by David Drake
He reminded himself firmly that it had taken several years of marriage before he and Druzla became truly intimate. That too, after all, had been a marriage arranged for political reasons. He'd hardly even known Druzla before the wedding. And, in his more honest moments, he admitted that for all the passion of her love-making, his former wife had been rather unimaginative about it all. Whereas Arsule was anything but. She'd managed to surprise Demansk more than once — even shock his somewhat staid Vanbert soul — in the nights after their wedding.
Not, he would admit in his most honest moments, that his sense of shock had ever prevented him from enjoying what followed. Even relishing it, more often than not.
Oddest of all, perhaps, was that he woke up every morning feeling refreshed and alert, even though he was getting less sleep than ever. He would spend a few minutes enjoying the lassitude, enjoying the sight and feel of Arsule's naked and voluptuous form enveloping him — she was a cuddly sort of sleeper — before prying himself loose and rising to the tasks of the day. Occasionally, that awakened Arsule, in which case she would demand that he return to bed for a time. A very pleasurable time. But, not usually. Unlike Demansk, she was a heavy sleeper; and, unlike Demansk, was not accustomed to rising with the sun.
* * *
In truth, the marriage was turning out to be a blessing, in many ways; and less of a nuisance than he'd expected.
Not that much less. He'd been prepared for Arsule's loquacious tongue; for her obsession with the arts; even for her sometimes salacious sense of humor. What he hadn't been prepared for was the energetic way she threw herself into the politics of the time. Which, given Arsule's measure of energy, could be downright frightening at times.
* * *
"No! No, no no! Damnation, Arsule, I can not extend the emancipation to all the slaves. If I even breathed a word to that effect — damn you, woman, if you even breathe it! — every nobleman who's rallied to me — half the gentry too! — would race back to Albrecht. Are you mad?"
The most infuriating thing about Arsule, he often thought, was the way she responded to his chastisement with nothing more than serenity. The worst kind of serenity, too — the sort a mother bestows on a headstrong and foolish child.
"But it's so silly, Verice. You know as well as I do that once you uproot slavery in half the continent it's bound to collapse everywhere else. Within a generation, I'd say — probably even faster, once your beloved new factories start serving as a beacon for runaway slaves. You know as well as I do—"
"That's not the point. What I know and you know is one thing. What we rub the aristocracy's face in is another."
"— and the same goes for this nonsense you've been telling them about — what do you call it? Sharecropping?" She threw back her head. "Ha! Why in the world would any freedman agree to become a sharecropper when all he has to do is pack up his family and head for the nearest town? Where now—thanks to you — there'll be work for him."
"Plenty of 'em will," replied Demansk sulkily. "You watch." Long enough to let me get away with it, he added to himself mentally. But he saw no reason to say that aloud.
Since Arsule, naturally, said it for him.
"Oh, sure. For a few years, yes. At least those ex-slaves with no previous skills — which, don't forget, many of them have because they're war captives." She waved her hand airily. Despite the heat of the moment, Demansk found the gesture a bit enchanting. Arsule really did have very lovely hands — and adept ones, to boot.
"But so what? Unless you're going to reimpose the same slave laws under a new guise — which you are not, I trust?" This with a frown which intimidated even Demansk; he shook his head quickly.
"— then as soon as any significant portion of the freedmen start abandoning the land, the rest of them will start driving up their share of the arrangement. You know that as well as I do!"
"I'm counting on it," he growled. "The faster the gentry and the nobility — what's left of them, after we're done — start thinking of other ways to secure their fortunes than stupid land deals and tax-farming, the better. Nothing will stop them from looking to the cities either, you know."
She studied him for a moment, then shook her head fondly. "Ah, Verice. I sometimes think you're enchanted with maneuvers for their sake. Well — so be it. I certainly won't embarrass you in public on the subject, of course. I know my wifely place."
He almost choked, hearing that last. Now there would be a miracle. .
* * *
True, in the days thereafter, Arsule had breathed not a word in public of her opinion on the subject of the much-discussed "Emancipation Proclamation." Unfortunately, Arsule had a very strict definition of the term "public," which did not include her "private" soirees and salons — not one of which failed to draw less than a mob.
* * *
Strangely enough, however, neither Prit Sallivar nor Enry Sharbonow nor any of Demansk's other close advisers shared his disquiet over Arsule's conduct.
"Relax, Verice," said Sallivar. "You don't understand — Arsule makes you look good."
"To put it mildly," chuckled Sharbonow. "She's a marvel with the gentry, especially. They and their wives flock to her salons in hordes — imagine! them! sharing an evening with the Premier Lady of the Land! — and then scurry away at the end of the night chattering to each other about that insane noblewoman — and isn't it a blessing she has such a sensible husband to keep her under restraint."
Demansk did choke, hearing that. As it happened — at her insistence, dammit — he had restrained her the night before. Quite literally, with velvet ropes she'd obtained for the purpose. Arsule could be. . exotic, at times.
After clearing his throat, he said: "Well, I suppose. But it's a different story with the noblemen. Sure as hell their wives. They know damn good and well that a woman in her position has far more influence in the real world than the fine patriarchal principles of our ancestors allowed for. Even in the old days, much less now."
Sharbonow shrugged. "Yes, true. And, so what?" He gave Demansk a sidelong glance, as if estimating the limits he dared push a matter. Then, apparently, decided the limits were extensive. "Triumvir, I think you're allowing yourself to be overly influenced by the aristocracy's attitudes. Not surprising, really, since you've been spending so much time with them lately. And correctly so, let me add, since it's essential that the upcoming emergency Council meeting goes smoothly. But—"
"Oh, stop being such a damned diplomat, Enry," grumbled Sallivar. "Verice, you're getting spooked! Who gives a shit what the noblemen really think? Most of them have rallied to Albrecht anyway — and the ones who've taken refuge here under your wing are not about to challenge you. Not as long as you leave them a hole in the corner — and when have you ever failed to do that?"
"Not this time, for sure," chimed in Kall Oppricht from his seat in the corner. "That proclamation you made last week — the one qualifying the universal citizenship — was a genuine stroke of genius. I thought you were making a mistake at the time, risking all the good will you've built up with the Emeralds and the Islanders — not to mention the Haggen and Ropers — but. . not so. They don't even seem to be grumbling, and in the meantime—"
He started chortling. "I swear by the gods, I must have had no less than fifty gentrymen approach me by now. Each and every one of them avidly trying to get a recommendation from me for a good Emerald or Roper or Haggen — even Islander! — ah, what's that new term you favor?"
" 'Businessman,' " replied Demansk.
"Yes, that." He made a little face. "Crude word, I've got to say. They don't call it that, of course — most gentry prefer 'reputable tradesman or merchant.' But, call it what you will, they've got money to invest — scared shitless their lands won't be worth much of anything by next year — not the vaguest idea in the world how to make an investment in manufacturing or trade turn a profit — and plenty of non-citizens eager to leap-frog the five-year waiting period you decreed."
Demansk nodded toward Gellert, sitti
ng in a different corner. "Credit where credit's due. It was Adrian's idea." As always, he made no mention of his son-in-law's peculiar triple personality. In fact, Demansk suspected the idea had originated from the one called "Center." But only he and Helga — and Trae now, too, of course — knew of that secret. Or ever would, except possibly Olver. Here, as elsewhere, Demansk would use his family as the second string to his bow.
Olver himself spoke next — to Adrian, not his father. "Weren't you worried the Emeralds would have a fit? After Father had promised them immediate citizenship?"
Gellert shook his head. "Not really. I was a bit concerned about how the Ropers and Haggen would react. But since they enjoy auxiliary nation status already, I didn't think they'd care that much. The Islanders, of course, aren't about to throw a public tantrum. Not with two regiments in Chalice and another two brigades sitting on the beach a few miles away. The Emeralds. ."
Demansk wondered if he was the only one in the room who found the smile which came to his son-in-law's face far too ironic for a man still in his early twenties.
"I'm not sure anyone not an Emerald can ever quite understand the way we lunatics think. You remember the joke about why it takes eight Emeralds to slaughter a pig?"
Everyone nodded, several of them grinning.
"Ah — but you don't really understand it. Emeralds find that joke funny too, you know — because of the eighth man in the story. The sophist who argues the pig's side of things."
He shrugged. "It's hard to explain. Let's just say that Emeralds appreciate a good maneuver for its own sake." He inclined his head toward Demansk. "Most of them understand well enough what the Triumvir's doing. Giving the Vanbert upper crust a hole in the corner, if you will. You've got five years to find yourselves a partner who needs your blessing to get rich. After that, you'll have to face the grasping, greedy — and very capable — bastards on your own. Because, five years from now, their citizenship will be as good as yours."
"Crude, crude," chided Oppricht. "Almost as bad as 'businessman.' But — accurate."
* * *
Accurate, it was. Every move Demansk made leading up to the emergency Council meeting was designed for the same purpose: turn the world upside down, mix it up, break all the old crusted and rancid layers — while still leaving everyone a hole in the corner.
For the slaves, immediate emancipation for those under Albrecht's rule and at least the hope of eventual emancipation for all others. So much for theory. In practice, Demansk was also creating the economic conditions which would dissolve slavery like so much acid.
For the slaveowners, enough of an illusion that — if loyal to the "legitimate Council" — they could retain their slaves; combined with enough uncertainty to start them thinking about alternatives. So much for theory. In practice, Demansk was also providing them with the alternatives. Sharecropping for some; investments in new enterprises, for others; and — though he hadn't really unveiled this yet, and wouldn't for some time — the prospect for the rising generations of gentrymen to become well-salaried public servants doing useful work instead of a class of drones and tax-farmers, good for nothing except fighting wars.
For the people of the subject nations, he was offering full citizenship. Delayed for five years, true enough — only those who could demonstrate a citizen "sponsor" could skip the waiting period. Still, it was a clear and definite end to what had seemed the endless prospect of Vanbert's iron heel. So much for theory. In practice, most of those folk would not find their lives changing much — and, when it did, often for the worse. For all the aristocratic sneer behind it, the dictum of the old Emerald political philosopher Llawat had more than a grain of truth in it: "Freedom is simply the freedom to starve."
In the name of "justice," Demansk was unleashing much injustice into the world, and knew it perfectly well. But he was not trying to create "justice," in the end. That task was quite beyond his power, great as it was. Justice would have to take care of itself, in the years to come. What Demansk could do was shatter a world which made justice impossible.
Finally, there was his masterstroke. The same "silly" Emancipation Proclamation which Arsule derided because it freed those Demansk could not free and kept enslaved those he could, was the thing — so he thought, at least — which would win him a civil war.
Arsule was a brilliant woman, in many ways. She was certainly capable of grasping things which were normally beyond the imagination of her class. But, ultimately, she was a noblewoman from the top of her glossy black-and-white hair to the soles of her well-manicured and lotioned feet. Hers was a world of bright conversations, and art, and philosophy. She simply didn't understand — couldn't understand — the way the world looked to the men who, when all was said and done, would thrust Demansk to power and keep him there.
Jessep Yunkers; Forent Nappur — and all the men of that hardscrabble, bitter commonality, especially that of the eastern provinces. Men who, generation after generation, had spent the prime of their lives wearing a helmet and hefting a spear in the service of the nobility — the same nobility which, generation after generation, had driven them off their land and replaced them with slave labor on their great plantations.
What Arsule did not understand was that freedom of the slaves also meant freedom from the slaves. And so, what would the soldiers who filled the ranks of Albrecht's army gathering in Vanbert do? When they discovered, by means of Sharbonow's endless supply of leaflets — the papermakers of Solinga were, not accidentally, one of the most prized catches for "sponsors" — that if their enemy triumphed, they could seize back their land now. Whereas if their commander triumphed, they. . could look forward to serving out their term, in the hope that the gracious lord might deign to give them a good retirement bonus.
* * *
To Demansk's surprise, the high priest of the Temple of Jassine had grasped it perfectly. "Do you understand what will happen to the slaves of the east?" he had demanded.
"Yes. They will be driven out, by spear and fire. Murdered outright, any who put up resistance. And the rest — cast into the wilderness, left to starve and roam. Do you have an alternative, Priest?"
The old man had looked away, for a time, studying the image of his goddess.
"Part of one, yes."
* * *
And so, on the next day — the very eve of the Council meeting — Demansk issued a new proclamation. In light of the misery stalking the land, and out of his deep sense of pity, the Triumvir decreed that anyone who made a donation to the cult of Jassine — properly notarized, of course — would be given twice that amount in the form of a tax forbearance the following year. And, in the case of non-citizens, a reduction in the time needed to qualify for citizenship, the amount of time determined according to a formula whose construction pleased Demansk's bureaucrats no end.
"Piss on it," he'd growled afterward to Sallivar. "You know as well as I do that the damn bureaucrats would filch three quarters of the tax collected anyway. I'd rather trust Jassine's priests to provide food and shelter for ex-slaves than that lot."
Sallivar hadn't argued the point. In fact, he'd even used it to urge Demansk — again, and for the sake of peace at home if nothing else — to give his blessing to Arsule's increasingly strident demand for the formation of what she called a "new and greater Grove."
"Sure, and the youngsters will learn some foolishness. But at least we'd have a generation of public servants who'd be educated enough to catch each other stealing."
"Done."
* * *
Arsule was suitably pleased with her husband. The night before the Council meeting, she kept him up very late indeed.
"I have got to get some sleep."
"Oh, damnation, I suppose so." The long fingers stroked his chest, seeming to revel in the sweat. "It's just. . I am growing very fond of you, Verice. You excite me, always do."
"I'm almost a corpse," he croaked. "Please don't tell me you've decided to experiment with necrophilia."
She gurgle
d a laugh into his neck. "I draw the line somewhere, you know. Speaking of which, I got rid of the ropes. I wanted to try it out, but. . the truth is, I don't like being immobilized."
"Pity. At least with your hands tied — will you stop that?"
"Oh — phft! Sleep, sleep, sleep, all you think about any more."
"That's a foul and damnable lie," he wheezed, "and you know it — you of all people." He managed to lever himself up on an elbow and gaze down on her.
"Truth is, girl, I'm growing very fond of you myself. In between wanting to strangle you, anyway." Hastily: "No, that's not a suggestion."
She smiled lazily. "Oh, good. In that case — yes, yes, tomorrow night, of course, not now — I want to try something out of this marvelous book Sharlz gave me the other day. You know, they may be just barely this side of barbarism, but the islanders do have some interesting customs. For instance. ."
By the time she finished explaining the "for instance," Demansk was lying flat on his back and staring at the ceiling. The look on his face wasn't quite one of sheer despair. Despair there was, to be sure, and in goodly measure. But there was also—
"Gods, I love that little gleam in your eyes. Don't lie, Verice!"
"Can't," he croaked. "I'm saving all my lies for the morning — which is now not more than three hours away. I have got to get some sleep."
"Oh, all right."
* * *
She left off anything but cuddling then; which, as always, got Demansk to sleep quickly and easily. But when he rose at sunrise, he found to his surprise that Arsule was awake also.
"Think of it this way, Verice," she murmured as he began clothing himself. "This is probably the first Council meeting you've ever attended which will seem like a restful occasion."
His lips quirked. "An exaggeration, woman. But. . not without some merit."
He came up to the bed, stroked her cheek, and turned to leave. But a hand on his tunic turned him back.
"Come home in triumph, Verice Demansk. Your Vanbert wife demands it."
"And if I do?"
* * *