The Falcon in the Barn (Book 4 Forest at the Edge series) (64 page)

Mahrree stopped reluctantly and put her hands
on her hips. “How dare he assume he can take my daughter,
alone
, to Idumea!”

Jaytsy took her mother’s shoulders and gently
steered her back into the kitchen. “So I’m guessing the answer is
no? I was really hoping you’d say yes—”

Mahrree’s mouth fell open.

Jaytsy shook her head. “I’m joking, only
joking!”

“
You have just as bad
timing as your father!” Mahrree sat down resolutely on a chair, but
she eyed the door with some level of planning in her furious eyes.
“What did you say to him?”

Jaytsy moved to block her mother’s view of
the door and to keep her from rushing up to the fort with the
butcher knife lying on the work table. “He wants us to go because
he thinks Father needs to make a good impression. Sounds like he’s
not too fond of his own father and doesn’t have much confidence in
him as a future High General. But if you don’t want to go, he said
he’ll just take me. I told him I’d talk to you. So I’m
talking.”

“
And I’m NOT agreeing!”
Mahrree was nearly purple.

“
I knew you wouldn’t.” She
sat next to Mahrree and put a heavy hand on her leg to keep her in
the chair. Jaytsy thought briefly what her mother’s reaction would
have been had she known what Thorne tried to do to her nine moons
ago in the barn. She pictured bits of Lemuel Thorne scattered over
several square miles of Idumea.

“
Jaytsy, I thought he had
forgotten about you since The Dinner two years ago. He hasn’t tried
courting you or anything. But I guess he was just waiting.” Mahrree
paused before asking, “It’s really none of my business but . . .
well, yes it is! You are my daughter after all—do you have any
feelings for him?”

Jaytsy laughed softly. “Only the worst,
Mother.”

Mahrree sighed. “That’s what I thought, but I
figured I better ask.” She paused again, some of her fury draining
away. “So, speaking of young men, when does Deck come back from
Mountseen?”

“
Any day now, I suppose. He
didn’t think his aunt and uncle would want him to stay away from
his cows too long, but he was hoping to fix up their house a bit.
They had problems with their windows leaking, and he wanted to
spend some time with his cousin Atlee. They used to be as close as
brothers in Moorland.”

“
He’s such a good boy.
Man
.
Umm—”

Jaytsy leaned against her mother. “I’ll agree
with that.”

---

That evening Perrin sent Mahrree a message
with a corporal that he wouldn’t be home for dinner, and it wasn’t
until nearly bed time that he came through the door.

Mahrree was waiting for him on the
sofa—Jaytsy and Peto already in their rooms for the night—antsy to
tell him about Jaytsy’s run-in with Lemuel Thorne.

“
Everything all right at
the fort?”

“
What? Oh, yes. Well, I
wasn’t at the fort, really, for much of the time,” he said
distractedly as he came into the gathering room, his face
suspiciously cheerful.

“
So where were
you?”

“
Doesn’t matter,” he
brushed it off. “You look concerned.”

“
I am. Perrin, we have a
problem. Thorne wants to take Jaytsy to Idumea for The Dinner, even
if we don’t go!
Alone!
”

For the past several hours she had been
anticipating his response. When Colonel Perrin Shin was enraged—at
others, not at his family or during a nightmare—it was a powerfully
terrifying thing, and also a bit thrilling, she had to admit.

She’d pictured him roaring, marching to the
eating table, retrieving the long knife he stashed in the secret
drawer—the sword would be too obvious, he’d decide—and charging up
to the fort.

She would have to stop him at that point,
since there really wasn’t any basis for killing Captain Thorne just
because he had inappropriate plans.

But once again all of her imagining and
speculating as to how Perrin would react to someone wanting to take
his daughter was all for naught.

He just smiled at his wife. “I don’t think we
have a problem.”

That was it.

Not even a “He wants to do what?!” to begin
his tirade, which didn’t occur. He just blinked several times and
grinned.

“
How can you say that?” she
wailed. Just when she wanted him to lose his temper, he
wouldn’t!

He looked around to make sure the bedroom
doors were closed, and turned back to his wife, his eyes nearly on
fire with excitement. “Time for you to learn some more of my and
Shem’s signals.”

---

Jaytsy woke up extra early the next morning,
the 51
^st
Day of Raining Season. The sun wouldn’t be up
for a while, but her father had knocked on her door late last night
as he was going to bed. He told her that he noticed Deckett had
come back, so he had stopped to check on him. Since it was so late,
Deck didn’t want to come by the house and bother Jaytsy, but she
would have stayed up all night to see him, had he asked. He wanted
her to drop by to see him on her way to school, if she had the
time.

She’d laughed at that. She’d give him all her
time. Her final year of school wasn’t important anyway. She’d
already passed the Final Administrative Competency Test last year
with the highest marks, and just went for something to do since she
wasn’t old enough for any women’s college.

When Jaytsy went to the washroom she was
surprised to see her parents already up, and both wearing slightly
unnatural smiles.

“
Why are you up so
early?”

They shrugged in unison.

“
Felt like getting up
early,” Mahrree said. “Needed to catch up on some
grading.”

“
Me too,” her father added
lamely.

Her mother gave him a look that Jaytsy
couldn’t define. It must have been one of Shem and Father’s silly
codes. Jaytsy couldn’t understand why she encouraged their behavior
by learning their game. Most of the time they looked like they were
trying to wriggle itches off their faces.

When she came out of the washroom a few
minutes later, her father snatched some of her mother’s papers and
began reading them. Jaytsy just shook her head on her way to her
bedroom and came back out in her thickest woolen dress and warm
cloak.

“
Going somewhere this
early?” her mother asked, her voice a little high.

“
Yes, remember? I was going
to check on . . . Deck’s oldest cow. She seemed a little down
lately. I think she misses him.”

Mahrree’s smile twisted. “Yes, yes. Deckett
is most likely still asleep since he got in so late, so she doesn’t
know he’s back. You go talk to that
cow
. Cheer her up.”

Perrin coughed into his mug and Mahrree
slapped him on the back.

A loud knock at the back door surprised
Jaytsy.

But Perrin stood up automatically, almost as
if he was expecting it, and headed for the kitchen.

“
Why, Deckett Briter! What
a surprise. Yes, of course Jaytsy’s up. I think she was on her way
to see your old cow.”

Jaytsy ran to the kitchen door and clenched
her fists to keep from throwing her arms around Deck in front of
her father. Five days had felt like five years.

Deck beamed at her. “Care to take a
walk?”

The thought of taking a walk in the freezing
cold of the dark early morning didn’t strike her as an unusual
request at all. “Of course!” She gave her father a quick goodbye
kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back before school, Mother.”

“
Give my regards to the
cow,” she called back.

---

Mahrree heard the door close and Perrin came
back to the table. He sat down across from his wife with a spark in
his eyes, and leaned in.

She leaned toward him as well, expecting one
of his morning ‘greetings.’

She was not, however, expecting what he said
next, in his low, dreamy voice, just as she began to pucker.

“
So, how long do you think
it’ll be until I get to start calling you grandmother?”

---

Jaytsy came home an hour later marching
through the back door while holding firmly on to Deck’s hand—the
rest of him following happily—and stopped at the table in the
eating room where her parents still sat.

Peto looked up from his breakfast and
groggily stared at them.

Beaming, Jaytsy shook Deck’s hand, as if some
kind of signal.

Deckett cleared his throat. “Colonel Shin,
Mrs. Shin? Jaytsy would like to tell you something,” and he smiled
at Perrin.

Jaytsy gave Deckett the briefest of
looks—apparently that wasn’t what they had rehearsed—before turning
to her parents.

Their odd smiles from earlier were magnified
on their faces. Mahrree squirmed with anticipation until she
bounced in her chair.

Jaytsy’s mouth dropped open. “You already
know!
How could you already know? I just found out
myself!”

“
Know what?” Peto
asked.

Deck glared, actually glared, at his future
father-in-law. “Colonel Shin, you said last night you wouldn’t say
a word.”

Perrin held up his hands. “I swear, I didn’t
say a word.
”

“
Jaytsy, just say it!”
Mahrree nearly screamed, her hands squeezing her cheeks in
anticipation.

“
We want to get married!”
Jaytsy yelled.

“
What!” Peto hollered.
“Why?”

Mahrree was already on her feet rushing over
to them. She couldn’t wait to hug her future son-in-law, who looked
stunned as he put his arms around her and sent Perrin a look that
said,
Help?

Perrin laughed and went to hug his daughter
instead.

But Peto just sat there, rubbing his
eyes.

“
That is, Father, if it’s
all right with you and Mother?” Jaytsy remembered to say as she
pulled out of his hug. “I mean, I’m not yet seventeen—”

Perrin kissed her on the cheek. “I told
Deckett last night when we discussed this that I thought it’s an
excellent idea. I’m sure your mother is happy as well.”

Mahrree finally released Deck.
“Absolutely!”

“
I told you they’d be all
right with it,” Deck said shyly to Jaytsy.

She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and
they both blushed.

That was too much for Peto. “Ah, no, NO! Come
on! Deck, we were having fun. Even with her around. Why go and ruin
it? I’m going back to bed,” and he started for his bedroom.

Deck chuckled. “I’m not ruining anything,
Peto. How can becoming your brother ruin things?”

Peto stopped and sighed loudly. “Can you be
my brother without kissing her in front of me?”

“
I kind of like it.
Sorry.”

Peto exhaled in resignation and held out his
hand to Deck. “Whatever. Welcome to the family.”

Deck shook his hand and pulled him in for a
hug.

“
Don’t kiss me!” Peto
yelled.

“
Don’t worry!” Deck yelled
back.

“
Well at least someone’s
surprised,” Jaytsy said, a little glumly, as her parents
laughed.

Mahrree elbowed Perrin—he
had
spilled
all the beans last night without saying a word—and he sent an
apologetic glance to Jaytsy.

She brightened. “Uncle Shem! He doesn’t know!
Right?
” she glared at her father.

He shook his head.

“
Deck, let’s go find
him!”

“
No, Jayts,” Perrin told
her. “He’s been out all night training new recruits. Let him sleep.
But I have an idea,” he smiled slyly. “We’ll invite him over for
dinner so you can surprise him.”

“
If you can keep it a
secret, Colonel,” Deck teased.

Perrin pointed at him. “We have to stop that
‘colonel’ nonsense right now,
Mr. Briter
. My wife called my
father General for as long as she knew him.”

“
Almost
as long,”
Mahrree said.

Perrin gave her a questioning look, but she
waved him off. “Anyway,” he continued, “I never cared for that. I’m
not your colonel. Nor,” he said gently, “could I ever replace your
father. I told you this before, but now I mean it: you’ll have to
call me Perrin.”

Deckett cringed. “That may take me a while,
sir. But I’ll try.”

“
And no ‘sir’. And I’ll try
to not to say anything to Shem.”

Mahrree had been bouncing in place for
several minutes. “Do you have a date picked?”

Deck and Jaytsy looked at each other. “Day
after my birthday, when I’m officially independent and seventeen,”
Jaytsy said. “The 47
^th
Day of Planting Season, 337.”

Mahrree sighed in relief. “Do you know what
day that is?” she murmured loudly to Perrin.

“
I do,” said Deckett, with
uncharacteristic hotness. “And that captain can dance alone that
night!”

“
Deckett, Jaytsy,” Perrin
said fighting down a mischievous grin as he thought about Lemuel
Thorne looking vainly for Jaytsy at The Dinner when she was at her
wedding instead, “perhaps we keep this news just to the family.
Considering Thorne and everything—”

“
We already talked about
that too,” Jaytsy said. “We thought about getting married in
Mountseen. Deck’s old rector moved there, and his aunt and uncle
and cousin are there. And since you’re allowed to travel again,
Father . . .”

“
We could use the fort for
the dinner,” Mahrree suggested. “I already know how to organize it!
It’ll be nice organizing a dinner for uniforms again.” She didn’t
add,
Instead of feeding Edge
.