by Taylor Leigh
‘Too bad,’ Nan said harshly. ‘It will get you out of the lodge for a while, which will do us all some good. Now your father did you a great honour, making you the Overseer here. You’re the closest thing we’ve had to a patrolman and people here look to you for guidance. Least you can do is your job and pull your weight round here!’
Andrew’s face worked for a moment, and then he stood. ‘Fine. Hope you all are happy that I’m rotting in this town.’
Nan rolled her eyes and marched towards the dining hall where heavenly aromas were starting to drift from. ‘So dramatic, you are!’
Andrew stood still for a moment in thought, drumming his long fingers together, then marched towards the doors facing the lake, swiping up his coat and cane on the way. Victoria hurried after him, silently wishing the kitchen goodbye, and caught the doors before they closed on her. She followed Andrew out into the cold morning air.
‘What are you doing here?’ Andrew asked peevishly.
Victoria jogged to keep up. ‘Look, like it or not, you’re the one who saved my life. Everyone else is doing their own thing and I’ve got nothing. I’m not just going to sit around being useless so I’m coming with you, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.’ Her words came out faster than she’d planned.
Andrew stopped and stared at her, incredulous. ‘No.’
Victoria arched her brows. ‘Say no all you want, I’m still coming with you. So you might as well accept it!’
‘Unbelievable,’ he huffed.
Victoria smirked. ‘So what are our plans for the day?’
‘Our plans?’ Andrew’s teeth clenched.
‘Yeah, our plans,’ Victoria crossed her arms across her chest, waiting.
‘Our plans…’ Andrew steepled his fingers in front of him, turning thoughtful. ‘I have to go down to the smithies. Drop off an order.’
Disappointment of a dull day ahead crashed through her. ‘The smithies? You mean the blacksmith? That’s your plans for the day? There has to be more! Can’t help but think someone like you always has stuff planned out. What about that list?’
Andrew narrowed his eyes. ‘Patience.’ He struck off through the village without another word and Victoria was quick to hurry after him.
The blacksmith was busy hammering away at a horseshoe as Andrew stopped before him. Andrew didn’t say a word, but stood still, watching the man beat the glowing metal. The blacksmith , a burly man in his forties, finally stopped, unable to take the scrutiny any longer. ‘Oh, it’s you, is it?’ He placed the hammer down, voice barely holding back a growl. ‘What can I do for you today, young sir?’ He eyed Victoria suspiciously. ‘Who’s this?’
In answer, Andrew withdrew from his coat a leather-bound bunch of papers and threw them on a table to the man’s left. The blacksmith picked it up warily, as if it might bite him. ‘Another one of your projects, I see. Can never be something simple, like a nice suit of armour for you. Like your brother has. Now that was a good piece of work.’
Andrew raised his eyes to the sky. ‘I have no time for this. Just get it done. The directions and measurements must be followed exactly. I believe I made them simple enough for you to understand. Come to me if you don’t; don’t try to figure it out on your own. You’ll only make a hash of it. And don’t stare. It’s not polite.’
The man tore his eyes away from Victoria to glower at Andrew, but nodded. ‘It’ll be done, just as you say. Might take me a while, though. This looks complicated. Lots of orders ahead of you.’
‘Fine. Take all the time you need.’ Andrew started walking. Victoria tagged along behind him, and almost bumped into him as he stopped abruptly. ‘And make it right this time! I don’t want to have to come back to your shop three times to have things fixed, like the last time!’
The man snarled something which Victoria didn’t catch, but Andrew was already strolling away and she had to hurry after him.
Andrew’s duties appeared to range from everything to making sure things were running smoothly in the village to settling disputes. Victoria could tell after an hour how much he hated it. His mood darkened and his sarcasm with the villagers grew more cutting with each stop. Every once and a while Andrew would point out random things in the village at whim, giving her an incomplete, spotty, but still effective tour of the place.
Everywhere Andrew went he walked at a brisk pace and stopped for nothing except where he was supposed to. Something else Victoria noted, the villagers gave her the impression of holding a dislike for Andrew, though they all hid it well. Everyone seemed to tolerate him to a certain point, no more. She was beginning to see why.
She wondered if he had any friends at all. It almost made her sad, to think of him lonely as he seemed. Yet his arrogant attitude was making it increasingly difficult for her to muster up pity for him.
They had just finished listening to a woman complain about her neighbour’s drinking habits and were walking across one of the covered bridges when Andrew spoke up. ‘You want to say something. It’s been bothering you for some time now.’
How did he know? ‘What? No. I mean, yes. I’m sorry, I just…I know this might be terribly rude…Please forgive me and you don’t have to answer, but I’ve been wondering about something. About what Nan said, and your father…They kept bringing up your…condition…And with that fit you had the other night I was just wondering …’
‘What’s wrong with me?’ Andrew finished.
Victoria blushed. ‘Well, in not so many words…yes.’
Andrew stopped on the bridge and turned to look at her. It had begun to drizzle and she could see little droplets of moisture in his light hair, the dampness causing it to curl messily. ‘I suppose it’s only natural for you to ask and I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t know—especially if you’re staying here for a while. Probably be best if you did, so you’ll stop fussing over it.’ He stood still for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts. ‘I have a sickness. Something I was born with. No-one really knows what causes it, so it’s simply called Breakdown.’
Victoria felt her stomach drop. ‘What is Breakdown?’
Andrew’s gaze moved across the lake. ‘What it sounds like. I have fits…I lose control of myself. Have seizures. You’ve seen it happen. That’s probably the most alarming part, since it’s visible. So don’t panic when it happens again, just realise it’s part of the whole process of the disease.’
Victoria followed his gaze across the lake, feeling as if she were sinking below the waves. ‘Is that it? I mean…that’s bad enough as it is…’
Andrew turned his thoughtful gaze up at the sky. ‘No,’ he said, drawing out the word. ‘Wouldn’t be so bad if that was it. Breakdown does seem to differ from person to person, but what seems to be the general progression is fits—which worsen with age—then you start losing your sight, and not long after that, all muscle function. You can’t move. Death comes soon after that once the lungs or heart fail. If my symptoms have any correlation with others who’ve had the disease, then that’s my future.’
Victoria was speechless. He said it all so matter of fact, and somewhat lightly, that she could hardly believe it. Looking at him now, she would never have guessed. Yes, he was very pale and thin compared to his muscular brother and father, but dying?
‘That…doesn’t seem possible! Andrew…’
Andrew held up his hands. ‘Please,’ he said firmly. ‘Please no pity or sympathy or anything else associated with that. I’ve had this since I was a child and I’ve had enough of that to be sick of it. I have the disease. End of story. There’s nothing you can say and it doesn’t upset me. My only problem with it is how it affects my work. People around me have learned to leave me alone about it; if you’re wise, you will as well.’
Victoria stared at him. ‘How—how long until…I mean, you’re not blind…’
‘Correct. At the rate I’m deteriorating, I’d say I have about two years of eyesight left. At least that’s what the healers in the village say, if one can believe
them. I’ve done several autopsies on people whom had the disease, so I know a good deal more than most. One thing I’ve been able to deduce is that most die by their mid-twenties. Once I lose my sight I’ve probably got till I’m twenty-five until I’m gone.’
‘How old are you now?’
‘Twenty-one.’
Victoria let out a breath.
He gave her another sharp look.
Victoria avoided his gaze. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I won’t mention it again.’
‘Good.’ He started walking.
Two hours later, Andrew and Victoria were down at the small harbour, having finished up a discussion on mapping out new fishing sites that wouldn’t interfere with the other towns. Victoria could almost see Andrew’s eyes glazing over during the conversation.
‘Well,’ she said, tossing a small rock into the water once they were finished. ‘They sure keep you busy around here. Seems like everyone’s got a problem they want you to fix.’
‘It’s all so mundane,’ Andrew groaned. ‘I’ve felt so very trapped my whole life. The boredom is enough to drive one mad.’
Victoria blinked. ‘I guess I can relate to that.’
Andrew turned to look at her, eyebrows raised. ‘There has been no real challenge around here. Just these meaningless problems! Nothing constructive for me to do.’
Victoria grinned. ‘Yeah, for me either.’
Andrew frowned. ‘Really? Seems like the life of a slave would be very busy.’ His eyes shone.
She bit her bottom lip. ‘Right. Well, you know…work, it’s rather boring, not challenging. What about you? What do you do when you’re off?’
Andrew shrugged. ‘Not much, besides what you’ve seen. I’ve designed a water filtration system for the village, created a translation from Tartan to Druid, mapped the far north coast of this side of the ocean, written three books on the flora and fauna of the deep forest, invented a deep water sailing vessel, updated the windmills and waterwheels in the village. Oh, and solved two murders, one involving a jealous fish monger from another village and the other a nasty bit of business between a cook and a mistress.’
Victoria stared guiltily. She spent her days lounging around the palace, trying to hide from her tutors. ‘You’ve done all that?’
‘Well,’ Andrew’s brow came down. ‘In the last three years. It’s been slow.’
She couldn’t take her eyes off of him. ‘I—uh…wow…’
Andrew waved her off. ‘It’s fine, most people feel that way.’
Victoria shook her head, smiling. ‘That’s amazing.’
Andrew was visibly pleased. ‘You think so? Most find it incredibly annoying.’
‘I think it’s brilliant.’
‘Nice price to pay, considering what it’s doing to my body.’ He turned round, headed back for the main village.
‘You mean that the condition you have—’
‘Seems to be connected to my rather exceptional intellect? Yes. That’s not to say that everyone else with Breakdown is a genius, they’re not, but my symptoms seem to be more acute than others afflicted with the disease. Mental disorders have a habit of creating savants, from what I’ve read. That appears to be the case with me.’
Victoria ran a hand through her hair. ‘You said you’ve been so incredibly bored…what do you do to keep yourself from it?’
Andrew stopped and gestured round him at the bustling village mockingly. ‘You’re looking at it.’
They passed the guardhouse, which was a stone building sheltered behind a high, log wall. Up on the wall sat Thedric, along with a few other strong, uniformed men. They all were close to the same age and she had to admit, Thedric looked somewhat handsome dressed in his chainmail armour and bright red cloak.
‘Victoria!’ Thedric called down. He was eating an apple. ‘Andrew entertaining you with the ever-exciting tour of our village?’
‘I’m enjoying it, actually,’ Victoria admitted. ‘It’s quite a change.’
Thedric rolled his eyes. ‘Just don’t get Andrew to start talking. He’ll make you think he’s a god the way he goes on about himself.’
Andrew raised his eyes to his brother. ‘Don’t you have duties you should be performing now?’
Thedric leant back, boots bumping against the log wall. ‘Whoa, calm down, Overseer! I’ve got it all under control. Oh, by the way, Uric wanted to see you. Didn’t sound too happy.’
‘I suppose it’s a good thing father put you in charge of guard duty. It’s about as intellectually stimulating as you can handle.’
Thedric chuckled nastily. ‘Having a tough day?’ He pulled a face. ‘Things must be really, really boring.’
Andrew started walking again. ‘And it’s getting even more so standing next to you.’
Thedric hurled his apple core at his brother and waved to Victoria as she hurried after Andrew.
‘Who’s Uric?’ she asked, trotting to keep up.
‘Our main construction overseer. In charge of all the building designs, mostly mine. It’s never a good sign if he wants to talk to me. Means something’s gone wrong.’
Victoria was honestly surprised by how open and talkative Andrew was today. It was a pleasant change.
They walked across the packed sand earth beneath great pine trees till they reached a round, open-air building. A strong-looking, hairy man was leaning over a set of charts, musing. When he saw Andrew, he grunted a greeting. Andrew came to stand by him, casting a side-ways glance down at the papers the man was poring over.
‘Glad to see you,’ Uric said. He eyed Victoria but said nothing to her. ‘We’re having problems.’
‘It appears everyone is,’ Andrew said in a more genial tone than he’d spoken to anyone else so far.
Uric pulled open a rolled piece of paper. Victoria leant over and saw a large, cylindrical building with an open glass area at the top.
‘Your lighthouse. It’s good in theory, but we need it to be structurally sound. Can’t rightly figure out the measurements of it. It’s all just guessing at this point.’
Andrew ran hands through his hair and let out an exasperated groan. ‘I was hoping you’d have figured this out on your own,’ he admitted.
Victoria glanced back down at the parchment and bit her bottom lip. She didn’t understand what had Andrew so vexed.
‘I’m afraid it’s a bit beyond me,’ Uric confessed.
‘But it’s easy,’ she spoke up.
Andrew glanced at her, then did a double take. ‘Easy? You know maths? You can figure this out?’
Victoria nodded. ‘Yeah, learnt it years ago. Can you give me some parchment and the measurements?’
Uric looked to Andrew questioningly. He nodded. ‘Do as she says.’
Victoria worked the problem over, calculating the measurements of the lighthouse. She was shocked by how fascinated Uric and Andrew were with the problem and explained it as she worked. More than once Andrew stopped her and wrote things down. Once she finished, she handed the parchment back to Uric and he studied it.
‘Seems right to me,’ he shrugged.
Andrew nodded. ‘Well then, shall I assume we’ll have no more problems?’
Uric smirked. ‘Yeah, and if I do, I know who to call. This girl here!’ He laughed.
Andrew smiled humourlessly, and then left the shop, Uric still chuckling behind him. When they were several paces away he stopped beneath a large beech tree and whirled on her. ‘How did you know how to do that?’
Victoria frowned. ‘It’s easy. You mean you really don’t know how to calculate that?’
Andrew sighed. ‘I may be a genius, but I’m not afraid to admit I’m a dunce when it comes to maths. I’ve never had a head for numbers. It’s just something I’ve never been able to understand. No-one here is as learned as me so they always expect I have the answers to it.’
‘Oh, well on my world we build a lot of strange buildings and statues. It takes a lot of creativity. We all have to learn structural maths, it’s required. Sorry,
I hope I didn’t come off as too arrogant back there.’
Andrew waved her away. ‘No, no. It’s good.’ He gave her a strange smile. ‘I’m glad to have someone with me whom can figure out what I can’t. Things are going to get much easier for me.’
Victoria beamed. ‘You mean I can keep coming with you on your rounds?’
Andrew smirked. ‘In a couple months I may just let you take over them!’ He walked back towards the lodge. ‘Come on, you’re probably hungry. Let’s see if there’s anything left in the dining hall.’
Victoria followed behind him, trying to hide her huge grin. She’d actually managed to impress him! If only slightly. And by the looks of things, that was something hard to do. She began to think that perhaps she might actually be able to achieve what Tollin wanted after all.
Chapter Eighteen
Something awoke her. She’d gone to bed late, staying up sitting by the fire with Andrew, Molly and Thedric. Molly and Thedric could talk for an eternity once they got started. By the time she had finally taken a bath—with running water, yet another invention by Andrew—she had been so exhausted she’d fallen asleep almost immediately. But something had awakened her now.
She lay still under the covers, listening. Her eyes were just beginning to close, rationalising that she had dreamt the noise, when it came again, a hard rap at the window. Victoria pushed herself up and nervously got out of bed, heart in her throat. What if it was someone from the village, wanting to kill off the newcomer? She padded across the wooden floor and pushed the drapes aside against her better judgement. Tollin’s face was peering back at her, eyes wild, mouth open, hands cupped to the glass. Victoria jerked the drapes closed in surprise and sat down, she took a deep breath.
‘Oi! Open up!’ his voice came through the frosted pane, somewhat muffled.
She pulled the drapes apart again and swung the window open. Tollin ducked as the frame swept over his head. ‘What do you want?’ she snapped.
A wave of cold air washed into her room.
Tollin gazed up at her. He rested his crossed arms on the window ledge. ‘I’ve made an arrangement to meet a member of the Druid clan tonight on the ocean channel in one hour. I want you to come along.’