The Once and Future Man - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They both sat on their respective boxes and looked around the cave. Mialana was in no hurry to leave. This was the best news she'd gotten in a long time. First the fevers had taken her parents, then the weight of the kingdom fell on her, and most recently, month after month of overconfident condescending men coming into her palace to try to convince her that all her problems could be solved if she married them. Now here was this man, quite literally from out of this world, who was offering to help her country off the bottom rung of society. He had enough money that they wouldn't be dependent on Lord Harsk for anything. And best of all he hadn't asked her to marry him to get it. She picked up an emerald the size of an acorn.

"One thing is for sure, there is no way to move all of this quietly. Once we start, I will need to station a hundred soldiers around this cave. Every bandit in a hundred miles will be thinking of a way to get in. Not to mention all the treasure wagons they will try to rob. I do not see how we can keep this a secret for long."

David watched the torchlight shine off the emerald in her hand. "It's not impossible to keep a secret. I'm sure you have some, I'm sure Caelly does too."

The Queen dropped the gemstone. No one knew about her and Caelly, how did he? "I... I don't know what you're talking about. Caelly is my lady's maid, my servant."

"I know, but I'm pretty sure she's more than that. A little more than just a good friend. I've been honest about everything about me, you can be honest about this."

She looked down at her lap, "No one knows. I do not even know how it happened. When my parents became sick, she was such a comfort. Always there for me. Everyone just thinks she's a loyal lady's maid. The aristocracy have always sent their children to court to be friends and serve the royal children. Her parents have a small barony in the northern mountains. She was so innocent and afraid when she came. We were all each other had."

She went silent and David waited a moment before asking, "So you have to hide it because she's a woman?"

"What? Why should that matter? As Queen I am expected to produce an heir, but no one cares if I take a woman as a lover. No, what matters is that she's from such a small province. A Queen and a fourth daughter of a lowly baron? Two generations ago they were just copper miners. What a scandal that would be."

So, no homophobia here but elitism is going nice and strong.

He tried to explain how things would be viewed on his world. The Queen furrowed her eyebrows, "Why would anyone care if two people were in love with each other? It is no one's business but theirs. I have restrictions because I am the Queen, but anyone else is free to be with who they want."

"It's nice to know you're so evolved here. But it doesn't help us out much with moving all this gold."

The Queen looked down at the chest she was sitting on. Literal tons of gold underneath her.

"What if we do not move it."

David was confused. "You already said thieves would come looking for it. Even if we don't move all of it, we'll need it to pay for things. Someone will find out what's in here."

Mialana stood up and started pacing around the room. "I know, but what if we made it safe right here where it is? We can build a castle right over the top of the cave. That way it is protected, and we would not have to spend a year moving it to the palace."

"Won't that bother the baron or duke or whoever that owns these woods if a new castle just shows up on his land?" David asked.

She rolled her eyes. This man could potentially help her kingdom in so many ways, but he was so ignorant of her world it was almost comical.

"I own these woods. I am the Queen remember? The crown owns everything from the city to the other side of the forest. And even if they were under the control of the aristocracy, I outrank everyone. I can just give them someplace else."

"Just like that? You can just take someone's land away and drop them somewhere else?" It didn't seem right to him.

"Well, I would have to give them someplace they considered nicer than where they were. But the worst they could do is raise a complaint before the throne. It is not something I can do a lot, kings on the continent have tried it. Raising and lowering someone's status on a whim, it never works out. They end up with revolutions all the time." She got up from the chest she was sitting on and closed the lid. David and the Queen closed all the lids and locked them. As they were about to leave, he went back and unlocked one box. She watched as he pulled out a few of the books and then close it again.

Mialana raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shook his head.

"I'll explain when we get back to town."

She shrugged and they left the cave, making sure it was locked again and the thorn bushes were pulled back over the door. Caelly and Jaym were happy to see them come back out. The guards relaxed a little but maintained a watch on the woods.

The Queen and Caelly walked off ahead of everyone else back to the carriage. The young maid was full of questions, but Mialana reassured her that everything was ok and that she would explain everything in time. Caelly accepted this but wasn't happy about it. The Queen had never kept anything from her before. Ever since she had come to the palace at fourteen, five years ago, they had been the closest of friends. There were no secrets between the two of them. What had this man said in there that her friend couldn't share with her?

They soon reached the road where the carriage and the guards' horses waited for them. Mialana asked the guard that had been keeping watch there to ride back to town and assemble the Queen's council. He bowed, mounted his horse, and took off towards the city. Soon only a cloud of dust showed the way that he had gone.

Everyone climbed back into the carriage, and they were on their way.

Caelly tried to engage the Queen on the way, but she was lost in thought and wouldn't respond to her. The new man from Am-err-icka was showing his servant the books he had brought out of the cave with him. They looked like they were full of pictures of bees and foxes and horses. The little boy was transfixed by the pictures. His master was trying to explain to him something about the words printed next to the pictures. She couldn't read them. If she was honest, she couldn't read much of her own language either. No one ever wrote to her from home and the Queen explained anything she needed to know.

****

Jaym couldn't believe it. His master said he would teach him how to read! The pictures in the books helped. He had never seen drawings that looked so real. Master David said it would get harder the more he learned but he wasn't worried about that, he wasn't afraid of hard work. He sounded out the words along with his boss, "A is for apple, B is for bee, C is for cat..."

He looked up at the others. The Queen was looking out the window with a small smile on her face. She had seemed very nice on the trip out to the forest, now she was even happier. She would look at the books every once in a while, and her smile would get even bigger. Caelly had been kind to him back in the palace, showing him around and answering all his questions. Now she was upset about something. He didn't know what, but he could tell she was mad. Living on the streets made you keenly aware of when someone had had enough of you. It was always important to know when someone was about to call the city patrol.

The book in his lap drew his attention back. There was a picture of something called an elephant, what a strange looking creature! Could there really be things like that across the sea? Some of the older boys had gone on to be cabin boys on the merchant ships. They only ever saw the galley and the latrine. None of them had ever mentioned anything like this. Where had his master gotten these books? Did they have elephants in Am-err-icka?

By the time he had made it to "Q is for Queen", they were back at the palace. It took a long time to get through each picture. Master David made him sound out each letter until he had it right before he could move on to the next one. They pulled in under the same archway from before. The soldiers dismounted and came to attention next to the carriage. The Queen got out first, followed by Caelly. Master David took the book back from him and then they got out. Queen Mialana whispered to her maid, and she marched him off into the palace. Before, she had directed him with a touch on the shoulder, but now she grabbed his hand and pulled him after her. Jaym hoped whatever was bothering her went away soon if this was how she was going to behave. At least they were heading back in the direction of the kitchens.

****

David followed the Queen through the palace. They went the opposite way from the throne room. He was sure they were out in one of the wings of the building. They were soon in a small room with a large rectangular table at its center. The Lord General was already there along with several other people he didn't recognize. Everyone stopped talking and turned to bow to the Queen as she entered the room. She acknowledged it and directed everyone to sit at the table, taking the seat on the far end. David, she pointed to sit in the chair to her left. General Greeg took the seat to her right and the rest settled in no particular order. The Queen went around the table introducing the various ministers and advisors of her inner circle.

First was Kera Sedden, the Minister for the Treasury. She was an exceedingly thin middle-aged woman. To David her skin looked like an old leather couch, dry and cracked, but he could see a sharp wit behind her eyes. Next was Pold Colner, who turned out to be the High Priest of the Mother. That was surprising, he had the look of a former athlete that was past his prime, thick neck and broad shoulders with a red bulbous nose. His white robes of office were stretched tight on his wide frame. He was followed by more pencil pushers and functionaries until Rael Lokke, who was sitting on David's other side. Rael was the Queen's Minister of the Trades, the point of contact for all the guilds in the city. He nodded to David as the Queen introduced him, his shoulder length black hair pulled back in a ponytail. He was a fit handsome man in early middle age, he smiled a little too much for David's liking, but he seemed like a decent guy.

Soon it was his turn to be introduced to the Queen's inner circle. "This is David Winston from Dal-las in Am-err-icka. He is going to be my, um, Minister for Education and... Modernization. He's come here from far away to offer his service and I have accepted. I want to help Wellon become a respected nation and he is going to help me do it. He has knowledge of things that none of us have ever heard of before."

There were quite a few looks exchanged around the table at that. They were all for helping Wellon become more prosperous, any success would increase their standing in the world too. Everyone looked to David, wondering what he was going to do, the Queen's description was vague at best.

"First of all, Rael, I need you to get the guilds organized for a new construction project. I want a new castle built in the eastern forest. It will need to be big enough to house several hundred people at once." The Queen looked to her Minister of the Trades, who was already scribbling quickly on the papers in front of him. She was about to continue when Minister Kera cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry your majesty, but there simply isn't enough in the treasury to build an entire new castle from scratch. Not without cutting funds from your charitable programs." She all of a sudden had a sour look on her face, "Or without getting a loan from Lord Harsk."

David wasn't surprised at the grumbling in the room at that statement. He knew how he felt about Lord Harsk, it would seem others felt the same. The Queen's smile lit up the room, "There will be no need to ask that man for anything, and no need to cut funding. The cost of the construction will be covered."

Kera narrowed her eyes, "As you say, your Majesty."

Mialana took pity on her money manager, "I'm not putting the country in debt Kera. And I'm not speculating either. The money is there, I just won't say more about it at this time. The biggest problem will be labor. This city used to have almost five hundred thousand people in it. Now we're lucky if we have even half that. The fevers the last few years haven't been kind to us. We may have to reach out to the outer provinces for workers."

"What about immigration?" David asked.

"What about what?" Rael responded, "What's immigration?"

David couldn't believe it. Wasn't this an island that conducted a lot of trade? How did people move around here? "Immigration is when people leave a country to live somewhere else. What happens when your ships dock in other ports? There must be people there that want to leave."

General Greeg spoke next, "Oh, there are always people hanging about, wanting to ship out. But the merchant ships are there to do business, not take on random passengers."

Rael and Kera nodded in agreement to this. David couldn't believe they couldn't see where he was going with this. "So, bring them back with you from now on. You've lost a lot of your population, there's people around the world that want to move somewhere that has more opportunities for them. Do I have to draw you people a map?"

Everyone was very indignant at that. All except the Queen. Mialana watched the conversation play out silently. She appreciated her advisors, they were good at their jobs. But they were all too complacent. Doing things the same way they had done them since her father had been King. In her opinion they could all use a bit of shaking up. She had watched him teaching Jaym in the carriage on the way back. An orphan that until a week ago had been living on the street had been able to grasp what was written in the books David had brought with him. It was the simplest of books, to be sure, but if he could be taught that much then he could be taught more, and others among her people could master the other things he had brought with him. If only her closest advisers were as open to new ideas. They would have to learn too.

The Minister of the Treasury was the first to answer, "How do you propose we get the merchant captains to take on a bunch of vagabonds?"

"The Queen could command them to I expect, if it came to that. If not, then tell them to set their own prices. If a passenger can pay the rate, then bring them on board. Aside from that, you have a navy, don't you? Send them out to different places. Pack a few trade goods along to try to make some money if you need to. But use them to spread the word. Have the sailors tell anyone they meet that there's a place with space and jobs available. I don't think you'll have to worry about getting enough passengers after a while."

One of the ministers whose name David couldn't remember was aghast at that. "You would have us just invite foreigners into our land to take over?"

He rolled his eyes, "They won't take over anything. The people looking to move will just want a place to be safe, to raise a family, and have a decent job. They'll adjust to how things work here."

This did little to satisfy the man. "How do you know? It's never been done before."

"I come from a country of over three hundred million people, and other than a tiny percentage, all of their families came from somewhere else at some point. It's far from perfect, but it's managed to stick around for two hundred years working that way."

None of the assembled bureaucrats knew what to say to that. Three hundred million people? No country could hold so many. A few looked to the Queen, not quite daring to question why she would bring this lunatic among them. Mialana herself was shocked to hear how large David's country was. No wonder he could amass so much treasure before coming here. Her advisers were certainly shaken up now.

"I would rather not force the merchant captains, but I will command it if I have to." She looked at Rael, "Pass the word among them, and the navy captains as well, to do as David Winston says. After that, work your way around to the guild houses and get them started planning the new castle."

The handsome man bowed his head to the Queen and gathered his notes. Minister Sedden still looked suspicious as to how they would pay for everything but kept her tongue. No one raised any more objections and the Queen looked at David to see if he had anything to add.

"One more thing Minister Lokke, you deal with the different guilds so I'm guessing you'd know the answer to this better than anyone here. Who teaches everyone in the city? Is there a college or university where people study?"

Rael leaned back in his chair, "All of the guilds have members that study new ways of doing things to advance their trades. What are you looking for?"

"People good with languages. As many as you can find, and people that are used to teaching children. Send them to me as quick as you can, if you please, along with some printers and engravers." He crossed his fingers a few of them would be quality teachers.

With nothing more to discuss, the Queen rose from the table and the gathered administrators left one by one. With a quick bow to the Queen, David hustled to catch up to the High Priest. The broad-shouldered man could still move quickly when he wanted to. He'd been hearing people mention the Mother since he arrived in this world. The head of the religion should be able to explain who she was.

"Mr. High Priest, sir? Do you have a minute?" He was out of breath by the time he caught up to the man.

Pold stopped and let the others pass him as David came closer. "Of course, David Winston. What can I do for you?"

"Just David, please. I was wondering if you would be nice enough to explain a few things for me? About religion."

The priest smiled and slapped David on the shoulder, "I can try at least. Come with me."

He rubbed his stinging shoulder and followed him down the hall from the conference room to a small study. The jovial holy man went to a side table near the window and poured two glasses of amber liquid. He took one of the armchairs and motioned David to take the other. Both men took a sip, to David it tasted like weak bourbon. Not his favorite, but not bad.

"Go ahead and ask your questions young man. But I'll warn you, I may not be the best person to ask." He took another drink and settled into his chair.

"But you're the High Priest. Shouldn't you know everything?"

The older man laughed. "Truth be told, even I'm not sure how I ended up with this job."

David listened as the High Priest explained that he'd been a champion boxer and wrestler in his youth. He'd been proud of his accomplishments. His family, however, was not. As the third son of a well-placed viscount, more was expected of him. His choice had been to shape up and pick a respectable profession or be cut off entirely. The priesthood was an easy enough job, he had no problem speaking in public. Many of the other priests and priestesses had won plenty of coin off him when he competed. That combined with his natural affableness and his noble birth let him rise quickly through the ranks until, before he knew it, he was the High Priest of the Mother in Wellon.

"If I'd had my way, I would have kept on with boxing. I won enough that being cut off financially wouldn't have been too bad. But my mother, you see? It would have killed her to have the family shamed with a scandal like that. So here I am, the least priestly man to ever put on the robes of office. Sure, I do my best to see the church right, but if you're looking for answers from on high, I'm not sure I'm the man to find them for you."

"Oh, I'm not looking for anything that spiritual. Just the basics on how religion works here. Who is the Mother, that sort of thing? I'm new here. I don't want to say the wrong thing and offend someone." Religious offences were the easiest to lead to deadly repercussions.

Pold looked massively relieved. "Oh! Now that I can handle."

It turned out the religion of Wellon was moon based. The Mother was the personification of the white moon. She controlled the tides and was considered to be mostly good. The red moon was represented by the Father. This deity was mercurial at best, evil at worst, depending on how strict your beliefs were. As Pold told it, no one prayed to the Father, and if it was a night where only the red moon shined, only the worst sorts of people went about their regular business. Red nights were times to be quietly indoors. Worship was fairly simple, good things were touched by the Mother, bad things by the Father. No holy days, aside from the occasional eclipse. Important doings were reserved for when the white moon was full, or especially when the white moon was full, and the red was absent from the sky.

"Most people aren't really that observant. There are temples of course, though there isn't much to them. Hard to make everyone gather in one place when all they have to do is look up at the night sky wherever they're standing. The other priests and priestesses in the order are there to provide guidance when it's asked for. Prayers are sent to the Mother when you need something, and there's no stronger curse than sending the Father after someone. But it doesn't dominate much of anyone's time, for which I'm grateful. You get the odd kooks now and then that think the Mother is personally watching out for them. But there's people that still think the world is flat too." Pold laughed at that and poured himself another drink. David politely declined when Pold held the bottle out to him. "Myself? I don't know honestly. I doubt every plague and late season frost is called down by the red moon, but I can't prove for sure that it isn't either. So, I smile and pray to the Mother that everything will work out all right. No harm in it."

David had died in a car crash and been sent here, he guessed by aliens, so he had to agree with the reluctant priest. The moons influencing people's lives wasn't that farfetched. With how this world developed, maybe his aliens and the Mother/Father were one and the same? Not that it helped him one way or the other. He was glad Pold wasn't a zealot, who would cast doubt on everything he said because it contradicted some religious scripture. After finishing his drink, he thanked the High Priest for his time and got up to leave. The former boxer reassured him that he could come back to talk any time and poured himself another round.

Caelly was waiting for him in the hall with Jaym in tow. "Her Majesty has decided to provide you with a place to stay that isn't the Leaping Horse. Come with me."

Her tone was much colder than David had heard her use before. Jaym frowned at her but shrugged when his master looked at him. He didn't know what was wrong with her either. The girl led them back out to the carriage they had taken earlier.

"I thought you said the Queen was providing us with a place to stay."

The lady-in-waiting scoffed at the question. "She is. That doesn't mean she has to give you a room in the palace. Be grateful she is kind enough to do all that she has."

The girl fell into a sullen silence and David and Jaym were left to wonder where they would end up. The carriage rolled out from the archway without guards this time. It turned out to be a quick ride this time. They were soon slowing to a halt just a few streets away from the palace grounds. Caelly waited for the footman to open the door and was helped down. David got out on the other side and saw that they had stopped in front of a large stone townhouse on a quiet street. The cobblestones in the road were well maintained and he could see a few well-dressed residents taking the air.

The house they had stopped in front of was three stories high with several chimneys visible. There was a bay window to the left of the front door and many more windows to either side and on the upper floors. It was all white and beige stone except the front door which was painted a dark green. As he walked around the carriage the door opened, and a young man exited the house. He bowed to Caelly and the footman but was unsure about David.

"This is Boland, the caretaker. He'll walk you through the house and show you where everything is. This is David Winston, Boland. The Queen has decreed that he will be taking over ownership of Ilex House. Please do your best to accommodate his needs." She turned to David as she was climbing back into the carriage, "The Queen will summon you when she calls the next council."

She climbed in without another word and the driver got the horses in motion. In moments she was gone. Leaving David and his servant on the street with their meager pile of belongings. The young caretaker stood at attention waiting for orders. David picked up his backpack and the gunpowder barrel, while Jaym grabbed the rest.

"Ok, Boland, please show us around." He bowed and went up the steps to open the door to the house for them.

The entryway was opened up to the second floor, he noticed a large chandelier above them. Dark hardwood floors stretched out in all directions. There was a large sitting room on the left, a staircase going up to the second floor on the right. A long hallway ran straight ahead to the back of the house. There was intricately carved crown molding in every room he could see, all painted white. The wallpaper was way too busy for his taste, full of floral arrangements and leaf patterns. Young Boland walked them through the house, the sitting area at the front of the house led into a library, followed by a dining room with a table big enough to sit twenty.

The caretaker explained that the kitchen and servants' quarters were downstairs. The second floor held an office and the master suite. The rest of the bedrooms were on the third floor. There was an attic for storage and additional servants' quarters. Out back was a small walled garden and stables. At the back of the property by the stables was a small carriage house.

"Why is the house empty? What happened to the owners?" David asked while they toured the kitchen on the lower level.

"The family died of the fevers m'lord. They were older and had just finished updating the inside of the house. No other family to take it on, so the Queen took possession when they died. Lots of houses like that in the city. I was assigned to look after it until another family bought it from the crown." They found out that the caretaker was twenty-four, only slightly younger than his new boss. He had been in service in the palace when he had been asked to take over the management of Ilex House.

"What will you do now?" Every time he turned around it seemed; David was faced with a new social situation where he had no idea what he was expected to do. Would he have to hire a new caretaker if this one was employed by the Queen?

For the first time, Boland seemed nervous. "I... could go back to the palace if you wish to bring in your own staff m'lord."

"No, no. That won't be necessary." He reassured the younger man. "If you're willing, I'd be happy to keep you on, at least until I'm settled here."

"Thank you, m'lord." He breathed a sigh of relief. A lot of servants would think he was crazy. The palace was the peak of service, working with the highest of high society. But he liked it better here. It was quiet and he would prefer to only have to work for one person.

"Are there any other servants in the house?"

Boland shook his head. "No, m'lord. It's just me. Everyone else either died of the fever or went to work for other families. I've been here for two years. There's room for six horses in the stables but only one is left, the others were taken by the crown. Apologies, sir, but the pantry is empty as well."

He couldn't cook so he took his meals at a tavern in the next neighborhood over. His main tasks were to maintain the garden, fix whatever needed it around the house, and feed and water the horse that was left.

So now David had a place to stay that wasn't owned by a man who hated him. It was bare bones, even by the standards of this world. No food, one horse, and one young man to do everything. David knew he wouldn't be able to cook here, and he didn't want to have to walk six blocks away every time he wanted a bite to eat. He sat down at the prep table in the kitchen to think. He could ask the palace for assistance; the Queen would certainly oblige him. But it didn't sit well with him to have to go crawling to the crown whenever he needed something. He was supposed to be the one helping them.

"Jaym, you can find the Leaping Horse from here, right?" he asked.

The boy smiled and nodded.

"Good. Go and get Rosha. If she can step out for a few minutes bring her back here." She was the only other person he could think of that would know where to go to get some food in this town. Worst case he would get a fire going in the garden and cook boy scout style. At least then he wouldn't burn his fancy new house down using the stove.

While he waited for his eager ward to come back, he went up to check out the master suite. There was a good-sized sitting area with a couch, a couple comfortable looking armchairs by the fireplace. A small table with two chairs was set up near the front windows. Double doors led into the bedroom itself. A four-poster queen sized bed rested against the back wall of the room. Wardrobe cabinets and dressers lined the walls. Windows on the left wall let in plenty of light. He tossed his backpack and sword belt onto the bed. Until he got the rest of his things out of the cave, it was all he had. He unbuckled the flintlock pistol and dropped it on the bed as well.

Down the hall he found what passed for a bathroom. It was clean looking and porcelain tile top to bottom. There was a big copper tub under one window. The house did have running water, he'd seen a faucet in the kitchen. But hot water would still have to be warmed on the stove to have an actual bath. There was even a toilet! David never thought he would be so happy to see one of those. The running water didn't make it upstairs so the toilet had a tank attached to it that would need to be filled periodically. But it flushed when he pulled the cord and there was no smell that he could detect coming from the sewer pipe. A huge improvement over the chamber pots of the Leaping Horse.

After relieving himself he went back down to the kitchen to wait.

It was another twenty minutes before Jaym came back with not just Rosha with him, but Liri as well. Mother and daughter both bowed as they were brought into the back door of the house and down into the kitchen. Rosha didn't like the look her daughter was giving the house's caretaker. David had to admit he was a decent looking guy, well built from his job with short cropped blonde hair. Keeping them apart was her mother's problem though, he had other things to worry about.

"I can see things went well in the Courting Line. Someone's moving up in the world, no more need for stew at the Leaping Horse? Ha." Rosha sat at the kitchen table with David. "The little lord said you needed some help. It's almost time for the dinner rush at the inn but he wouldn't be told no."

"It shouldn't be too complicated. I just need a cook and a housekeeper, or tell me where you get your food at the inn, so we don't starve here."

The innkeeper laughed again. "I can put you in with our grocers I suppose, and a cook is easy to find. Wouldn't know where to get a proper housekeeper for a place like this though. Usually, the rich folks just steal servants from each other once they're trained up."

David thought about it for a minute. "Would you want the job?"

"What?" The older woman was distracted by the looks her daughter was sending to the caretaker. She didn't have to be quite so obvious about her interest. Thankfully the man seemed oblivious to what Liri was trying to offer.

"I said do you want to be the housekeeper here? I know who owns the Leaping Horse and I can't imagine he's a fun guy to work for." He couldn't think of a worse boss than Lord Harsk.

"I don't know. I wouldn't know the first thing about running a fancy house like this. The Horse is in the nice part of town but it's still the same as most inns. Keeping drunks lubricated and fed, they just happen to have more coin than others." She knew it was a good offer. The inn gave her and her daughter a place to stay but it was true Harsk was difficult. Always taking more and more from the inn's profits, or offering to leave the till alone if she would take care of him instead...

She shuddered at the memory. "I would have to bring Liri with me. I won't leave her on her own." Harsk had already been eyeing her daughter and dropping hints that she could do more to earn her keep.

"Of course. If you're the housekeeper she can be your assistant. I can pay you both, I promise. Name your price." It would be an enormous relief to have her take this off his plate.

Liri still had the coins he'd given her the first day he came to the inn. Rosha had made her save it for emergencies. "I know you're good for it. Harsk won't be happy about us leaving though. Could be a headache for you."

David laughed out loud at that. "The hell with that guy. If he's so rich he can find someone else to run his business. Does that mean you'll take the job?"

Her daughter bit her lip and waited for her mother's answer. She was aware of Lord Harsk's interest in her as well, and he wasn't the only one. She had to swat away more hands during the day than she could count. It would be wonderful to get away from that, and her mother could be housekeeper in one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city. Servant to the new lord at court. How could she turn that down?

"Fine. As long as you're not worried about Lord Harsk, then I accept. Wouldn't be until tomorrow though. I can't leave the cook to deal with dinner all on his own."

David melted with relief. "That's fair."

"And it'll be fifty coppers a week for the both of us." She was lucky if they pulled in half that once the owner had taken his cut at the Leaping Horse.

Liri groaned inwardly. Was her mother crazy? This was a good offer even if they got paid nothing. Nobody would pay fifty coppers a week for only two servants.

David smiled and reached out his hand to the soon to be former innkeeper. "Deal. But fifty coppers each, and a bonus of another fifty if you can find a good cook before the week is over."

Rosha almost changed her mind. Fifty each? Even if her daughter had taken over the inn from her, she couldn't have done so well for herself. This had to be too good to be true. This man didn't make her skin crawl like Lord Harsk did, but who offered that much for easier work? If he was fool enough to overpay, then who was she to argue. She'd keep her eye on him though...

"We accept." The two of them shook hands while Liri clapped and smiled at the handsome caretaker.

****

"Were you able to get him settled in a better place than the Leaping Horse?"

Caelly shut the door and turned to face the Queen. They were finally alone together in her bedroom. It had been a long day, first with the commotion in the Courting Line, then the trip out to the forest. She still didn't know what that man had said to her love to get her so excited. Caelly was loyal, so she had taken him and his insipid little valet to an empty townhouse and then followed up with the ministers to make sure they were looking for the experts he had requested.

"Yes, Majesty. I took them over to Ilex House. Boland will take him through everything. I don't see why we should hand over a place like that to a stranger, and a foreigner at that. There are plenty of merchants in the city that would have paid full price for it. What happened in that cave? What did he say?" She leaned back against the door and waited for an answer. Her lover was already in bed, her hair undone and spread out over the pillows.

This news didn't altogether please the Queen. Ilex House? The crown did own it, so it was hers to give away, that much was true. But it was such a small place, on the edge of what some members of the court considered the 'proper neighborhoods' around the palace. She could think of at least a dozen other places that would have been better suited to David's new standing. Oh well, she could always move him to a different house if she needed to.

"I'm sorry my love, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you. He's going to help us though, that much I can say. All those nights we talked about making Wellon a country to be proud of, all the plans to have us respected by the rest of the world. He can help with all of it. Best of all, I may never have to deal with Lord Harsk again." Mialana spread out on the bed and smiled wide at the ceiling.

Caelly frowned at the floor. This was so unlike the Queen. What could he possibly have said that she couldn't know? She had advised Mialana on everything in their time together, from social events to state secrets. This man had come along and pulled them apart in less than a day!

The Queen pulled back the covers to reveal herself. She was a small woman and she kept fit by riding. She sat up, tucking her trim legs underneath her, her firm breasts barely moved when she did. "Come to bed my love."

The blonde finally looked up. She smiled at the look the Queen gave her. Her dress slipped to the floor as she moved to the bed, her pale skin contrasting with the slight tan of her companion. Caelly climbed up onto the bed and Mialana wrapped her up in her arms. She kissed the Queen lightly on the neck and moved up to whisper in her ear, "Yes, your Majesty."

****

As he woke up the next day, David was confused. It would take some time to get used to this new house. They had gone with Boland to his tavern for dinner and had a few drinks to celebrate moving in. Even little Jaym had had one, though the taste had made him push the mug away almost immediately. After stumbling back to the house late in the night he had made it upstairs and passed out in his new bed.

His head was pounding a little, but he'd had worse hangovers before. He got dressed in his usual clothes of jeans and a button-down shirt. No need for a suit today. There was a basin of fresh water in the bathroom. While he brushed his teeth, he bemoaned the fact that he would have to make the same walk to the tavern to get breakfast. Rosha couldn't find a cook fast enough as far as he was concerned.

David made his way downstairs to collect the others, the clock in the library was chiming as he walked by. When the ringing reach ten he figured they might have already gone on to eat without him. He hadn't slept that late since he got here. There was noise coming from the basement kitchen, he could hear several people talking.

"What do we do now mother? Is he going to just sleep the day away? There's only so much dusting that needs to be done..."

Liri and Rosha were seated at the kitchen table with Jaym. Another man was hustling around the kitchen, putting things away and checking all the cupboards. He didn't see Boland there, he must have been at work somewhere else in the house. When they noticed David standing in the doorway everyone stood as one and gave him a quick bow. Liri blushed and tried to stammer an apology, "I'm... s-sorry m-master David. You can sleep as long as you want, of course. I-I'll just... go clean up your room."

The girl bowed again and sprinted from the room. The man David didn't recognize came over and also bowed again.

"Pleased to meet you master David, sir. I'm Addan, your new cook, if it please you. I have some cold things ready for luncheon, or I could get some eggs and toast ready if you would prefer breakfast."

"Whatever you've got ready to go will be fine Addan, thank you." He sat at the table with Rosha while the cook went to the pantry to fix a plate for his new boss. Addan was a short man in early middle age, his arms were spotted with small grease burns and his hair was shaved down to a small amount of stubble. He had a thin mustache which looked odd on his full round face.

Soon there was a plate of cheese, fruit, and bread in front of him. The cook added a couple hard boiled eggs to go with it, along with a mug of cider. David tucked into his lunch while Rosha started to apologize for her daughter. He waved her concern away and wiped his mouth.

"It's no big deal, Rosha. She didn't say anything insulting, I did sleep a little later than expected today. I don't know how things are done here but I'm not exactly an Upstairs-Downstairs kind of boss. I expect you to do what I ask you to, not to bow and scrape every time I walk into a room."

She looked relieved but confused. "Upstairs-Downstairs?"

"Don't worry about it. Just something from home. I didn't expect you to be here so soon, and with a cook no less."

Rosha gave a small laugh, "Where else would we be? I don't have any sort of contract with Lord Harsk. I run the inn; he takes the money. Once the dinner rush was over and the guests had settled in for the night Liri and I packed our things and came here. Addan was kind enough to come too. You can only make so many bowls of stew for ungrateful drunks apparently."

"Is there anyone left working at the Leaping Horse?" David wasn't worried about Lord Harsk necessarily, but he couldn't blame the guy for being angry once he heard his entire staff had quit.

"Oh, there's a few others still there. The assistant cook and a few other barmaids. Everyone will get breakfast and drinks, don't worry."

That was a relief. "I didn't see Boland this morning, you didn't fire him, did you?"

"Oh no. He's out looking for some new horses to fill out the stables. I'll admit I wanted him out of the house as much as possible while Liri gets settled. I won't get any work out of her while she's mooning over that young man."

Jaym giggled from the other side of the table. Rosha shot him a look and he piped down.

David stifled a laugh before he received the same look from the concerned mother. "Have you had a chance to go through the house? How does everything look?"

She pulled over a paper she had been scribbling notes on. "The kitchen is essentially empty; Addan is working on that now. Like I said, I had Boland go see about some additional horses for the stables. Other than that, everything looks like it's in good working order. He may be a little too handsome for a mother's nerves to deal with, but your caretaker does know his job. Without knowing what kind of budget I have to work with there isn't much else to do. I had Addan bring a few things from the Leaping Horse that wouldn't be missed but it will take a decent sum to get the pantry stocked. The horses will be even more expensive."

"Just make a list of what you need and how much it will be and I'll make sure you have the money. We'll set up a house fund that you can draw from when you need to. Do you need any additional staff or anything like that?"

Rosha laughed again, "To look after just one man? No, we should have more than enough people to do the job. This is a nice house certainly, but it's not an overly large one. I'm guessing it belonged to a merchant that had made it rich and wanted to move up in society. Only one sitting room and no ballroom? The other fops at court will think you're one step removed from living in a shack by the bay."

"It seems like a nice enough house to me. I'm not much of a dancer so I don't need a ballroom." Was he expected to have a big to-do now that he was on the Queen's council?

"Liri and I can handle the cleaning and that sort of thing. Boland can handle everything else. We should be all set here. Thank you, master David, for this." For the first time he saw her being vulnerable.

"No need to thank me Rosha, you're doing a lot more for me than the other way around. And just David is fine." They nodded to each other in understanding while he finished his lunch. He got up from the table and went back to his room. He was quickly running out of clean clothes, and he would need to collect some more gold to afford this new lifestyle the Queen had handed him. He pulled all of the silver coins from his backpack and set them on his bed. Liri had already cleaned the room and taken his clothes away to be cleaned. In the bottom of one of the wardrobe cabinets was a drawer with a key in it. He put his remaining gold in there and locked the drawer.

David scooped up the silver, maybe sixty coins in all, and brought it down to the kitchen. The cook and the housekeeper were still at the table, going over Rosha's list of house needs. There wasn't a safe or lockbox in the house that he knew of. He grabbed an empty ceramic jar from the counter and dropped the coins into it. Rosha's eyes went wide when she saw how much he dumped into the jar.

"You might want to add a safe or a lockbox to your list, Addan is going to want his flour jar back. But this should be enough for the new horses, food, and wages for a while." His housekeeper took a second to acknowledge what he'd said. She picked up the pot and took it to the little room next to the kitchen that would serve as her office.

Jaym was still at the table, but he had one of the early reader books in front of him and a piece of paper. He was copying out the alphabet slowly. The boy wouldn't win any awards for his penmanship, though it was legible.

"Keep going with your studies and we'll do more later. I have to go out for a bit, listen to Rosha and do what she says, OK?" he told his youngest servant. The little boy nodded but didn't look up from where he was trying to fix an R that had gone sideways on him. Not wanting to interrupt his learning, he left through the back door into the house's small garden.

David found Liri in the stables brushing down their only horse. Once they got past the standard bowing and another apology for commenting on his sleeping habits, she saddled the horse for him and soon had it ready to go. He thanked her and headed to the east gate. It took him a moment to find his way, he'd never been in this area of the city before. His skill on a horse had improved since his first trip back out to the cave.

I'd still prefer to take an uber than ride one of these.

He'd taken every saddle bag in the stable before mounting the black mare to head to the cave. Between practicing with the flintlock pistol and getting the odd replacement shirt, he was becoming an expert at locating the rock on a stump that was his signpost for the supply cave. The horse had no trouble hopping the ditch and made its way through the trees right to the thorn bushes that hid the door.

David tied off the reins to the closest tree and pushed the thorns aside. He had four sets of saddle bags, two on each shoulder. Three he filled to the brim with clothes, a few more trips out here and he would have enough clothes to go a few weeks without repeating. Washing here took a long time so he would be glad to always have clean clothes available. He managed to pack in a few more of the early reader books and a few other odds and ends with the clothes. The last bag was filled with coins, silver on one side, gold on the other. David figured if he could lift it, it wouldn't bother the horse to carry it.

Before long he had the bags back on the mare and was heading back home. It felt odd to think of a house he had spent one night in as home. But compared to the different inns and taverns he'd spent his time in, it was the homiest place so far. Having live-in servants would take some getting used to. In college he had spent a few weekends with a girlfriend's family who had a nanny that looked after her younger sisters. It had made him uncomfortable to always have her around, like she was reporting to the girl's parents everything they did. He doubted Rosha would have time to spy on him between her regular duties and keeping her daughter away from Boland.

By late afternoon he was approaching Ilex house, tired but not exhausted as he had been returning to the Leaping Horse the first time. There was a carriage he didn't recognize parked out front. It was a small open top buggy, no passenger, but the driver and the footman waited with it. David went around back to leave his horse in the stable. Liri ran out to meet him as soon as the mare trotted into the courtyard.

"Master David! In the front hall... Lord Harsk... Mother..." The poor girl was terrified and out of breath.

"Calm down Liri. Here, you see to the horse, and I'll go deal with Lord Harsk." He handed the reins to the flustered young lady and walked into the house. When he entered the back door, he could hear arguing coming all the way from the front hall.

"I already told you, Master David isn't here!" Jaym's high pitched voice echoed down the hallway. "Miss Rosha works for him now and she runs the house. Go away!"

Lord Harsk was pacing the entryway, again clad in layered silks from head to toe. He was shaking with anger at being held off by David's tiny manservant. Rosha and Addan stood off to one side, the cook holding one of his knives from the kitchen. Jaym was standing in the middle of the entry hall, his small hands balled into fists, trying to make himself look as big as possible. Try as he might, the top of his head barely came above Harsk's belt buckle.

Before David could say anything, his eyes met the angry nobleman's, whose face turned red.

"You! Not only do you make a mockery of my courting the Queen, now you've stolen my entire staff. Have you no respect for your betters? I don't know how things are done in Am-err-icka, here people don't just take things that don't belong to them." Beads of sweat formed along his brow and in his thinning hair.

"Where I'm from we also don't barge into people's houses uninvited. But you don't listen to the Queen when she tells you no, so why would you listen to anyone else. And what the hell are you talking about? Nobody stole anything from you. I needed someone to run my house, I trust Rosha to do a good job, so I offered the position to her. Nothing sneaky involved. She needed a staff, so she offered jobs to people she thought were qualified. If you want to hold on to good employees you should pay them better and treat them with respect, it isn't rocket science." David pushed past Jaym and had him go stand with Rosha and the cook. He was extraordinarily proud of him, this just wasn't the right moment to bring it up.

Harsk mopped his forehead with a handkerchief. "Don't you dare lecture me about manners you impudent little upstart. You've taken my servants and didn't even have the courtesy to ask and negotiate for their release. I'll have you before a magistrate for this."

David turned to Addan and Rosha, "Are either of you slaves, or under any kind of contract with this guy?"

Both of them shook their heads. Addan crossed his arms, leaving the knife where his former employer would be sure to see it. "He'd never sign the likes of us to a contract. That'd mean he'd have to hold up whatever his end was."

"There, you see? Just a couple of free people taking on a new job. Nothing illegal happening here. I can offer you an apology for not notifying you that your employees hate working for you if that will make you feel better." David couldn't get this jerk out of his house fast enough.

"An apology? No apology can make up for this indignity! They're my servants, they've no right to just leave and take up with you. I warn you, send them back to the Leaping Horse to work, or I will take this to the Queen. She may have been too distracted by your ostentatious bauble in the Courting Line to see what a disreputable person you are, but she won't overlook this transgression."

David rolled his eyes; this guy was unreal. "Sure pal, her Majesty will throw me in the dungeons for giving her citizens higher paying jobs. You go ahead and tell her your sob story; she knows where to find me. In the meantime, piss off and get out of my house."

"Oh, don't you worry, the Queen will be sure to hear about this. Don't get too comfortable here. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a city patrol outside your door soon." Lord Harsk turned on his heal and slammed the door on his way out.

Does he have nothing better to do with his time than be a pain in my ass?

Rosha approached him with a downcast expression. "We'll go back if we have to Master David. You'll not want the magistrate coming after you."

"Do you want to go back, either of you?"

Both of them emphatically said no.

"Do you want Liri to have to work there? With a bunch of rowdy drunks going after her every day?"

This got through to his housekeeper, he could see her normal self-confidence coming back. "No. I'd rather get taken away by a city patrol myself than have her deal with that."

"Then that's the last time we'll talk about it. You guys are my employees and I'll look out for you as long as you're working here. If I broke some rule of polite society by hiring you, then I'll deal with it. It's probably just him having a burr up his ass." The tension in the room eased as they all heard the carriage out front drive away.

David pulled Jaym close and knelt down in front of him. "And you, young man, were very brave standing up for Rosha and everyone."             

The boy was firm in his answer. "It wasn't right, him coming in here and trying to take back Miss Rosha and Liri. It's your house Master David. I knew you wouldn't want him in here."

He gave his shoulder a squeeze, "You're very right. I'm proud of you, it wasn't easy to stand there and take his abuse, and that kind of loyalty deserves a reward."

David took his hand and led him out back to the courtyard where Liri was struggling under the weight of all his saddlebags. He took pity on her and threw them over his shoulders instead.

"I'm sorry Master David." The girl panted, "I tried to get them up to your room, but I think there must be lead in one of them, it's that heavy."

"Not quite." David set down the bags on a little table in the garden. He reached into one of them and pulled out a long object wrapped in cloth. Jaym waited patiently while Liri went back to the stables to tend to the mare.

"If you're going to be standing up to bullies then you'll need something to help you. This should do the trick."

The boy's eyes went wide as the short sword was unwrapped in front of him. David knelt down again and held it out on his palms. It was a perfect miniature of the one he had worn into the city the first day he arrived in this world. Only two feet long, but the same shining leaf shaped steel blade.

Jaym picked up the sword carefully and held it up in front of his face. The young former street urchin swelled with pride to be given something he had only ever dreamed of. Even the guards he'd seen in the palace hadn't had swords as fine as the one Master David had just given him.

"I'm not the one to teach you how to use that properly, but I'm sure I can find someone. Maybe Lord General Greeg could help." David laughed as his little friend's eyes grew even bigger at the thought of having to learn swordplay from the most intimidating person they knew.