Davie the Mage (Generations of Eredwynn Book 2) (14 page)

              I cautiously checked the stone box that sat on the pedestal in front of the chairs and then the square cut out of the solid rock of the mountain face. The inscription above the square said, ‘Amber Stephenson’ and below, ‘Beloved Wife of Davie’. I caught the signal out of the corner of my eye and felt Aunt Gwen’s hand rest comfortingly on my shoulder. That is what the townspeople and friends of the family saw but those that had the ability to see magic could witness the incredible effort being put forth by my sister and aunt to keep my rampant emotions in check. I took a deep breath and forced myself into a calmer state. As I gained control, the tension in the area dropped noticeably.

              Finally it was time and my father floated himself above the crowd and called for attention. Silence fell over the assembled crowd and he said, “Fortunately, I have only been called on once before to oversee this kind of gathering. I made it clear at that one and will repeat it now. I don’t enjoy public speaking and least of all when I have to lay one of my own to rest. Amber was a sweet, loving and caring young lady who was taken from us before we knew her well. From what I knew of her, she would want us to remember her fondly and not dwell on the fact that she is no longer with us. As hard as it seems, life must go on. So now we say our final goodbyes and scrape up our shattered lives. Amber, you’re no longer with us, but will never be forgotten.”

              My father returned to his seat and a couple men in the front went to the coffin and began trying to remove the lid for the morbid viewing of the body. Baissel and Gwen were doing everything they could and I saw my siblings moving quickly toward us. My father gently moved the men back and nodded to Aunt Alice. She gently lifted the box and moved it toward the mountainside. With my last ounce of hope I scanned the box, looking for any sign that we’d made a mistake. There’d been no mistake and she really was gone. I closed my eyes and taught myself to breathe all over again. I let myself go numb then watched as Alice sealed up the wall.

              Everyone stood and a crowd started in my direction to say whatever useless things people say in these situations. My father stopped them in their tracks with a shake of his head. He nodded to my mother and we all walked to Wizard’s Castle. My mother said, “Are you going to be okay? Most of us who can see magic knew that two men were almost vaporized out there.”

              I smiled sadly. “I owe the gnome and Gwen a big debt for preventing that. Ouch!”

              “I’m not a gnome!” protested Baissel playfully, after punching me in the arm.

              I hugged both of the tiny Elvin ladies and thanked them. I asked if my sister was coming back to Perlsea with us and she nodded. She said that she’d stay as long as I needed her to, so I could have help through the rough patches. The four girls and I said our goodbyes and ported back to Perlsea.

              For the next few days, I stayed in bed most of the time. I worked on controlling my feelings and got better at it. I only got up to make my rounds so the people of the area would know that I was just a boring young man whom they didn’t need to fear.

              Several months passed and things became routine. I’d gotten up and dressed, had breakfast, worked in the court if there was anything to do and repeated it all the next day. Even though it was the dead of winter, I made my rounds and Father had been right. When I was seen as a Lord with a boring routine, the people forgot to be afraid of me and treated me as they had before the incident. I’d told Baissel that she didn’t have to baby-sit anymore and she asked if I’d been serious about letting her have the guest suite. Now my little sister was staying with us and she helped out anywhere she could. Mostly she worked with my wizard girl, who is no longer a Novice. With Baissel’s help, she’d worked up to Apprentice and had made my mother very proud.

              I was standing at the top of the stairs, looking out of the balcony window at the cold outside. I heard steps behind me and saw Amee coming up. She greeted me with her typical, ‘Hi, Davie’ and went into her room through the rarely-used hall entrance. I followed her and tapped on the door.

              “You don’t have to knock to come in my room. Come in and tell me what I can help you with.”

              I walked over to her and put my arms around her. I then leaned down, pulled her against me and kissed her passionately.             

              She gasped. “Please tell me this means what I hope it does!”

              I smiled and started removing my clothes. A girl might take longer to dress than a man, but Amee was out of her uniform before I could reach for my trousers. She sat on the edge of the bed and I walked to her. I went to my knees. “Amee, thank you for staying with me through the tough times and forgive me for neglecting you. I’m feeling almost myself again and will try to make it up to you.” I lowered my head between her thighs and she sighed and then gasped as I turned on the magic. She rose up into me and grabbed a pillow as an orgasm shook her body. She slid back on the bed until I had to stand. I crawled on the bed with her and slid up the length of her body, kissing as I went. I seated myself in her bare wet slit and slid all the way into her with one stroke. She gasped and wrapped her legs around me. I thrust into her, feeling her tremble with each orgasm. I finally erupted inside her with the pent up energy of months of neglect. We lay there joined at the waist until she finally said she should get up. She’d just come in to grab something and Baissel was waiting. I laughed and told her that she could tell Baissel what she’d ended up grabbing, but I was sure that it would embarrass her. She laughed and started dressing. I dressed, too, and went to my room to look for some documents for Ewayn.

              After my afternoon with Amee, the winter was a bit warmer for my courtesans and me. With a new recreational activity introduced, it made the grey days more tolerable for everyone, except my sister.

              I was working in the court room, handling the normal routine, when my herald announced, “A Mister Algar Alvey for the Lady Baissel!” I looked at the herald and he just shrugged and returned to his post. Ewayn had heard the announcement from her office and came in to see if she needed to call my sis down. A young, good looking man walked into the room and approached the dais. He stopped a few feet away and bowed. I asked, “What can I do for you this afternoon, Mister Alvey?”

              He took a deep breath and I knew he’d run this through his head a dozen times. “Your Highness, I’ve come to call on the Lady Baissel, with your permission, of course.”

              I subtly signaled for Ewayn to call her down, but if this guy was going to take my sister out, he was going to work for it. “You do realize that she is my baby sister, don’t you? Do you expect me to just turn her over to you without knowing what your intentions are?” I turned up my
shield
power to a ridiculous level and caused it to spark, giving me a magical halo.

              “My Lord, I’ve seen her around the castle and in town and find her a fascinating person. I’d just like to get to know her better and have no other designs on her.”

              I came off the dais and started walking around him as if sizing him up. He had a good three inches on me and looked much stronger. Magic like mine tends to make even a little guy like me a bit cocky. “So if, and I did say if, I allow you to leave the castle grounds with my little sister, I wouldn’t have to come hunting for her? You’d return her just as you found her, without a scratch?”

              “My Lord, I’ll do everything in my power, which in no way compares to yours, to make sure that she is returned safe and sound.”

              I laughed, “You have balls, I’ll give you that. If I’d gone calling on a young lady and received the treatment you have, I would have walked away. The truth be told, my tiny little sister could hold her own against both of us but I’m still her brother and have to be protective.”

              Baissel stepped out from behind the door screen and said, “I think he got the point. Now turn down your
shield
before you blind someone and introduce me.

              “Mister Algar Alvey, I’d like you to meet my sister, The Lady Baissel Stephenson. Baissel, this young man would like the pleasure of your company, if you’re willing.”

              Baissel smiled, trying to contain her first-caller glee. “A walk would be nice. The weather is still a bit chilly but not enough to keep one inside. I’ll be home by dark, big brother.”

              “Have fun, sister, and remember,
flamestrike
is a viable deterrent to unwanted advances!” Baissel and the brave young man left, with her hand on his arm.

              Behind me, laughter broke out. My mother and Ewayn came from behind the door screen, laughing so hard they could barely stand.

              Mother said, “I knew you were my son, after all. I was worried that somewhere the signals had gotten crossed and Lia was really mine, but you changed that in one short meeting!”

              “Hello Mother; I didn’t know you were here. I’m glad that I could abuse that poor guy to make you happy. He’s taking my sister out and I didn’t want her going with a wimp. I know she’s fully capable of taking care of herself, but that isn’t the point.”

              “I agree but it was nice to see a bit of your mother in you. Now if you’re done for the day, I’m going to swipe your girls for a while and go to the city.”

              “Have fun and I’ll see everyone when you get back.”

              I told the herald that if there was no one waiting, I was calling it a day. He said that it looked like we were done and we closed up shop. By the time I’d made it upstairs, the girls had gone.

Chapter Eleven

            
 
I
’d just dozed off, or had slept for an hour; I had no way of knowing. I woke to the sound of mice in a whisper fight. I opened my eyes to a truly frightening sight. My big brother James was grinning down at me, watching me sleep. “Wake up, ya bum! Just because your girls are gone doesn’t mean you can’t entertain your brother!”

              I grinned and sat up. “So what brings you to this side of the country? The construction on the dock is done and there won’t be any fishing for two more months.”

              “Can’t I just visit, without there being a reason? Okay, there’s a reason. Ivy wanted to come see you and make sure you were doing all right. I told her that you were doing fine but she had to come see for herself. She heard that you had three courtesans and thought my big hearted brother needed one more. Ivy, he’s awake, so bring your friend and come say ‘hi’.”

              That explained the mice. I did my best to speed my still fuzzy brain to light speed so I’d have a chance of keeping up. I knew it was hopeless when I saw how excited Ivy was.  “Hi, Davie! It’s been so long since you’ve come for a visit and I’ve been getting very worried about you but I was glad to hear from James that you’d taken some courtesans because a man needs someone he can trust and look to when he needs comforting. I’ve been talking to James a lot about my friend Janatis Lightouch but since she’s sixteen and he thinks he’s an old man he didn’t want to add another consort to the family. I asked him about it and he thought that you might be willing to have her join your family, which would actually be a lot like her joining my family, too.

              I put my hands to my head to fend off the suddenly developing headache. I ran healing through me and the pressure eased, but Ivy wasn’t translating into anything I could understand. James chuckled, “Ivy’s asking if you would be willing to take Janatis as a courtesan. She doesn’t have a family and Ivy has been caring for her for a couple years, now. She is a very sweet young lady and you can understand her when she talks. It’s taken six years of learning to speak my darling Halfling’s high-speed language to be able to translate for her.”

              Janatis crawled up on the bed beside Ivy and smiled at me. She was a very attractive young lady. I asked Ivy, “Have you explained to Janatis about the position that you’re working to get her into?”

              Ivy nodded and shrugged. “Mostly, I was trying to get her to be a consort and told her all about that. When James said you had courtesans and explained that to me I told Jana that the position that I would try to get her in was like a consort except with the Lady not being in the household.”

              I felt a twinge and pushed it aside, but not quickly enough to hide it from James. He patted my shoulder comfortingly and I nodded and winked to let him know I was in control. “Janatis, would you like to stay here with my girls and me at Perlsea? Ivy has spoken for you and said that you are a good person. If you learned to love me, with all my emotional twitches, then I’d be thrilled. One can never have too much love in a family.”

              Janatis smiled shyly. “My Lord…” Ivy’s high speed hands waving caught her attention and she blushed slightly. “Davie, it would be an honor to be allowed to join your household. I promise to perform my duties as Ivy has explained them and anything else you asked of me.”

              I understood every word the young lady said and I wasn’t convinced she and Ivy were of the same race. I think somewhere in Ivy’s family tree lurked a hummingbird! “Well then, Ivy, let’s show Janatis to her room. It will be the first one from the door on my side.” My heart ached with the words, “my side,” as I missed my wife anew.

              Ivy squealed and I checked my ears for blood. James laughed and we followed the two tiny young ladies into the empty apartment. I lit the candles and lamps and watched happily as the joyful young lady examined her new room. It had all the comforts of home and some comforts home hadn’t even thought of. Indoor plumbing was still a novelty of the wealthy and definitely hadn’t made it to the Halfling hovels of Kethos.

              I looked at James. “I wonder how long she’ll be here before I lose her in that king size bed.”

              James laughed, “That isn’t where you’ll lose her and I’ll remind you. The moment your mother lays eyes on her…”

              “Oh, my stars! You’re right. I’m going to have to hide her anytime my mother comes around or she’ll be dressed in all kinds of frilly, lacy things and never brought home!”

              As if we’d summoned her by talking about her, a voice called from my room, “Davie, are you in here somewhere?”

              James was holding himself up against a wall, laughing like he’d lost his mind. I rubbed my temples and called, “I’m in this apartment, Mother.

              My mother and the three girls came in to see what I was doing. Ivy ran to Mother and hugged her. Then Mother saw Janatis standing beside me, waiting to be introduced. “And who is this absolutely darling young lady, here?”

              “Mother, this is Janatis Lightouch. She is a friend of Ivy’s and …” James was snickering behind his hand so loudly that my intuitive mother caught on.

              “Oh, Davie! Is she going to be a new courtesan? That would be just wonderful! I don’t see any clothes being unpacked. Does she have some that need to be brought over, or perhaps she’d like to go shopping with me and buy some.”

              James was laughing too hard to function and I just shook my head and walked away. I left Janatis to get as much attention as she wanted, and perhaps more. My mother and the girls mobbed her and Ivy, as James and I walked out.

              When everyone made it back into my bedroom, I excused myself and James asked to tag along. It was time for my pre-dusk ‘stay sane’ route. Everyone had forgotten or forgiven the incident that had frightened the kingdom, but I still walked the same route every day. Having that routine had pulled me back from the brink and I saw no reason to give it up. I’d be glad when spring arrived and I could see the fishing industry in action. James explained that the way I should get things going would be to rent out the three boats I’d commissioned and loan money to people who wanted to have boats built.  Then I could buy fresh fish at three copper coins a pound and that’s what the scale house and the netted dock would be for. I’d buy dried fish for a silver coin per pound, to encourage people to process their own. We finished discussing business as we went back into my bedroom. My mother was just leaving, after making a date to take all the girls shopping again in the morning. Mainly, they’d be getting things for Janatis but I knew that wouldn’t stop Mother from getting anything else she saw. Being the consort of a man with close to a half billion in coin had her pretty spoiled. James rounded up Ivy and they left just after mother, leaving poor Janatis in a new place with people who were basically strangers.

              I was sitting on a couch when she came and sat by me. “Davie, I hate to bother you with something small like this, but I don’t even own a nightgown. I’m sure the girls would loan me one but it wouldn’t come close to fitting. Also, I was told that all the girls slept in the big bed with you. They said that I could sleep there or in my own room and you’d let me choose. I’d like to sleep with the family but, and I intend no offence, would like to wait before I was intimate with you.”                                                       

              I smiled. “I learned from my father that intimate behavior and love should go hand in hand. I’m glad you prefer to wait. Amee is a wizard, as I am sure you knew when you saw the uniform. I think that she has a short sleeve uniform top that would come to about your knees and you’d look adorable in it. I’ll warn you in advance: the girls usually sleep in the nude lately, and if that bothers you, then you might want to sleep on the edge of the bed. That bed is large enough for the five of us to get lost in it. My mother should take care of your sleepwear problem tomorrow. Just make sure that she brings you home and doesn’t try to keep you. I think you’re a very sweet and interesting young lady, and I’d like to keep you.”

              She blushed slightly. “Thank you, Davie.”

              I called Amee over and explained the problem. She took Jana by the hand and led her to her room. They returned shortly and Jana was all smiles, dressed in a uniform top. I informed the girls that I was getting ready for bed. They all ran for their rooms to put out the lights while I got undressed and crawled into bed. Amee went in to Jana’s room and helped her with the lights, since she could fly and Jana was so tiny. Three of the girls stripped out of their clothes with no shred of modesty left, embarrassing Jana a bit. With me lying on my back, Jana climbed on the far right side of the bed. I sometimes still thought of it as Amber’s side but things were getting easier all the time. I said ‘goodnight’ and waved for the lights to go out or dim. Jana gasped and the other girls giggled. I cuddled and was cuddled, and sleep came swiftly.

              The next morning after breakfast, my mother showed up as promised. The girls were all their normal, giggly selves after she arrived and Jana seemed to be fitting in well. It was a bit of a relief when they left and silence took control of the room.

              Baissel came in to let me know that she expected Mr. Alvey to call and that I was to be very nice. He treated her as a gentleman should and she was quite fond of him. I promised to be polite, because the young man had made an impression on me.             

              I stopped by the offices and had my financial staff draw up a few notices that I could have put around town. I wanted the word to get out that I’d assist with loans for ships and wanted ship builders to check in with me, to discuss pricing. They dropped what they were doing and went to work, but not before I caught a subtle wink between them. I smiled, knowing that love was blooming in the downstairs offices, too.

              I went to the court room and sat down. I smiled and nodded to the two young boys stationed on either side of the door. They’d been hired as runners, general messenger boys who would take care of things, like alerting my sister when her friend called and putting up notices.

              After sitting for an hour with nothing to do, Ewayn came to the rescue with the notices I’d asked for. I let her know that I would be sending people to talk about loans back to the offices, if we had takers. I wasn’t sure how much the ships would cost and hoped that the potential fishermen came with some idea.

              She asked, “How much she should I set aside for loans?”

              I was looking at it as an investment and replied, “I think that you should take fifty thousand from my personal funds and set that aside. That should be plenty for a fleet of ships.”

              I called the boys up and had them take the notices and post them at the inns and pubs. I thought those places would be the best to find the fisherman-type.

              Mr. Alvey arrived and I greeted him much more nicely than I had in the past. Baissel had heard the announcement and came in to join us. She let me know that they were going to go to Wizard’s Castle because he’d never been very far from Perlsea and Seamore.  She said they’d be home by dark, because she knew I worried about everything. I hugged her and told her to have a good time. I shook Algar’s hand, which caught him off guard, and told him to enjoy the trip but to stay close to Baissel. It wouldn’t do for him to wander off and accidentally find himself stunned in the dorm.

              After they
ported
, I told the herald that I was going to the courtyard for some air. He said that we didn’t have any scheduled business today and it was one of those ‘deal with who shows up’ situations. He’d hold anyone who might come by until I returned.

              I wandered the courtyard, taking in the chilly air to get the blood flowing. I walked to the stables to pet the horses while chatting with the groom and stable hands. I was relaxed and felt better than I had in months. I could remember Amber now without tears and losing control. I knew that we could have had a future that would have been wonderful, but that was in the past. I was still often bothered by the origin of the toxin but hadn’t thought of a way to learn about it. I headed back inside to deal with the glamorous job of sitting in a chair and nodding my head.             

              Two men were waiting with the herald. I waved them into the courtroom with me and I took a seat.

              One of the men explained why they’d come, “My Lord, we are ship builders and we saw the notice to contact the court. How can we be of service?”

              I asked, “What would charge a man who wanted a fair sized fishing boat, outfitted and ready to work?”

              The man replied, “A ship with everything included, such as nets, sails and oars would sell for three thousand gold coins. We already have crews standing by and were just waiting for someone to hire us.”

              “I have a plan to offer the people of the province loans, with the ships as collateral, and I needed to know how much to expect for them to borrow. Thank you very much for stopping by, would you mind spreading the word? I hope to be able to send you men work very soon.”

They agreed to get the word out for me, thanked me, bowed and left.

              Noise from all the way inside the keep alerted me to the fact that my mother and the girls had returned. I told the herald that if anyone showed up for loans for boats to send them to Ewayn. I was going to call it a day, since things were so slow. If anything that he thought needed my attention came up, he knew where to find me. He smiled and nodded. I stopped by Ewayn’s office on the way up stairs and told her what the builder had said which should give her an idea of the loan size that men might come looking for. I told her where to find me and I went to my room.