by Linda Mooney
Atty glanced at the third document, the one condemning those who had sided with Rafe. “Wow,” she murmured.
“I agree. Wow.”
Leaning down, she kissed his scar, following its path down to the corner of his mouth. “I would say this calls for a celebration,” she said, her tone heavy with implication. She pressed her breasts into his back and wriggled slightly.
Yulen looked over at her, a partial smile on his lips. “Oh?”
“Yeah. I was thinking, maybe a little warm oil massage. Maybe follow it with some personal attention in certain areas.” For emphasis, she dipped one hand down the front of his breeches and rubbed the growing bulge. Yulen placed his hand over hers and guided her fingers over his erection. It had been nearly two weeks since he’d defeated his half-brother, and longer than that since he and Atty had coupled.
He turned her cheek to kiss her, unmindful of anyone else entering the hall, until they heard a throat being cleared. Yulen was about to ream out the poor soldier who’d had the bad luck to interrupt, when he recognized the figure standing at the side door.
“Tory?”
“I’m sorry to bother you two. If this is a bad time¯”
“No, no,” Atty hastened to assure her, leaning back. “What can we help you with? How’s Fortune?”
“He’s doing very well. Of course, he laments his lost tail, but I think his little stub is quite adorable. He can still wag it.” She smiled at the thought. “The reason I’m here is because, well, Yulen, do you remember when you offered us a permanent home here?”
He nodded. “The offer still stands.”
Tory sighed happily. “Oh, good, because we’d like to take you up on it. Fortune and I would like to become permanent residents of Alta Novis.”
Atty shrieked with joy, and ran over to hug the woman. “But what about Memnon?”
“He and Corianne Deanders are about to say their nuptials. Fortune and I thought about giving them our old home in Wallis as a wedding gift.”
“I’m delighted you took me up on the offer,” Yulen said, smiling.
“But we want to make it clear, we plan to pull our weight around here,” Tory continued.
Atty laughed. She continued to bounce on the balls of her feet with joy, knowing the two people dearest to her would be close by. “I don’t see a problem,” she told Tory. She led the woman over to the table so they could talk. “Fortune’s a great asset. And I know for a fact that many of our soldiers highly respect him.”
“Yes, he is,” the Mutah woman agreed. “But he’s not the person I’m worried about.”
Atty peered into Tory’s worried face. “You? Are you saying you’re worried about yourself?”
“Tory, don’t feel like you have to go out and find suitable employment this very minute. With the compound expanding and getting busier, I’m certain you’ll find something that will suit you perfectly.” Yulen picked up a sheet of paper. “Why don’t you two go search for a spot to build your new home? The shops and markets should all be transferred to the second courtyard by the end of next month. I can have our carpenters start on your place then.”
“That sounds like a great idea. Come, Tory.” Atty gave the woman’s arm a little tug. “On the way, we can stop by our lodge and see how the rebuilding is going.”
Tory glanced down at the papers scattered over the table. “What’s all this? Is there anything I can help you with?” She picked up one sheet and glanced over it. “What are you working on?”
“The only part of being a Battle Lord that I detest,” he admitted with a crooked smile.
Atty rolled her eyes. “Lots of people don’t know about the endless paperwork he has to do. He never seems to be able to tame that particular beast.”
Laying the sheet down where he could see it, Tory pointed to a column of numbers. “What’s this?”
“It’s an inventory of supplies for the horses. I had my men send me their adjustments in the wake of what my brother did to this compound. Why?”
“This final total is wrong. It’s off by two hundred twelve pounds.”
Yulen cocked an eyebrow at her. “You added up those figures that quickly?”
Tory shrugged with one shoulder. “Math was always my strong point in school.”
Shoving another sheet in her direction, he said, “Given this amount of consumption in a month, how many pounds of grain, oats, and corn are we going to need for the next three months? And is that number consistent with this figure given to me by my stable manager?”
Tory read over the estimate, her lips moving silently as she tallied. “Yep. That’s about right. Maybe a bit on the high side, but I’d say that, when you’re dealing with livestock, don’t shortchange them. It’s always good to have a little bit left over that you can tuck away for emergencies.”
Yulen slammed his hands down on the table. “Tory, I think you’ve found your calling. Why don’t I hire you to handle this mountain I dread climbing every month? Think you can manage it for me?”
Tory grinned. “Are you certain?”
“Dead certain. You’ll free me up to keep my attention focused on protecting this compound. Just bring any discrepancies to my attention, and let me know what I need to sign off on. I will gladly pay you to handle the books for me.”
Atty reached over and hugged her friend again. “Knowing you, you’ll catch on quickly. And you’ll be taking a huge burden off Yulen’s shoulders.”
With a flushed face, Tory got to her feet. “I need to go tell Fortune what we discussed. Do you mind if I come back later to start acquainting myself with all this?”
“Sounds good to me,” Yulen stated.
To his surprise, Tory hurried around the table and planted a quick kiss on his temple. Atty and Yulen watched her leave out the side door, practically skipping in her rush to tell Fortune.
Atty went over to add a kiss to her husband’s other temple. Yulen smiled. “What’s that for?”
“For being such a sneak.”
“Me? A sneak?”
“Yeah. That was a pretty sneaky way to get out of doing your job,” she laughed.
Yulen growled playfully. “I’m just following doctor’s orders. Liam said this place is getting too big for one Battle Lord to handle. He suggested I start delegating some of the less critical stuff. Well, I delegated, and I’m very happy with the result. I think having Tory working for me is one of my better decisions. Besides, I know I can trust her, and that alone sets my worries at rest.”
“Same here.”
“My Lady?”
Another soldier stood at the side entrance, waiting to be acknowledged.
“Yes?”
“A message from Paxton. There’s been an altercation between the brewer and the tailor over property rights in the second courtyard. He needs you to come make a judgment.”
“I’ll be right there.” Atty kissed her husband again, this time on the lips. Regretfully, she managed to drag herself away. “Keep an ear open for Mattox, would you? If you hear him, have Berta or someone go up to fetch him. Hopefully, this altercation won’t take too long to resolve.” She dashed out the door without waiting for an answer.
Yulen sighed loudly, lifted his arms above his head, and stretched. He yawned, then carefully turned himself around to stare at the small fire in the fireplace. Remembering his beer, he reached back to grab the mug, and settled to enjoy the temporary peace and quiet, when he thought he detected a slight noise behind him.
“That better not be beer.”
He chuckled. “Damn, Liam. I didn’t hear you come from the clinic. Have you been taking lessons from Atty on how to sneak up on your patients?”
Liam walked around to face him and raised an eyebrow. “My, my, you’re in an unusually jovial mood today. I should make a note of it on my calendar.”
“For your information, Tory just informed me and Atty that she and Fortune would like to become permanent citizens of Alta Novis.”
“That’s excellent news!�
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“There’s more. She has a head for figures. She looked over my paperwork here, and helped me with a couple of decisions. I’ve hired her to take over this job for me.”
MaGrath nodded at the smug look on Yulen’s face. “I definitely need to mark my calendar. Not only are you in a good mood, but you actually took my advice and delegated. Will wonders ever cease?”
“The day’s not over, yet, Liam. Did you need to see me?”
“Here. I have just the thing to put you back into a foul mood. I brought your medicine.”
He held out a small tin and lifted the lid. Yulen stared down at the fine gray powder with disgust. “I know it helps me heal without infection, but when are you going to put some decent flavor into it? Why can’t I sprinkle some over a piece of toast and blackberry jam, and have it that way?”
“Ah. Now, there’s the Yulen I know. Always has to bitch about something before he straightens up and follows through. Go ahead and get a finger full.”
Yulen gave him a crafty look. “Can I wash it down with my beer?”
He could tell the physician’s first response was an unequivocal no, but McGrath stopped short of saying it. Instead, he nodded slightly. “All right. Very well. But just this once. It’s not wise to combine alcohol and pain killers.”
“Yes, Mother,” Yulen teased. He licked his forefinger before dipping it in the powder, making sure he got a large dose. After sticking the finger in his mouth, he chased it with a couple of swallows from the mug. “I must admit, the beer does make the medicine go down a lot easier.”
MaGrath closed the tin and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. “To be truthful, I was hoping to find Atty in here with you.”
“She had to go settle a dispute in the second courtyard. I can have a man call her back.”
“No, that won’t be necessary.” MaGrath crossed his arms in front of him and clasped his hands together. “Maybe it’s better that I tell you first, and you can tell Atty later.”
Yulen paused, suddenly serious. “What’s the matter, Liam? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, but life around here is going to get a lot more interesting.”
Giving his dearest friend a quizzical look, the Battle Lord waited for the doctor to continue.
“Yulen, your mother and I are expecting a baby.”