But all of that evolved over months and years, not days. We had settled into a blunt-spoken courtesy toward one another by the end of ten days. She met Fedwren and enlisted him in her root-paper project. The pup was growing well and was a greater pleasure to me every day. Lady Patience’s errands to town gave me ample opportunities to see my town friends, especially Molly. She was an invaluable guide to the fragrant stalls where I purchased Lady Patience’s perfume supplies. Forging and Red-Ship Raiders might still threaten from the horizon, but for those few weeks they seemed a remote terror, like the remembered chill of winter on a midsummer day. For a very brief period I was happy, and, an even rarer gift, I knew I was happy.
And then my lessons with Galen began.
The night before my lessons were to begin, Burrich sent for me. I went to him wondering what chore I had done poorly and would be rebuked for. I found him waiting for me outside the stables, shifting his feet as restlessly as a confined stallion. He immediately beckoned me to follow him and took me up to his chambers.
“Tea?” he offered, and when I nodded, poured me a mug from a pot still warm on his hearth.
“What’s the matter?” I asked as I took it from him. He was strung as tight as I had ever seen him. This was so unlike Burrich that I feared some terrible news-that Sooty was ill, or dead, or that he had discovered Smithy.
“Nothing,” he lied, and did it so poorly that he himself immediately recognized it. “It’s this, boy,” he confessed suddenly. “Galen came to me today. He told me that you were to be instructed in the Skill. And he charged me that while he was teaching you, I could interfere in no way-not to counsel, or ask chores of you, or even share a meal with you. He was most … direct about it.” Burrich paused, and I wondered what better word he had rejected. He looked away from me. “There was a time when I’d hoped this chance would be offered you, but when it wasn’t, I thought, well, perhaps it’s for the best. Galen can be a hard teacher. A very hard teacher. I’ve heard talk of it before. He drives his pupils, but he claims he expects no more of them than he does of himself. And, boy, I’ve heard that gossiped about me, too, if you can credit it.”
I permitted myself a small smile, that brought an answering scowl from Burrich.
“Listen to what I’m telling you. Galen makes no secret that he has no fondness for you. Of course, he doesn’t know you at all, so it’s not your fault. It’s based solely on … what you are, and what you caused, and God knows that wasn’t your fault. But if Galen admitted that, then he’d have to admit it was Chivalry’s fault, and I’ve never known him to admit that Chivalry had any faults … but you can love a man and know better than that about him.” Burrich took a brisk turn around the room, then came back to the fire.
“Just tell me what you want to say,” I suggested.
“I’m trying,” he snapped. “It’s not easy to know what to say. I’m not even sure if I should be speaking to you. Is this interference, or counsel? But your lessons haven’t started yet. So I say this now. Do your best for him. Don’t talk back to Galen. Be respectful and courteous. Listen to all he says and learn it as well and quickly as you can.” He paused again.
“I hadn’t intended to do otherwise,” I pointed out a bit tartly, for I could tell that none of this was what Burrich was trying to say.
“I know that, Fitz!” He sighed suddenly, and threw himself down at the table opposite me. With the heels of both hands he pressed at his temples, as if pained. I had never seen him so agitated. “A long time ago I talked to you about that other … magic. The Wit. The being with the beasts, almost becoming one of them.” He paused and glanced about the room as if worried someone would hear. He leaned in closer to me and spoke softly but urgently. “Stay clear of it. I’ve tried my best to get you to see it’s shameful and wrong. But I’ve never really felt that you agreed. Oh, I know you’ve abided by my rule against it, most of the time. But a few times I’ve sensed, or suspected, that you were tinkering with things no good man touches. I tell you, Fitz, I’d sooner see … I’d sooner see you Forged. Yes, don’t look so shocked, that’s truly how I feel. And as for Galen … Look, Fitz, don’t even mention it to him. Don’t speak of it, don’t even think of it near him. It’s little that I know about the Skill and how it works. But sometimes … oh, sometimes when your father touched me with it, it seemed he knew my heart before I did, and saw things that I kept buried even from myself.”