but Prince William had already instructed hisstaff that the glasses used for that toast were never to be used for any other purpose.
The party lasted until well past midnight and remained generally subdued. In the morning, it was ten o’clock when a servant came to wake Spencer.
“His Highness requests that you join him for breakfast at eleven o’clock, sir,” the servant said once David was awake.
“Of course. Where?”
“The Bay View Gallery, sir. I shall return to conduct you there at five minutes before the hour.”
That room proved to be at a considerable distance from David’s suite. It was on the top floor of the main wing, the northeast corner. Prince William was already there. He stood when David was shown in.
“Good of you to come, David. I trust you don’t have a hangover this morning?”
David smiled. “I stuck a killjoy-patch on before I slept last night, sir, to make certain I wouldn’t.”
“I had better warn you straightaway that we won’t be breakfasting alone. There are a couple of people who couldn’t make it up here for the festivities yestereve.”
David cocked an eyebrow but did not speak.
“Just remember, this is a purely informal, private breakfast, no need for fancy manners or such.”
David nodded, knowing that his suspicions were almost certainly correct. It was no surprise when the door opened a minute later and both of Prince William’s brothers entered. Despite William’s warning, the greetings were still awkward and uncomfortable for David.
“I didn’t have a chance to properly thank you for rescuing me from that place,” Prince George said once they were all seated. His voice was little more than a whisper. “I know that I was a less than perfect guest. I apologize for that.”
“This is only the second time in more than seven years that the three of us have been together in the same place,”
King Henry said before David could find a response to George’s statement. “We have you to thank for both of those times. Without you and your people, I might easily have lost both of my brothers to this war. I know that I have given you my thanks before, Captain, but it is not enough. It could never be enough.”
“I was only doing my duty, sir. As best I could.”
“Far more, and far better than anyone could rightfully ask,” the king said. “Enough for now. Shall we eat? I find myself possessed of an immense appetite this morning.”
It was nearly an hour later before the breakfast dishes were cleared away.
“William tells me that you intend to retire from the Royal Marines,” the king said as he leaned back in his chair.
“Yes, sir. At least, I intend to request retirement.”
“My first thought was to attempt to dissuade you, but further reflection changed my mind—as long as you are absolutely positive that you want to leave the service.”
“My mind is as clear as could be on that, sir.”
Henry nodded slowly. “William said that you were certain. He also said that you had no clear plans for what you will do after you leave the Marines.”
David shrugged. “I figured there would be plenty of time to decide, sir, and no particular rush about it. I have time now, if nothing else.”
“I fear that I am going to impose on you again, if you will permit me to,” Henry said. “The Commonwealth needs people like you. Buckingham needs people like you.”
“Sir?”
“You do realize that as a result of your medals for heroism, you will retire as a major instead of as a captain?”
“I hadn’t thought about that at all, sir.”
“It is true, standard policy dreamed up by the Admiralty and War Ministry. My brothers and I have spent rather a considerable amount of time debating what else we mightdo for you to ease the debt of honor and family we owe you—as well as what more we might ask you to do for us, and for the Commonwealth. Please hear me out before you say anything.”
“Of course, sir,” David said when the king paused.
“We decided quite early that a knighthood alone would not be sufficient reward for your deeds, nor would that address the possibility of retaining your services in some fashion.”
David had to struggle to keep from interrupting.
“Although they are not, and in our Commonwealth can never be, identical, you have performed great services both to the Commonwealth and to our family. The family wants to reward you in suitable fashion. The Commonwealth needs your continued service, perhaps more than ever now that the war has ended. We believe that we have discovered a way to reach both of those goals simultaneously.” He paused to look at each of his brothers in turn. Each nodded, as much to David as to Henry.
“There will be a formal investiture ceremony in Westminster next week—rather a bother and a bore, I freely admit, but the public show is necessary. You will be named first a knight commander of the Commonwealth, and then created Baron Malden. That is to be an hereditary peerage which will give you a seat in the House of Lords for Buckingham, and you will be a royal nominee to the Commonwealth House of Lords. I hope and trust that you will continue to serve your world and the Second Commonwealth in that fashion.”
“I don’t know what to say, Your Majesty,” David said, nearly stuttered.
“In case you weren’t aware,” William said, “Malden is in the southern part of Haven, bordering Westminstershire. My steward will go over the accounts of your holdings there. It comes to a bit more than a military pension and basic maintenance.”
For David, there was nothing but stunned silence.
• • •
Hours later, after forty minutes with Prince William’s steward and a first session with his protocol secretary, David was still in shock, glassy-eyed, scarcely able to believe what was happening. But, alone in his suite of rooms, there was one thing he could not resist. He took pen and paper and wrote his signature the way the protocol secretary had instructed.
David, Lord Spencer, Baron Malden
He stared at the paper. It was all too unreal. After a time, he crumpled the paper and tossed it in the trash can.
Either my troubles are over, he thought, or else they are only beginning.
/> Table of Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Part 1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Part 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Part 3
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Part 4
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Part 5
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter I
Chapter II