by J. P. Wagner
Carrtog noticed that Gryff reddened at that and thought it a bit unfair of the bailiff to have brought that up. On the other hand, perhaps Lugan was trying to indicate that the young man’s parents took their duties as parents seriously.
Lugan continued, “Furthermore, he has, within the last two years, asked his father to see about the possibility of apprenticing him to the Railroad. Llych has indeed made some inquiries in that regard, though nothing has come of it so far. When you stated the need of an assistant, he came to my mind. What is your feeling in the matter? Or had you preferred someone of noble birth?”
In fact, noble birth was not one of the chief characteristics Carrtog had in mind, particularly given the attitudes of the young nobles he had met at court who were mostly given to pursuit of women and pursuit of fame and glory in the upcoming war. This latter was more of a factor since the rebels had proven themselves more than just a group of ragged peasants annoyed at being ruled by King Bornival.
“No, I think the main characteristics I need are an interest in mechanics and a willingness to learn. What do you say, Gryff? You seem to be interested in mechanics, right enough, but are you willing to learn? By that I mean not just standing at the controls and making the machine function, whatever it might be, but learning how such things work, from the very basic principles on up, and even learning how to build them so that you can build better ones. What do you say to that?”
A smile lit the boy’s face, making him indeed look little more than a boy. “I say yes, Lord!” Then his face went still again, and he said quietly, in the manner of one who has seen his hopes dashed more than once, “That is, if you are truly serious, my Lord.”
“Oh, I am serious indeed, Gryff. The only thing that could change my mind is if you prove to be unwilling to work, or unwilling to learn, and from the look of you I don’t think either one is likely to be true. Now, I suggest that you go tell your parents this news and come back here. I think that, rather than have you come in from the farm each day, you should live here in the house. Will that be well with you?”
“Whatever you say, Lord.”
Of course it will be well with him, Carrtog; you’re the lord and he is the third son of a farm-holder.
“Good. I will instruct the steward to arrange quarters for you here and we will begin your training immediately.”
“Training, Lord?”
“Yes, of course. At the very least you must be taught to read, write, and cipher. It might be possible to learn mechanics without that knowledge, but it will be very difficult.”
“Yes, Lord.” Gryff sounded doubtful.
“Come, now, Gryff; these things are not impossible to learn, and once they are learned, many good things flow from the knowledge.”
Chapter 14
The first arrangements for Gryff’s accommodations and the beginning of his education were actually simple matters to arrange: Carrtog called his Steward and said, “I’ve taken on an assistant, a young man named Gryff, son of Llych, of Cwmddon Farm. Rather than having him come all the way from his farm every day, I would like to see him given some sort of quarters nearby. Would you please arrange for that, and for his meals, and some sort of decent clothing, along the lines of stable-hands garb. I would also like to have him taught reading, writing, and ciphering, as soon as possible. Could you see to that?”
Bragan spent a moment considering this, then said, “The lodgings and the clothing, as well as the food, are easily enough done. If he will report to me as soon as possible, I will have his measurements taken, and garments should be ready within at most a day. As for the teaching, I can have one of my assistants begin that as soon as possible. Will that be suitable?”
Carrtog, who had expected some hesitation, even objection, to having a farmer brought into the household, could only say, “Very much so. Thank you.”
Bragan only bowed. “I am at your service, Lord.”
At lunch with Addy, Carrtog commented on how everything was progressing satisfactorily. “And how do you find things yourself, Addy?”
“Well, having received reports from all the chief house-servants, and having inspected the living-quarters, the kitchens, the store-rooms, the pantries, and all such, I find myself with nothing to do save sewing. And all save the least capable of my maidservants can sew better than I.”
#
For the first few days, Gryff concentrated mostly on learning to read, write, and figure. At other times, Carrtog taught lessons on mechanics, though the lessons were hampered at first by Gryff’s inability to read or write. Gryff did not lack for intelligence, though, and proceeded quite well.
Work had begun on his work-shed, and though it was going to be some time before he could actually put it to use, he got out a set of plans for a steam engine and, with Gryff and Yakor along, visited the smith to see what the man might say.
“The smith at Tsingallik has taken to steam engines heartily, and the last I heard he was trying to build gliders and launch them using a steam engine. Not all smiths are so forward-thinking, and some are downright unwilling to change. We will have to see what sort our smith is.” Carrtog explained to Gryff as they went.
The smith of Nandycargllwyd, a stocky and well-muscled man named Fforchan, with a shock of graying hair, had apparently heard of his Lord’s interests, and had already taken a dislike of them. He watched, in a barely polite manner, while Carrtog unfolded his plans and explained what he wished.
Barely taking time to think, he said, “I can’t take the time from my real work for this sort of thing, Lord. I don’t believe it can have any real usefulness.”
“You think not? With steam railways already covering half the kingdom?” He was careful not to lose his temper; that would be worse than useless.
The smith shrugged. “With all the fiddling work to be done to put those boilers together so they don’t burst when any amount of steam is put through them, not to mention putting those piston-things together so they hold in enough steam to actually make things work? Too much trouble for all the good it does, Lord.”
Carrtog could, of course, remove the smith from his position, but that would be wasteful, and not really any sort of punishment; Fforchan could take his anvil and his tools and move to anywhere else — a good smith could always make his way, and there was no denying that Fforchan was a capable smith.
Carrtog began to fold up his plans. “Well, I will just have to go elsewhere, then.”
The smith watched, expressionless, as the lord took his plans and left.
#
Carrtog sent for his bailiff. Gryff spoke up, a bit nervously. “Your pardon, Lord, but do you intend to dismiss the smith?”
“I doubt it very much. From all I’ve heard, Fforchan is a very capable smith, and replacing him would be difficult. No, I think I will set the bailiff for searching for a smith specifically for my workshop. I will want a reasonably capable man, and one who is willing to produce the sorts of things I wish. Fforchan will maintain his position as smith for the estate and its farm-holds.”
Gryff nodded. “I understand; thank you, Lord.”
The bailiff was a while coming, so Gryff eventually asked, “Lord, while we wait, may I review the reading selection my tutor has set for me?”
Carrtog, pleased to see the younger man’s eagerness, said, “Certainly. And if you need help, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Yes, Lord.”
Actually, he didn’t ask for any help, though Carrtog was not sure whether he didn’t need any help, or was just unwilling to ask help of his lord.
For his own part, Carrtog brought out a book on the subject of mechanical principals, which Gwaitorr had recommended to him.
When the bailiff finally made his appearance, the two packed up their books.
Carrtog spoke first. “Fforchan refuses to lend his hand to any smith-work involving steam engines and the like.”<
br />
Lughan looked serious. “Do you intend to dismiss him, Lord?”
“Not hardly. He is a competent smith, and would be difficult to replace. No, I simply wish to hire a second smith, one who has no objection to building new-fangled machinery.”
“I see. Am I to understand that you wish me to engage in hiring this new smith, Lord?”
“Yes.”
“I see. I will begin to make inquiries immediately.”
“Very good.”
#
A week and a half later, before the bailiff’s inquiries could have any success, another Royal Courier arrived. This time there was no doubt that his message was for Carrtog, and it read, “Lord Carrtog, your Sovereign requires your presence at his place in the city of Waliauchel. Please make your way here with appropriate haste.”
It was signed by the king’s hand and stamped with his seal.
“What do you think he means by “appropriate haste?” Carrtog wondered aloud.
“I believe he means you’ve been out lollygagging around your estate long enough, and it’s time to come back and put yourself under his careful eye,” Yakor said.
Carrtog nodded, smiling. “That’s pretty much the way I read it. If he wanted us to rush, he’d have said ‘immediately,’ so I’d say we have some time to wind things up here before we go.”
Addy had long been familiar with the king’s attitudes, and it had required only a few words of explanation of Carrtog’s specific situation for her to understand how matters stood.
She pursed her lips and frowned. “I’d seen things happen to other people, but nothing ever happened to anyone I knew well. Until now. And of course, nothing is happening now, either, nor will it likely happen unless some other event happens first. If you understand what I’m saying.”
Yakor nodded his head briefly. “Yes, Lady, I believe we understand you very well. The king is not demanding our immediate presence, but we should not spend too much time on preparations. We should have our people begin packing as soon as feasible.”
Carrtog had one of the servants fetch Gryff and when the young man arrived he seemed worried.
“You are worried, Gryff?”
“Ah—” the young man hesitated, then went on, swiftly. “The rumor among the servants is that you are summoned to return to Waliauchel, Lord. Does this mean I must return home?”
Carrtog’s eyebrows went up. “Not unless you wish to. I will be continuing my work and studies when I return to the capital, and I will still need an assistant. Did you not wish to accompany me?”
“With all my heart, Lord. I had just thought that in the capital, you would be able to find an assistant who already knew reading, writing, and figuring, and would hardly need me.”
“Gryff, barring some totally unforeseen circumstance, you need not concern yourself about being replaced. You will be my assistant for so long as you live, as far as I am concerned. You’ve shown the ability to learn quickly, which is the most important qualification for one in your position. I would greatly appreciate your willingness to come with me and continue to be my assistant. Besides, if I were to replace you with someone else, that person and I would have to begin all over again to get used to each other.” He smiled. “You understand?”
“Yes, Lord.” Gryff smiled, still a little diffidently.
#
By the time they were preparing to load the coach to go to the Railway Station, the bailiff had still not found a smith for Carrtog. He was apologetic about the matter, but Carrtog told him, “Don’t bother yourself further about it. When I come to Waliauchel, I will seek a smith there.”
#
The return trip was done in a less cheerful spirit; despite their parsing of the king’s message as a nonthreatening one, they all knew quite well that there was a strong possibility that they could have been mistaken, or even that the king’s temper might have changed for the worse since he sent the document.
They passed through the village of Harragush without incident this time. Carrtog, his mind moving through his concerns as to just what might be waiting for him back at the capital, only had a slight awareness that things were different, but did not comment on it.
It was Yakor who said, “They seem to have gotten past their fear for their charter.”
Carrtog looked up at him sharply. “What do you mean?”
“The people of the village. They don’t seem to care about us this time.”
Carrtog glanced up and around at the village, and how the people were paying little attention at all to his party. “I see. Well, that’s an improvement, isn’t it?”
Yakor gave a brief smile. “So what was keeping your mind so busy, then?”
Carrtog had to laugh at himself, then. “I’d been wondering if I was right to be so easy about the king’s summons.”
“Huh!” The older man snorted. “You’ve already made your decision that the summons doesn’t mean anything serious, and even if you’re wrong, there’s nothing you can do about it until you get to Waliauchel, so be easy and enjoy the trip.”
#
On the train ride back, Carrtog did arrange to ride in the locomotive for a short way. The engineer, when approached as the man in charge and asked for a favor, proved willing to allow Carrtog, Gryff, and Addy to ride in the locomotive between two watering stops, and was quite willing to explain the controls and how they worked.
When they got back to their car, Carrtog turned to his three companions, “Now I hope we all enjoyed the experience as well as learned something from this.”
Gryff said, quietly, “Yes, Lord.”
Addy said, “I enjoyed it very much, though, he seemed to object to my asking questions.”
Carrtog frowned. “There are some people who object to women doing anything save for what women have always done.”
“At the very, very least, I can learn for my own satisfaction.” Addy smiled, her face glowing with a newfound excitement.
Carrtog returned the smile, feeling suddenly that her beauty grew by the day the more of them he spent with her.
#
When they pulled into the station at Waliauchel, there was a small guard of twelve soldiers there to greet them. Carrtog’s very first thought was that they were all under arrest, but the commander of the troop saluted and said, “Lord Carrtog, the king has commanded us to meet you and Lady Adengler, and to escort you to your quarters.”
Carrtog returned the salute. “Thank you, captain.”
His first thought was, at least if they’re detaining us, they’re detaining us in comfort.
Immediately after that he had to laugh at himself. No, the king was simply indicating that you’re still in favor. No mention of detention has been made, so relax.
#
Things returned to something approaching what had previously been normal. That is, Enemantwin and Gwaitorr called on him to set up a new schedule of lessons.
Carrtog, having no desire to upset either or both of them, did not attempt to have Gryff included. So Carrtog continued to give lessons to the boy in private. He also undertook the purchase of a building for his own workshop and began furnishing it with tools and equipment. This he did a bit at a time, since the proper tools and equipment were at least moderately expensive, and Nandycargllwyd, while not impoverished, was not wealthy either.
Furthermore, he had to engage a smith. Gwaitorr favored that, since otherwise, for any of their smith-work, they had to hire a local smith at piece-work rates. If Carrtog was sufficiently well-off to engage a smith of his own, that would be one advantage.
“I would suggest, though,” he said, “that you engage a smith on the understanding that he be allowed to take on piece-work for others, since we will not likely have sufficient work to keep him busy all the time. That way, he will not feel the necessity to charge you so steeply for his services.”
> “Thank you. I had not thought of such things.”
The magician bowed. “Pleased to be of service, Lord.”
#
Yakor went back to his casual intelligence gathering activities in the wine-shops and alehouses of the capital. ‘Casual’ meant that he was not digging for specific information, but that he kept his eyes and ears open for anything he thought might be important — or merely interesting — to Carrtog.
In fact, the first interesting — and important — piece of information came from Addy herself.
On the morning of the third day after they had returned from Nandycargllwyd, at the breakfast table, she announced, “Carrtog my dearest, I’m expecting!”
He looked at her waist. “Are you sure?”
She chuckled. “I’m not showing yet, but yes, I’m fairly sure. Do I understand from the look on your face that you’re happy?”
“Happy? Oh, yes, I’m that, for certain. Do you feel all right?”
“Feel all right? Oh, my dearest, I’m expecting a baby, I’m not ill!”
“Is there anything I can do?”
That got another laugh. “You’ve already done your part, and quite well, too. I take care of the next part of the procedure, and in some months, you get to help with the raising of the child. Are you capable of that?”
He smiled. “Never having had a child to raise, I’ve never tried, so I don’t know what sort of father I’ll make. The best I can say, I suppose, is that I’ll try. Will that do?”
“I will hold you to that, then.”
#
The news about the baby, though important to Carrtog and Adengler, was only of minor importance given what else was taking place in and around the capital. The fields were white with the tents of the army assembling to march North under the personal command of King Bornival intent on the reconquest of the North for Cragmor.