Envoy to Earth (4 page)

No one answered, which probably
meant she didn't have the thing on her. The light was bright enough to catch
attention, if she did. Well, he could try later, or just go and visit.

"The King first then?
Because, you know, I
always
just go and get in touch with the man
himself. Always takes my calls, too." He smiled, since he really doubted
that anyone would even take a message for him there. He was only half right
however.

He didn't get King Richard, who
was in a private meeting at that moment. No, he got Queen Constance.

She actually sounded pleased to
hear from him, too.

"Countier Lairdgren! What a
pleasant surprise. Is there something with which I can help you? Richard is
busy at the moment, but
I'm
here for you." The words were a bit too
solicitous, but Gerent understood a little of it, based on what Tiera had
mentioned. There was a rebellion, and he was, if only at a very far remove, a
nobleman. After a fashion. One of the very many Countiers Lairdgren. One of the
few not on the Moon, come to think of it.

If the woman wasn't trying to
make sure that they didn't give offense, then she was stupid. He'd heard a lot
of things about Connie, but never
that
.

"Queen Constance! What a
surprise. I figured that I'd just talk to whoever takes the messages, and have
to beg them to write this down. It's just that I'm supposed to be off to
Harmony in the next few days, to collect up some things for distribution.
Magics, mainly, I think. King Richard has some interest there, so I was asked
to let him know that it was in the works?"

"Oh? That's wonderful. Would
you be available to dine with us tonight? We'd love to have you..."

Gerent was torn. On the one hand
you didn't say no to a King,
or
his Queen, if you were smart. On the
other, he already had things to do.

"Could we do that tomorrow?
I already have plans for the evening." It was true, but Collette looked at
him, panicked, as if he'd made the wrong choice.

Connie however just chuckled
politely.

"We can manage that. Dinner,
tomorrow at nine? Something... Private?" There was a lilt to her words
that sounded wrong. That last bit especially. He was nearly certain that she
didn't mean for him to come for a secret meeting with her alone. Why say it
that way, however?

Blinking he looked over at
Collette, who nodded, clearly meaning that he should say yes.

"That sounds good, thank
you. I'll see you then?"

"I can't wait, Countier
Lairdgren. Until then."

She got off the device far more
politely than the others had. It left him feeling better about her, even if he
was pretty baffled. Why in the world would she think that he had anything to
speak to her, or the King, about in private? After a moment he shrugged.

"Did... she just invite me
to
bed
?"

Collette giggled at the words at
least and then shook her head.

"Um, honestly, I don't think
so. Not this time. My guess is that she wants to find out if you're the
official ambassador from Harmony or not. That, or feel you out as to what side
you're coming down on, as far as the rebellion goes. That was risky though,
putting her off. Even for a single day. What were you thinking?"

Smiling, he patted her leg, near
the knee, trying to be friendly, without going overboard just then. The fabric
of her pink trousers was softer than the canvas he normally used with the same
basic design.

"That I have plans with you
already? I haven't really been around anyone in a long time, so it's important
that I pay attention to my friends. That's all. I hope I wasn't rude to her."
Only now, nearly a minute or two later, did the idea really hit him. He'd been
asked to a palace dinner, and
declined
. No one did that, unless they
were really important.

Which might be why she was
wondering about him. Either he
thought
he was important beyond his known
station, or was against her and her King and being standoffish on purpose.
Except that neither was the case. He was just a moron.

It was strange, but after that
they didn't have anything in particular to do for a few hours. He was tempted
to ask Collette if she wanted to go up to her room with him, but didn't get a
chance, because Sara Debri walked into the communications room, dressed in all
black, looking more like a military person than a high level merchant.

"Collette! Can I borrow your
ear for a few moments? I hate to intrude..." She bowed as Gerent stood up,
facing her. "Sir. I know that this is horrible of me, but it will only
take a moment, I promise."

The girl watched him carefully,
her bow a lot deeper than his own, which was a little off, since he was,
functionally, only about in the same place she was, socially. True she was
only
a merchant, but the second child of the most powerful house. He was a Countier,
but one that was off the line of succession, and even at that, a Countier
Thirteen. That was about the same really. In fact, if he married her, no one
would have even thought twice about the idea.

Both women were blonde, and
attractive. Sara less so than Collette, but in many ways they were similar.
Sara had a longer nose, and a slightly more oval face, but the woman next to
him was a rare beauty, and known for it, all over the kingdom. That Captain Debri
was less than that wasn't a huge disappointment. There were many places where
she'd instantly be the best looking person in the room. Better, she didn't seem
to care about any of that.

The Captain smiled at him,
looking up, and then shook her head a little.

"Unless you wish to be bored
with our discussion about coin? I've come to attempt a shake down. I want to
buy some goods for the Harmony base, but need to have some gold for it. They
can make almost anything there, but having samples to work from really helps,
so I was thinking to raid the market."

Gerent nodded, since that made
sense.

"I think we can do that. Um,
I don't know if you remember me? Gerent Lairdgren? I grew a little." He'd
also invested with her before. Tor's coin, but after a few moments she smiled.

Then moved in and hugged him, as if
they were close friends.

"I didn't recognize you! You
turned into a
giant
. Did Tor do that? He mentioned that you were just
being put back to what you should have been all along-" She went silent,
as Collette made a face.

There was a tight frown to follow
it, but she didn't comment.

"We have some gold. By the
way, can you give Gerent and I a ride to Harmony when you go? Tiera suggested
it. We have some things to pick up there and possibly intrigue to partake of. You
know how it goes with
those
types of people."

Sara grinned. "You mean
Kings and Queens?"

"
Exactly
."

"Surprisingly, yes. Tiera
bugs me about once a week. King Richard less so, being that he's less pushy. I
can do that though. So, Gerent... I haven't seen you around for a while."

They all stood, and started to
follow Collette, who waved for them to both sit.

"I can get coin from the
vault. You two should chat. Catch up."

Then she left as if there was a
lot more meaning to her words than small talk. The woman settled in a nice
black chair, that seemed to be covered with velvet, and then regarded him
warmly. Waiting for him to explain himself.

"Planting the Wildlands. We
have about a third of it done, if the plants can survive the storms. Afrak
seeds, for the most part. We're out now. Until something blooms and goes to
seed, later in the year."

The woman leaned forward.

"Ah!
You're
the one
doing all that? I know that Count Peterson has some flyers out on it, but it
seemed like a lot for part time efforts. It makes sense. Tor holds the land
rights there, and in absentia, you have a good claim to it. Even past the
hundred years there, I know that Alphonse wants the work done. So, if that's
finished for now..." It was leading, but to what he didn't know, so he
shook his head a little.

"Then I just don't know. I
teasingly asked Collette to be my girlfriend, and not being a Doretta she
didn't scream at me, or yell no. I suppose I could try that with you, too? What
do you say? I hear that I can get food that doesn't taste like apples..."
He tried to make it cute and it got the laugh that it deserved.

"Oh, well, that's actually
not a horrible idea. I've kind of been being put off by Tor for long enough now
that even I'm getting that it will never happen. I wish I knew why. Not that it
has anything to do with
us
. I like Collette even, so it won't be that
awkward."

Gerent wrinkled his nose at her
and smiled, but didn't let her out of it.
Two
girlfriends was a thing
that he'd never managed before in life at all. Most nobles did that kind of
thing all the time, but even as a joke it hadn't really ever come up for him
before. Was it really as simple as asking? If so, then he wondered if
collecting a few more would be a good idea? Most of that kind of thing was
about making alliances and connections, which strictly speaking he probably
didn't need. Still, it was flattering that no one had yelled
no
, and run
away yet.

"How about you? A space
Captain... That's kind of interesting. Oh, hey, you can show me how to pilot a
jump ship? Tiera is giving me one. In exchange for some work, not
just
because I'm so good looking. I don't want you to think I'm letting my new face
go to my head."

She nodded, sagely.

"Finer work on that, your
face, than what Timon did with some of the people he's changed. Better I mean.
You look
nice
, but not fake, like a lot of them do. Noble, but just like
you have a face, not makeup on all the time. Tiera's the worst that way. Have
you seen her? She doesn't even wear anything most of the time, and she always
looks flawless." There was head shaking and she looked at the door, then
leaned in, conspiratorially. "I mean that, too. That your look is better.
Being too pretty, for a man, well, it isn't that wonderful. You can do that
with a disguise amulet, if you want. This way, you can take it off too and blend
with the world around you. Though I suppose Tor could use an amulet for that,
too, to make himself regular seeming." She made a face and then shook her
head.

After a bit of real blushing she
looked back at him, making eye contact.

"That seems mean, doesn't
it? You look good, it's just..."

"Normal? Symmetrical, but
not so much that I look like a painting or sculpture?"

"Yeah! It's a
good
thing. There's just almost no way to really say that, is there? I feel stupid
now."

He waved that part away. After all,
he wasn't a regular person, was he?

"Normal is the
goal
.
Tor had said that I'd probably look a bit less than that, so if you think this
is better than that, I won't complain. Even if you're just being nice about it,
I won't complain. You know what I was like before. This is better. I think. I
haven't seen a mirror in half a year."

There was a rustling at the door,
and Collette came back in, being trailed by her own pet box. It was made to
look like a sailor's chest, complete with iron banding. It was smaller than
Boxy was, but if it was full that was still enough gold to buy small towns.
Whole. Including a good rental period on the people inside.

"Here you go! When do we
need to be ready by? Timon mentioned that we should be there inside the next
few days. Is that possible?"

Captain Sara nodded, looking from
the attractive blonde woman near the door, back to Gerent.

"Tomorrow? About noon?"

Gerent shook his head, pleased at
the speed, but having plans.

"I can't. After dinner?
About midnight? I have plans with Queen Constance."

That got Sara to nod, seriously.
Then she smiled at Collette.

"I hear that he's asked
both
of us to be his girlfriend? Now he's going after the
Queen
too? At least
I'm in good company!" It was teasing, but the other woman regarded him as
if surprised. Her words were a lot more gentle than he expected however.

"Good. That would be a
score, wouldn't it? Constance is a famous beauty, too. We'll want to be careful
there however, until after you know what they want, Gerent. It's a lot harder
to tell your lover no than it is the Queen. If I were her I'd hit you up for as
many promises of aid and help as Harmony can provide. Since Tiera has been
holding back as far as military aid goes, you need to be careful there. Really,
don't give them anything, just promise to ask about it."

He could do even that? That was
news to him.

Sara smiled, but after a half
second, nodded. "That's about right. If Tiera has you doing distribution
of aid here, then that means she's naming you as an ambassador, of sorts. Her
Envoy? So any promises you make could be counted as binding. So it's best to be
careful. You can always date Constance later, if you really want to."

He wanted to roll his eyes, but
didn't, because that kind of thing was rude. Instead he stood, and hugged Sara
when she moved to leave, moments later, actually being a busy person. It wasn't
until after that, by about five minutes, that Collette closed the door to the
room tightly.

"So, after luncheon, I was
thinking that we could visit Maria and Marvin? I need to check on them. I know
that..."

They were traitors? Or at least
pretending to be. Gerent had been around enough to catch hints that they
weren't that, exactly. Mainly from Petra Ward. She was family of theirs, but
when he'd met them in the past, they'd seemed nice enough, hadn't they?

"Well, I'm not really part
of politics, myself, being far too short for that, but we can go and visit your
family, if you want." Not that he was small anymore, but the idea held up
pretty well. He wasn't half as big as he'd need to be to stick his head in that
particular noose. Not if he wanted to survive it.