The Mansions of Idumea (Book 3 Forest at the Edge series) (85 page)

Mahrree actually snorted. “I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t find any of that fitting or funny.”

“No,” he agreed. “You shouldn’t.” He snorted
too. A moment later he added, “Then there’s Poe.”

She groaned. “Oh, Poe.”

Perrin sighed. “I had Grandpy Neeks with me
to tell him about Grasses. Grandpy’s pretty excited to go south
again. He has a lot of connections. His enthusiasm was wearing off
a bit on Private Hili. He’s being sent away for
assisting
me, but I convinced Cush to not let his past go with him. I told
him Poe was just following standing orders that I had left with the
fort. I’ll personally create his records, and I’m giving Poe a
clean start.”

“I suppose that’s for the best, then,” she
sighed sadly. “Just when I was getting excited about the thought of
Poe around again. I have such hope for him.”

“Grandpy will take care of him. He’s already
promised me,” Perrin assured her with a kiss.

“And Karna to Rivers? Did you have a hand in
that as well?”

“Actually, Shem did. When Mal announced I was
losing my second in command, Shem spoke up and said he thought the
fort at Rivers was in need of a new commander, and wouldn’t Karna
be an excellent fit there.”

Mahrree frowned. “And Mal listened to him? A
mere master sergeant?”

“Interestingly, Mal paid a great deal of
attention to Shem. Somehow, he’s impressed the Chairman of the
Administrators. Then again, Shem impresses everyone.”

“Thank the Creator for Shem!” she said.
“Perrin, I need to tell you—I really thought, for a few horrible
moments, that I might never see . . . you alive again.”

“I know,” he whispered. “I thought the same
thing.”

“Perrin, should something like this ever . .
. if there comes a time that you—” It wasn’t easy asking one’s
husband what to do when he dies.

Fortunately she didn’t have to get those
words out. “I’m making provisions,” he cut her off.

“What does that mean? ‘Provisions’?”

He kissed her again. “Don’t worry about it.
Should anything ever happen to me, I promise you’ll not be left
alone. Shem will know what to do. The Administrators already love
him, by the way.”

While she was desperately wanted to know what
Perrin was planning, his comment about Shem intrigued her. “They
love Shem? How do you know?”

“Gave him a certificate that looked exactly
like yours,” he droned. “Written in black and gold, for outstanding
service to the world, blah, blah, blah, for stopping me from
killing Gadiman.”

“Oh, my. What’d he think of that?”

“He told them thank you, then after we
saddled up to go to the garrison for the other orders, he dropped
the beautiful parchment into the dung wagon.”

She chuckled darkly. “I’m sure it blended
right in. I should have done that with mine, instead of tossing it
in the fireplace. So,” she tried to redirect the conversation, “why
will Shem ‘know what to do’ should . . . you never return.”

He hugged her tighter. “There are many other
things to discuss, Mahrree.”

Sensing he wasn’t about to be forthcoming
with anything else, she let it go for now. “I was worried you
weren’t going to come back,” she whispered. “That maybe you might
even try to stay there and investigate what happened.”

“I was thinking that, for a time,” he
confessed.

“What changed your mind?”

He was silent for a moment. “Lots of things,”
he eventually said, and tightened his hold on her, “but mostly I
knew I needed to be right here.”

Mahrree sighed contentedly. “You truly have
become Edgy over the years. And that’s a compliment, by the
way.”

He chuckled softly. “While I agree I belong
in Edge, what I really meant was that I needed to be right
here
, with you.” His voice turned husky and Mahrree squeezed
his arms tighter, a few tears slipping from her eyes.

“Don’t ever leave me again, please,” she
whispered. “I don’t want to know what those provisions are.”

His hold on her became so firm her ribs
ached. “I won’t ever leave you again. I promise. We’ll just stay
like this in our bed together for the next forty years.”

“Sounds perfect. So I suppose we no longer
have to worry about you becoming High General, then.”

He didn’t answer her.

“Perrin?”

He cleared his throat.

“Oh . . . you’re not serious . . . what?”

“I’ve been informed that there’s still the
desire for another General Shin in Idumea, but I need to do a great
deal to earn the position. How I prepare these new officers—and two
more are arriving with the wagon coming with my parents’
things—will determine my future. Cush is sixty-six now. In four
more years, there’ll need to be a new High General named.”

“No, no, no, no—”

“Then,” said Perrin with a weighty sigh, “the
position will likely be handed to one of two men: either me, or
Qayin Thorne, who is now
General
Thorne and Cush’s new
Advisor. Whoever’s not chosen as High General will then most likely
be the next Advisor. That should make a few colonels not too happy
about things.”

“And how do you feel about that?” Mahrree
asked as if she didn’t know.

“Let Thorne have it!” Perrin declared. “And
let me stay here. Keep me on probation for decades. I can be a
barely adequate colonel and stay here until I’m seventy, can’t I?
Watch our children marry, have grandchildren, maybe even
great-grandchildren, while I sit here and stare at the mountains. I
hadn’t realized how much I’ve grown accustomed to them until I
left. I can be a colonel for the next twenty-seven years,
right?”

“Absolutely!” Mahrree said, sounding almost
believable.

“Sure,” Perrin mused, his tone losing
confidence. “I’ll train these officers well enough. Get Lemuel
promoted so fast he’ll be general before me and can be Advisor to
his father—”

“Of course,” Mahrree said with strained
brightness. “And take your daughter and your grandchildren back to
Idumea with him.”

“What?!” Perrin nearly shouted.

“Why else do you think he’s here?” Mahrree
said. “Not just to keep a close eye on you for his father and
grandfather. I’m sure part of his duty is also to become Colonel
Perrin Shin’s son-in-law.”

“Oh no,” Perrin groaned. “Of everything I’ve
had to consider today, that’s the most revolting.”

“He’s really that bad?”

“He’s as bad as mushroom pudding! Ask Shem
sometime.” He sighed again. “You just might be right about Thorne,
though. What do we tell Jaytsy?”

“I think Jaytsy already knows what everyone’s
expectations are for her. She doesn’t really like him, though. And
I had a little talk with her the other day.”

“What kind of ‘talk’?” he probed.

“Another update of the talk we had when she
was eight. About what to expect from young men and their
intentions.”

“Good,” Perrin exhaled.

Mahrree made a little noise in her
throat.

“What?” Perrin asked.

“There should be a follow-up from you,
though.”

“Why?”

“As a father you may have some additional
insight to offer, about young officers, since you used to be one.
That kind of thing
,” she added heavily.

She had no idea her husband could groan for
so long.

---

In the compound of the fort the next
afternoon was a sad party of sorts. Among the loaded wagons and
waiting horses was a gathering of soldiers, villagers, friends and
families who did their best to smile at those leaving for their new
posts. But there was too much sniffling, according to Peto, and no
cake.

There was also something else missing: the
commander of the fort.

Mahrree knew Perrin had said a private
goodbye to each man, and now, as she subtly glanced up to the
command tower, just behind the reflections of sunlight she could
see his form at the edge of the window watching the shaking of
hands and giving of hugs. Her chest ached for him. He felt
responsible that so many men he counted as friends were being sent
away. His punishment meant their punishment, and his fort was never
going to be the same again.

It wasn’t as if Mahrree would ever consider
that the label of ‘fragile’ could be applied to her husband, but
considering all that he’d been through in just the past week, she
couldn’t imagine how any other man wouldn’t have been overwhelmed
today. She was fairly confident he’d locked the door to his office
to keep any soldiers from accidentally coming in and seeing his
tears of regret.

There was still, however, a messenger-sized
hole in the wall, but a few years ago Hycymum had presented Perrin
with a long purple banner with the word “Edge” stitched in bright
yellow, embellished with far too many swirls and curlicues. This
morning Mahrree pulled it out of the storage wardrobe he’d hidden
it in, and showed him how it could cover the hole until lumber was
available to rebuild his wall. Perrin had smiled sadly at it as he
tucked it under his arm. “If she ever asks, tell her it was always
hanging in the forward office.”

Mahrree turned from the tower to see Teeria
Rigoff finally pull out of her mother’s embrace. Although Teeria
would be back next week to finish packing her house to move to
Rivers, Mahrree was sure she never expected to be leaving Edge. Her
mother blubbering behind her certainly didn’t.

“Well, Miss Mahrree,” Teeria wiped her eyes
with a handkerchief, “looks like Edge provided me with my own
captain. Just like you!”

“And a fine one at that, too,” Mahrree smiled
proudly at Captain Rigoff whose uniform already sported the
insignia proclaiming his new rank. He beamed.

Lieutenant Colonel Brillen Karna hugged each
of the Shins almost bashfully, perhaps worried that the colonel was
watching him. With a small but eager smile, he said, “I’ll let you
know about the wedding.” But then his smile evaporated.
“Wait—Colonel Shin can’t leave Edge. He won’t be able to come down
to Rivers—”

Mahrree smiled as cheerily as she could.
“Don’t you worry about that. Remember, Perrin and I had a very
small wedding. All who really needs to be there is you and Miss
Robbing. We’ll be happy for you wherever you are.”

Grandpy Neeks startled Mahrree by kissing her
briefly on the cheek. “Take care of yourself, ma’am,” he said,
nodding at the Jaytsy and Peto. “And keep your fine husband in line
for me.”

“I will. And Grandpy, I’m sorry I never found
you a wife,” Mahrree said.

“Why? I’m not.”

Saying farewell to Poe was the hardest,
though, and Mahrree was grateful Perrin wasn’t there to see her
emotion. Her face was wet as she kissed Poe on the cheek and gave
him a long hug.

“You remember to always look at the color of
the sky, Qualipoe Hili,” she whispered in his ear. “Don’t ever
believe it’s always blue. Check it for yourself. You’ve always been
a bright boy, and I’ve been so proud of you these past few weeks.
Now promise me you’ll always be a thoughtful man.”

He couldn’t answer her, but gruffly cleared
his throat and nodded before mounting his horse next to Grandpy
Neeks, who surprised Mahrree again by wiping away a tear
himself.

But Mahrree wasn’t surprised that Poe’s
parents didn’t show up to see him off. She had hoped for his sake
they would, but that hope ran out when Lieutenant Colonel Karna
whistled to start the group out of the compound. Poe waved
half-heartedly one last time to the Shins—the only family he had
left—and Mahrree sighed to her children.

“Poor Poe. I feel like I just said goodbye to
my lost son.”

The crowd of villagers and soldiers waved and
cheered as Karna led the group out, but Mahrree turned slightly to
catch a view of the command tower.

Perrin still stood there, to the side of the
window, but he wasn’t alone. Shem was next to him, almost out of
view, but with a brotherly hand on Perrin’s shoulder.

“Thank you, dear Creator,” Mahrree murmured
under the sound of cheering, “for letting us keep Shem Zenos.”

---

The envelope delivered yesterday by the
messenger, which they didn’t remember to open until much later, was
from Mrs. Cush, wife of the new High General of Idumea. The message
told Mahrree that Mrs. Cush and Versula Thorne had put together a
crate of the Shins’ belongings, and it was on its way to Edge.

Mrs. Cush had also asked for regular updates
about their pride and joy Lemuel, and hoped that Jaytsy was doing
well. Mahrree was sure there was some conspiring giggling that
occurred when those words were written. The wagon with the crate
was due that evening.

So after dinner Mahrree sat on her front
porch watching for the promised crate and mulling over what her
husband had told her of his time in Idumea. She had the distinct
feeling Perrin left out some important details—such as why he
sounded so irritated about taking a long nap at the garrison and
who else was in the cellar of the hospital. But she wasn’t about to
press him on any of that. It’d all come out, eventually.

She watched Peto on the side of the road,
kicking his old ball between his feet. His new one from his
grandfather sat on top of his wardrobe in near-pristine condition.
Peto looked up, noticed his mother, and shook his head. No wagon in
sight yet.

Jaytsy came around the side of the house with
a smirk on her face and sang, “Oh, Mother! Your husband needs you
in the back garden.”

“Why?” Mahrree asked suspiciously.

“Because I now know how to disable a man.”
She batted her eyelashes. Perrin had told Jaytsy at dinner that it
was time to teach her a few defensive techniques, and after the
washing up he had escorted her to the back garden while Mahrree,
chuckling quietly, headed out to the front porch. At least teaching
his daughter how to fend off amorous young men gave Perrin
something else to concentrate on after the loss of his favorite
soldiers.