Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
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1
“I cannot believe you are interested solely in those depths.” Her slightly
husky voice was both warm and slightly sardonic.
Quaeryt found himself blushing.
“You see?”
“Enough, lovely woman,” he declared with mock gruffness. “Your brother
did say that we were to keep each other warm.”
“How, dearest, can I do that if you insist on getting out of this warm cover-
let in this chilly bedchamber?”
Eventually, Quaeryt did leave the bed, as did Vaelora, and they washed and
dressed quickly. Quaeryt was more than grateful for the warm water waiting
in the bath chamber. Just the thought of the cold water in the officers’ quarters
made him shiver.
Although Governor Straesyr, when he had been princeps, had lived with
his wife and family in one of the row houses along the north wall of the
Telaryn Palace, Bhayar had declared that such quarters were not suited to his
sister. Quaeryt had suggested that the apartments on the upper east end of
the palace proper—those that had been occupied by Tyrena, the daughter of
the last Khanar of Tilbor before its conquest by Bhayar’s father—were most
suitable for a princeps and that it would be most incongruous—not to men-
tion grossly unfair—for the newly wed princeps to occupy the larger apart-
ments of the former Khanar when his superior was the governor. That
arrangement had been accepted by Bhayar and Vaelora and had certainly ob-
viated possible tensions between Governor Straesyr and Quaeryt.
As Quaeryt began to pull on the fine browns of a scholar that Vaelora had
insisted that he have tailored—because a princeps needed to look the position,
as well as carry it out—he glanced at his left arm. It was still thinner than his
right, while the skin was paler, not that his skin, ever so slightly darker than the
pale honeyed shade of his wife’s complexion, would ever approximate the near
bluish white of the Bovarian High Holders and royal family. Given the beating
his body had taken in the battles against the rebel hill holders, he was glad that
none of the injuries had been permanent, unlike his left leg, shorter than his
right, presumably since birth, since he didn’t recall it ever being other than that.
Quaeryt waited until Vaelora was dressed—in light brown trousers, a cream
blouse, and a woolen jacket that matched her trousers—before walking with
her down the short corridor to the small cherry-paneled private dining room
that had once been graced by Tyrena, who had been Khanara in fact, if not in
name. There the ceramic stove radiated a comforting warmth.
Quaeryt seated Vaelora on one side of the table, then took his place to her
left, at the end of the table, where Vaelora had insisted he belonged from the
f Princeps g 15
“Thank you.”
Quaeryt closed the study door behind himself and took one of the seats
in front of Straesyr’s wide table desk. “Good morning.” He spoke in Tellan,
because that was the language used normally by the military—although of-
ficers were strongly encouraged to learn Bovarian, and failure to do so was
usually a bar to promotion above captain.
“I have to say that you’re much more cheerful these days,” offered the gov-
ernor, squaring his broad shoulders and running a large hand through still-
thick silvered blond hair, as he straightened in his chair and pushed a map to
one side.
“No one’s fighting or attacking, and the winter storms haven’t been that
bad.” Quaeryt laughed ironically. “That’s according to the locals. I’ve never seen
so much snow and ice in my life, and they’re saying it’s not so bad as it often has
been.”
“You read Lord Bhayar’s last dispatch, I take it.”
That was a rhetorical nicety. Straesyr routed all dispatches to Quaeryt.
Quaeryt, in turn, made sure that the few letters and dispatches, other than
those of a personal nature, that came to him also went to Straesyr. “I did.”
“Once the roads to the south are clear, he’s ordered First Regiment to depart
and take the route from Bhorael to Cloisonyt and from there to Solis.”
“And from there,” said Quaeryt dryly, “Bhayar will post them either to
Lucayl or Ferravyl.”
“Ferravyl’s the greater danger,” said the governor mildly.
“But, if Bhayar can determine how to conquer Antiago, that offers an op-
portunity to obtain greater resources and to deny them to Kharst. Not to men-
tion the fact that Bhayar has never felt that Autarch Aliaro treated Chaerila with
the respect she deserved.” Which is why you worry about his notes mentioning “respect.”
“Chaerila?” Straesyr’s silver-blond eyebrows lifted.
“His oldest sister. She died in childbirth. According to Aliaro, her daugh-
ter died also. The daughter’s death was mentioned as an afterthought.”
“Did the Autarch express profound sympathy? Do you know?”
“I gained the impression that the sympathy was slightly more than per-
functory.”
Straesyr shook his head. “Has Lord Bhayar conveyed anything . . .
personally . . . to you?”
“Outside of brotherly missives to Vaelora and two rather short and polite
notes reminding me to respect her at all times, I have heard nothing since
the wedding.” He paused, then asked, “How do Myskyl and Skarpa feel about
the progress of Second and Third Regiments?”
18 L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
“They feel that Second Regiment is largely ready and that Third Regiment
will be ready for whatever duties it may be assigned by the end of spring. Com-
mander Skarpa feels that if necessary, he could accomplish the last of the
training while traveling.”
Quaeryt missed eating in the mess with the officers, but as princeps, he
was not in the military chain of command, except in the event that Straesyr
was killed or incapacitated. Twice, he had taken the governor’s place at mess
night, once when the governor had the flux and once when a snowstorm had
stranded him at High Holder Thurl’s estate, even though the estate gates were
less than five milles from the Telaryn Palace.
“I’ll be meeting with Cohausyt at eighth glass,” Quaeryt offered. “You
saw the revisions to the calculations based on your recommendations.”
“I did. Cohausyt will still do well, but Lord Bhayar can use the golds, espe-
cially if Kharst attacks.”
Or if Bhayar attacks Antiago. “I’ll be meeting with Raurem this afternoon as
well. That’s about whether he can supply those grain cakes for travel fodder
for the regiments.”
“He’s a produce factor, isn’t he, not a grain factor?”
“He is both, and Major Meinyt mentioned that he includes some rougher
grains in his cakes, and they travel better, and the horses seem to do better.
After you pointed out that there won’t be much forage when they’re leaving,
I thought I should look into it.”
Straesyr nodded. “I’m already getting to the point where I’ll miss you
when you go.”
“Go? I’m not going anywhere, not that I know.”
The governor smiled, and his icy blue eyes seemed to soften for a moment.
“You manage to get things done. You’re old enough to understand, mostly, and
young enough to try the almost impossible. You also know the difference be-
tween impossible and not quite impossible. You’re trustworthy, and Bhayar
trusts you. There will be fewer and fewer advisors and officers whom he can
trust totally. Sooner or later, he’ll need you again. For your sake, I hope it’s later.”
So did Quaeryt.
“Is there anything else?”
“No, sir.”
“Good. I’ll talk to you later.”
Quaeryt rose and made his way back across the second level of the pal-
ace. Cohausyt was already in the anteroom waiting when Quaeryt returned
to his chambers.
“Princeps, sir.”
f Princeps g 19
on the golds from the sale of the timber. Quaeryt would have liked to have
sold the rights for a flat fee, but there wasn’t a timber factor in Tilbor who
possessed that amount of golds to pay up front.
“No . . . I’ll do what’s right, Princeps.” Cohausyt looked to Quaeryt. “I’ve
heard you’re fair. Hard mayhap, but fair. It’ll take a bit longer, though.”
“I understand.” And Quaeryt did. Everything has to do with golds . . . and time. He
understood that necessity, but even with the more honest factors, and Co-
hausyt was one of those, every term had to be spelled out in ink . . . and then
explained.
He couldn’t say that he was looking forward to the meeting with Rau-
rem. With all the nit-picking and endless details required in everything, it
seemed, he understood more than ever why Straesyr had been more than
happy to relinquish his duties as princeps to Quaeryt.