Michael Manning - The God-Stone War

Beside Walter sat his wife Rebecca, now the Baroness of Arundel. Beyond her sat the rest of the Knights of Stone, Sir Egan, Sir Donald, Sir Brian, Sir Daniel, Sir Jeffery, Sir Grant, Sir Lionel and Sir Ian. Only a few of them had families close enough to attend the dinner at Castle Cameron, although two of them were lucky enough that their wives were able to attend. Given the length of the table, conversation wasn’t easy. That was probably for the best, since I had forgotten the names of their wives. Penny frequently saved me when it came to such matters.

After everyone had had their cups filled, I stood and looked first down the table and then across the hall. I drew everyone’s eyes to me before I raised my goblet and called out to them, “Today we are grateful at the return of our brave soldiers. Let us all raise our drinks in a toast to those who have worked so hard to defend this realm from all who threaten it, and who have risked their lives to protect those who yet survive in Gododdin.”

Cries of ‘hear, hear!’ rang out as everyone stood and lifted their mugs. After several noisy moments, during which people shouted their agreement, I sat back down and the first platters of bread were brought in. A light cream soup followed and the meal began in earnest.

“How is Gram feeling?” said Penny looking across the table to Rose. After his nap we had turned him loose to see his father but we didn’t know for sure what he had told them yet.

“You mean his arm?” Rose replied. Her face was smooth, like a still pond with hidden depths.

“Of course.”

Rose broke the tension with a smile. “He’s fine. In fact, he seems to think that it’s magic now, though he wouldn’t tell me what sort of fantastic tale Mordecai told him when he healed it.”

Dorian uttered a deep chuckle. “A broken arm wouldn’t slow him down much anyway; the Thornbears come from tough stock.” The large warrior’s face had lines now, the product of years spent in the sun. His once dark hair now held a large amount of grey; much like his father, Dorian’s hair was turning white early. He also bore a full beard, for shaving was a luxury few bothered with while living on the road.

In my mind, Dorian was still a downy cheeked youth, the friend I had grown up with, but each time I saw him my eyes reminded me that he was no longer a boy. Whenever he returned from one of the long patrols it seemed as though he had aged several more years. It was an unwelcome reminder to me of his mortality.

“I wouldn’t have known he was injured if I hadn’t seen the bone sticking out,” I interjected, “He was so calm and quiet about it.”

Rose spoke again, “He obviously takes after his father.”

“Speaking of his father, I’m dying to know how things went in Gododdin. I hear there were no casualties this time.” The latest question came from my mother, Miriam.

Dorian grimaced, “That is true, but I worry at the cause for our good fortune.”

Sir Harold leaned in, “Perhaps we should save this discussion for the meeting tomorrow morning.”

“That might be best,” agreed Dorian. “I’d rather not start speculating here and create unnecessary rumors.”

I nodded, “Your words show wisdom, Harold. Even so, I’d like both of you to meet with me after dinner, rather than wait till morning.”

My mother was not quite as content. “Now hang on… when will I get to hear the news?” said Miriam.

“I’ll fill you in later,” I said soothingly.

Miriam grunted, “You always say that, but later doesn’t always come.”

As much as I would have liked to argue the point with her, my mother was correct. It was a problem with my new title and station, but it wasn’t anything I could fix. Before I could open my mouth to try and apologize she spoke again, “Don’t worry about it son. You’re the Count di’Cameron, and I am a nosy old woman.”

“That isn’t true, and you know I value your advice,” I said, without a hint of the apology I had considered a moment before.

Having recovered her sense of decorum, she replied, “You’re kind to say that, Mordecai.” With that she put her attention deliberately on her food and retreated from the conversation. I admired her for her graceful recovery in an awkward situation, but I still worried about her. Since my father’s passing she had become more emotional. Penny had suggested that without Royce to anchor her, she was simply showing more of her emotional side to her family (me). I suspected that she was correct. Penny had an uncanny intuition when it came to these things.

The conversation proceeded from there, as Penny and Rose took up the slack in the conversation. Over the past seven years the two had become even closer friends, which was a good thing considering that Rose now resided primarily in Castle Cameron.

“What was that?” I asked. Rose had said something to Dorian, but I hadn’t quite caught her words. For his part, my friend looked a bit uncomfortable.

Rose glanced over at me before speaking, “I was telling my husband that it’s a good thing these patrols are timed the way they are. If he had been leaving on this one instead of returning, he might have missed the birth of our next child.”

The birth of your daughter, I thought to myself. Rose and Dorian had asked me not to tell them the gender of their unborn child, preferring it to be a surprise, but she was far enough along that every wizard that had come into contact with her already knew the sex. “The timing was pure luck, but I’m sure we could have rearranged things if it had worked out differently,” I replied.

Dorian spoke up, “If fate smiles kindly upon us, we should see our second child in less than two months.” His optimism sounded a bit forced.

“Perhaps if fate were truly kind, you would not need to lead the next patrol,” Rose answered acerbically. She looked at her husband as she spoke, but the words were clearly directed at me.

A split second passed as the words hung in the air. Penny had reached across to clasp her friend’s hand with an encouraging look. Glancing in my direction she clearly thought it obvious that I would excuse my friend from the next patrol. In fact I had already considered doing so, but the look on Dorian’s face gave me pause. Having known him for most of my life I could see that he had no intention of passing his duty on to someone else. I could also see that he had probably already had this conversation with Rose in private. She had brought it up again to put him on the spot, certain that my approval would leave him with no choice but to stay at home.

All of this occurred in one breathless pause, and then I lowered my eyes, rubbing my forehead with one hand to give me a moment to think. Penelope frowned as she saw my hesitation, and of course Rose was equally observant, meanwhile I spotted a flash of hope on Dorian’s face. What the hell kind of man wants to leave his family to pursue undead when he had a newborn at home? As a father myself, I found his devotion to duty abnormal, and yet I had known he would be this way. It was a large part of the reason I had chosen my friend to lead the Knights of Stone.

If I gave public approval to their plan to keep Dorian at home, he would be in very hot water if he chose to go anyway. Yet, if I ordered him to go, I would face the wrath of Penelope later. Taking a deep breath I spoke, “I cannot in good conscience force Cyhan or Harold to take up an extra patrol at this point. If there are other options I may consider them later, but it will depend upon our meeting tomorrow and on Cyhan’s report when he returns in six months.”

None of them had expected that response, and I didn’t like the look on Penny and Rose’s faces. Penny in particular opened her mouth to argue with me before closing it again. She had learned quite a bit of tact over the years. When she opened it again, she had a cooler reply, “I’m sure you have your reasons, husband. We can discuss them later.”