Hidden Ability (Book 1) (7 page)

It is as if his training is like a battle. In the beginning he had no chance. But, the training, like the battle, has to be done. It could not be avoided. Retreat is not possible. His trainers changed the condition of the battle by making the steps to the goal small enough for Jalan to take. A plan was made to take him forward in stages. And when conditions change, as in Master Enmar taking over, the plan is modified, but the goal never changes. Jalan knows he is being made ready.
But, ready for what?

Darla steps through the opening in the stone wall that surrounds Lady Shara’s private garden and closes the weathered wooden door behind her. Her mother is fond of spending early mornings tending her plants. The odors of earth and foliage hang in the still air and birds call to each other from perches in the crowns of small delicately trimmed trees. The feeling of a slower pace and more peaceful atmosphere impresses itself upon Darla. She wishes that she had time to enjoy it.

“Mother?” she calls out into the general green before her.

“Darla?” says Lady Shara from off to Darla’s right.

“I need to speak to you privately, otherwise I would not intrude on your early morning,” says Darla as she follows the graveled path toward her mother.

“Intrude on my morning?” says her mother somewhere just ahead.

“Well, this is your sanctuary it seems. So peaceful, so...”

“Alone?” says Lady Shara as she rounds a bend and comes face to face with Darla.

“Private.”

“Like your study?” says Lady Shara with a smile.

“I think I will tell you why I am here before I am forced to admit to all my secrets,” says Darla.

“Indeed, what else are you keeping from me?” teases Shara.

“It is well timed that you would ask as only this morning a messenger delivered a proposal. A proposal of marriage.” The word marriage is difficult for Darla to say.

“Ah, I had been expecting that,” says Lady Shara with all amusement gone from her words.

“You expected it? Really?” asks Darla with her voice rising higher on each syllable.

“No one wants to offer an alliance if they are certain they will be denied. Ahead of any proposal come hints and open ended questions asked in the most polite and gentle ways. Tell me now, have you read it?”

“I only just did before coming to find you,” says Darla.

“You seem very calm. I was expecting more excitement at the very least. Of course you are quite level headed and it makes sense to weigh the matter carefully. But, you are so serene.”

“What about you, mother?” says Darla “You are taking this very well. No jitters. No protests.”

“I have been through this before, dear.”

“All the more reason I would expect a stronger reaction.”

Lady Shara makes a small dismissive wave of her hand and says, “You are my third daughter. After Guri and especially after Aena, I feel well prepared.”

“Oh. Oh no,” says Darla in a small voice. “You think this is a proposal for my hand.”

“Well of course. Who else...” Shara’s confidence fades with her words. “No,” she says echoing Darla’s shocked whisper. And then louder, “No.” And finally quite loud, “No! It can’t be!” Shara looks quickly about as if checking that she and Darla are truly alone. Then she puts her hands tightly together in front of her and raises them in a beseeching manner before saying the anxious words, “Tell me. Tell me who?”

Darla understands the question and replies, “Lord Brace.” She is curious to see how Shara reacts. Her mother looks thoughtful.

“Kenth?” asks Shara after a pause.

“Yes, Lord Kenth Brace,” assures Darla.

“I am so off my footing that I worried it might be Regnus.”

“Oh my,” says Darla with a giggle. “That would be a surprise.”

As an aside Lady Shara says “Thank Providence for small favors at least.” And then speaking directly to Darla again, “It is a surprise just the same. Everyone knows I’m married.”

Darla considers her words carefully, “It has been almost five years. And, you and Lord Brace do enjoy each other’s company.”

Shara crosses her arms and looks down with a sigh. “I know it’s been years,” she says. “At first I could think of nothing but the loss of your father. It was the first thing I thought of each mourning and the last each night. It came unbidden to my mind and heart every moment. Now, the pain is less and I find entire days go by before I think about my dear Hallis. It made me feel guilty at first. As if I could forget him. As if he never were.” Shara looks up at Darla’s face. “I think your father would never want me to spend my life morning him. I still love him, but I don’t grieve for him.”

“We all loved father. There will never be anyone else like him. But, we,” Darla waits to make certain that she is looking into her mother’s eyes before continuing. “I love you too. All of us love you. We grieved at the loss of father and we grieved for the pain we saw you suffering. It has been so wonderful this last year to have you fully back among us.”

Lady Shara reaches out and takes Darla’s hand to hold enfolded in both of hers. “I never meant to pull away. I wanted to be strong for you, all of you. I missed him so. And, when I looked at each of my children I would see his looks, his mannerisms, his smile and my heart ached to breaking. How could I explain if I cried at the sight of my own children? Even Jalan, my foster child with no blood tie to Hallis, shows the same inner strength and the ability to accept burdens that would crush others. Perhaps that ability is something the king hoped Jalan would gain from being fostered with us. We, father and I, felt Jalan was always another one of our own children. Once he arrived he was family. He is family.”

Darla thinks of Jalan as her brother. Perhaps the way her parents treated all the children as equals made that possible. And although Jalan is a brother to her, Darla senses something different in him than in her other siblings. It is like a deep reservoir of strength or power. She does not have the right word for it. He is only 12 and yet he faces challenges every day that Darla is certain she could not overcome. She thinks back to the windmill when Jalan and Tomac came to her. Darla expected Jalan to need considerable help from Master Chander, Carpenter Doon and others before he could make any progress. Given Jalan’s training he was going to have to learn some command skills sooner or later. Finishing the windmill seemed like a good way for him to gain experience. She had never expected to see him supervising a team of grown men the very next day while Tomac ran errands for them. Doon was there working, but after Darla watched for a bit she could not deny that Jalan had the final say in how the work was done. Jalan is young and cannot always express himself in words. But, in action, he surpasses almost everyone.

It creates a mixture of pride and astonishment in Darla every time she thinks about it.
Perhaps this is what father felt when he discovered I could be his new bookkeeper? That and relief.
It was obvious her father never cared for the task and had mother help him as often as possible.
Father relied on mother and so do I.
Even now Darla does not begin large projects without making it clear to everyone involved that Lady Shara is in agreement with her. Her mother’s backing buttresses Darla’s authority.

Jalan appears to act with the assumption of authority.
Does that simply come naturally to a prince?
Darla doubts it. But, she plans to try that tactic more often herself and see what happens.

“I know that look,” says her mother. “What are you thinking, sweetheart?”

“That there is much more to Jalan than we know.” For a brief instant, Darla thinks her mother looks startled. “I didn’t mean in an ominous way. It is merely that he surprises me with his ability to conquer difficult tasks.” Again something Darla says causes a flash of concern in Lady Shara’s eyes. “Are you not proud of him? I know I am.”

“I am proud of all my children. And, I understand what you mean. By all reports Jalan is extraordinary. He masters new skills quickly and when he is pushed in his training he always rises to the challenge. Captain Erida reported that Jalan would be the best fighter in all of House Yen if he were a man full grown and not a wisp of a boy. That is such a cruel comfort.”

“Must they drive him so hard?” Darla thinks she knows the answer, but her worry comes out almost of its own volition.

“I thought they should not. Then Krenis Enmar returned. I was angry with him. If he was sent to protect Jalan, why had he disappeared for 10 years? When he told us that Hallis sent him out to stop the king’s enemies and that he had spent those years misleading and killing men searching for Jalan, I knew I was wrong about Jalan’s training. Jalan was not safely secreted away with us. He merely had not been found by those who wish him dead. We were not keeping him safe. Krenis Enmar was.”

“Then I had better go and see to any further needs for the completion of Master Enmar’s training hall. As much as his cryptic answers to questions may infuriate me, I will endure them and do whatever I can for Jalan’s sake.”

“Leave the proposal with me and I’ll study it. We can talk more later,” says Lady Shara. She releases Darla’s hand and the two hug briefly before Darla walks the path back to the garden door.

Δ

Darla studies the accounts. Something about the road tariffs seems to have changed. She compares the totals collected over the last several years and sees a definite decrease. Amounts collected dropped slowly starting with Southway Outpost and then Midland and Pass as well. All three of the lancer patrol posts sit at the main intersections of the River Road. River Road runs north and south a mile or two west of the Greenhills River depending on the river’s course. The road would be damaged by flooding each spring if it sat any closer. Midland Outpost is located where the Greenhills Crossing bisects River Road. Greenhills Crossing is named for the bridge that spans the river and allows travel between the eastern portion of the House Yen lands and the Principality of Polnue. Travelers taking goods east toward Yen Manor and the surrounding villages pay a tariff at Midland Outpost. If the goods are going south, the tariff is paid when the travelers leave River Road at Southway Outpost. When goods go north a tariff is collected at Pass Outpost.

As goods flow through Yen land, tariffs are collected. Those duties help maintain the roads and outposts. Without sufficient collections, funds from house reserves or income from other sources must be used. Darla is also concerned that items needed by everyone living on Yen holdings might become more expensive if the trade has fallen off. She will need to determine what necessities have become scarce and where new suppliers may be found. She goes to her shelves of records to retrieve the quartermaster’s accounts when someone knocks on her study door.

With a suppressed groan, Darla turns toward the door and says, “Enter.”

Steward Hint slowly opens the door wide enough to be clearly visible to Darla. “Lady, I apologize for the interruption. A messenger from your sister, Lady Shrift, has brought a letter. He begs the indulgence of delivering it to you personally. I explained the irregularity of it, but he would not be dissuaded.”

Hint is a bit red around the face. Darla takes that as a sign of how difficult it is to dissuade her sister’s messenger. She could have Hint bring the man to her here, but her study has too many documents lying about. She does not wish to have them accidentally disturbed. And, it is her policy to not meet privately with anyone. It causes rumors to run through the staff like fire in dry grass. She doubts their tongues burned so hot whenever her father met privately with a visitor. Normally, she requests that her mother attend any meeting with her. This unexpected messenger is taking too much of her time already. Darla does not want to wait for Lady Shara as well. The quickest way to resolve the issue is to let Steward Hint lead her to the man and to accept the letter in front of the Steward. At least that way all the speculation will be limited to the contents of the letter.

Δ

When Darla follows Hint into the parlor, a middle aged man in a short Green and Yellow jacket with silver piping stands immediately and says, “Lady Yen, I do apologize, but I was instructed to give this letter directly to you and could not have completed my duty to my Lady Shrift otherwise.”

Darla recognized the man. “Steward Vimler? Guri sent you?” She had only seen him at her sister’s manor home. He looked so out of place in Yen Manor’s parlor.

The man made a slight bow to acknowledge the personal recognition. “Yes, lady. She wished this letter to pass directly from her to you, but it is impractical for my lady to deliver it. It was entrusted to me to carry it directly to you. The letter has been in no other hand save your sister’s, lady.”

What could possibly be so urgent?
Turning to her own steward, Darla says, “Steward Hint, although you just met Steward Vimler I think the introduction was neither as formal nor as pleasant as you both deserve. Please, for my sake, forget any recent disagreement over the manner of this letter’s delivery and welcome my sister’s house master. See to any needs he may have while he awaits my reply to this letter.”

Now turning to the messenger, Darla says, “Steward Vimler, please accept this opportunity to become better acquainted with Steward Hint, a trusted retainer and head of my household. I suspect that as you both serve your respective ladies in a similar capacity, you may have interesting observations of a strictly professional nature to share by way of making pleasant conversation.”

And finally to both men, “I will return with a response once I have learned what my sister wishes to tell me.”

Darla returns to her study and has just broken the seal on the letter when she hears a tapping at the door. Feeling a bit put upon she says, “Yes!”

“Um, ah, it is just your meal, lady. I... I can bring it later if you like,” says a nervous girl’s voice from the other side of the closed study door.

“No, please, Juna, bring it in,” replies Darla trying to take some of the irritation out of her words.

Mistress Dahlia’s helper opens the door and picks up a covered tray from a table in the hallway. She carries the tray inside and then looks about the room for a place to set it.