He was unarmed.
“Why not lead out your sec men against them?” Trader asked. “Or send them out if firefights aren’t in your field.”
“Since the death of my dear wife, some nine years ago, I have dedicated myself to raising Jamie, my only child. He has received the best education that Deathlands can offer. Which is something of an oxymoron.”
Everyone turned to look at Doc. “Sort of contradiction in terms. Like a trustworthy mutie or a silent woman.” He grinned at Mildred.
“Or a wise old man,” she countered.
“Touche” He bowed.
“It is such a pleasure to have men and women of culture here at my ville,” Baron Weyman said, nodding and smiling. “Is the food adequate?”
“Better than that,” Ryan replied. “What we’ve had so far has been a real ace on the line for us.”
“I eat very little and drink only water,” Weyman said. “But I think it’s time for the main course, Rainey. Give word. And bring a dozen of the best claret out of the cellar.”
Ryan watched as the baron sipped at a bowl of clear soup, waving away the offer of the fish course, doing the same when a steaming saddle of lamb was brought in from the kitchens.
“Were you married long, Baron?” Krysty asked. “If you don’t mind my”
“Of course not. Why should I object to recalling the greatest happiness of my life? My father died young, and I became baron at the age of eighteen. There was an arranged marriage with the daughter of a neighboring baron, some miles south. Morena was then nearly forty and not blessed with either looks or temperament. We tried for children, but she miscarried thrice.”
“That means she lost a baby three times,” Jamie whispered to Dean, who was busy helping himself to more gravy and a spoonful of some delicious red currant jelly.
“When Morena died of a venereal disease she had contracted from one of her dalliances with a sec man, I remarried. Jamie’s mother was named Nell. She had visited the ville with her father, who stayed on as a farrier. After giving me my son, she succumbed to a virulent strain of influenza that was raging from poisoned water near the hot springs. And that was that.”
“I share sorrow,” Jak said.
“Then I feel pity and sympathy, my friend.” Weyman smiled. “It is rare that I used that word. ‘Friend.’ But I hope that you will at least stay long enough for us to explore that word and its layers of meaning.”
“Anything we can do to repay your hospitality, Baron?” Ryan asked.
Rainey tapped on the table with the flat of his hand. “Patrol didn’t find any brushwood folks, Baron. Some sign of strangers and tracks. Could be a lot of them. Mebbe Ryan Cawdor here and his friends might lend a hand with patrolling.”
“Go on a recce for you?” J.B. said, glancing at Ryan. “Don’t see why not.”
Weyman dabbed at his bloodless lips with a pale linen napkin. “You see for yourself that I do not enjoy the best of health. When a baron becomes unwell, the word races through the ungodly and wolfish like a forest fire from treetop to treetop. So it is now. The shadows are gathering at the edges of my ville. A few bold friends would help to hold the darkness away for a while longer. Perhaps to buy a breathing space for my son to grow.”
“Sword at sunset,” Doc said. “Just like being a sword at sunset.”
Weyman nodded thoughtfully. “A fair image, Dr. Tanner, and one that rings a distant bell in my memory. But we can safely let that pass.” He leaned back with a sigh. “Such weariness! Still, I feel better on many facets of my life. A companion for my dear boy.” He smiled down at Dean. “A little brightness in an arid desert of culture. And a sword at sunset.”
RAINEY SHOWED THEM to their rooms.
“I saw that there was a pair of couples. So, there’s a double for you and Krysty, and one for John Dix and the lady doctor. Others get to share two doubles and a single.”