Chapter 10

 

 

Ruskin stuck his head in the dining hall. “Blue pennants reported, my lord.”

William sipped his tea and looked up. “How many, and how far off?”

“Three, sir,” said Ruskin. “You have time to finish your breakfast if you hurry. Should I stay?”

“I’ll send Oz if I need you. Just pennants? No banners?”

Ruskin chuckled. “That would be the day,” he said as he departed.

William gulped his tea and handed the cup to Oz. “Better ask Mrs. Gracey to brew another batch. We have visitors.”

“Yes, sir,” said Oz as he began clearing dishes from the dining hall table. “Can I ask, sir? What’s blue pennants?”

William buttered another slice of bread and nodded at Oz. “I forgot you wouldn’t have heard that before. A clerk carries a blue pennant to signify that he’s traveling on his earl’s behalf. If there’s also a banner, it means the earl himself is traveling.”

“Why do they do that?”

William shrugged as he stuffed the last sausage into his mouth and wiped his hands. “Tradition. But also, to let people know to expect their arrival, and to treat them accordingly. Which is why I need you to go ask Mrs. Gracey to brew another kettle of tea.”

“Yes sir, right away. Only…”

William sighed. “Yes, Oz. What is it?”

“What about other pennants? Does anyone use other colors?”

“Well, I could carry a green banner on my own lands. And for that matter, you and Ruskin could carry green pennants while acting on my authority. But that would be pointless, because everyone knows you both work for me. A duke is entitled to red banners and pennants within his borders, but I’ve only ever seen the duke’s pennants in Marshland—never a banner.”

“What about the king?” asked Oz. “Doesn’t he get any?”

William laughed. “You and I will never witness it, but the king travels with purple banners and pennants lined in gold. From what I hear, the king never travels beyond the gates of New Athens.”

“Really? Why not? If I was king, I’d go everywhere I could.”

William looked around to see if anyone else was listening. Satisfied, he turned back to Oz. “Some say he’s too busy, others claim he’s too afraid to leave his own home. Speaking of home, mine is about to be invaded, so I’ll need that tea started right away.”

Oz left with the remains of William’s breakfast, leaving him to ponder the meaning of a visit from an earl’s official. Were there more papers to sign? Had he violated some unknown protocol? Or had the games in place of a trial two weeks earlier roused Earl Bradford’s ire? He looked down at the green dragon lounging by the fireplace. “What do you think, Clyde? Will this visit make me happy or not?”

Clyde barely opened an eye at William’s question, but seconds later his head perked up at the sound of the brass door knocker echoing through the manor. The sound of voices drifted into the dining hall, followed by footsteps. “My lord,” said Oz. “Ellison Alred to see you on behalf of Earl Bradford.” A tall, studious looking man bowed in William’s direction. Behind him stood two guards in full uniform, spears and all, their faces obscured by full dress helmets.

William stood to meet his guests. “Thank you, Oz. Please have Mrs. Gracey come in at once with refreshments. Mr. Alred, I haven’t heard your name before. How long have you worked for Earl Bradford?”

Alred cast a wary eye at Clyde before answering. “Long enough, my lord. I have serious business to discuss with you that—”

William raised his hand to interrupt. “Mr. Alred, by my estimate you and your escorts have ridden for four hours. You can take a moment for tea and cake, I’m sure. Here comes Mrs. Gracey now.”

Alred watched as Mrs. Gracey arranged the trays. “If you insist, my lord. But my escorts, as you call them, are on duty and must refrain.”

William cut four slices of cake and smiled. “Mr. Alred, it’s no secret that I once wanted to be a guard. I’m familiar with King Stephen’s code. Not only are they allowed to eat and drink, you are responsible for ensuring they have the opportunity.”

Alred and the two guards looked at each other for a moment’s pause, after which Alred nodded his approval. The guards sat, but did not remove their helmets, opting instead to eat and drink through the small opening in their face guards.

William ignored the breach in protocol, only barely raising an eyebrow. He turned to Alred, who declined a piece of cake, accepting only tea. “Thank you, Mrs. Gracey, that will be all for now,” said William. “Oz, please stick around in case we need anything else. Now, what’s this about serious business, Mr. Alred?” asked William.

Alred pushed his tea away. “As you know, my lord, the spring taxes are due in a few weeks. Earl Bradford is offering a sizable discount for early payment.”

William froze with his tea in mid-air, too stunned to comment. “I have an agreement with the earl,” he said finally. “Six months’ deferral.”

“That’s not mentioned in the records, sir,” said Alred without flinching. “And begging your pardon, my lord, because it will sound like I am accusing you of lying, but the earl said nothing of it when he assigned me this task.”

“Hello—did someone forget to invite me to the party?” All heads turned as Jack strode into the dining hall.

“Hardly a party, Jack,” said William. “Mr. Alred has informed me that my spring taxes are due soon, and has offered a discount for early payment.”

“But Earl Bradford agreed to defer your taxes,” said Jack. “Oz, could you get me something for breakfast? My belly is rumbling enough to wake Clyde.”

“Hold on a second, Oz,” said William. “Ask Mrs. Gracey to get Jack’s breakfast instead. Then I’d like you to fetch Ruskin for me.”

“Right away, sir,” said Oz. He turned to leave, then paused. “Uh…should I ring the bell?”

“What for?” asked William with a look of confusion.

Oz stared at him, his eyes trying to convey a private message. “You know…to get Ruskin…or anyone else.”

“Huh? Oh…no. Just go to his cottage and ask him to bring the tax papers, please.”

Jack helped himself to the abandoned slice of cake. “Mr. Alred…are you new to Marshland? I thought I knew everyone, but I’ve been living in Rebel Falls for a few years now.”

“I’m not sure why that’s of interest to you, Mr…?”

“Doran,” said Jack. “Son of Earl Hiram.”

Alred’s face went pale. “I see. Well, I probably shouldn’t talk about Lord William’s business in front of anyone—”

“Mr. Doran is a close friend and adviser,” said William. “You are free to discuss any part of my business that concerns you in front of him, or my agent, or my butler. And you can start by explaining how a man in Earl Bradford’s employment can be unaware of my agreement with him. Did Jeffery not have anything to say about this?”

“Jeffery has been on leave for several weeks,” said Alred. “Family matters, as I understand it, although perhaps I am already saying more than I should.”

William drummed his fingers on the table impatiently. “You are saying nowhere near enough. Who is head clerk during Jeffery’s absence?”

“I am,” said Alred in a haughty voice.

“Are you telling me there is no one senior to you on the earl’s entire staff? I find that hard to believe.” William’s agitation caused Clyde to look up. The dragon peered at Alred and the two guards and began to rise.

Alred looked at Clyde with alarm, sliding to the edge of his seat as though to run. “My lord, with all respect to your position, it is a criminal act to threaten a town official. I must ask you to restrain your…beast.”

William signaled to Clyde. “Mr. Alred, Clyde has never attacked anything more sentient than a carrot. The most he’s ever done to anybody is sniff them. Clyde, come here.”

Alred remained tense until the dragon lay behind William. “Thank you, my lord. A man delivering tax bills is often threatened. I don’t dare take chances.”

Ruskin marched into the dining hall, his face red with indignation. “You’ve already taken a chance with your career, whoever you are. What’s this I hear about taxes being due? Read this, you numskull, and tell me if you still think they’re due. Look at the bottom and see if you can recognize your patron’s signature or not.” He tossed the papers into Alred’s lap and continued to fume.

Alred, momentarily startled by Ruskin’s entry, collected the papers and read them carefully. “I’m sorry to inform you, but this is a forgery.”

William could only stare in confusion. Ruskin answered before William could gather his wits. “What sort of fool do you take me for?” he roared. “I was in the room when the earl signed this, as was Lord William. Now you have the gall to tell me to my face that it was forged?”

Alred folded the papers quickly and stuffed them into his robe before William or Ruskin could say anything. “I don’t need to explain myself to you, Mr. Ruskin. My job is clear. I’m afraid I must confiscate these.”

William shot to his feet. “How dare you!”

The two guards stood and advanced, blocking William’s path to Alred, who remained calm. “Forgery and tax evasion are serious offenses, Lord William. You can avoid any…unpleasantries…by accepting the earl’s offer of a discount on early payment.”

William glanced at the far wall to where his sword hung. If he sprinted quickly enough…

Jack reached out and grabbed William’s arm. “Will, don’t be an idiot.”

“What exactly were the earl’s instructions to you?” asked William, through clenched teeth.

“To inform you your taxes are coming due, to deliver the offer of discounted early payment, and to deliver your reply.”

“You’ve done your duty, so you can leave now,” said William in a low growl. “There will be no reply except the one I’ll deliver myself, in person. And when I do, you’d best hope you were acting in good faith, or it won’t be just your career in jeopardy.”

“Again, I must warn you about threats, Lord William. You may be the world-famous Defender of Rebel Falls, but your fame won’t protect you from the law. I will inform Earl Bradford of your decision. I do hope he’s in a mood to receive you when you visit…though I wouldn’t count on it.” Alred gestured to his guards, who fell in behind him as he departed.

William was livid. His hands shook with rage as his breath came in ragged shudders. He whirled around and strode the length of the dining hall, snatching the sword from where it hung. Jack and Ruskin grabbed his arms as he attempted to chase after Alred, while Oz blocked the door in case William broke free.

“That’s a fool’s errand, my lord,” said Ruskin. “No matter how good a swordsman you are, they are three men, two of them well-armored and well-trained. Nothing’s to be gained even if you did prevail.”

William shook himself free and hurled the sword to the floor. “King’s blasted teeth,” he yelled. “What’s the use of even having the thing?” With an angry wave of his arm, he swept the tea and cake into the fireplace, causing Clyde to jump in alarm. “I swear, I will force that man to eat his words, every last one.”

“But not today, Will,” said Jack. “Not until you’ve calmed down and thought it through.”

William slammed the table with his open hands. “Fine. Sit. All three of you. Let’s think.”

Ruskin, Jack, and Oz traded looks of concern before sitting. “Should I clean the mess, sir?” asked Oz.

“Leave it,” snapped William. “I want your help on this, Oz. You were smart to suggest ringing the bell. We didn’t need it just then, but we might one day. Thoughts?” He gazed around the table at each of them. “Has Earl Bradford gone back on his word? And without my papers, can I appeal to Duke Vincent?”

Ruskin cleared his throat. “I’ve known earls and barons to do some shady things, but nothing this blatant. Whatever’s going on, Alred is part of it.”

“You think he’s only pretending to work for Bradford?” asked Jack.

The agent shook his head. “It would be brash to fly a blue pennant and speak for the earl if he doesn’t represent him. I suspect he’s acting in bad faith.”

“Trying to steal my money behind the earl’s back?” asked William. “He’d never get away with it; the earl has spies everywhere and would toss him in prison the second he found out. And what about the guards? They’re risking their lives if they aren’t real guards. If they are, then they can only escort people on sanctioned missions.”

“It’s a puzzle,” said Ruskin. “The first thing we need to do is to find out if Alred is truly acting on the earl’s behalf.”

“No,” said William. “First we get my papers back. Without them, I have no proof of the deferral, and I’m stuck paying the interest and half the mill’s profits for nothing.”

“This isn’t a time for swords, Will,” said Jack. “Even if your papers are gone, Earl Bradford presumably still has a copy, and he can’t claim anything from you without using it. And he would have sent another copy to Faywater Bay for his own protection, so forget about the papers. Ruskin is right: we need to know what Alred is up to.”

Oz raised his hand. “Can you ask the earl? Sorry if that’s a dumb question.”

William sighed. “It’s not dumb, Oz. In fact, it may be my only option. I don’t know who else to go to. If Alred is crooked, then so are those guards. I don’t want to be the one to give Sir Hendrick that bit of news—especially if he’s crooked too.”

“Want me to come with you, sir?” asked Ruskin.

“No,” said William. “Not during planting season. I need you here to solve anything that goes wrong. There’s too much at stake now for both of us to be absent.”

“Well, I’m coming with you,” said Jack. “You have a tendency to get into trouble when you wander off alone.”

“Thank you,” said William. “I’ll need you too, Oz. Ruskin won’t like it if someone isn’t there to announce me.”

Ruskin pointed a calloused finger at Oz. “And see to it that you announce him properly. Lord William needs to be taken seriously as a nobleman, especially after today. Remember what I taught you, and don’t screw up.”

“He’ll do fine, Ruskin,” said William with a trace of annoyance. “Give him a chance.”

Ruskin turned to William with a patronly gaze. “Pardon, my lord, but you’re a new baron, and a young one at that. If today was any indication, you could end up facing a hard-nosed official with a grudge to bear against anyone who outranks him. The last thing you need is a butler who doesn’t know how to announce you.”

William refused to back down. “He knows my name, he knows my title, and he announced Alred without any trouble. The rest is up to me.” He held Ruskin’s gaze until the older man looked away, then turned back to Oz. “We’ll leave in the morning. Pack some clothes and food.” He stood and retrieved his sword from where it lay on the floor. “Get my scabbard out of storage, too. I’m bringing this, whether anyone likes it or not.”