by Guy Antibes
“I am Lord LaForce, and this is my wife, Anne, the Antibeaux Minister of Agriculture.”
“Agriculture. I’m interested in how your country has set up to maximize the use of land,” Jack said to Anne LaForce. “It is impressive, the farms in the valleys and the herding on the sides of the mountains. We don’t have mountains in Corand to match yours.”
“Perhaps you’d like a tour? I can arrange something,” Anne LaForce said. “It is likely to be a little raw outside, but in a few days, most of this snow will be gone.”
“I’d like to go. There is an Antibeaux wizard that had promised a tour, but perhaps he could come along, and I’d get two different points of view.”
Lord LaForce laughed. “How could there be a difference in opinion?”
“How could there be different political factions? We understand there are four of them in Antibeaux?” Jack looked questioningly at Penny, who nodded obediently.
“You are right. I am aligned, of course, with the People’s Party. Most of the agricultural workers in our country are Double P members. You can meet some of them during your trip. I could arrange for you to also talk to a few Double P members.”
“You will understand us better when you’ve been here for a month or two. We are different from the Corandians,” Anne said. “We dress a bit differently in Bristone, but once you get outside the cities and towns, true Antibeaux culture abounds, even in the winter months.”
“I look forward to it.”
“I am curious. What service did you provide your king to earn your title?” Lord LaForce asked.
“I saved Lady Penneta in Lajia after spending two years in Masukai on an errand for my master, or I suppose he is my ex-master since I now outrank him.”
“Masukai. I can’t think of a society more opposite than ours,” LaForce said.
“You are well-informed if you are familiar with the Masukaian society,” Jack said.
“You learned to speak the language?” Lord LaForce asked.
“I did, indeed. Unless you learn the language, you can’t get very far,” Jack said in Masukaian and then explained what he had said.
“Oh my,” Anne said. “I have never heard words spoken like that.”
“Each country used to speak their own language,” Jack said, regurgitating an old lesson from extended school. “When Corand ruled most of the world, everyone adopted the language, so most people speak Corandian, but the old empire never conquered Masukai—”
“Therefore, they don’t speak Corandian.”
“We began learning at a port city where some Masukaian traders could speak our language, but in the interior, no one knows Corandian,” Jack said.
“I’m sure you have stories.”
Jack smiled. “I do.”
“Perhaps I will arrange something,” Lord LaForce said. “We all know where you reside.”
Jack thought that was the kind of promise that had little chance of being fulfilled.
The orchestra began, causing Jack and Penny to turn around. Prime Minister Bellet took Queen Inez to the floor where they danced for a few turns, and then the floor filled.
“I am glad you persevered with us.” Lord LaForce said. “If you will excuse us, I will take Minister LaForce for a turn or two. It is appropriate for you to dance with Lady Penneta.”
Penny watched the pair walk to the dance floor. “Shall we?”
“We shall,” Jack said. “Have you wrapped up your toes? They are about to be bruised.”
They walked out on the dance floor, but the music changed as soon as they did, and Jack had no idea how to react. Penny laughed at the trick.
“Laugh, too, and look around, and then we will try to mimic them,” Penny said, cupping her hand to Jack’s ear to speak over the loud music.
Jack laughed after he realized they were pranked. It was an acceptable one. He put his hand on his hips for a moment looking at the dancing around him and then took Penny’s hand, and they went to work, giving the Bristonians something to laugh about. If that happened, then that happened. They faced a winter full of dances.
As they tried their best, Jack noticed that Sera had been asked to dance and was trying like them, but Lin stood by herself, watching and thinking, Jack thought.
The music finally ended. Jack looked around at the sweaty bodies. That wasn’t a genteel dance at all.
“Perhaps something to drink, Lady Penny?” Jack asked.
“Certainly. We may meet someone in the line.”
Jack looked and noticed that quite a few couples had the same idea as they approached a long line at the refreshment table. A younger couple reached the line just as Jack and Penny did.
“Hello,” Jack said. “I am Lord Jack Winder, and this is Lady Penneta Ephram from Corand. I’m sorry if we made a shamble of your traditional dance, just now.”
The man cracked a smile. “At least you made an attempt. This is my wife, Fanny, and I am Pol Asoule. I am the Secretary of Industrial Trades. It is part of the Interior Ministry.”
“Oh, that is great. I just met Lady LaForce, who promised me a tour of a few farming villages. What are the principal industrial workers in Antibeaux?”
Pol Asoule made a face. Jack didn’t know if it was due to his mention of LaForce or Jack’s impertinence asking about the industrial workers.
“You won’t get a very objective view from Lord LaForce. He likes to put agriculture’s best foot forward since it is his wife’s portfolio.”
“Are you both under the Ministry of the Interior?” Penny asked.
Fanny Asoule raised her eyebrows at Penny’s question and smiled slyly as she looked at her husband.
“She is a minister, and I am a mere secretary, but we both are under Charl Masson’s direction. Charl is the interior minister. If you’d like, I can introduce you to him,” Asoule said.
“I would be delighted. Wouldn’t you, Penny?” Jack said.
“Follow us once we are finished with this damnable line,” Asoule said.
His wife surreptitiously poked him in the side, probably for swearing. Jack smiled. At least that was a genuine act, he thought.
“Well, it is damnable, Fanny.” Asoule looked at Jack and grinned. “You understand, don’t you?”
“I do,” Jack said.
“Do you know much about the construction arts?” Asoule said.
“A bit. My father is a furniture craftsman in Raker Falls, and I’ve picked up a few things along the way.”
“Good. Then if Anne LaForce can arrange you to join an inspection tour of the villages, I’ll show you what craftsmen do outside of the capital. The world doesn’t revolve around Bristone, unlike what some people think.”
“I would like that. Another in our party, Lorton Reedbrook might also be interested,” Jack said.
Pol Asoule eyed Penny. “Would you be interested in our craftsmen?”
Penny smiled. “I like to learn new things, but it isn’t one of my passions.”
“What is?” Fanny Asoule said.
“I am certified from the Dorkansee Healing Institute as a wizard healer.”
“Wizard?” Fanny said. “Is that why you have white hair, a spell gone awry?”
Penny touched her hair. “Something like that. Is there a hospital where I might help while I am in Bristone?”
“Devea Masson, the interior minister’s wife volunteers at our largest hospital. I will introduce you if and when we can refresh ourselves,” Fanny said with a smile. “That is a lovely gown.”
Penny colored a bit. “I brought it from Dorkansee. I’m glad you like it. I’m still learning what is in style in Bristone. Our hostess, Lady Kanlinn Marker, is noted for her fashion in Dorkansee. Perhaps you might call on her, and we can discuss the differences.”
“I’d love to,” Fanny said.
Jack listened to the two ladies talk as the line moved until they were able to secure some bubbly white wine. Jack was unfamiliar with the stuff, but it tasted all right.
“I will
introduce you two to Charl Masson,” Asoule said. “Follow me.”
He took his wife’s arm, and they walked farther away from the orchestra, closer to where Queen Inez sat on a slightly elevated throne, watching the dancing. Jack noticed Princess Glorie at her side.
Asoule introduced them to Charl Masson and his wife. Jack wasn’t very impressed by the man, but that might have been due to his unfriendly arrogance. If Jack were taking lessons on how to be a lord, he would not look to the interior minister as a role model. His wife was a different story. Fanny, Penny, and Devea Masson didn’t take very long to get engaged in an excited conversation about healing and helping.
Princess Glorie glanced at Jack and waved him over to her.
“Inez, I’d like you to meet one of the Corandians who are in the city for winter. This is Lord Jack Winder.”
“Your Highness,” Jack said, bowing deeply in the Masukaian style.
“I hear you have been to Lajia,” Queen Inez said.
“By way of Masukai, where I spent two years.”
“Two years! With the reputation the Masukaians have, I am surprised you survived.”
Jack gave her comment a small bow. “It wasn’t without effort, I assure you.”
The queen nodded. “I might want to hear more about Masukai from someone who has actually been there. If you don’t mind, sometime this winter, I will summon your party to have dinner with me in the castle.”
“That would be very nice of you, Your Highness. I look forward to it.”
Glorie smiled. “Perhaps we can get together before then,” she said. “I would like to hear about Lajia, and I’m sure you have more stories than we could listen to during dinner.”
“Just let Lady Kanlinn or me know.”
“I’ll let you know,” Glorie said. “Thank you for joining us.”
Jack took that for a dismissal and bowed to the royal sisters and found Penny back at Lin’s side.
“A royal summons?” Lin said.
“I met Princess Glorie earlier, and when we were close to the throne, she introduced me to her sister.”
“The queen,” Lin said.
“That is her sister. I accepted an offer to join the queen, for all of us, to tell some Masukai stories and to separately talk to Princess Glorie about Lajia,” Jack said.
“Penny has told me about your work so far in introducing yourself. Tonight’s work is not done. I suggest you proceed to do more.”
Jack nodded. He looked around for Lorton and found him talking to a group of people over by the orchestra who currently were off the little raised stage.
“We will start by joining Lorton,” Jack said. Penny took his arm, and they walked across the dance floor to join Lorton’s group.
“Hello, Lorton,” Jack said.
“Ah,” Lorton said, “These are the two newly-minted nobles in our party. May I present Lady Penneta Ephram. We call her Penny. This is Lord Jack Winder. We call him Jack.” Lorton smiled wryly. “Jack recently returned from Masukai via Lajia.”
“Masukai. That is interesting. Is it as warlike as they say?” one of the men said.
“It depends on what you define as warlike. They are very good warriors, but I never heard of or saw an army battle for the two years I was there, but I did see some action,” Jack said.
“You just spoke to Jesse Guymon, the Antibeaux defense minister.” Lorton introduced them to the other three in the group, Guymon’s wife Denise, and another noble who wasn’t involved in the government.
Jack gave a little bow to each one, but Penny just smiled. The orchestra began to assemble and warm up.
“It is time to find another place to stand,” Guymon said. “It is either that or lose one’s hearing.”
Jack laughed lightly along with the others. “It was nice to meet you all,” he said as the group dispersed. Lorton took them aside for a bit. “I see you made connections with the queen.”
“And the princess,” Penny said. “We were told to gather more names for Lin.”
Lorton pursed his lips. “I’ve already met enough to meet any quota she might have had. I’ll see if it is time to leave.”
The orchestra began another tune, and Jack took Penny’s hand. “Another dance. Perhaps someone will tap my shoulder, and we will learn another identity on the dance floor.”
“I’d just as soon dance by ourselves,” Penny said.
They were in the middle of the floor, dancing Corandian steps to an Antibeaux tune when Jack turned with a tap on his shoulder. He thought that might not be the custom in Antibeaux, but a man and his partner stood.
“It is time for a trade? That is what we do in Bristone,” a youngish man said. “I am Andere Holm.”
“Of course, but we might not be suitable dance partners,” Jack said.
“We both decided to take the risk,” the man said, taking Penny a few steps away.
Jack looked at his partner. “I am Jack Winder.”
“Lord Jack Winder, I heard. My name is Leanne Holm. My husband,” she pointed with her head to Penny’s partner, “is the son of Dame Linnette Holm, the education secretary.”
“And she reports to…” Jack thought, “Charl Masson, the interior minister?”
The woman laughed. “How clever of you,” she said.
“I’m not particularly known for my cleverness, but thank you anyway.” They began to dance, but Jack didn’t know the steps, so they just muddled through, but that gave them a little more time to talk. “Is your husband in the government?”
“Not at all. He has to get his hands dirty with a real occupation,” Leanne said. “He is a merchant’s banker.”
“He funds shipments outside of Antibeaux?”
“And inside between the cities and towns,” she said.
“Does he belong to a faction, since he has to work?” Jack asked.
“You are a smart fellow. My husband is mostly not aligned. There are others like him. You talked to one of them tonight. That is all I’ll say.” She smiled at him. “Follow my lead, you aren’t doing so badly,” she said.
Jack was light on his feet since he was using his nightingale dancing technique. It saved Leanne Holm’s tender toes, he thought.
The dance ended, and they sought out Penny and Barry Holm and found them not too far away. They bowed to each other.
“I am embarrassed,” Penny said. “The poor man.” She looked at the back of Andere Holm talking to his wife as they left the floor. “At least he isn’t limping.”
The orchestra played a fanfare of sorts, and a man entered the ballroom and walked directly to the queen. He took her hand and led her to the dance floor.
“He must be Richard Raimon, the queen’s husband. He isn’t a noble, so he is her consort,” Lin said. “He is rather handsome.”
“I heard he was a cad,” Lorton said, walking up behind them, “and there is talk he might be leaning toward the Double P faction.”
“You have decided to return?”
“I did. The queen dances the last dance. It will be time to leave,” Lorton said. “I will resume my duties as a bodyguard.”
“Did you learn anything?” Lin asked.
“We can talk of it when we return,” the policeman said.
Jack didn’t need his blue wrist guard to cool off the room. The ice in Lorton’s voice did the trick. They remained until Richard Raimon escorted the queen out of the ballroom to the applause of all the dancers. The orchestra played something light as the attendees left the ballroom. Jack had thought people might stay to chat, but evidently, that wasn’t how the Bristonian royalty conducted a ball.
Chapter Nineteen
~
L orton picked up his sword as they walked out into the subterranean passage. Wheeled litters lined up to take the dancers home, but Lin admitted Oscar told her that none were available after the ball, so they would have to walk home.
There were other people walking home from the palace, so Jack didn’t feel threatened, but he made sure he had ea
sy access to his wand. He guessed that rich people with more jewels than purses would make easy pickings in the ever-dark passageways below Bristone’s snowy streets.
The pedestrians thinned out along with the wheeled litters. They turned into the passageway that led them to their townhouse when Jack heard a shuffling sound in an alley.
“There is someone in the alley behind—"
“I know,” Lorton said, drawing his sword.
Penny already had two throwing knives in her hand.
“Go ahead of us,” Lorton told Lin and Sera. “You, too, Penny.”
Penny looked at Jack, who nodded. “In case there are more ahead.”
Jack turned to see a black figure raise a wand from an alley. A bolt launched toward Jack at the same time he touched the void. He barely evaded the attack. Another approached Lorton, but Jack shoved the policeman out of the way and felt the bolt slice the top of his forearm.
He turned and fired, watching their assailant’s eyes grow wide as Jack’s bolt threw the man back into the alley. Two more emerged, but Lorton had run in that direction, not away, and engaged the next assailant with his sword. Jack shot the next man in both palms and the right shoulder before he ran toward Penny.
Two other men had already advanced on the ladies. One of them shot Sera before Penny could react, but she dropped them both.
“Sera!” Penny said. She knelt next to her friend and put her hand on the upper part of the young woman’s chest.
“Jack, could you help me?” Penny said. He could hear the anxiety in her voice.
He put his hand over Penny’s and threw his power into Penny’s hand. Penny fainted dead away, and Jack put his hand directly on Sera’s wound and pushed healing magic through her wound. It was all he could do.
“What have you done to Penny?” Lin said.
Jack didn’t like the panic in the woman’s voice, but he ignored her as he lifted Penny up as Lorton did the same to Sera.
“Lead on,” Lorton said.
Jack tried to teleport Penny into the townhouse, but the healing power he had just used diminished his reserves. He still pulled out his healing rod and handed it to Sera, who was now moaning.