Polgara the Sorceress (34 page)

‘Why?’ I swung immediately from extreme gullibility to extreme suspicion.

‘Because y’ need a keeper, lass,’ he told me bluntly. ‘Now, this is th’ way we’re goin’ t’ do it. I’ll round up Skelt an’
his worthless crew, an’ I’ll beat th’ work they owe y’ out of ‘em. If, after a week, things ain’t t’ yer satisfaction, we kin part friends, an’ no regrets. But if y’ like me way o’ doin’ things, we kin discuss somethin’ more permanent.’

I probably should have been offended by the way he just walked into my life and took charge, but I wasn’t. Quite obviously, he was right. In this particular sphere of human activity, I was indeed a ‘poor lost lamb’. We talked for a bit longer, and Killane modestly confessed to being ‘th’ best builder in all Arendia, don’t y’ know’. Then we went through the house and I told him what I wanted. He agreed with most of my ideas, and pointed out the flaws in the notions with which he disagreed. Then, once our survey had been completed, he passed judgement. He rather fondly patted one of the walls. ‘She’s still a sound old dear, though she’s been sorely neglected. We kin have her back in shape in jig time.’ Then he looked at me rather sternly. ‘Let me tell y’ right at th’ outset, Lady-O, I’ll not be after cuttin’ no corners, so this is goin’ t’ bite yer purse a wee bit. But y’ll be after livin’ here fer a long time, an’ I’ll not be puttin’ meself t’ shame by havin’ th’ old dear fallin’ down about yer ears a few years hence. Y’ll be havin’ notions that just won’t work, an’ I’ll be after tellin’ y’ right t’ yer face that yer bein’ silly. Yer a spirited lady, I’ve noticed, so we’ll scream at each other from time t’ time, but when it’s all done, y’ll have a house y’ kin be proud t’ live in.’

‘That’s all I really want, Killane,’ I told him.

‘Then it’s settled. Y’ kin go back t’ yer embroidery now, Lady-O. Just leave th’ old dear t’ me. I’ll fix her.’

I’ve known very few men who’ve had such straightforward honesty, and I liked Killane right from the outset. As a matter of fact, I was so impressed by him that I ultimately married a man who could have been his brother.

I stopped by my house a few times while it was being renovated. Skelt and his assorted cousins, brothers, and what-not were a sullen group now, but most of the cuts and bruises had healed. Killane drove them unmercifully, and the work was progressing, though far too slowly to suit me. I
really
wanted to get out of that palace. It was more to get away – and to avoid nagging Killane – that I
rode on down to Vo Mandor that autumn to pay a call on Asrana and Mandorin. That odd marriage seemed to be working far better than any of us could possibly have had reason to believe that it might. Mandorin was absolutely enthralled by the mischievous Asrana, and his expression of vapid adoration had the peculiar effect of curbing some of her more outrageous pranks. Their marital bliss, however, failed to dull their political acumen, and they were generally successful in keeping the Mimbrates and Asturians from each other’s throats.

It began to get a bit cloying after a while, so I went on down to Vo Mimbre to look in on Duke Corrolin. There were Tolnedran merchants in Vo Mimbre, naturally, since Tolnedra lay just across the river, but a bit of careful probing verified the fact that they really
were
Tolnedrans instead of Dagashi. Evidently the nose-bleed I’d given Ctuchik had persuaded him to pull in his horns.

Then, just to avoid any seeming favoritism, I rode on north to visit Mangaran in Vo Astur. There were some problems there, but I saw no evidence that they were of Murgo origin. The removal of Oldoran from the seat of power had mightily offended his family, who for some generations had looked upon all of Asturia as a private estate. For the most part, Oldoran’s relatives were incompetents who satisfied their urges toward belligerence by denouncing Mangaran in highly unflattering terms. One nephew, however, a scruffy, uncouth young man named Nerasin, had actually gone beyond denunciation and was busily forming alliances in preparation for the day when the elderly Mangaran should die and the Asturian throne would fall into the hands of whoever was nimble enough to seize it. I had the strong feeling that Nerasin would have to be dealt with eventually, but for right now, Mangaran’s grip on power was firm enough to keep the young troublemaker in line.

I visited with Mangaran for a week or so, and then I went on back to Vo Wacune to see how Killane was coming with the renovations. It was autumn by now, and, though the Arendish forest consisted largely of evergreens, there were enough groves of maple, birch, and aspen to add vivid reds,
yellows, and pale oranges to the vast wood, and there was that faintly dusty smell of autumn in the air. I found that to be absolutely lovely, and I didn’t really hurry as I rode east. I reached the city of Vo Wacune about mid-afternoon on a lovely autumn day, passed through the ornate city gates, and rode directly to the quiet, tree-lined street where my house stood. I noted with some satisfaction that Killane and his work-gang had repaired the marble wall which surrounded the house and that the rust-riddled old iron gate had been replaced with a new one, far more imposing and ornate.

One of the attractions of my house was the fairly extensive grounds surrounding it. At one time there had been gardens there, but when I’d bought the property, those gardens had long since been taken over by weeds. I was a bit startled when I rode through the gate. The weeds were gone, and the ancient hedges were are neatly trimmed. Killane himself was over near the side of the house spading up one of the flower-beds. He looked up as I dismounted. ‘Well, now, there y’ are, lass,’ he greeted me. ‘I was about t’ send out search parties t’ find
y’,
don’t y’ know.’

‘Gardening, Killane?’ I said. ‘You’re a man of many talents, aren’t you? How’s the house coming?’

‘She’s all finished, Lady-O,’ he replied rather proudly, ‘an’ she came out better than we might have expected. I’ve been just passin’ th’ time until yer return by gettin’ yer flower-beds in order fer th’ plantin’ next spring. I took th’ liberty o’ bringin’ in a crew o’ cleanin’ ladies t’ polish things up inside. Would y’ be after wantin’ t’ have a bit of a look-see?’

‘I thought you’d never ask.’

‘I’m hopin’ that what we’ve done t’ th’ old girl satisfies y’ enough t’ smooth over th’ jolt yer goin’ t’ get when I hand over all th’ bills. I haggled ‘em down as best I was able, but th’ total’s just a wee bit alarmin’.’

‘I think I can manage it, Killane,’ I assured him. ‘Let’s go look at my house.’

The newly renovated house far exceeded all my expectations. The rooms – even in the servants’ quarters – were spacious, and the bathrooms were large and well-appointed.
The walls, which had looked more than a little scabby, had been freshly plastered. The floors, both wood and marble, gleamed. There was a solid, comfortable quality about it, and the high marble wall surrounding it and the trees and hedges in the garden muffled any noises coming in from the street to give the entire place an air of seclusion and peace.

‘It’s perfect!’ I exclaimed to my Wacite friend.

‘Well, I don’t know that I’d go
that
far, Lady-O,’ Killane replied modestly. ‘I did what I could w’ th’ old dear, but there are some nooks an’ crannies that I’d have designed differently, don’t y’ know.’

I’d more or less decided on something during my travels, but I wasn’t certain how to broach the subject to Killane. Finally, I just blurted it out. ‘We get along with each other fairly well, don’t we, Killane?’ I asked him directly.

‘Yer a reasonable sort of employer – fer a woman – an’ y’ seldom ask th’ impossible. I kin more or less stand bein’ around y’.’

‘Don’t strain yourself trying to flatter me, Killane.’

He laughed. ‘Come t’ th’ point, Lady-O,’ he told me. ‘Don’t beat around th’ bush.’

‘How would you like to work for me?’ I put it to him.

‘I thought I was.’

‘I don’t mean just fixing up the house. I mean permanently. This is quite a large house. I can take care of it myself, if I have to, but there’ll be times when I’ll have to be away for extended periods, and I’d rather not have the house fall back into the condition she was in when I first saw her. To get right to the point, I need somebody to manage the place for me. Would you be interested?’

‘I’m no servant, Lady-O. Me manners ain’t always too polished, don’t y’ know.’

‘You haven’t managed to offend
me
yet.’

‘Give me some time, Lady-O. We’ve only hardly just met.’

‘Would you consider it?’

‘I guess we kin try it fer a year or so, me Lady.’

‘Why so formal, Killane?’

‘It ain’t hardly proper fer me t’ be callin’ me employer “Lady-O”,’ he replied.

‘I don’t mind in the slightest, Killane.’ I looked around. Now that all the clutter and debris had been removed, the house was almost alarmingly large. ‘We’re probably going to need servants, aren’t we?’ I suggested a bit tentatively.

‘That we are, Lady-O,’ he said, grinning. ‘I ain’t exactly th’ world’s greatest w’ a mop or a broom, an’ me cookin’ leaves worlds to be desired.’

I laughed, fondly laying one hand on his wrist. ‘You’re the one who’ll be in charge of them, Killane, so hire some people you can get along with.’

He bowed with a surprising grace. ‘As y’ wish, Lady-O. I’ll be after bringin’ in a wagon first thing in th’ mornin’.’

‘What for?’

‘Did y’ plan to’ sleep on th’ floor? A bit o’ furniture might be in order, wouldn’t y’ say?’ Then he pulled a bundle of paper out of his tunic pocket. ‘Now, then, shall we git down t’ th’ unpleasant business o’ all these bills?’ he suggested.

It took Killane and me a couple of weeks to shop around and buy furniture, drapes, carpeting, and assorted decorations to break up the starkness of those bare white walls. And then the servants – mostly Killane’s relatives – began to arrive. Nepotism offends some people, but my own peculiar situation made it seem the most natural thing in the world. It took us all a while to get used to each other, and it took me even longer to get used to being waited upon hand and foot. About the only really serious problem I had was with my cook, one of Killane’s numerous cousins, who
really
didn’t like the way I frequently invaded her kitchen to either lend a hand or make suggestions. In time we worked that out, and all in all, I was happy and content.

The summer after I’d taken up residence in my house, Duke Kathandrion and I went on down to the Great Fair for the annual meeting of what was coming to be known as ‘the Arendish Council’. That name wasn’t particularly original, but it was modeled, after all, on the ‘Alorn Council’ held at Riva, and Arends are fond of traditions – even those that aren’t their own. There were some frictions that needed to be smoothed over, but nothing major.

What interested me far more than politics that summer was the fact that Baroness Asrana was with child.

‘Is it always this awkward and cumbersome, Polly?’ she asked me one evening after the day’s business meeting was over.

‘Usually,’ I replied. ‘When are you due?’

‘Early this coming winter – about forever and six days.’

‘I’ll come down to Vo Mandor and lend you a hand.’

‘Oh, you don’t have to do that, Polly.’

‘Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Strange as it may seem, I’m very fond of you, Asrana, and I’m not going to leave you in the hands of strangers.’

‘But –’

‘Hush, Asrana. It’s settled.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’ It sounded submissive, but I knew Asrana well enough to know that submission and humility were not part of her nature.

After the council meetings were over, Kathandrion and I rode on back to Vo Wacune. ‘Somehow this all seems very strange,’ Kathandrion mused on the last day of our journey.

‘What does?’

‘Meeting and sitting down with hereditary enemies.’

‘You might as well get used to it, Kathandrion. So long as I’m around – and I’ll be around for a long, long time – this annual get-together’s going to be a fixture in Arendia. Talking with people is far better than fighting with them.’

‘What an unnatural thing to suggest.’

I rolled my eyes upward with a theatrical look of long-suffering resignation. ‘Arends,’ I sighed.

Kathandrion laughed. ‘I just
love
it when you do that, Polgara,’ he said. ‘It makes everything we do seem so childish.’

‘It is, Kathandrion. Believe me, it is.’

The rest of the summer passed without incident, but the autumn was filled with social events. Evidently that’s an Arendish custom: ‘Rest all summer, and then have parties until the snow flies.’

Killane accompanied me on down to Vo Mandor when I calculated that Asrana’s time was approaching. He didn’t ask; he didn’t suggest; he just did it. ‘I’ll not be after lettin’ y’ travel alone, Lady-O,’ he told me when I protested. ‘Settin
aside th’ dangers, yer social standin’ would suffer were it t’ become known that y’ can’t afford a proper escort, don’t y’ know.’

I didn’t make an issue of it, since I rather enjoyed his company, and I was amused at the way servants frequently bully their employers. Killane took what he believed to be his duties quite seriously.

It was snowing when we reached Vo Mandor, a thick, swirling snow that blotted out everything more than a few yards away with a seething cloud of white. Mandorin greeted me very warmly, and he had that worried expression on his face that seems to mark the visage of every expectant father.

I turned the Baron of Vo Mandor over to Killane with instructions to keep him out of my hair and proceeded to tend the grossly expectant baroness. There were narcotic compounds I knew of to moderate her labor pains, and if it came right down to it, I could put her to sleep with a single thought. It didn’t get down to that, though, because Asrana’s delivery of her son was a fairly easy one. Mandorin was so proud that he nearly burst. New fathers are like that, I’ve noticed.

There was nothing really pressing to draw me immediately back to Vo Wacune. My house was in the care of Killane’s capable relatives, and traveling in the winter isn’t very pleasant, so I gave in to the urgings of Mandorin and Asrana to stay over until the bad weather was past.

It was pleasant to spend time with old friends, and then too, I got to play with the baby quite a bit. But spring inevitably arrived, and Killane and I started making preparations for our return to Vo Wacune.