Malachi tilted her chin up. "Do you like presents?" She shook her head. He sighed. "Probably because you do not have enough experience with them. I will have to change that. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the Council Chambers reading all that damned paperwork."
Chapter 20
Malachi stretched his neck, pushed his chair back and placed the last piece of paper in the Council Chamber on its appropriate stack. He had been seated in the same chair all day reading. He had divided the papers up into four stacks: the rubbish bin, household, army inventory, and farms and farmers. He stood up and stretched his back. He would have his father and Lucius go through the rubbish bin just to make sure he hadn't overlooked anything important. For now, he was starving to death. Lunch had been a very, very long time ago. He looked at the tall grandfather clock. It was nearly midnight. Exiting the Council Chambers, he saw that the light was on in his office. As he looked in, he was not surprised to see the slave on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor. He looked around the room. It was significantly cleaner, though not done yet. "Please tell me you haven't done this all by yourself."
She looked up at him, then sitting back on her heels, she stretched her back and slowly shook her head. "So where are your helpers?" he asked. She folded her hands and put them to her cheek and leaned over a little bit. "If you sent them to bed, why didn't you go too?" She indicated the floor and went back to scrubbing it. "Well, I'm starved. I think the floor can wait. Let's go get a bite to eat." She nodded and got to her feet. As she shook out her skirt and ran her hand through her hair pushing it behind her ear, Malachi had to bite his tongue not to start laughing. She was covered in dirt. Her very pale skin now was a bizarre shade of gray, her clothes were filthy, but the best part was her hair, which had cobwebs and clumps of dirt and dust all through it. Instead of her normal ghostly self, she now looked like something that had just crawled out of a grave. As they walked to the kitchen, Malachi asked, "So what are you going to do now?" She looked at him puzzled, then she made as though she was stirring a large pot, indicated him and then pretended as though she was eating. "No, I don't mean right now. I mean what are you going to do with your life now? Are you going to stay here? Are you going back to your family, what?" At the mention of her family, she looked frightened. Malachi stopped walking and gripped her arm gently and turned her to face him. "Why does the mention of your family frighten you?" She shook her head fiercely and started to walk on. He did not release her arm. "You don't want to talk about your family. At least tell me what you want to do. I mean, surely you realize you're not a slave anymore. You're free, free to do what you want to do, free to stay, free to go, free to get married and have a family." She looked at him disbelieving until he had mentioned getting married and having a family, then she looked so ashamed and embarrassed it broke his heart. She pulled free and hurried in the direction of the kitchen. He followed.
She refused to allow herself to start crying. She hurried to the kitchen. Finding a bucket of clean water sitting in the sink, she began washing her hands. She hadn't even realized how dirty they were until then. She scrubbed to her elbows and tried not to think about marriage or family. She tried to cram all of those thoughts back into the box deep in a small corner of her heart where she kept them locked away; but they wouldn't seem to go back in. Her hands went still as she thought about the man she was supposed to have married. She had not loved him, but she had liked him. He was nice and had an odd crooked smile. He had been a friend of her brother. She quickly put her hands over her ears as though that would stop the memories. No, no, no, no, she told herself over and over again. Then she heard the King enter. She went back to scrubbing her hands.
Malachi entered the kitchen. He looked around and began finding something to eat. The first thing that caught his eye was a large loaf of bread. He hadn't had a sandwich in years. He was sure there had to be some cold meat around here somewhere. He found it quickly as well as some mustard, but the cheese was eluding him. "All right, I'll bite, where do you keep the cheese?" he finally asked. The slave dried her hands and retrieved the cheese. She reached for the loaf of bread and a knife, but he waved her away. Picking up a knife, he pointed to the chair at the table. "Sit." As he began cutting bread, he asked, "Chicken or ham?" Keeping his eyes cast down, he began preparing two sandwiches. The slave pointed to the chicken, though she was sure Malachi didn't see her. After a minute he added, "If you have a preference you better speak up, otherwise you get what I make you."
She tapped on the table trying to get his attention because if he gave her a ham sandwich, she was sure she was going to be sick. She didn't like ham. She couldn't eat it. It always made her sick. He ignored her. She tapped a little louder; he continued to ignore her. When she realized he intended to make both of the sandwiches ham, she said softly, "Chicken."
"Chicken it is." He finished the sandwiches and carried them to the table, then he found two glasses and poured them both a beer. The slave looked down at the huge sandwich in front of her. She knew she couldn't even eat a quarter of it. She got up and retrieved the knife and cut the end of the sandwich off, then began nibbling on it.
"Drink some beer, it'll ease your stomach and enable you to eat a wee bit more." The slave looked at the beer glass then shook her head. "Remember what I said - I will tolerate disobedience in my wife, not my servant." The slave frowned and picked up the glass and took a few sips. After a minute or two she looked at the glass, surprised her stomach did feel a little bit better. She drank just a few more sips, then she tried to eat a little more. She was quite surprised the food didn't ball up in her stomach and make her feel sick. They sat in comfortable silence for a little bit longer when suddenly Malachi asked, "What is your name?" She decided to just pretend as though she didn't hear him. She shifted the plate and her glass away from her, clearly finished eating. Malachi smiled as he reached across the small table and pulled her plate towards him. Picking up her sandwich, he said, "You're not afraid of me are you?"
She looked up at him in surprise, then she considered what he had said. Her mind immediately went to the night before. He had been so kind and gentle, but she was sure inside was a monster. She trembled slightly as she thought of it. That man she did not ever want to meet, because him she was afraid of him and she didn't know why. He kept saying she was free. She was a slave. She belonged to Edmund. She unconsciously rubbed her right upper arm where she wore a gold slave band with Edmund's crest on it. Everything Edmund owned now belonged to Malachi, which included her. She considered for a minute. Though being Malachi's slave might not be such a bad thing, at least as long as I don't make him mad. She looked up at him. He was still waiting for a response. She shrugged her shoulders.
Malachi sighed. He was too tired to try to win a battle of wits with the woman. He'd begin again tomorrow. He pointed to her beer. "Finish it, then go to bed, and that's an order." Malachi stood up. As he saw she was starting to wave her hand to ask him something, he continued heading for the door.
She was desperately trying to get his attention, but he was ignoring her again. He was going to be out of the room if she didn't hurry and do something. She didn't dare defy him when he said it was an order. She couldn't go to bed like this. She opened her mouth and what came out was the most pathetic sounding squeak that she had ever heard, but she was so afraid of making him mad. "Bath first."
Malachi, with his back turned to her, grinned from ear to ear. Well, we're up to two word sentences. He cleared his throat and managed to say in a normal voice, "You don't need my permission to take a bath before you go to bed. I would expect nothing less." Having completely regained his composure, he turned around. "Just don't be all night about it, you need to sleep. I know you didn't get much last night." He was rewarded by her blushing a most becoming shade of pink.
Malachi awoke at the sound of his door. Lifting his head off the pillow, he saw the lass enter carrying a tray. She smiled at him and set it on the nightstand. Crossing to the window, she pulled open the curtains, then moving to
the fireplace she started to rekindle it. "Leave it. I am not going to be in here long enough to make it worthwhile." She stood up and began retrieving his clothes from where he had thrown them. "I'll get those. I don't expect you to clean up after me." This time she ignored him and continued picking them up.
Malachi smiled as he thought to himself, Go ahead and continue to defy me, then I will have you for my wife. He continued to smile as he watched her tidying things away, then he found himself considering beckoning her to his side, pulling her into bed, and having his wicked way with her. He shook his head to himself. Not yet, I have to bide my time. He threw off the covers and climbed out of bed.
Hearing him get out of bed, she turned to look at him, then her face felt very warm as she stared at his completely naked body. Her blush increased as she realized she liked looking at him. She looked away and rubbed her slave band again, just to remind herself what she was.
Malachi washed and dressed and headed down to breakfast. Entering the dining hall, he summoned Gertrude. She approached and curtsied. "You sent for me, Your Majesty?"
"Aye. From now on at lunch I want this table here …" he indicated the table in the center, "reserved for myself and my senior staff. I will inform those I wish seated at the table." He gestured to the table on the platform. "That table will only be used at dinner time. Breakfast will just be a catch all affair."
"Aye, Your Majesty, is there anything else you wish?"
"Aye, immediately after lunch I would like you, Lucius, Princess Abby, and Richter to give me a full tour of the castle. Be sure to bring something to make notes. Tomorrow after lunch, I wish you, Lucius, Princess Abby, and Richter to escort me around the grounds." Malachi hesitated a moment. "Given their condition, I would not wish Queen Roberta or Lady Sylvie to traipse all over the castle and grounds; but if either one of them feel there's something important they wish to discuss with me, I will be in my office all morning tomorrow. Do you have any questions?"
Gertrude replied a bit hesitantly, "Not at this time, Your Majesty, everything seems quite clear."
"One more thing, ma'am. Would you be so kind as to inform Lucius, Richter, Broderick, Duff, Timothy, Queen Roberta, the Healer, Princess Abby, Lady Sylvie, the cook, General Mackall, and of course yourself, that immediately following breakfast I would like to see all of you in the Council Chambers." Malachi did not wait for a response. He had a quick breakfast, then hurried to the Council Chambers. He wanted to be there first, so he could finish with his notes.
When they all started arriving, they found him bent over the table making notes. He waited until they were all there, then he leaned back in the chair and read his notes. "As you all know, I would like us to learn to get along. I would like to as seamlessly as possible unite our two people so that by the time our children are our age, they will find it hard to believe that we were ever at war. In order for this to happen, it is essential that we all come to an understanding and I feel it is essential for this understanding to happen, we both need to fully understand what we need from each other. So for this reason, I'm going to speak very candidly when I tell each one of you what I require of you and what I expect of you. I am going to begin by saying I'm the man in control of both countries. I would like them to no longer be thought of as two separate countries, but as one kingdom. But right now they are two kingdoms; one largely consisting of men, one largely consisting of women. My men need wives. I've said it before, so it should come as no surprise to you. You ladies need a King who is going to protect you, not abuse you and who cares about the prosperity of his people. So that is why I'm going to address my initial remarks to you ladies. Are you going to help me in solving this problem? Or are you going to be a constant thorn in my side?"
After a moment, Lady Sylvie tentatively raised her hand. Malachi indicated her. "I would like there to be peace. What do you feel I need to do to assist you in this process?"
"The best way you, Lady Sylvie, can assist in this process is to set the example, and by that I mean, have you agreed to marry Duff yet?"
Malachi was interrupted by Queen Roberta saying, "Why does she have to marry your man Duff? What if she prefers a different man?"
Malachi narrowed his eyes at Roberta, who clearly intended to be a thorn in his side; but to his surprise, aid came from an unlikely quarter. "My sister should marry Duff because she's carrying his child. I agree with the King. Whether the three of us are particularly crazy about the idea or not, we should set the example of honorable marriage. After all, if we don't want to end up like Edmund's kingdom, then we should not start down the same road of immorality that he was on."
Roberta made an unladylike noise. "Does that mean you intend to marry the man you spent the night with, or is it good for your sister but not good for you?"
"Roberta, what has gotten into you lately? You didn't used to have such a biting tongue," demanded Lady Sylvie.
To Malachi's surprise, Roberta blushed and looked ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry, I didn't meant be difficult, I just … I just don't want us to be bullied anymore." She quickly hugged Sylvie and Abby.
"Then might I suggest you stop bullying us. But to answer your question, aye, I would marry him …" She added glancing in Broderick's direction, "If he would have me?"
Broderick quickly moved to stand beside Abby and wrapped his arm possessively around her waist. "I would be honored if you would consent to be my wife." Abby smiled and slipped her left hand into his.
Sylvie moved to stand next to Duff, who took her hand in his. "And to answer your question, my King, she has graciously consented to be my wife."
Malachi said with a grin, "Good, that's the two of you I don't have to worry about anymore."
Again it was Roberta who interrupted him. "Is that all we are, problems you have to get rid of?"
"I was not referring to Lady Sylvie or Princess Abigail. I was referring to my troublesome younger brother and my problematic friend. I don't have to worry about them getting in trouble anymore. They are their wives' problem now."
The General started laughing and then suddenly looked stricken. "You better not have any designs on marrying me off, lad."
Malachi narrowed his eyes at his father. "If you're going to call me lad in that tone of voice, I can say I think Gertrude is an appropriate age for you." Father and son continued to glare at each other.
Gertrude decided to interrupt by saying, "With all due respect, Your Majesty, I've already trained and buried one husband. I don't intend to have to train another one."
Malachi laughed. "No worries, I have no intention of forcing anyone into any marriages. I merely wished to suggest that Lady Sylvie accept Duff's offer given her condition. Though I am quite pleased that Princess Abigail accepted my brother, it was not required. However, Queen Roberta, I would like to suggest rather strongly that you permit me to arrange a marriage for you. I feel we would both be more comfortable if you were not under the same roof as me. If this is agreeable to you, when I determine a suitable candidate, you and I will discuss the matter and see how you feel about my suggestion."
Roberta hesitated momentarily. Since they had already discussed this, she didn't understand what he was doing. Then she realized this was his way of making it publicly known. "If that is what my King commands, then I will, of course, be obedient."
"Good, I'm glad to hear it, though on reflection there is a marriage I would like to see."
He turned his gaze on Richter but before he could speak, Richter said quickly, "You need say no more, Your Majesty. It was my intention if I survived the battle to ask Holly to marry me, though given the fact that I hope you will permit me to stay in this area, after all, it is my home, I am not sure how willing she will be to accept my offer."
"I could be wrong, Richter, but I think Holly would follow you to the ends of the earth if you ask. But back to the reason I brought the rest of you here, I have tasks for all of you. Lady Sylvie and Princess Abigail may go. They heard what I had to say that was directed at them.
The rest of you may leave as you receive your orders. Richter, I would like you to retrieve the innkeeper's wife for me as soon as possible so that she and I can have a word. General Mackall, Lucius, I spent last night going over all of this paperwork. That very huge pile over there I think is rubbish, but I would like you two go through it and make sure that I didn't miss anything of importance." The two men nodded and seated themselves and began going through the paperwork.
Malachi turned to the cook. "And your name, madam?"
The woman curtsied. "Mrs. O'Connor."
"Mrs. O'Connor, I would appreciate it if you would coordinate with the head of my hunters, who I should have asked here, but I forgot about him. His name is Alec, not to be confused with Young Alec, his son. But I would appreciate it if you and Alec would work together on what is necessary for restocking the larders."
"Of course, Your Majesty, would be my pleasure. Is there anything else?"
"Not at this time, thank you." Malachi turned to his brother. "I would like you to compile a list of the farmers for this section of my kingdom and start inviting them here to meet with me. I would also like you to take a couple of our more experienced farmers and investigate all of the farms, then I will compare your reports with what the farmers tell me and we'll go forward from there."
"As my King commands." Broderick hesitated, then realizing this was not the right moment to apologize to his brother for his unguarded words yesterday, he excused himself.
Malachi turned to Timothy. "I would like you to gather all of the healers and begin assessing their skills. Then those who wish to remain in my employ, you determine where they would be of the most use. Also, I would like you to assess the main infirmary - not the tower infirmary, that is not your domain and I do not want you to enter it." Malachi smiled as he saw both the Healer and Roberta momentarily look horrified, but when he informed Timothy to stay out of the Healer's infirmary, they relaxed.
Second Age of Darkness Page 15