going to happen in my realm.’
‘I’d sooner bite out my tongue than to try to tell you what to do,
Aunt Pol,’ Alleran said, ‘but don’t you think you’re moving a little
fast?’
‘I’m cleaning house, Alleran,’ I told him, ‘and it’s a very messy
house. I’m not going to leave patches of dust in the corners just for
old times sake.’
I could see from all the blank looks that what I was saying was
going completely over – or through – their heads. ‘Oh, dear,’ I
sighed. ‘All right then, let me put it this way. Last summer, the
three of you saw fit to elevate me to a status of equality with you.
Isn’t that what you had in mind?’
‘Well -‘ Alleran said dubiously, ‘I guess so.’
‘Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t that mean that the duchy
of Erat is mine – totally?’
‘That was our intent, your Grace,’ Corrolin conceded.
‘Isn’t he a nice boy?’ I said to the other two. ‘Now, then, since
the Duchy of Erat belongs to me – absolutely – I can do anything I
want to do up there, can’t I? And none of you – either singly or all
together – can do anything at all to interfere with me, can you?’
‘There are rules and customs, Aunt Pol,’ Alleran protested.
‘Yes, I know – bad rules and bad customs. That’s part of the dust
and debris I’m scrubbing out of the corners.’ I looked sternly at the
Duke of Astur. ‘Tell them what happened when you abducted little
,athandrion, Nerasin,’ I said. ‘Describe it in great detail – and if
you’ve forgotten, I can always do it again – just to refresh your
memory.’Then I included them all in my warning. ‘If you gentlemen
don’t like what I’m doing inside my own borders, that’s just too
bad. And if it really upsets you, feel free to declare war on me at
any time. I’ll tell you this, however, the first one of you who invades
my realm is going to get very, very sick. I won’t maim your knights,
or slaughter your foot-soldiers, or ride across your borders to burn
the villages of your serfs. I’ll take your actions personally, and my
retaliation will be directed at you – personally. If you choose to
attack me, I’ll build fires in your own personal bellies. What I do
on my own lands is my business. Now then, I’m very busy this
summer, so what have we got on this year’s agenda? Let’s get to
work here.’
Does that leave any doubts in anyone’s mind about just who was
running things in Arendia in those days?
Killane returned to Vo Wacune in mid-autumn. ‘Th’ weather’s goin’
t’ pot up there, Lady-O,’ he reported. ‘I paid off th’ buildin’ crew
an’ told ’em all t’ come back in th’ spring. If we tromp around durin’
th’ rainy season, about all we’ll manage t’ do is t’ turn yer beautiful
meadow into a mud-bog, don’t y’ know, an’ I’m after thinkin’ y’
wouldn’t like that too much. I left a couple o’ min t’ guard th’ place.’
‘Very efficient, Killane,’ I agreed. I knew exactly how much
progress he’d made – I had looked things over, after all – but I let him
give me glowing, though slightly exaggerated, descriptions of what
had been accomplished so far.
Then he looked around at the heaps of law books piled in my
library. ‘An’ what’s all this?’ he asked curiously.
‘I’m setting up laws, Killane,’ I replied wearily. ‘It’s very tedious.’
‘Yer whims an’ wishes are th’ law, yer Grace.’
‘Not when I finish with this, they won’t be. I’m trying to reconcile
the best of the major legal systems in the world here – mostly
Tolnedran and Melcene, but with just a sprinkling of alorn, Nyissan,
and even Marag statutes thrown in to season it all. I even found a
couple of ideas in Angarak legal practices that might be useful.’
‘What’s th’ point o’ strainin’ yer pretty head w’ all that dusty
nonsense, me Lady?’
‘The point is justice, Killane. That’s the ultimate point of any
system of law.’ I gestured at the stacks of books. ‘There are a lot of
weeds in this garden, but I’ll get them all pulled out so that the
beds are ready for the roses.’
Killane completed the work on my manor house in the late
summer of 2330, not too long after Duke Corrolin of Mimbre died, and,
properly escorted this time, he and I journeyed north so that I could
have a look at my seat of power. I’d seen it from the air on several
occasions, of course, but an overhead survey doesn’t really convey
the impact of a building when you see it from ground level. The
house stood on a rise near the north bank of the river that fed the
lake, so water was accessible; and a graveled path led from my back
door down to a stone wharf jutting out into the river, so deliveries
would be convenient. The meadow which had first attracted my
attention ran on down about a quarter mile to the lake-front to the
west, and as I’d envisioned, the encircling wooded hills with the
snow-capped mountains lying to the east made it all just perfect.
Am I going on too much about my house? Well, that’s just too bad,
isn’t it? I love that house, and if I want to talk about it, I will.
The house itself was a dream in snowy marble. Killane had quite
obviously taken quite a few liberties with the dimensions indicated
on the detailed plans we’d agreed upon. I’d assumed that there
were some finite limits implicit in the amount of money I’d given
him for the construction, but Killane’s skills at bargaining had given
him plenty of elbow-room. His introduction of the concept of
competitive bidding had definitely had an impact on costs, so he more
than gave me my money’s worth. The central building was several
stories tall, and it was fronted by a columned portico that had a
Tolnedran sort of effect. Curved wings extended out from either
side of the main hall to embrace a formal garden with incipient
hedges and unplanted flower-beds awaiting my attention.
The interior of the house was even more pleasing, if that’s possible.
The rooms were large and well-lighted by tall windows. The
kitchens were extensive, and the baths at the rear of the house could
only be called luxurious. Since the place was totally devoid of
furnishings or drapes, though, it echoed like the inside of an empty
cave. It definitely needed carpeting and drapes.
‘I’ve taken th’ liberty o’ engagin’ a number o’ furniture-makers,
Yer Grace,’ Killane advised me. ‘I’ve set ’em up in a shop adjoinin’
th’ stables out back. Y’ might want t’ give some consideration t’
decidin’ on one particular style o’ furniture fer th’ place. A house
with a dozen different kinds o’ chairs an’ tables always looks sort
slap-dash, don’t y’ know.’
I definitely knew about slap-dash. Father’s tower was a perfect
example of it. The sheer size of the house was intimidating, and I
hoped that Killane’s family would be large enough to staff it. Killane
and I made some decisions about furniture, draperies, carpets and
other niceties, and then I returned to Vo Wacune to keep an eye on
things.
By the summer of 2331. the lake-shore house was complete, and
I began to divide my time between my town house in Vo Wacune
and my country house on Lake Erat. Traveling back and forth
between them was not as tedious for me as it would have been had
I not had certain advantages.
There were still tensions in Arendia, of course, but I managed to
smooth them over, so things stayed quiet.
Then in the late summer of 2333 father came by Vo Wacune for
a visit. He seemed quite startled by what he perceived to be the
opulence of my town house. ‘What’s all this?’ he asked me after
Killane’s sister Rana had shown him into my library. I’m not entirely
sure how he’d gotten past Rana. Father’s always been a little careless
about his appearance, and Rana had opinions about things like that.
‘I’m moving up in the world, father,’ I told him.
‘So I see.’ He flopped down in a chair beside my library table.
‘Have you found a gold-mine somewhere? This place looks
moderately luxurious, and I don’t think you had all that much money in
your pocket when you came here about twenty years ago.’
‘The Dukes of Arendia saw fit to reward me for dismantling
Ctuchik’s schemes back then. They put me on a yearly pension
maybe in hopes that I’d retire from politics. I tried to turn it down,
but they insisted. The money kept piling up until Asrana – you
remember her, don’t you?’
‘Oh, yes,’ he replied, ‘the devious little Asturian lady.’