They all shook hands and made introductions. Young Frederick Thurston was there, in a neat green uniform; and two girls of about seven and twelve, who turned out to be named Jaine and Shawonda. Both were staring at him-the older particularly, with her eyes virtually bulging.
Oh, and I hope that's not going to be awkward, Rudi thought. Sweet Foam-born One, none of your jokes, now!
He knew the effect he had on a lot of females, and liked it very much-when they were of age. Crushes by youngsters ranged from a boggart-level nuisance to a full-blown pain in the arse. Then Odard and Matti saved the moment by bowing-the elaborate leg-forward, hat off, bent-knee flourish an Associate used with a lady of high rank who was also their host.
Cecile Thurston smiled. "My, that's impressive!"
Mathilda chuckled. "Theoretically I should curtsy, but it always looks absurd when you're wearing hose yourself."
"You could all probably use a drink," Cecile said. "Come on into the living room and let me take your coats… well, cloaks…"
The living room had a good rug, sofas and tables and upholstered chairs-most of it looking like modern work but made to late pre-Change patterns, which gave it all an old fashioned look. The two young girls' stares turned considering as they took the whole party in; they reminded him forcefully of his younger half sisters Maude and Fiorbhinn. Particularly the younger, Jaine, who looked somehow as if a whole lot of crack ling energy would burst loose any moment and make her slightly frizzy dark hair stand out in all directions, despite her careful grooming and clean frock. The elder girl was quieter, with a round face and an unfortunate spray of pimples.
"I bet you're a prince from foreign parts," young Jaine said to him after a moment of awkward silence. "You look the way a prince should."
Rudi grinned. "Not quite," he said. "My mother's a Chief, and I'm sort of… an assistant Chief."
"Oh," she said. "Like a prince is an assistant king, I guess.. ." Then she brightened and looked at Mathilda. "Are you a princess?"
"Well… yes, actually," Mathilda said.
Rudi judged she was taken a little aback at princesses being rhetorically classed with unicorns and dragons and other exotic creatures of mythology. After all, prin cess was simply her job description, and not even one she'd asked for or wanted all that much.
Jaine frowned. "I thought princesses had to be beautiful? You're sort of pretty, I guess, but…"
Edain choked over a sip from his wineglass. Rudi managed to smooth his face into polite impassivity before he caught Mathilda's wilting glare. She knew he'd had to swallow a laugh.
"And don't princesses wear beautiful long dresses with jewels and stuff like that?"
Mathilda nodded solemnly. "Sometimes I do. But I'm traveling and they're too heavy and the skirts catch your legs and you can't move your arms very well in one. And all the buttons!"
Rudi smiled a little to himself, and saw Odard smoothing away an identical expression. Evidently he'd also heard Matti when she went into full it's like being in irons rant on the cotte-hardi.
"Oh," Jaine said, sounding a little disappointed. "I thought it would be fun to wear dresses like that. But," she added generously, "what you've got on now is cool too. Sort of like what people on playing cards wear."
She frowned. "Why've you got the Sign of Evil on your chest, though?"
"Ah…" Mathilda looked down. "It's hereditary. It's not the Sign of Evil. It just means that the Throne is supposed to be all-seeing to detect enemies and evildoers."
Jaine turned to Odard: "You're not a prince either, I guess? You're not as handsome as he is, but you're dressed like a prince."
"I'm a baron," he replied helpfully. "That's sort of like-"
"A wicked feudal oppressor!" Jaine said delightedly, clapping her hands together. "I've read about that in school. Do you have a castle and a dungeon?"
"A castle, a small town, six manors-four held for knight service by my vassals, two in demesne-ten villages and a hunting lodge," Odard said.
"And dungeons? With racks and rats and straw and guys in black hoods and stuff?" she said with gruesome relish.
"No. The High Court of Petition and Redress doesn't like that sort of thing these days. And I'm not all that wicked or oppressive… all my peasants would leave if I were, and then where would I be?"
"Broke, and earning your own living," Rudi said. "And that wouldn't suit you at all, at all, Odard."
And you can't hunt runaways with dogs anymore, he thought.
Odard's father had been an enthusiastic hunter of runaway peons, with a pack of sight hounds trained to kill, and a busy torture chamber. Though to be fair, that sort of thing had been over before Odard's voice broke; it had been part of the settlement at the end of the War of the Eye that anyone could move if they wanted to. It was amazing how the Portland Protective Association's standards of management changed once the implications of "voting with the feet" sank in.
The interrogation continued relentlessly:"What do you do, then, if you're not being wicked and oppressive?"
Odard was looking a little bewildered; children were more strictly kept in the Protectorate. He probably hadn't had much to do with kids in his own household since he was one himself.
"Ah… I keep the garrison up to scratch, drill the mi litia, keep order, collect the taxes, see the demesne farms are managed properly and the tithes paid, preside at ses sions of the court baron, throw out the first baseball of the season…" Odard said.
"Oh," Jaine said. "Boring stuff, like Dad does."
Her brother cleared his throat. "Excuse her," he said. "We don't get that many foreigners here."
"We're all Americans," his mother said soothingly. "Have a canape."
The word was only vaguely familiar to Rudi; evidently it meant things like bits of liver paste and capers and cav iar on crackers. At home Mackenzies would have called it a nibblement; Sandra Arminger referred to them as petit fours or, when she was being obscure, faculty fodder.
Jaine's older sister cut in with a question for the twins: "And you two are elf-friends?"
There were bookcases on one wall of the living room, across from the fireplace. Rudi's eyes flicked in that di rection. Yes, a set of what Aunt Astrid insisted on calling "the histories," and looking well-read.
"Well, we sure would be if there were any elves around to be friends with right now," Ritva said.
"Provided they liked us, " Mary said pedantically. "Which we can't tell, really. Who knows? They might be all snooty and condescending."
Seeing disappointment, Ritva went on: "But we do live in a flet and talk Elvish. Well, Sindarin, not High-Elvish. That's for special occasions."
Both the Thurston sisters looked interested. "Say something in Sindarin!" Shawonda exclaimed.
"Ummm…"
The twins looked at each other, cleared their throats, and sang a few verses instead-they had pleasant sopranos, as well trained as you'd expect in a Dunedain, and they were very good at two-part harmony. Mackenzies liked to sing, but Astrid's Rangers couldn't say, "where's the outhouse?" without a chorus sometimes.
It was Rudi's turn to nearly choke on his wine, and he saw Mathilda flush with annoyance-she had a catlike obsession with propriety, sometimes. It sounded pretty-Elvish always did-but rendered into what Dunedain called the common tongue the song would have gone:
And into that dusty den of sin
Into that harlot's hell
Came a lusty maid who was never afraid,
And her name was Aunt Astrid had pitched an absolute fit when they translated that one, a couple of years ago, and another when they started singing it in taverns as they passed through and rumors started spreading about what the lyrics actually meant.
Songs just didn't get more luridly gross than "The Ballad of Eskimo Nell."
"That's beautiful," Shawonda said, and sighed. "And are you on a quest?"
This one would be prime Ranger bait, back home, Rudi thought. She'd be off to the woods in a flash.
Aunt Astrid's bunch attracted that sort of romantic the way cowpats did flies. To be fair, they did a lot of good work to earn their keep.
"Well, we're not qualified to quest for rings or anything like that," Ritva said solemnly. "We're still young and just finished our ohtar training three years ago. You have to be twenty-one to be a Roquen, a knight. Mostly back home we find lost livestock or children, and track down man-eaters or bandits or fugitives, and guard caravans or explorers going into dangerous country."
"It's sort of like being a town watchman… a policeman, you say here."
"But with more trees and lots and lots of venison."
"And squirrel stew and wild greens."
"We'd like to do a quest, of course."
"We're working our way up from minor things," Mary continued.
"Like questing for Bilbo's pen and inkstand," her sister specified.
"Or Galadriel's tea strainer."
"Or Arwen's hand lotion pump."
"And right now, our klutzy big brother's magic sword-he's always losing things. Dumb-blond syndrome."
"But you're blond. Blond er. His hair is sort of red and blond but yours is just yellow."
"Yeah, but we're girls, which makes up for it."
Shawonda laughed; then her mother pointed through an archway. "You two go help get the first course out."
To Rudi and the others: "I'm sorry, but they're very excited-I know they can be a bit of a trial at times."
"Not at all," Rudi said, as Mathilda and Odard mur mured much less sincere disclaimers. "They remind me of my sisters… my mother's younger daughters, not the Terrible Two here."
"They remind us of us," Mary or Ritva said.
"Now you're getting nasty, " Mathilda said dryly.
"They remind me of my sister," Edain said, and then grinned, suddenly looking a lot less adult than his nineteen years. "But sure, and I won't hold it against them."
Rudi looked at the mantelpiece. There were a few framed pictures there. One showed a much younger General-President Thurston in the uniform of the old American army, standing with his arm around Cecile; she was holding a baby in the crook of one arm. The picture was in color, and it had an archaic sharpness to it.
His brows went up in surprise. "You and your hus band met before the Change, then, Mrs. Thurston… Cecile?"
"Just before-we were married in the spring of 1997," she said. "Martin arrived in a hurry… and he's been that way ever since!"
"But then… I thought General Thurston was sent out of Seattle? You went with him?"
She shook her head and smiled, fond and proud. "No. He came back for me and Martin."
The smile died. "We were hiding in the cellar of the colonel's house. That was after the mutiny, and things were… very bad. The MREs were all gone and I would have had to go out to look for food in a day or two. And there he and Sergeant Anderson were."
Rudi glanced at his friends. They were looking as impressed as he was, even Edain, who was a crucial few years younger. They'd all heard the stories. The only people who got out of most big cities alive after the Change were the ones who ran, and ran fast, before things went totally bad; the only exception they knew was Portland, and there Mathilda's father and his bul lyboys had burned large sections down and driven most of the survivors out to die.
Going back into the hell of Seattle for someone a full month after the Change must have required a trip all the way around Robin Hood's barn, and the Horned Lord's own luck. He mentally revised his one tough bastard estimation of General Thurston upwards a notch.
Then Cecile went on: "And here's Larry now."
The front door opened again; Rudi caught the draft of cooler air, and the crash and thump of the sentries. Thurston senior's voice came, muffled as if he were talking over his shoulder.
"… and have the mobilization orders on my desk for signature by oh nine hundred tomorrow, Major. Staff plan seventeen-C."
Thurston's younger son turned at the words, quivering a little like an eager hunting dog; he was just the age to long for his first war. His father visibly forced the scowl off his face as he came in and greeted his guests. Cecile handed him a cocktail of the type Rudi had turned down in favor of wine; in his experience hard liquor just be fore a meal stunned your taste buds. The ruler of Boise looked as if he needed it, though.
He gave them all a nod, then turned to Father Ignatius. "Did you mention you were an engineer, padre?"
The priest signed assent. "We all study the basics, sir," he said. "The knight brethren are actually more often in command or advisory positions, you see. We have to be able to lay out a fort or build a siege engine. Or plan a town or an irrigation system and pumps."
"You might like to take a look at some of our stuff while you're here, then."
"I'd appreciate it, sir," the priest said.
He was as calmly polite as always, but Rudi noticed a flare of interest in the dark eyes. Rudi wasn't surprised that Thurston would know a man's interests… and not surprised that he had no small talk, either.
"It's a pity we didn't get more of your missions out here," the general went on. "We could have used them."
Ignatius nodded. "But there are others who need it far more," he said. Then a rare charming smile: "You've done too well to need us."
They went into the dining room and the meal came out: potato and leek soup first, then a rack of lamb-nicely and slightly pink in the center-with a plum-honey garlic glaze, scalloped potatoes and steamed new vegetables. Those were welcome. The salad of early greens was much more so; Rudi forwent the dressing. Traveling usually meant living on a winterlike diet of bread and salted and smoked meats, with vegetables dried or pickled or in jars. It was good to taste seasonal delicacies like fresh tomatoes again. The bread was excellent too, less crumbly than that made from the Willamette's soft wheat-Portland's court ate something similar, from flour imported down the Columbia from the Palouse country.
At last the dessert-peach pie-was finished and the younger children sent off with a minimum of protest.
"Excellent dinner," Odard said courteously, as they moved back to the living room for coffee and liqueurs. "My compliments to the cook."
"Thank you," Cecile Thurston said, showing a dimple as she smiled. "You're looking at her."
Mathilda looked a little less surprised; but then, she'd spent part of many years at Dun Juniper, where Rudi's mother always did her share of the kitchen chores.
"You're in a bit of a fix," Thurston said bluntly, when the drinks had been poured. "What the hell were your folks thinking, anyway?"
"A fix? That I knew before I left," Rudi said wryly. "And if we told you exactly why we were heading east-well, it makes sense in our terms, but I doubt you'd be agreeing."
Thurston raised an eyebrow."Heading for Nantucket? Yeah, I've gotten some rumors about the place, and if there's some hint about the Change I sure as hell would like to know. And there was our friend Ingolf's not-very complete story to add spice. This isn't the time, though, with the fighting getting worse."
Rudi spread his hands. "Sir, when would it be this right time? There's been war and rumor of war from here to the Atlantic since the Change, and I don't expect it to much improve before I'm old and gray, so."
"According to my intelligence people, it's pretty damned bad east of here-the Prophet's boys beat the Snake River Army-that's one of New Deseret's main field forces-east of Pocatello, and it'll be under siege soon. Then they'll head for Twin Falls… which is entirely too close to my border. There's fighting down in what used to be Utah, too. It's all coming apart and there are raiding parties everywhere: Corwinites, deserters from both sides, freelancers and mercenaries and gen eral road-people bandit scum. It'd be a poor payment for saving my life and my boys' to send you into that."
The companions exchanged sober glances. "That all went to hell in a handbasket woven lickety split," Ingolf said. "New Deseret was holding up pretty well when I went through last year."
Thurston held out a br
oad palm and turned it as if it were a seesaw on a pivot, at first slowly and then with a snap.
"They spread themselves too thin and let the Cutters get inside their decision curve. Walker-he's the Prophet's main commander-is a bastard but a smart one, and he managed to mousetrap a lot of their infantry down south. Sort of a replay of Manzikert… a battle about a thousand years ago. He was army before the Change. After that he kept them rocked back on their heels and their coordination broke down. When the balance tips, things go from slow to fast real fast."
Ingolf gave a grunt and a nod, the sort you did when somebody said something you knew was true by experience. Rudi looked at him.
"Yeah, the general's right. It's like fighting one-on-one with someone who's about as good as you are; you know how that is."
Rudi made a gesture of acceptance. "Back and forth until someone makes a mistake… and they get hurt and then they can't recover and then it's all over but the last strike?"
"Yeah, that's about it, on a bigger scale. If you don't have a margin for error, error kills you."
Everyone else in his group signaled agreement. None of them had fought in a real war except Ingolf, but they'd all been in skirmishes and fights on a more personal level.
"Will you help them now, Larry?" Cecile said, surpris ing Rudi a little; she'd been very quiet during most of the dinner, and he'd pegged her as the type who did her consulting in private. "I told you we should have intervened last year."
"Yeah, I will," Thurston said absently, looking up at the ceiling. "I'd have done it earlier, if they hadn't been so damned stubborn. "
"Stubborn as you, Dad?" Frederick Thurston said.
"Just about. I should have softened my terms and they should have realized how deep the shit they were in was earlier. But if I hit the Prophet's men now, they'll still be weakened from taking out New Deseret and they won't have had a chance to consolidate. If we get lucky, we might be able to break them and take Montana and Wyoming too. And this assassination thing will keep the politics simple, thank God. They screwed up and I'm going to… ah, take advantage of it."
Then his eyes snapped back to the present. "But it's going to be a pain in the ass for you people. I regret that-I owe you seriously-but there's nothing I can do about it. I do suggest you stick around Boise for at least a little while, to see who jumps where. I'll let you have the best intelligence I can on developments."
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