by Rachel Ford
“Let’s talk about it in my office.”
I nodded, and we set our steps for the office. It struck me vaguely that this was a transition from neutral ground to Lidek’s domain. Well, technically, it’s all his domain. Still, I wondered if the shift was incidental. “So, umm, what’s this about, Commander?”
He glanced askew at me. “Why? Am I keeping you from something? You in a hurry to be somewhere?”
He knew well enough I wasn’t, seeing as how he’d found me killing time in the dark. This was his way of telling me to be patient. And I frowned at it. “No sir. Nothing but time on my hands.”
“Ah. Good.” We finished the walk in silence, and when we reached his office, he settled behind the desk. “Get the door, will you?”
I did, and then took the seat across from him. “So, Commander, what’s this about?”
He sighed. “Those two squires.”
“Ah. How are they holding up?” I’d only seen their professional faces this morning. Lidek would have a better idea of what was really going on.
He shook his head. “As well as can be expected, I suppose.”
I nodded. “Is there anything I can do?” There usually wasn’t, but I wasn’t just asking out of the customary politeness. I knew something of what they were going through – Derel, I suspected, though she’d denied it, I knew her pain more than Aaronsen’s. Still, his hurt was palpable enough in its own right. If I could help them, I would.
The Commander surveyed me under bushy brows but didn’t answer all at once. When he did speak, it seemed to be to change the topic. “I don’t think they did themselves any favors yesterday. With Alduran, I mean.”
“No,” I agreed. “I think they’ll do well to avoid him for the near future.”
“It might not be that simple, Callaghan.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed. “Well, I need to find them new KP’s. No one local is looking. Which means I have to apply via central command.”
“Ah.” I nodded slowly. That meant Alduran would be privy to the process: he’d have access to see the application, to know who had expressed interest, to see how far along things were. “You don’t think he’d…well, sabotage them, do you, Commander?”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “You don’t?”
I thought of the sullen man sulking in the skimmer the afternoon before, and how personally he’d taken the council’s decision not to censure the squires. “Maybe,” I conceded.
“All it would take is a warning in a perspective knight’s ear. And Phillip could find himself looking for a long time before he found a placement.”
“Even if he found one…it might mean the difference between a good mentor and a…less good one.” I didn’t want to imply that there were lousy KP’s out there, but…well, family wealth and title carried a lot of weight sometimes. Even in the service.
It was Lidek’s turn to nod. “Exactly. So you see my predicament?”
I did and told him so. “I wish I had advice, sir. I don’t, though.”
“I don’t want the boy’s career ended over a single mistake.”
“No. Gods, if that’s all it took to end a career, there’d be no KP’s.”
“Right. And Ana only has a few months left. Imagine sending her back to Academy, to wait out her promotion with a bunch of green pages and new recruits.”
I shivered at the prospect. In the best of circumstances, that would be a punishment. Having lost her KP first? It’d be hell, to deal with all those prattling children and fresh-faced kids in the midst of mourning. “Can’t she stay at Cragspoint, just until the new year? She can put in for a placement wherever she wants then.”
He glanced askew at me. “And what? I don’t have time to mentor her.”
“No. But she’s at the end of her mentorship anyway. And this way she’ll be in familiar territory.”
He snorted. “Right. With nothing to occupy her time but grief.”
He had a point. “Hmm. You checked with central, I suppose? There’s no one on the list looking for a squire?”
“This isn’t my first rodeo, Callaghan. Of course I checked. Their list cleared in spring. Hell, they’ve already got kids waiting for placements. They don’t expect them to find KP’s until after the new year, with promotions.”
I sighed. It was a poser, and the truth was, I couldn’t think of a solution. If there weren’t KP’s available, what could be done? “I don’t know what to tell you, sir.”
“That’s not much help.”
I nodded. “I know. But I don’t have any solutions.”
He steepled his fingers and leaned back in his seat. “I did have an idea. Half an idea, really.”
“Oh?”
“I have a placement prospect.”
My ears perked up, and I repeated, “Oh?” I wasn’t sure why it had taken so long to get to the point. I wondered if there was some objection to the prospective host KP. Had that buildup been to remind me of the difficulties inherent to his task, to brace me for the solution? “Who is he?”
The Commander sighed. “A good knight. But…”
“But?”
“Strong-willed. Private. Never showed much interest in mentorship.”
I nodded slowly. “Strong-willed is probably a good thing, if someone’s going to take on a squire. Hell, two squires.”
“Yes,” he conceded. “I suppose so.”
Something about his manner gave me pause. “Are his combat marks in order? Aaronsen will need a good trainer.”
“Oh, they’re outstanding. Ninety-ninth percentile.”
“Oh.” My unease relaxed a little. Those were elite scores, among the best of the best. I’d worked my ass off to get them, in my time in training. Anyone who had earned those kinds of scores knew their stuff and would have no problem mentoring someone. “Well, that’s good.”
“Yes. I think this KP will be an outstanding mentor, to be honest.”
“So what’s the problem?”
He sighed. “I’m not sure they’re going to be amenable to my solution.”
I frowned. “Have you talked to him about it?”
“A little.”
“Well, does he know the circumstances?”
“Yes.”
“And he doesn’t have squires of his own?”
“Nope.”
I shrugged. “Then…I don’t see what the issue would be.” A mentor without mentees, two squires in need of placement, a KP who graduated top of his rank and junior officers in need of guidance? It seemed a perfect fit.
Now, Lidek smiled. “Well, good. I’m glad. You’ve taken a load off my mind, Callaghan.”
“Well, I didn’t do anything, sir. But if it helps, you’re welcome.”
I was getting ready to stand when he said, “So, when should I send them over?”
“What?”
“Your new squires. When should I send them over?”
Chapter Twelve – Callaghan
“Wait, what now?”
“Derel and Aaronsen: your new squires. When do you want them at the keep?”
I blinked. “You mean…me? I’m the KP?”
He nodded, seeming as pleased with himself as I was mortified. “Of course.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t have squires.”
“Why?” He raised an eyebrow. “Your duties as Knight of the Shire keep you too busy?”
I frowned at the sarcasm in his tone. It was, admittedly, not the most rigorous placement. The Knight of the Shire’s duties in peacetime were largely ceremonial. My mornings were spent consuming copious amounts of coffee, my afternoons tending to what little business I had, and my evenings in reading or walking the Callaghan estate.
I trained among it all and headed to the capital a few times a year as duty called. But otherwise, my life was peaceful and quiet.
Exactly how I wanted it to remain.
“I have no patience for children,” I s
aid in a moment.
“Derel is not a child.”
“No, but she doesn’t need a mentor. She’s proved herself more than capable.”
“She needs a placement, Callaghan. Unless you want to send her back to Academy.”
I frowned again. Of course I didn’t want her sent back to the academy. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. But there had to be some alternative that didn’t involve sending her to the Callaghan estates, either.
“And Aaronsen needs a strong mentor. Someone who understands what he’s going through right now, and can help him get through it,” Lidek persisted.
“That’s not me, sir.”
“Isn’t it?”
I shook my head. “You’re the one telling me I need to move on, Commander. How am I going to teach the boy when I don’t know how to do it myself?”
He smiled softly at me, and his voice lost some of the combative edge. “You’re doing alright, Callaghan. And who knows: maybe they’ll be good for you too.”
I groaned. “I don’t need pity projects, sir.”
“No. But they need mentors. And you’re a knight of the realm.” He sat up straight in his chair. “I expect you to do your duty, Callaghan. Do you understand?”
I felt my jaw clench. “Are you ordering me to take on these squires, sir?”
An eyebrow crept up his forehead. “Ordering you? No. You’re a good knight. You don’t need to be ordered to do your duty.” Now, he got to his feet. This was my signal to go, I realized, and I stood too. “I’ll give you some time to think it over. Maybe talk to them, figure out when they’d like to make the move.”
“I didn’t agree to anything,” I reminded him.
“No. But you will.” He shrugged, repeating, “You’re a good knight, Callaghan. I have full faith that you’ll do the right thing. Dismissed.”
I walked out of his office feeling the biggest fool in the world. I didn’t give him an answer one way or the other, but every sense recoiled at the idea of being strong-armed into this. Not that, if I was being entirely honest with myself, mentoring squires had any appeal at all. It didn’t. I’d done enough young and dumb in my own time to be covered for life. I didn’t need to deal with other people’s young and dumb.
But something about Lidek’s approach rankled. He’d lured me into his office pretending to need my advice. He’d convinced me to offer all the reasons why someone in my position should accept the role of mentor. Then he’d thrown them back in my face. And, on top of it all, he’d tried to cajole me into it with heavy-handed talk of duty.
Well, if he thought he was going to back me into a corner, Commander Lidek had another thing coming. The Knight of the Shire might be laid back and even lazy sometimes. The Knight of the Shire might be easygoing and not prone to arguments.
But the Knight of the Shire was a Callaghan, by the gods. And Callaghans didn’t allow themselves to be tricked and cajoled. We weren’t easily strong-armed, and the more we were pushed, the deeper we dug our heels.
Lidek’s gone too far this time. The old man might mean well, but his meddling had finally gotten out of hand. Derel and Aaronsen were his responsibility, not mine. I would not allow him to push them off on me.
No. He’s going to have to find another KP. I’ve got my own responsibilities. I’ve got an entire shire to look out for. Someone else can take care of the babysitting.
The taskforce resolved, out of respect for the dead, to reconvene on the morrow. I was not sorry for it. I didn’t think I’d have the patience for Alduran today, or Tofte and Westergaard for that matter.
I walked home, leaving my skimmer at base. I needed the fresh air, and now that the funeral was over, a little dust on my clothes wouldn’t matter. I could walk back for the car tomorrow.
The day was warm, almost hot, with bright, crisp sunlight and a clear blue sky overhead. I didn’t head into the keep at once but made something of a tour of the estate. The birds twittered and scolded at my approach, and now and then a rabbit or a fox would dart past.
I headed out by the creek, where the stone rises and cliffs loomed large. It was beautiful country, a perfect blend of green grass and pastureland, and rugged gray crags. The creek wound in between the rocks, burbling away with a purpose all its own.
I walked at a quick pace, for a long time. I tried to ignore the perturbation of my mind, and focused instead on pushing my body, as hard and fast as I could.
Slowly but surely, the tension eased out of my shoulders and back. The anxiety nagging at my thoughts ebbed, and my step slowed. I kept walking for another hour or so.
But, as the sun crossed over to the west, I turned back for the keep. I’d covered quite a few kilometers and hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Hell, I didn’t even have a canteen with me. If not for a few stops at the creek, I would have been parched. As it was, my feet were sore, my stomach growled, and my back was starting to ache. When the hell did I turn into such an old woman?
Still, my mind was blessedly quiet, free of its earlier turmoil. A little physical stress was an easy price to pay for peace of mind.
So I headed inside with a light heart if a weary step, hoping Claxton had finished dinner early. She could have fed me cardboard at the moment, and I probably would have thanked her for it, I was that hungry.
I’d just let myself in, and was latching the door, when her voice hit me. I started at the unexpectedness of it. “Lilia?”
“Agnes? Is everything alright?” Claxton was in a sense something of a kindred spirit. She was not terribly social, and she guarded her domain fiercely. I rarely saw her, except at mealtime or when one of the other servants had violated the household demarcations. And it was still too early for dinner, so I assumed the latter had occurred. Oh, not Jeffries again. The last incident had involved the gardener tromping through her kitchen in muddy boots. It had been a mess – long after the mud was gone.
Her narrow features were relaxed, though, and she bobbed a graying head. “Quite alright, Miss. But you’ve got a visitor. From the base.”
“Oh.” Hell. Lidek? Was he come to pester me further? “Where?”
“In the sitting room.”
“Thanks, Agnes.” Forcing myself to play the dutiful host, I added, “And can you bring us something? Tea, and something to eat?”
“Of course. I made a seed cake earlier. I’ll bring that.”
“Thanks.” I didn’t want to encourage Lidek to stay any longer than necessary, nor was I fool enough to think a little cake – even one of Claxton’s – would bribe him toward reasonableness. But anything less would be uncivil.
I considered changing before I met him but decided against it. On the one hand, I wouldn’t mind making him wait. On the other, he’d come uninvited. He could deal with whatever grime or odor I’d picked up during my afternoon’s excursion.
I walked to the sitting room and drew in a long breath. Then, I opened the door and stepped inside. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long, Commander,” I lied. “I was –” Then, I cut off.
It wasn’t Lidek waiting for me. It was Squire Derel, and she scrambled to her feet at my entrance, nearly toppling a chess board in the process. “KP.”
“Squire?” I frowned, glancing around the room suspiciously. “Where’s Lidek?”
She blinked. “The Commander? He’s at Cragspoint.”
“Oh.” I’d still been operating under the assumption that this was another heavy-handed facet of his pitch. “Then…what are you doing here?”
“Your skimmer, KP: you left it at base.”
“I know.”
“Commander Lidek asked me to drive it back for you. So you had it ready, if you needed it.”
I frowned. Of course he did. “Well, that isn’t necessary.”
She, though, was advancing. I saw a pair of keys pinched between her fingers. “I parked it in the garage.”
“You mean, it’s already here?”
“Yes ma’am.” Seeing, and misinterpreting, my expression, she hastened to add, “D
on’t worry: I took good care of it.”
“Well, um, thank you.”
“Of course.”
“I’m sorry, Derel. I didn’t expect they’d send anyone with the car. Much less – well, you or Phillip.”
She flashed me a half smile. “It’s alright, ma’am. I was happy to get off base, actually.”
“How long have you been here?”
She shrugged. “A while.”
“Sorry,” I said again. “I didn’t know anyone would be waiting.”
She nodded. “Not a problem, KP. Like I say…I was happy to get away.”
I nodded. “I bet.”
“Well…I should head back.”
“Right. You want me to give you a ride?”
“I’d rather walk.”
That, I understood, and told her as much. It was now that Claxton arrived with a tray of tea and cake, and I remembered my manners. “But, uh, I hope you’ll have some tea first. And stay for dinner. It’ll be ready soon.”
“Thank you. I don’t want to impose.”
“No imposition. Anyway, Claxton’s a hell of a cook. You won’t find anything like that at Cragspoint.”
Agnes preened. “It’s roast goat today, miss. If I don’t say so myself, no one roasts a goat like old Claxton.”
“It’s true,” I shrugged. She was hesitating, so I added, “And, if it helps, I’m a terrible conversationalist and I hate small talk. So I promise to ignore you entirely, if you’ll do the same.”
She smiled, admitting, “I don’t feel much like talking right now.”
“Well, I don’t ever feel like talking. So we should get on fine.”
Claxton was pouring us tea, and she interjected, “Cream or sugar, miss?”
“No. Thank you.”
“Cream in mine, please,” I reminded her.
She snorted. “As if you ever have anything different.” She handed the cup and saucer to Ana. “Dinner will be ready inside the half hour, miss.”
“In the meantime,” I said, not entirely sure that Derel had made up her mind to stay, “have a piece of cake. Agnes really is the best cook in these parts.”
The old woman snorted again. “Just in these parts, eh?”