|
Total Population:
|
156
|
|
Active Workers:
|
79
|
Weeks passed, progress was slow but steady. Amelie had successfully organized the workers and constructed the first part of our new sewer system. It ran under the houses around the main square, before dipping down and ejecting the waste into the ocean. In the future, I wanted to introduce proper waste treatment processes to clean up the water before spitting it back out, but for a small population it wouldn¡¯t have much of an impact on the ocean.
Speaking of homes, a collection of two-story family units had been built. Some of the people had already moved out of the old barracks and their carts into them. It felt good to have a large number of people under a real roof, a space to call their own.
Emmerich had asked me what we were going to do with the barracks once we were done with them. Eventually I settled on an answer, for the time being we were going to turn it into the main government building. It had my office in it after all. We could convert the former bedroom space into some new rooms should the need arise.
Centralized authority not attached to a count or duke was exceedingly rare according to my little magic book. Lunarmar was a kingdom built on the backs of individuals. If we wanted to build a forward-thinking town, I¡¯d need some people to work with me.
The plan was for us to keep expanding the domestic area of the town as more of the sewers and paved streets were completed. I recruited the stoneworkers to fashion our mined rock into semi-smooth blocks to lay down. It was very exciting to see the start of our new town. In total there were seven families homed, each house taking a spot around the central plaza that still remained mostly empty. Emmerich had come to me with an idea to make it our market square, an area where our workers could sell their goods once the economy got going for real.
Today¡¯s job was a simple one, scoping out the viability of building a small dock down by the waterside. It wasn¡¯t exactly a beach, so I wasn¡¯t too torn up about using it for something more practical. Amelie had already drawn up some basic plans and material requirements for the project.
¡°Your average fishing boat is several feet long,¡± she explained, ¡°However a trader¡¯s ship will be significantly larger. They have crews of dozens of sailors and large hulls to contain their cargo. As long as they¡¯re capable of mooring here, it won¡¯t need to match exactly. An easier way to handle it would be to leave it facing outwards, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll experience much traffic early on.¡±
¡°Why is this dock so important again?¡± Jerimiah queried, ¡°We can use a horse and cart and head north to trade easy enough.¡±
Amelie sighed, ¡°You should never underestimate the power of a sea-based trade route. Even for a farmer like yourself, moving larger quantities of grain to a city or town where it can be sold for a higher price is worth the time and effort. If you leave a merchant to it, you can make the same, or even more money with less work.¡±
¡°After they take their cut?¡±
¡°Yes. They know best how to increase the margins. No more personally driving your horse for three hours to make a routine trip.¡±
Jerimiah stroked his beard, ¡°That does sound nice¡¡±
¡°The reason why the Kingdom is so interested in this location is because it¡¯s a perfect place for a trading post. The Black Cove is a short distance away, and this stretch of ocean is shared between several major trading connections. Local production and external trade links, it¡¯s a wonder nobody settled here before us.¡±
I smiled, ¡°You sure know your stuff.¡±
She fluffed her blonde hair and pouted, ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here, isn¡¯t it? I may be a ¡®spoiled noble girl,¡¯ but my pride dictates I should help in any way I can regardless.¡±
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¡°Am I okay to leave this job in your hands then? You did an excellent job with the sewers.¡±
¡°Of course. I¡¯ll see to it that it is done as fast as possible.¡±
Jerimiah had wanted to speak with me, I pulled him away from the site of the docks and walked back towards the buildings in the distance. It was a solid ten minute walk from there to the docks but the town would expand rapidly towards the edges of those boundaries. ¡°What did you want to talk with me about?¡±
¡°Some of the other farmers have been getting worried. Firstly, a few guys are making a fuss about not getting paid in cash.¡±
I knew that this was coming. In order to keep everyone fed, the farmers were being offered free goods like clothes and tools from the other families in exchange for their food. I knew that this was an unsustainable situation. People would naturally gravitate towards currency over barter if it was available. The last thing I wanted was for them to export everything and leave everybody else to starve.
¡°Okay. I get that. Don¡¯t they have any excess left over to sell?¡±
¡°They do, but they can¡¯t predict how good the yield is going to be this season.¡±
I could. But that¡¯d be showing my hand too early. I knew exactly how much tonnage we were making and how much people were eating. We had some headroom. ¡°Alright. Jerimiah, I want you to have a word with them about sending a caravan out. Tell them to make a guess. The farmers that want to export what they have can. But try to make things efficient. No need for everyone to go if one or two people will suffice.¡±
He nodded, ¡°The other thing was ¨C we¡¯re worried about poachers and thieves. Back in the old city, you could scream bloody murder and not get a hand from the guards. Now I ¡®ain¡¯t accusing nobody of stealing anything just yet. I trust all of these folks like they¡¯re family, but even family can get desperate.¡±
¡°Without money or taxation, that¡¯s going to be tough. Guardsmen won¡¯t work for free.¡±
¡°¡You¡¯re right. We need some cash flowing through here.¡±
I decided to offer him some advice, ¡°Deterrence is the best form of crime prevention. If you make it clear to any potential criminal that you¡¯re watching your stuff like a hawk, they aren¡¯t going to try and make a move on you.¡±
Jerimiah nodded, ¡°Right.¡±
¡°For now, get together with the others and organize a watch of your own. Hell, a guy with a pitchfork will probably make do for now. But it is something we¡¯re going to have to worry about in the future if more people move here.¡±
Happy with my suggestions, Jeremiah moved on, ¡°What¡¯s next for the town? You have a lot of crazy ideas, I¡¯m waiting for the next one.¡±
I laughed, ¡°You have no idea. But those crazy ideas can wait for now until we get the basics done.¡±
¡°Sewage is basic?¡±
¡°If you don¡¯t want everyone to drop dead from disease, yes. For now, I want to ensure that goods are being exported, money is coming in, and we have everything we need to sustain ourselves before we think about expanding.¡±
¡°What about taxes?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not mentioning the T-word until everything is in place.¡±
¡°Well, I know you¡¯ll do right by us,¡± he smiled, ¡°Can¡¯t get much worse than what we were paying in Lunarmar. Sometimes I wondered why I even bothered working.¡±
I¡¯d heard some horror stories from the other farmers about the horrible tax-rate in and around the capital. I¡¯d made an iron-clad promise not to emulate those practices. I needed them to be happy, they were the people who elected me to be mayor in the first place. I was turning into a slimy politician already, what else would I try to excuse in the future?
High taxes would have to be saved for the big earners.
Amelie had to wonder where everything had gone so wrong.
She was the child of one of the greatest nobles houses in the Kingdom, abandoned to rot in a town of a few hundred people! No matter what type of ambition her family held ¨C this was a step too far. She saw the potential, much like the ¡®mayor¡¯ did, but that was years away. Surely by that time someone else could do the same thing she was doing.
Revealing the truth of the matter to Shane was a calculated gamble. She was cognizant enough to realize that nobody in the town would trust her, a girl from one of the self-same noble families that persecuted them away from their homes and businesses. Her mother had always told her that manners were the most important thing in a noble¡¯s repertoire. Yet they were not beyond underhanded, dirty tricks like this.
Her brother may have complained and stamped his foot about her getting ¡®Celeste¡¯s Landing,¡¯ but he was better off back home. He was going to be dropped into a nice, safe, quiet, wealthy hamlet somewhere ¨C where he didn¡¯t have to do any real work. She still loved him. He was family. But he was also a profound moron, ever-present proof that hard work and talent didn¡¯t matter in the end. No matter how much knowledge or experience she gathered, Luc would always be the favourite son.
She knew what being a woman meant for her prospects of success. Father wanted her gone, married off to a complete stranger to strengthen the house. Shane was a talented man, but romance? Not on the cards. How much did father really think of her to use her as a pawn in a game involving such a small town?
She turned back to her workforce with a weary sigh. She¡¯d assembled several of the same men who assisted her in constructing the first leg of the sewage system. It was long, arduous work, with a lot of complications and headaches along the way.
¡°The mayor has decided what our next project is. We¡¯re constructing a dock right here so that passing ships can moor and trade with us. I already have a list of resources that we need to acquire. Logs, planks, and some stone. Andrew, can you get us a cart?¡±
¡°I can,¡± he replied.
¡°I¡¯ll leave that to you then, the rest of you, I¡¯m going to give you a quick lesson on building in water.¡±
If Shane wanted a dock, he was going to get a dock, come hell or high water.
Chapter 9: Unsteady Ground
The next day, Jerimiah informed me that the first round of trade had left the town and returned several times richer for the effort. I already knew thanks to the power of my eye. The farmers had gotten a good price for their produce thanks to turmoil in the Kingdom making farming difficult. Many people had fled their homes or had their crops burned by soldiers, pushing prices up.
That meant that the farmers could now pay for goods and services. I had made it clear that until we were connected to the rest of the Kingdom, money would be precious and in short supply. The people of the town were rational enough to realize that hoarding it wouldn¡¯t benefit them, nor was is worth more because of that. The value would return to normal pretty quickly once everyone had access to methods of earning it.
This ¡®communist paradise¡¯ experiment I had accidentally created couldn¡¯t last forever. The town was collectively purchasing food from the farmers by offering them free tools, clothes and other necessities. It wasn¡¯t convenient, and it meant that the people who produced those things were paying for everything. That wasn¡¯t very fair ¨C and they were liable to complain about offering their work for a discount price.
There was also the difficult question of taxation. Along similar lines, people were working for the collective good of the town ¨C but when that sense of identity weakened in the future, we¡¯d need money to pay people to do and maintain things. Someone would have to have the unenviable job of tax collector. We¡¯d need to keep track of people¡¯s earnings (easy to do with my power,) and tax them appropriately.
All of these issues pointed to one solution ¨C expanding our government.
Emmerich had dropped by the office that day, and saw me furiously working on my documentation. I found writing down my ideas allowed me to refine them very quickly. I¡¯d aired some of those issues to him previously. Emmerich didn¡¯t pretend to understand them fully, but he was a good person to bounce things off of.
¡°Tax money, keeping things running smoothly. It¡¯s going to be a lot of work, which is why I¡¯m thinking about our government.¡±
Emmerich nodded, ¡°I see. There¡¯s a lot of folks out there who make a good living by helping out the counts and dukes.¡±
¡°They¡¯re probably just ¡®advisors¡¯ who he can ignore as he wishes, I want to do something official. I want experts from our major sectors to make issues known and help implement ideas. Like you! You¡¯re connected with the woodsmen and know your way around an axe.¡±
I wandered over to my board of papers and hung up a new one. It was a rough list of ideas that I had for those ministers and their roles. As we were only a small village, the ones I decided were needed were as follows. Agriculture, trade, forestry, business, housing and mining.
The agriculture minister would be responsible for handling the farmers. We had a lot of them, so it was going to be the hardest job. I already had a few people in mind for it, but I suspected that Jerimiah wouldn¡¯t accept the position if I offered it to him.
The forestry minister and the mining minister had a similar position, communicating key issues, implementing ideas, making things more efficient. The business minister was for the secondary goods producers within the town centre. They were all to be connected by the trade minister, who was ultimately responsible for getting things in and out of the town.
¡°Can you get the word out for me?¡± I asked. I still had to go and see how Amelie as doing, I didn¡¯t have time to go to the four corners of the town and negotiate getting volunteers for the position.
¡°Sure. I think I get the picture well enough.¡±
With that business concluded, I packed away my things and locked the office behind me. One of the benefits of my magical eye was that nobody else could see the sensitive information that I was working with. Still, I didn¡¯t need someone breaking in and messing up my stuff. I waved to some of the people still living in the building as I passed and left through the front entrance.
It was a sunny day on the coast, so I enjoyed a pleasant, short stroll down to the waterfront where the men were working on setting up our first dock. It was already taking shape, with several logs already placed vertically in the water to act as supports. Three workers were cutting some other logs into planks to be used on the boardwalk.
Amelie looked like she¡¯d been through a war. She was covered in sweat and dirt, and her clothes were waterlogged. ¡°Ah, come to see our progress, have you?¡±
¡°Looks like you¡¯re making very good time. Maybe we¡¯ll have some fresh fish sooner rather than later.¡±
Amelie nodded, ¡°I have a fondness for seafood, it¡¯ll be nice to have something else to eat around here. I¡¯m tired of bread.¡±
¡°Bread¡¯s practical. Lasts for a long time, doesn¡¯t need specialized storage.¡±
¡°And it¡¯s as dull as dishwater,¡± she replied.
The farmers were working hard to plant a variety of different crops themselves. Though the end consumer probably wasn¡¯t thinking about how much moving their entire livelihoods to the middle of nowhere on the back of a cart messed with their production.
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¡°This first arm will only take us a few more days to complete. The blacksmith is already working on mooring posts for us. It¡¯ll be long enough for most trading ships to drop by and make some trades. The other side can be reserved for fishermen mooring their boats.¡±
¡°We don¡¯t have any fishermen right now,¡± I explained, recalling the job statistics in my office. Temping a few over would do wonders for our food situation. The waters off out coast were very lively. ¡°We need to inform people about how amazing our new town is.¡±
¡°I wouldn¡¯t go that far just yet, Mayor. People are attached to their lives at the hip, they won¡¯t be willing to upend everything and move out here that easily. You need to show them that doing so is in their interest. The dock and opening trade with the neighbours are a solid first step.¡±
Our nearest neighbour by water was the large coastal city of Senton, located within the Duchy of the Black Cove. The Black Cove was ruled over by a man named Duke Polemarch. The book didn¡¯t contain any personal details about him, but they were likely to be interested in trading with us. The town of Glenfield rested to the direct north. Any of our goods, imported or exported, were going to come and go from there. Both locations belonged to Lunarmar. Though that wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. Co-dependence would grant us leverage in time.
Everything was coming together.
Duke Polemarch was seldom seen in the halls of the Lunarmar Palace.
Heavy set, with thick bushy black eyebrows and an eternal scowl on his craggy face. He wasn¡¯t the most welcoming person to see storming down the polished marble corridors. Servants and nobles alike gave a wide berth as he passed them by.
He was a man more concerned with ensuring the continuation of his own success over the Kingdom itself. The Black Cove had exploded in size and wealth thanks to an influx of refugees taken from surrounding towns and cities. He was revelling in it and extending rights that those people couldn¡¯t enjoy elsewhere to cement their loyalty.
For once though, the King of Lunarmar had called upon him for consultation on an important matter.
Polemarch was not under the mistaken impression that his words would be taken as gospel. Everything in the palace was buried under two layers of deception and vested interest. The King was no different. He wanted to be in and out as quickly as possible, so upon arrival he made a charge for the drawing room where he was awaiting him.
He knocked on the door thrice.
¡°Enter!¡±
He pulled the handle and bowed his head in deference as he stepped inside. Sat upon a comfortable wood and leather chair was the King. King Sebtlander the fourth, to be specific. The King was a decade older than Polemarch, but from appearance you¡¯d be forgiven for thinking it was three times that. The King had increasingly come to resemble a scrambled old man, with grey hair pointing wildly in every direction, and baggy lined eyes that sunk into the back of his skull.
¡°Good evening,¡± Polemarch stated politely, ¡°I am here at your request.¡±
¡°Good!¡± the King barked, ¡°They¡¯re driving me crazy in here. I threw the ledger at my chief minister and told him to bring you.¡±
¡°¡And why would that be, your highness?¡±
¡°That blathering buffoon Lomarac assuaged my concerns about this new town he had his eye on with promises of a quick resolution, now, two weeks later ¨C he comes crawling back to me in tears because his idiotic plan of marrying his daughter to the count didn¡¯t work!¡±
Polemarch bit his tongue and reserve his most powerful venom for less polite company. Frank Lomarac was the head of the self-titled noble family. A man devoid of character, wit or charm. He was utterly foul company. ¡°A new town, sire?¡±
The King sighed and sank back down in his chair, ¡°Some people fleeing the fighting have laid claim to a plot of land we had our eyes on. Naturally, I asked Sir Frank to handle the matter and ensure the timely delivery of the appropriate tax money to the treasury, and if possible, control over the town itself.¡±
¡°And he failed.¡±
¡°Yes! Spectacularly! I dismissed him and called you instead ¨C you always seem to know what to do, and they¡¯re close to your Duchy anyway. He sobbed that they already had a leader in place, and they wouldn¡¯t send us any tax money.¡±
Polemarch now had a rough idea of what land the King was speaking of. If it was close to him, unclaimed and desirable, there was only one space that fit the bill. Polemarch had been eyeing it himself in the hopes of having it added to his jurisdiction.
¡°If I may speak out of turn. It begs to reason that those people may not have the money to pay. I have an alternate solution that will make everyone happy.¡±
The King waved his hand, ¡°Let¡¯s hear it.¡±
¡°I see little reason to displace this¡ peasant count. Should he die, we could merely replace him with someone new.¡±
The King nodded along, granting him the right to continue.
¡°I say that we use this situation to our advantage. They won¡¯t have the military force to fight back against us, but we don¡¯t need to fight. We offer them a ¡®concession¡¯ or two, and get some in return. They can keep their appointed leader, but we get tax money. We ¡®assist¡¯ them with establishing trade routes with the Black Cove, in return for a claim on the land and their incorporation into our borders.¡±
¡°I see.¡±
¡°We get the town, control the leadership and the tax money without any bloodshed or¡ political marriages,¡± Polemarch spoke the term with intense disdain.
¡°Hm.¡±
Sensing that the King saw his logic, Polemarch moved onto his own concerns, ¡°I agree that it is a matter of some urgency. That town is located on an important chokepoint between the oceans. Several valuable trade routes run through there. Should an enemy obtain control and establish a blockade, it would have serious consequences.¡±
¡°And who will be responsible for these negotiations?¡± he grumbled.
Polemarch moved in for the kill, ¡°If you will allow me sire. I will attempt to bring the count here for a proper discussion. We can hammer out the terms and see where their loyalties lie.¡±
The King closed his eyes and pondered Polemarch¡¯s proposal.
¡°I¡¯m interested,¡± he concluded, ¡°We don¡¯t have the men to spare for a pointless fight with some farmers, and Lord Frank has been less than helpful on the matter. I will delegate responsibility on this issue to you. I expect progress by the end of this week.¡±
Polemarch bowed, ¡°It will be done.¡±
¡°Additionally, my commander wishes to speak with you about our supply lines. You will find him in the usual place.¡± Polemarch nodded and left the chamber. His shoulders sagged as the King finally moved out of sight. A heavy sigh of relief escaped from clenched teeth.
¡°Another job for the list.¡±
Chapter 10: Polemarch
[author] We are officially caught up on advance chapters. They''ll be coming to SH as new chapters are finished from here.[/author]
I already knew that the home country was keeping a close eye on us. Amelie had accurately identified that several of their men were scouting the area and reporting back to the King. I was expecting my previous actions against her brother to come back and bite me at any time, mainly in the form of an armed force of soldiers booting down the metaphysical gates and taking over.
That didn¡¯t happen, but what did happen was more worrying in some sense - because it was completely contrary to what I had characterized the neighboring Kingdom as. While I was taking a moment to relax in the town¡¯s park, a complete stranger with a leather bag approached me.
¡°Letter for Mayor Blackwood?¡± he croaked.
My brow thoroughly quirked, I reached out and accepted the bound and sealed letter.
¡°It¡¯s an important communication from Duke Polemarch, I suggest you study its contents carefully.¡±
Without any further explanation, he turned and left down the main road out of the town. Not feeling the energy to chase him down and demand answers, I peeled the wax seal off the parchment and unfurled it. That waning energy filled my body involuntarily as I consumed what was inside with my remaining eye. Duke Polemarch was coming here. And not only that, but he was going to arrive that same day.
I ran back to the office and cleaned the place up a little. The fact that they told me in advance assuaged some of my concern that it was an invasion force in response to previous events in the town. Amelie had told me a little about our closest neighbor before. Duke Polemarch of the Black Cove, allegedly an intelligent and results oriented man, with little time for noble politics.
We stood by the main entrance to the residential area and awaited his arrival. I was silently thankful that we hadn¡¯t built a clock tower, because contextualizing the wait would make it feel even longer than it already was.
Polemarch arrived a few hours later with a small quartet of personal guards. We saw his caravan crest the hill that ran through the front edge of the agricultural area. A horse drawn cart decorated in a royal blue, and matching guardsmen with tabards of gilded thread. The cart trundled to a halt and the door opened, a mountainous man stepping forth into the chilly air. With a big, furry collar, large beard and several layers piled on top of each other, he looked even larger than he truthfully was underneath.
They remained close to his side as they approached me and a gathered crowd of concerned townspeople. Polemarch was taken aback by the quality of the roads, and the presence of working sewers. It was like they¡¯d lifted a portion of the noble sector from the capitol and relocated it to the middle of nowhere.
He studied me for a moment before speaking with a booming sledgehammer of a voice, ¡°It seems that you aren¡¯t lacking for ambition. My name is Duke Polemarch, and I am here on behalf of the King of Lunarmar.¡±
I bowed my head politely, ¡°Shane Blackwood.¡±
I gave him a tense smile and motioned to the front door of the town hall. He wasn¡¯t going to speak on these pressing matters in public.
I brought him into the office, asking the guards to stand outside while we spoke in private. He took a moment to study the intricate paper maps, plans and documents covering every wall, table and surface. Even after my last-minute housekeeping it was a total mess. He took the guest seat in front of my desk, while I sat behind it.
¡°Interesting. You seem to have a good handle on things, even though I cannot for the life of me understand this odd language you¡¯ve adopted.¡±
¡°I was educated in another Kingdom,¡± I excused myself, ¡°It is very good for operational security.¡±
¡°Then perhaps you could train some of our military officers in it, not a day goes by without a spy stealing important information from them. I have a question; how did you come to be chosen as the Count?¡±
¡°Mayor.¡±
¡°Mayor?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not really a count, am I? I¡¯m just in charge of a tiny village.¡±
¡°But this place has potential. And anyone who is in command of it is the Count. That is the lowest level of authority we have.¡±
I shrugged, ¡°We had a vote. I won.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve heard of some places that operate under such rules, does it not result in undesirable people taking important positions?¡±
In a sense he was right. But were nobles any better? Unelected families ruling over territory became old hat on Earth for a reason. People would rather have a corrupt moron that they voted for than a corrupt moron who was assigned based on who his father was. ¡°I¡¯m the only one directing people here. I¡¯m not going to draw conclusions based on a sample size of one.¡±
That satisfied him for the time being, ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m here?¡±
¡°I¡¯m certainly under no illusions about what this meeting regards,¡± I replied, ¡°the last guest we received was transparent with his intentions, if only accidentally.¡±
He didn¡¯t object to my characterisation, ¡°Aye. Frank Lomarac is a blunt instrument. Incapable and unwilling to think matters through before drawing swords and daggers. I¡¯ve been sent to resolve the situation in my own way.¡±
¡°But that solution ultimately lies with the people who live here. They¡¯ve already been betrayed by the Kingdom once ¨C what¡¯s to say that you can command their loyalty again?¡±
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¡°I always regarded the persecution of the Laddites as a miscalculation. They are the third largest religious body in the Kingdom. This ongoing effort to confiscate their property, land and businesses has sent many cities and towns into economic turmoil. Unfortunately, the King doesn¡¯t have the political force to prevent the Church of Azel from doing so.¡±
¡°Words are cold comfort for a lot of these people.¡±
¡°Which is why I was summoned by him to resolve the situation. He understands that I am a reasonable and talented negotiator. I asked him to extend a generous offer of integration to this community, one that I hope you¡¯ll find agreeable.¡±
¡°I need to hear your terms first.¡±
¡°Given my predecessor''s profound failure to assure your loyalty through an arranged marriage, I forwarded a simpler solution. You will remain in place as the Count of this area, you will continue to retain a similar level of independence as before ¨C especially if I am given dominion as this area¡¯s Duke. I have a strong interest in ensuring that this location is developed quickly.¡±
¡°And the downsides.¡±
He clasped his hands together, ¡°That¡¯s the big question, isn¡¯t it? Tax money is the foremost thing on the King¡¯s mind.¡±
¡°We don¡¯t have much money to give,¡± I responded.
¡°Of course. This place is still in an infantile state. It¡¯s essential that we apply a light touch. I am willing to offer you an under-the-table bonus that he isn¡¯t aware of. If you agree, I will take on this year¡¯s tax burden for you. A small village such as this will be a small cost to our treasury. And I will assist you in establishing trade links between here and my own City in the Black Cove.¡±
He wasn¡¯t doing that out of the kindness of his heart, ¡°You¡¯re trying to win us over.¡±
¡°That I am. It¡¯s only natural during a negotiation that we offer something to you. I hope that you¡¯ll see me as the best choice for this town¡¯s future. Should it come down to a decision in the court about who the Duke shall be¡ I¡¯d like to rely on your support as it¡¯s Count.¡±
¡°And what kind of authority would that lend me?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure the nobles will grumble about it,¡± he smirked, ¡°There isn¡¯t much they can do about it. The Count may be the lowest level of authority in the Kingdom, but they have the final say on what happens in their territory, if they have the agreement of the Duke above them. You seem to be the right man for the job. I¡¯d be happy to keep you on a ¡®long leash¡¯ so to speak.¡±
¡°Is that so?¡±
¡°Lunarmar won¡¯t attack you, I¡¯ll help you build this place into a bustling trade port, and¡ call it cynical if you will, but the Laddite population will presumably come here in search of a more welcoming home.¡±
My mind strayed, ¡°I need to build a chapel.¡±
¡°Before you do! All of this will need to be ratified at the capitol, and presented before the court. It shall be a fine evening of entertainment¡¡±
I wasn¡¯t going to agree to such a thing right away. I stood from my seat, ¡°I¡¯ll consider your offer. My primary concern is the security of the people living here.¡±
Polemarch tried to put the screws to me, ¡°This area is a perfect location for a trading outpost. Lunarmar won¡¯t be the only Kingdom with their eyes on it.¡±
What I was really worried about was how the people who elected me would react. They¡¯d come here on the promise of keeping away from the people who had persecuted them. I couldn¡¯t make this decision without consulting them first. I escorted him back through the building and out into the square. Some of the townspeople had already started to transform it into a small park for everyone to use.
¡°You know I can¡¯t give you an answer just like that.¡±
Polemarch smiled glibly, ¡°I understand. I can¡¯t help but notice that lovely dock you¡¯ve constructed, is it ready to use?¡±
I nodded hesitantly, ¡°Yes. I believe so.¡±
¡°Then allow me to test it out for you. I¡¯ll return in two days to hear your answer; the King gave me a rather short time to present results. Forgive me. I will see you again, ¡®mayor.¡¯¡±
Polemarch stomped back to his carriage and was away like a whirlwind. I could feel the weight of the world suddenly bearing down on my shoulders. This was a decision that would steer the future of this town and the people who lived in it. The crowd was upon me before I knew it, asking me just what was happening now. I could tell that they were worried.
¡°It''s those damn Lunarmarians again, isn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°We are Lunarmarians, idiot.¡±
I held up my hands to try and quiet down the crowd, ¡°Everyone, can I have your attention for a moment please. The Kingdom has come back to us with a much¡ more generous offer than the previous one. They don¡¯t have the soldiers to come storming down here and destroying this town. Though it does mean we¡¯ll have to pay taxes to the nearest Duke.¡±
There was a murmur of discontent.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t make such a sudden change without consulting all of you first. First, I want to organize a group of people to forward concerns and work with people to implement new policies.¡± I pointed to the list posted on the message board out front of the town hall. ¡°I¡¯m calling a meeting tonight. Anyone who wants to have their say, please drop by again at eight.¡±
I listened as they dispersed to their homes. One of the older women from the group spoke her thoughts aloud, ¡°I want to think that there¡¯s still a place for me in Lunarmar. I was born there, and I wanted to die there.¡±
¡°But they¡¯re just going to do it all over again, right as we¡¯re settling in!¡±
¡°I¡¯m not so sure about this.¡±
¡°We better make sure we¡¯re ready to leave quickly¡¡±
I was in a tough spot. I needed their confidence to make this work, but I knew that there was little prospect of us remaining untouched with Lunarmar looking to protect their trade from enemies and pirates. I felt a hand on my shoulder. Amelie had been hiding behind me the whole time. She had changed back into the lavish red dress I associated with her, instead of her dirty foreman clothes.
¡°Duke Polemarch dropped by and you didn¡¯t immediately come running for me?¡±
¡°He wasn¡¯t here for long. He wants me to go to the capitol to ratify this place¡¯s membership of the Kingdom. I can stay in charge, but after a year we¡¯ll be paying taxes and presumably hosting soldiers.¡±
¡°But for how long?¡± Amelie said, cutting to the heart of the problem. ¡°While I wouldn¡¯t object to your continued leadership, the nobles in the capitol may have¡ different opinions. The appointment of a commoner to a county would threaten the very basis of their authority.¡±
¡°And the King?¡±
¡°He may be willing to relent if it solves his problems quickly. The nobles follow his word ¨C he can take the hit. I think it¡¯ll be interesting. They feel very secure in their position at the moment thanks to the war.¡±
I didn¡¯t care for what was interesting ¨C my main job was to make sure that the town was safe and growing. If Duke Polemarch could curry the King¡¯s favor and have me appointed officially, that would solve at least one of my problems, and probably spawn several more as a consequence. I¡¯d seen enough TV series and stories to know that nobles were a bloodthirsty and conniving lot. I¡¯d have a target painted on my back.
It was down to what the townspeople thought in the end.
¡°If I do go, I¡¯d like for you to accompany me,¡± I asked. She seemed shocked by the request.
¡°Me?¡±
¡°You know the nobles better than I do. And I have to say my etiquette may not be up to scratch if we¡¯re seeing the King.¡±
¡°I will but the King¡ doesn¡¯t really care that much for etiquette. He¡¯s odd. When did he say the deadline was?¡±
¡°Two days. He¡¯ll be coming by boat, so I hope the dock¡¯s finished.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll have it complete by then, even in its current state it can be used pretty easily.¡±
¡°The meeting¡¯s in a few hours. I hope you¡¯ll be there.¡±
¡°I will, Mister Mayor. Don¡¯t go running away now.¡±
Fat chance.
[author] PATREON | TWITTER
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Chapter 11: Ministers
¡°¡And that¡¯s why I¡¯m forwarding this offer to all of you. I¡¯d be remiss to agree to such a thing behind your back.¡±
I had carefully explained the situation to all of the assembled townspeople. We were crammed inside the town hall, wall to wall, in an impromptu meeting about the future of Celeste¡¯s Landing. I had managed to command their attention thus far ¨C even as the more controversial elements of the offer came to light.
The room became louder as they discussed the matter between themselves. Emmerich stood beside me with a pensive stare. I wanted to resolve the matter simply and quickly, with a show of hands from the people in the room. I clutched a roll of parchment stored in my pocket. I allowed the discussion to continue for an hour, until holding up my arm and demanding their attention again.
¡°I¡¯d like to put this to a vote. I will not air my own opinion here so as to not influence the results.¡±
¡°But you¡¯re the Mayor,¡± Emmerich objected.
¡°I¡¯m the Mayor, but I¡¯m also an outsider. I will not return the yoke of the Kingdom so eagerly when so much trust has been placed into my leadership. This is a decision for the people of this town to make.¡±
¡°If you must¡¡±
¡°All those in favour of re-joining with Lunarmar, agreeing to Duke Polemarch¡¯s terms, and continuing under my leadership, please raise your hand.¡±
A flurry of movement followed as people pushed and shoved, trying to be seen. I pretended to count the raised arms, but in truth I didn¡¯t need to. I quickly scribbled down a conditional tracker on the paper I brought and received an instant, accurate number of the votes for each option. To my surprise, the results were decisive. Sixty-five percent of the people wanted to accept and appoint me as Count.
I gave the room a moment to settle, ¡°Final chance. Are we all happy with our choice?¡± A few hands switched positions as people had second thoughts, but ultimately the result remained the same.
¡°The ayes, sixty-four. The no¡¯s, thirty-four. We will accept the Kingdom¡¯s offer.¡± There was a cheer of jubilation from the successful voters. I could sense that some of the others still felt bitter about past events, the events that had led them to moving here in the first place. Others weren¡¯t willing to let go of their past so easily.
¡°I will work hard and continue in the same capacity that I always have. It¡¯s more important now than it ever has been for us to transform this untamed land into a wonderful town to live in. We¡¯re going to set the standard for every town and city in the Kingdom to follow. But I can¡¯t do that all by myself.¡±
I smiled and motioned to the small gaggle of people standing to my left, including Emmerich and Amelie. Just as I had expected, Jerimiah had rejected the offer to become my agricultural minister, instead putting forth a man named Arton. Emmerich had been chosen by the foresters and hunters. Amelie didn¡¯t have any competition for the spot of trade minister, but I wasn¡¯t torn about it given her extensive experience.
¡°I asked for volunteers and nominees to adopt a smaller, more focused role for our various industries. You already know them as members of the community ¨C from now on, they¡¯ll also act as Ministers. Forward your ideas, problems and hopes to them and they will relay them to me. They have experience and talent, and I¡¯m happy to have them on board.¡±
The business, housing and mining minister were all people I wasn¡¯t very familiar with.
The business minister was a woman named Maggie Walton, a weaver who set up shop in the middle of town. She was a stern, busybody of a lady with curly hair and a robust body. My new housing minister was another woman, Frederica Sims, who was a homemaker and closely connected to many of the other wives in the town. Finally, there was the appropriately named Bradley Slate ¨C he worked with the miners in extracting natural resources from the nearby hills and mountains.
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A polite applause rained down as they bowed to the crowd. For the time being it was a voluntary position with little official responsibility, but if things grew quickly that would change.
¡°I have a lot of good news for everyone,¡± I said, ¡°Our housing project here in the middle of town is almost complete. Soon everyone will be able to move into their own homes, and out of this building.¡±
Another cheer of jubilation. We¡¯d been making rapid progress as our process for building sewers and houses developed under Amelie¡¯s leadership. Two dozen wood and stone, two story buildings now stretched out in the middle of the plains. Connected to the farms by dirt road, it was starting to turn into a real village.
¡°This building will be turned into a more permanent structure. For now, it¡¯s only serving as my office, but I¡¯m open to hearing other ideas for how we can use the space. I appreciate everyone¡¯s patience. What we¡¯re doing here is very unorthodox, but it¡¯ll be worth it. Remember to pay it forward and be good to the others.
¡°If anyone has any further questions to ask me, please come forth and speak with me. I¡¯ll be happy to answer them.¡±
I stepped down from my box and allowed the people to disperse. It was getting late and they needed to be up bright and early tomorrow for work. A dozen people remained. The questions were much along the lines that I expected when I extended the offer. A lot of them were worried about Lunarmar walking in and taking over again. The Laddites had been seeing increasing persecution from the political and religious class over the past decade.
¡°This is our town,¡± I replied, ¡°Nothing major is going to change for at least a year. And Duke Polemarch seems to be less interested in religious warfare than the others. It¡¯s likely that the number of Laddite residents will only increase with time, as they learn that this is a safe place to make a livelihood.¡±
That was enough for the time being. But greater and greater challenges would face us in the future. I had to focus on the upcoming meeting at the capitol. I turned to Amelie and invited her into my office so we could talk things out.
Amelie gave me a rundown of everything I needed to know before Polemarch returned.
There were dozens of noble families that ran things in Lunarmar, with splinter families making things even more complicated. Their ultimate goal was to find their members land to rule over, no matter how small or insignificant. There was a strong cultural incentive to do so ¨C noble children were trained from a young age in a variety of leadership skills to prepare for the job.
Counts and upwards received a seat in the King¡¯s court, a quasi-parliament where they could advance laws of interest or lobby each other for deals and influence. The court would meet every month, though attendance was not mandatory unless explicitly stated.
There was the Lomarac family, to which Amelie was born as the daughter of the house head. They were one of the larger families in the court, with several sons in waiting to become counts themselves. But by Amelie''s own description, her father had become increasingly disconnected with court politics over the years. They owned much of the fertile land in the centre and east of the Kingdom.
The Polemarchs were the most affluent. They had a reputation as intelligent and savvy dealmakers who always came out on top. Duke Polemarch was the head, and he had two young sons himself. There was a second Duke named Anton. In recent times their numbers had dwindled from over a hundred living members to a dozen. Despite that, they retained their position as one of the top three. They were our primary concern, as Duke Polemarch¡¯s main seat of power was right next to us.
The last of the major families were the Damarans. Duke William Damaran was the biggest hot-head and militarist in the nation. He had to be ¨C he was the main holder of the incredibly contested lands to the East, under near constant attack by the Twin Kingdoms of Vand and Mandery.
All three would object to me being given land when they had family without. They were competitive and they weren¡¯t above dirty tricks to get what they wanted. Becoming the ¡®count¡¯ of Celeste¡¯s Landing and the surrounding territory would paint a target on my back. As a boring guy who lived in the modern world, the idea of court politics was something that made me shudder. This was going to end in one of two ways, with me in charge, or face down with a dagger in my back.
But I couldn¡¯t back out now. People had entrusted me with the job, for better or worse. I had to get serious and face those challenges head on. Now I just had to wait for the day to arrive.
Chapter 12: Game
We had our first test of the dock two days later, when Duke Polemarch returned on board a medium sized ship to visit the town. The process of mooring it went smoothly enough thanks to the assistance of his crew. We were going to the capital city the following day. Polemarch was eager to solve the problem as quickly as possible thanks to the King¡¯s imposed deadline.
He was even kind enough to bring me some dress clothes for when I was presented to the court. My godly jacket was nice, but probably not up to their standards. Polemarch was overjoyed to hear our collective affirmation of his plan. He¡¯d managed to provisionally snatch the town from under the Lomarac¡¯s noses. I ¡®owed¡¯ him a favour, which would be paid forward in us presenting ourselves to him as a new vassal town under his Duchy.
That didn¡¯t mean everything was going to go smoothly. Polemarch echoes many of the same concerns that Amelie had. They¡¯d try to use every underhanded trick in the book to get one over on me. Polemarch and the King could head off most of those attempts easily using their influence, but in his own words, ¡°Some of them are still stupid enough to try.¡±
I certainly wasn¡¯t under threat of being stabbed, because Polemarch assigned no less than five of his personal guards to keep an eye on me as we trundled towards the capital city in the back of a carriage. Amelie had elected to come with me and guide me through the messy undergrowth of noble politics.
I didn¡¯t get a good shot of the city from inside the rocking carriage, but I could tell by the length of the journey that this was a big, big place. The glimpses I did see through the windows painted a picture of a tightly packed city bursting at the seams. Three story houses lay on both sides of the stone road, with only the occasional small alleyway breaking them up.
The more affluent areas of the city had sewers and drains running down each side of the road, but that privilege wasn¡¯t extended to the other districts. I could smell the stench of refuse that had been thrown down onto the streets through the doors.
My sightseeing was cut off as we passed through a large pair of heavily guarded gates and emerged out into a large palace garden. Finely trimmed hedges and marble statues replaced shops and homes. The horse-drawn carriage came to a halt at the foot of the steps leading up to the main building. The front fa?ade reminded me of a Greek temple, with tall pillars and a triangular roof.
¡°Here we are, the palace of the King,¡± Amelie said witheringly.
¡°It¡¯s¡ impressive,¡± but not very wheelchair accessible.
Polemarch didn¡¯t seem to be enthused about the building either, ¡°This is where the business happens. The west wing of the palace is where the court is held. But first¡ King Sebtlander has requested a personal meeting with you. He wishes to ascertain your suitability for the job.¡±
¡°No pressure, huh?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry. I handed him a report on your work. Win or lose, it¡¯ll be decided by his gut.¡±
That didn¡¯t reassure me at all. My future, and the future of the town were down to a King¡¯s whimsy. We followed Polemarch up the stairs and into the grand lobby. A huge pair of staircases winded up and around to the second and third floors. Another flight of tall steps, hooking a right, walking down a long, long corridor lined with entryways on both sides.
Finally, we came upon an unassuming wooden doorway. Polemarch nodded to me, and knocked three times.
¡°King Sebtlander, I¡¯m here with Sir Blackwood.¡±
He answered immediately, ¡°Enter!¡±
He turned to face me, ¡°Mind your manners, and this should be no problem.¡±
He unlocked the door and waved me in. Amelie had to stay outside.
The room was not the grand throne room I expected to be shown to upon my arrival. It was a comfortable and personal office space that had clearly seen much use. There was a large, ornate wooden desk at the back side of the chamber, topped with an oil light and a fountain pen. The walls were covered with stuffed bookshelves.
Hunched over in a tall-backed leather chair was an old man wearing a red silk robe. He was bundled up as if winter had descended over the interior of the palace. An open fire roared against the left wall and cast the wood-lined chamber in a deep yellow glow.
I was unsure of what to do. I pretended that I was in a period drama and did what I thought was appropriate. I approached the King and bowed as deeply as my back allowed, ¡°It¡¯s an honour to meet you, your highness.¡±
He ignored my greeting and locked onto the Duke beside me, ¡°This is the man you spoke of? He¡¯s barely even a boy!¡±
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Polemarch shrugged, ¡°Young or not, the report I presented to you was truthful. With the benefit of experience ¨C I have no doubt he could be an excellent Count.¡± The King¡¯s deep-set eyes scrutinised me closely. I felt myself tense up, not wanting to cause offence.
¡°Hmph. Looks like he has some spine,¡± he punctuated the sentence by coughing into his hand, ¡°Better than those idiots who call themselves leaders¡¡±
Polemarch leaned into my ear, ¡°That means he likes you.¡±
¡°I have to admit, it¡¯s very unusual to see a young man like yourself doing something as an affront to the Kingdom.¡±
I stood at attention. ¡°Ah. I didn¡¯t intend to be in charge originally. I simply came across the caravan as it was travelling.¡±
¡°You¡¯re not a Laddite?¡±
I grimaced, ¡°No. No I am not. Though I suppose you could say I¡¯m a believer.¡±
How could I not believe when I had met the goddess of the religion myself? She was the one who sent me here in the first place. Still, to describe myself as a Laddite would be strange and unfitting. I knew nothing about their traditions or customs, I didn¡¯t attend their sermons or understand their teachings. Yet here I was, their voice in a Kingdom that had spurned them in so many ways.
¡°¡They¡¯ll give you trouble, that¡¯s for sure. As long as you stand straight up and face them head on, I¡¯ll be thankful for it. They¡¯ve grown too comfortable with things around here. They believe that they¡¯re owed everything and more. I have no place for people who cannot pull their own weight. If they think that they can rely on the Azel Church to secure their position, they have another thing coming. Do you understand me?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°You started this,¡± he warned me, ¡°For good or ill, you must be the one to finish it. Whether it¡¯s a grand success, or an early grave ¨C there¡¯s no turning back from it now. Knowing this, would you accept my blessings and become the count of this new settlement?¡±
¡°I will, but they call me the Mayor.¡±
¡°¡I see. I have my answer. Polemarch has told me many things, I trust his words. As such, I will accept his judgement. You will be the Lord-Mayor of Celeste¡¯s Landing. The Blackwood family, as small as it is, will stand shoulder to shoulder with the others.¡±
I bowed again.
¡°Don¡¯t disappoint me. The court will assemble tomorrow.¡±
With nothing else to say, Polemarch tugged on my shoulder and led me back out of the room. Amelie was on top of me in a moment, ¡°Did it go well?¡±
¡°Aye lass. The King approves. But that isn¡¯t the tough part. As soon as one of their insiders spots you, they¡¯ll know what¡¯s going on. It¡¯ll be a scramble to see who can get their hooks into you. It would probably be safer just to stay in your chamber until I come for you.¡±
His words only served to inflame a newly developing sense of paranoia. The palace was huge yet isolating at the same time. Long sightlines that stretched from end to end of each wing, hundreds of doorways closing in on your left and right. And now the potential of being kidnapped or killed by a jealous noble¡¯s hitman.
We followed the mountain of a man deeper into the winding corridors of the castle. It stretched on and on, so much so that I was surprised when we finally came to a stop outside of another door. He opened it and waved me inside. It was a bed-chamber, similar in design to the office that the King was working in. Red carpet, wooden furnishing and silver trim. It was cosy, and a far cry from sleeping on the floor of my own office in a bag.
I sat down on the end and sighed, rubbing my eyes clear.
I couldn¡¯t expect Polemarch to speak frankly. He wasn¡¯t doing all of this out of the kindness of his heart. He wanted to secure his position within the Kingdom, and I was a means to do just that. By gaining control over our part of the coast, he could protect his precious trade routes from interference by others.
¡°Can they do anything to stop this?¡± I asked again.
¡°No. Not with me and the King backing you. Killing you would put a lot of heat on them too, so they¡¯re going to try and win you over.¡±
¡°Like you did?¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t win you over like they do. I offered you a mutually beneficial deal. These people are all about arranged marriages and ostentatious gifts. Things that don¡¯t require effort, compromise or sacrifice on their part. That¡¯s why I¡¯m the Duke of the Black Cove, and they¡¯re not.¡±
Polemarch could insist he was different all he wanted, the end results were still the same, as was the motivation. ¡°How is this ceremony going to go?¡±
¡°You won¡¯t have to do much. You¡¯ll be presented before the court as the candidate for assuming the countship. The King will name you, the area in question, and ask for objections from the assembled nobles. Of course ¨C they¡¯ll have plenty. Just keep your head down while they get it out of their system.¡±
¡°And then?¡±
¡°After the public facing part of the process, your name will be entered into the registry as a new ruling family. They¡¯ll also pester you to make a family crest, probably.¡±
¡°I¡¯m no artist.¡±
¡°They¡¯ll commission one of the King¡¯s to make one for you.¡±
Not to mention that I had no intention of turning into a noble anyway. Though for the sake of keeping up appearances I had to go on with whatever they wanted me to do, within reason. I had to play by their rules. Getting upset and trying to make a point would get me nowhere. I bit my tongue for the time being.
¡°After that, official authority over the territory will be handed to you. You will be recognized as the King¡¯s representative, and have all of the benefits that come from it ¨C including support from our military. I wouldn¡¯t rely on them right now though.¡±
¡°I know. They¡¯re busy.¡±
¡°That¡¯s¡ an understatement. We don¡¯t have enough men to protect our own towns and cities, never mind attack the enemy.¡±
¡°A defensive advantage can¡¯t be understated.¡±
¡°They won¡¯t pull back,¡± he said, ¡°they¡¯ve invested too much into this campaign to come home with nothing. If we had more rational people like you in court, maybe things would be different.¡±
¡°Can¡¯t the King demand that they come home?¡±
¡°Not without a formal peace offering. Ultimately, the control over our military is divided between the nobles and the King. The nobles are the ones who pay their wage, so they command a lot of authority and loyalty with them.¡±
¡°Men,¡± Amelie scoffed.
Men indeed. There was too much masculine pride on the line to make the right choice.
¡°Lady Amelie, allow me to show you to your chamber-¡°
¡°I know where it is. Just make sure that my ¡®future husband¡¯ here doesn¡¯t turn up dead before the council meets.¡±
Polemarch chuckled, ¡°Of course.¡±
Chapter 13: Noble
Amelie knew that this was coming. Her father, Frank, had called upon her the moment she set foot into the Palace. After parting ways with Shane and Polemarch, she marched down the halls like a woman possessed. The Lomarac family had a parlour in the palace used for just this purpose.
Frank was waiting for her. He stood from the armchair he was sitting in and motioned to give his favourite daughter a familial hug. ¡°Darling, I¡¯m so happy to see you! How was the trip?¡± Amelie had to stop herself from gagging. So eager to be nice when she was face to face with him, after ditching her in the middle of nowhere for weeks.
She replied tersely, ¡°Yes father, it is wonderful to see you too.¡± She didn¡¯t want to, but she humoured the old man and embraced him in a quick greeting. Father and Daughter sat across from each other. A cup of warm tea had already been prepared and placed on the table next to Amelie.
She didn¡¯t wait long to air her grievances. ¡°Father. I wish to know your full reasoning. Why did you think it was worth the time to send me there?¡±
Frank steepled his hands together, ¡°The King gave me a task, one which I honestly had no idea how to complete. I settled on dispatching you to the area. It was only when your brother returned that I learned of the true nature of the ¡®town¡¯ which had enraptured the court so.¡±
¡°An easy way to be rid of me.¡±
Frank was hurt by the accusation, ¡°You are my favourite daughter. So bright and beautiful. You¡¯re the envy of the entire court! I¡¯d never do something so callous.¡±
¡°That didn¡¯t stop you from trying to pawn me off to the first man who grabbed a piece of land.¡±
¡°Amelie, darling, you know that I only want the best for you! A man of status at any level is a worthy match for your intelligence and looks. Those chances come by so very rarely.¡±
Amelie masked her real intentions with some well-placed lies, ¡°He¡¯s not a man of status, father. And the County you seem so intent on capturing for our family is little more than a hamlet. Why does your favoured daughter have to be used in such a crude way?¡±
The truth was that she had no intention of marrying anyone he chose, no matter their wealth or power. Years of being directed to act in the interest of her father and brothers had hardened Amelie¡¯s fledgling sense of rebellion.
¡°I was sure that he¡¯d be happy to have you¡¡±
¡°Father, let us leave these honied words for the public eye. The man, Shane Blackwood, is too aware to fall for such a trick. There was little hope of me ¡®seducing him¡¯ from the start. He has enough self-restraint to resist falling into a lust-fuelled frenzy the moment he lays eyes on me. I cannot say the same for the sons and daughters in this court.¡±
¡°I see.¡± Frank exhaled from his nose and deflated in his seat, ¡°I think I know why they called us here. I¡¯m not happy about it, but if the King¡¯s favour lies with someone else, there is aught for me to do about it.¡±
¡°Yes. Duke Polemarch has vouched for his ascension into rulership. A shrewd piece of negotiation.¡±
¡°But to offer such a gift to a commoner, at a time like this? My objections are weaker than others, but even still I find it hard to stomach. This threatens the cohesion of the court at a time of war.¡±
She was unsympathetic, ¡°Surely a problem to be resolved amongst themselves.¡±
¡°If only things were that easy. I¡¯d be lying if I said that I never fell to such prideful lows myself. The Lomarac family is everything to me. My sons, my daughters, even my cousins and the distant branches. We vie for supremacy, wealth, power, influence, to have our crest hung from the rafters and held in high regard.¡±
¡°It is none of my concern,¡± Amelie said, intending to cut things off there. ¡°I am nothing more than your daughter. There is little role for me in these proceedings.¡±
¡°¡I see. Your usual room has been prepared by the servants, if you wish to rest after the long journey here.¡±
Amelie finished the last of her tea, stood, and bowed to her father. Even as she tried to stand apart from him there were some habits she just couldn¡¯t break. She left the room in a huff and leaned against the outside wall. The meeting was about what she expected. Her father would rather die than ever admit wrongdoing.
There was an acute possibility that one of her brothers had suggested her exile. Luc was too spineless for something like that; It had to be Louis or Hugo. Her father couldn¡¯t say no to them and that was one of Amelie¡¯s key frustrations. They¡¯d even tried to exert influence over the younger sister¡¯s education years ago ¨C implying that homemaking would be her only responsibility.
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She never forgot.
If anything, it only made her desire to show them up even stronger. She started sneaking into the library when nobody was around and reading books that had been regarded as too masculine for her. That old, slovenly, carefree Amelie was replaced by one that was reading material for people several years her senior. She found a particular fascination with boats and ports, from the economic effects of them to the engineering that constructed them.
She was the first lady in her family to attend the Royal College. And though she was kept separated from the male side of things in both dorms and lessons, she took full advantage of the opportunity ¨C earning top marks in every subject she studied. The goading, the teasing, the minimization. They had all hard-pressed her stone into diamond. She was a prodigy.
That momentum had come to a crashing halt.
She was under no illusions about it. Out of the hundreds of nobles who stood in the court, only a handful of them were women. Women who had the great misfortune of living in a family without a direct male heir. To be appointed to the court through merit, or to even earn the recognition of her own family was a big ask. Beautiful women like her were destined for political marriages with some slovenly, unappealing son.
But Shane had offered her a chance. It was a complete coincidence, luck of the draw, but it was there. An opportunity to show her family just how good a leader she really was. Shane¡¯s success had become intertwined with her own. She was one of his ministers, and in his own words the most important one of the lot. What she always wanted was now within reach. All she had to do was help shepherd him through the difficult process of establishing his County. Make a case for being inserted into an even more important position.
Amelie couldn¡¯t stop the smile spreading on her face. Maybe being left behind by Luc was a good thing ¨C not that she was going to give the men of the family any credit for accidentally helping her. Their intent was to shove her into a dark corner of the continent where they didn¡¯t have to deal with her directly anymore.
She wandered down the corridors of the palace in the direction of her private chamber. The footprint of the building was immense, merely so that each visitor could have a room of their own when the court was assembled. What a waste of time and money. On the other hand, most of the male nobles Amelie had met were lecherous fools and the prospect of sleeping near them made her shudder. Their usual introductions punctuated by staring at her chest and trying to compliment her, hoping for an easy lay with a pretty woman.
Shane didn¡¯t do that, though she could see him struggling to not look down when they first met. In that way it was almost amusing. An old tutor always told her that her looks were a deadly weapon. She always thought it was a deeply cynical idea - but her recent experiences in court had only given that theory more credence.
Amelie¡¯s walk was interrupted as two men emerged from around the corner in front of her. The first, a blonde permed cockroach with no chin and long red coat ¨C was Phillip Damaran. The son of William and heir to the Eastern Duchy. The other who was rotund and balding, Steven Damaran, his cousin. Steven had the misfortune of looking twenty years older than he really was.
¡°Look what the cat dragged in,¡± Phillip mused, stalking towards her with long, exaggerated steps.
¡°As if this day couldn¡¯t get any worse.¡±
¡°You wound me, my fair lady! Is that any way to talk to a future Duke?¡±
¡°Seen as though you haven¡¯t yet ascended to the position, I only think it¡¯s appropriate. You sweep through like a bout of infectious disease, though a man with the runs still manages to have better hygiene.¡±
Phillip tried to laugh off the insult, ¡°That sharp tongue of yours is very charming. Your father seems oddly resistant to accepting my marriage offer.¡±
¡°Is that so?¡± Amelie sighed, ¡°Tis¡¯ a shame. Perhaps you should change targets to a woman who can stand to be in your presence? Instead of incessantly following me around like a lost mongrel.¡±
Steven turned to his cousin, ¡°They must have taught her some new insults out in the countryside.¡±
¡°No. She always swears like a sailor ¨C your brother had the right idea when he said that learning about ships wasn¡¯t right for a young girl.¡±
¡°Noted,¡± Amelie glowered.
Phillip turned from flirting to politics, ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumours about your new friend being inducted to the court. You do realise what an affront such a plan is to the families and their children? Poor Jean is being passed over again! You must feel bad for your brother.¡±
¡°Not particularly. I don¡¯t know what you hope to gain by offering fake sympathy for my brother, you two are always at each other¡¯s throats.¡±
¡°A little friendly rivalry never hurt anyone. I¡¯m merely concerned for the precedent this will set ¨C how will the many sons of the court handle being rejected for their rightful positions as leaders?¡±
¡°Yes, a shame. To continue leeching off the goodwill of their parents like a gaggle of blood-sucking parasites. Truly the people will weep at your plight.¡±
Phillip¡¯s face flashed in outrage, ¡°Watch your tongue! I could have you drawn and quartered if I wished!¡± He closed the distance between them and looked down on her from above. Amelie wasn¡¯t going to back down to his usual threats, she stood her ground even as he tried to intimidate her with his height.
¡°You lay so much as a finger on me and my dad will bury you. They¡¯ll never find the body.¡±
Steven became increasingly unsettled as the standoff continued. He tugged on Phillip¡¯s sleeve, ¡°Let it go Phillip. It¡¯s not worth the trouble.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be keeping a close eye on this boy of yours. The moment he slips up, I¡¯ll cut his fucking neck. There¡¯s no room for pretenders in our court.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t have the sack to try.¡±
Phillip opened his mouth to speak again, but fell back and restrained himself. With the last word said, the terrible twosome meandered back the way they came. They were waiting there for her to come by just to speak with her.
¡°I hate those two,¡± she muttered. Why was he even interested in Celeste¡¯s Landing? Even if he managed to secure the county for himself, he¡¯d end up under the command of Duke Polemarch. His father would never allow it. Trouble was heading Shane¡¯s way, and she wasn¡¯t confident that he had the skills and wit to handle it.
Time would tell.