Davie the Mage (Generations of Eredwynn Book 2) (15 page)

              When I walked in, I thought I was going to have to get Aunt Alice to put another floor on the keep! The girls’ rooms each had large closets, thank the stars, because with my mother spoiling them, they needed them. I was just interested in whether Jana would have to sleep in a uniform top or if her sleepwear problem had been handled. As soon as she saw me, she showed me a gown that matched the other girls’, and I knew the answer.

Chapter Twelve

            
 
S
pring! Winter released its cold, bony hand and the buds on the trees opened like signaling flags. The birds got the message and welcomed the new season joyously. The men who had decided to make a living from the sea knew it was time to learn their trade and gathered by the docks. Our fleet consisted of six ships that were all on the frames they’d been built on. As I showed up to see the ships put out to sea, the Master Shipwright came to me. He seemed a bit embarrassed, but spoke his mind. “My Lord, we can bring horses down from the stables and get the boats to water. It will take us the better part of two days. We all know how potent your magical abilities are, and I was wondering if you could assist us.”

              I chuckled because of the way they’d learned how potent my magic was. “I’d be happy to! I’ll need to know exactly what depth you want me to put them down in, and have everyone clear before I start. If you could keep the crowd from distracting me, it would be immensely helpful, too.”

              The shipwright went into action. He had men wade out into the cold sea up to their chests. He had the rest of his crew move the crowd that was gathering back, with orders to attempt to keep them quiet. I went to the first ship in the row and cleared my mind. I ignored the people and everything else making noise. I knew that these things would be heavy, but as long as my concentration didn’t waver, I’d have no problem. I wrapped the ship in a
levitation
bubble and used
telekinesis
to raise it out of its frame. I leveled it and continued to raise it until it was eight feet above the ground. I didn’t want it to hang on the construction frame and throw everything out of balance. I walked with it toward the ocean and I stopped at the edge. I had the boat float out until the stern was even with the shivering men and lowered it down. I released the boat to float, and turned back toward the boats still on the shore. The crowd began cheering and clapping, and I couldn’t resist responding. I turned to the crowd, smiled and bowed. As I stood up, I noticed a flash of light blue. In the crowd was a beautiful young lady whom I hadn’t seen before. I was pleasantly surprised. Seeing a pretty young lady is always pleasant and for the first time since I’d lost Amber, I noticed a girl with the feeling of attraction. My courtesans not included, of course. They came to me and I loved them dearly, but this girl I’d consider getting to know myself. But I had work to do.

              One at a time, slowly and carefully, I moved all six ships into the water. Each one was met with a cheer and silence as I set up for the next. When I was done, a very grateful shipwright shook my hand and thanked me. What would have taken two days had taken less than two hours. I watched the crews board their ships and the shipwrights clean up around the frames, ready to begin again. I turned back to the dispersing crowd and could see no sign of light blue. I walked quickly the direction the crowd was going, but never saw the young lady who had caught my eye.

              I went back to the castle and asked the herald if there was anything on the docket for the day. I was told that it was clear and the day should be slow. I told him I was going to my room if he needed me and went upstairs. I lay on my bed to think.

              Jana crawled up beside me and straddled my chest. She grinned, “Did you happen to come upstairs for some late morning playtime?”

              I laughed, “I’m afraid not, it’s just that my brain is making girl trouble for me. This morning I saw a young lady and wanted to approach her. That hasn’t happened since Amber had died, but when I went looking for her, she was gone.

              Jana asked, “Are you looking for her to take on another courtesan?”

              “I don’t know what I wanted to do. What I want to do now is find out who she is. If she is a special young lady, then maybe I’d ask to keep her. If she was perfect, who knows, we might change your title to consort.”

              “I’d never thought of this until now, but if you did remarry, you would keep us, wouldn’t you?”

              I was shocked that she felt she even had to ask! “Jana, I love you! I love all four of you and I won’t ever get rid of you! If I were to remarry, it would be contingent on her accepting the four of you, as well as me. We’re a family and won’t be split up.”

              She leaned forward and kissed me. “I am so happy to hear you say that. Now, describe this girl the best you can, as a man, and the other girls and I can wander through town and keep an eye out. It’s either that or I’ll accidentally mention it to your mother and she can fly over town, making an announcement that all young females must be brought to the courtyard.”

              I did my best to describe her but I’d only seen her briefly. Maybe luck would be on my side and I’d see her again.

              That evening I went on my ‘sane route’ again. It amazed me how short the attention span of the people was. The same ones who had cowered in fear a few months ago greeted me with a smile and wave. The last few chops of an axe rang though the evening air as I passed the lumber gathering area. The boat frames already had the beginning of the newest ship taking shape. I walked down the beach to the raised anchor of the dock and wondered what James was up to.

              I heard a scream, followed by a splash, from the far end of the dock. I ran as quickly as I could toward the sound of thrashing and saw a girl who had fallen into the chilly water. With a thought, I lifted her out of the water and up to the dock. I quickly dried her clothes to prevent a chill. She appeared to be in shock, so I scooped her into my arms and
ported
us to the balcony. I carried her into my room and set her on the couch. The girls jumped up to help. Royse grabbed a blanket to wrap around the shivering young lady.

              Jana said, “You didn’t say you wanted to find her so you could throw her in the ocean!”

              “I can only assume she fell in while walking along the dock. It isn’t exactly swimming weather, and from her scream, she didn’t plan on taking a dip.”

              The girl looked up at me and said, “She said you were looking for me. Why did you want to find me, My Lord?”

              I smiled and felt myself blushing badly. “Please call me Davie. I saw you in the crowd when I was putting the boats out to sea. I hadn’t seen you around and felt that I’d like to meet you.”

              Jana commented, “You might not want to mention that talk about remarrying again that we had after you saw her. It might embarrass her.”

              The girl and I both blushed. “Thank you, Jana. I’ll do my best to avoid mentioning that. Now Miss, it appears that the girls have removed any unwanted seaweed from your hair. If you’re feeling better, I’d be honored if you’d allow me to escort you home.”

              “My name is Mira, Davie. I’m just a common girl but would be happy to have your company on my way home. If you’d walk me to my street and allow me continue alone, I’d be grateful.”

              “Seeing where you live isn’t going to change the way I feel… think about you. If you come from a poor household, that wouldn’t change a thing.”

              “But I must insist that you not follow me home. Please accept that I have my reasons. If you can’t, then I’ll find my way home and forgo your company.”

              “If that is the price of me getting to spend a bit more time with you, then I’ll agree.”

              The girls were all grinning, nodding and winking as we started back out of the room. I offered her my arm and led the way through the keep and out into the courtyard. I deliberately walked slowly to drag out the trip. She told me her mother had died when she was young and she’d been raised by her father. He was out of work, but looking into fishing. I asked if they had money for food and other necessities. She was very embarrassed to admit that they had many hungry nights. I found five coins in my pocket and put them in her hand. She looked, and gasped when she saw the platinum. They were worth almost a year’s salary, if she were a maid in the castle.

              “My Lord, I can’t accept this! It is way too much and you barely know me. Is there something you expect me to do in return? There are things that I won’t do, even for this much money.”

              “Please call me Davie. Would a kiss on the cheek and the promise to come visit be too much to ask? I simply want to get to know you, Mira, and have no intention of buying your affection. If, after some time, we develop strong feelings for each other, I may ask for two kisses on the cheek. If there isn’t anything between us, we can go our separate ways with, hopefully, no hard feelings.”

              She stopped walking and gently pushed on my shoulder. “I just had to make sure you were real. Now if you’ll lean down, I’ll give you the kiss on the cheek I owe you and I promise to come visit you. This is as far as you go; I’ll be safe from here. Goodnight, Davie, and thank you for everything.”

              I watched her go until she turned a corner. I stood in the street, wondering what her story was and why she didn’t want me to know where she lived. I sighed. It was a mystery, but the butterfly war that I hadn’t felt since Amber was back in my stomach. I felt that if things went well, I’d keep this young lady, and not as a courtesan, either. I ported back to the keep, just outside my room. I opened the door and five girls looked at me expectantly.

              Baissel said, “I’m not around to control your emotions and you’re going to run off and get married?”

              I laughed. “I just met Mira tonight and I’m not getting married… yet.”

              The squeals were deafening! Baissel said, “So you really like this young lady, big brother? If so, then maybe she’ll take over the job of making sure you’re mellow and I can beat my boyfriend into proposing!”

              I grinned. “He’s the one, huh? Well, you know that these four keep me in line and I haven’t had an incident since the wall got in my way. Feel free to beat a proposal out of him any time you’d like. I know the entire family would be thrilled for you.”

              “Thank you, big brother. That means a lot coming from you, since you were the first one to try to scare him off. I am glad that you’ve had a change of heart.”

              “I’ve seen that he’s made my little sister very happy and that’s all I needed to see. I tried to scare him off to test his resolve and he passed all the tests that I needed him to. So if you were to become engaged, you’d have my blessing.”

              She hugged me and whispered, “Thank you, Davie. Algar and I have actually been talking about it but I couldn’t mention it in front of the squealing crowd. Your mother owns them.”

              I laughed, “You’re so right. Bought and paid for, but this old man is going to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a good day. I don’t know why but if I say that, perhaps I’ll sleep better.”

              Baissel smiled, “Goodnight, old man. See you in the morning.”

              There was the scramble for lights and the stripping off of clothes. I wondered what changes in my life would be called for if things did work out between Mira and me. I had to assume that we wouldn’t sleep with all my girls every night as I’d gotten used to. But tonight they were with me and if I talked nice, perhaps they’d be willing to do more than cuddle.

              I awoke in a cheerful mood and dressed without waking the girls. I went downstairs and had breakfast with the staff. I walked out of the keep into the early morning sunshine and watched the clouds drifting slowly by. I walked down to the docks to watch the fishermen putting to sea. I chatted with the man running the scale house and nodded to the score of women and girls who were preparing fish for drying or smoking. A whole new section of town was springing up along the shore, way above the high water mark. The fishermen were slowly relocating to be closer to work. The business had just started and there wasn’t a lot of profit being made yet, but the coming changes were easy to see. Things would pick up as the men learned their craft and then the Lord wouldn’t have to foot so much of the bill! I returned to the castle and another empty docket day. Shortly before noon, the herald stuck his head in and said, “There is a Miss Mira here and she just said that she’s here to see you.”

              I grinned and nodded and he sent her in. I said, “Good morning, Miss. And what brings you to the court room on this fine day?”

              She looked confused. “My Lord asked that I…”

              I laughed, “Thank you for coming, Mira. I’m really happy to see you again.”

              She giggled, “When you acted like you didn’t know me, I had no idea how I was going to explain being here. I heard that Princess Alba was ornery but didn’t know that her son had inherited it!”