Princess Rescue Inc (122 page)

“You...”
She looked up to him.

“What,
you think I believed him and there's only the two?” he asked. They both darted
a look around. She nodded and gulped, hand clutched to her dagger.

“Yes,
wise.”

He
chuckled as he opened the door. “After you.”

  <==={}------------>

“You
don't have to move in here if you don't want to... or if you’re not ready you
know,” he murmured to her as they stood outside the door to the royal suite.
She shook her head then reached for the handle.

Like
most of the wooden bits in the tower the door had been rebuilt... or in this
case replaced. From the look of it Max had upgraded it.

“Hang
on, there's tradition to be observed you know,” he said as he swung her up into
his arms.

“What
are you doing?” she squeaked in surprise looking up to him.

“Complaining?”
he asked smiling down at her.

“Um...”
He kissed her. She sighed, eyes closed. “No.” she said, lips curving up into a
smile as she nuzzled against him.

“Thought
not,” he rumbled and awkwardly opened the door with a finger and a foot.

“There,
have to carry the newlywed lady over the threshold,” he said. He carried her
into the room and then swung her about. She clung to his neck tightly,
squealing a little in surprise. “Nice. I could get used to this,” he murmured.
The room was a fairly empty space; most of the walls were still a little sooty
from the fire. It had a lot of potential he had to admit. The floors and doors
were new, gleaming raw wood ready for paint or stain. Hopefully Max had taken a
look at the structure and made sure it was still sound. He wasn't sure but he'd
definitely have a word. He looked around and then down to her. “And this,” he
said. He smiled. She blushed a little and giggled.

“Me
to,” she said then wiggled and squirmed. Obviously she wanted down.

“Okay,
okay,” he said. He set her down upon her feet and looked away as she brushed
the wrinkles out of her dress.

“You’re
really going to stay here?” he asked.

“
We
,”
she said, then looked up. “We're going to stay here.” She caught his hand with
hers. He sighed, knowing that look and tone. There was no use arguing with her,
it'd just be a waste of blood pressure. She gave him a reproving glance. He
rolled his eyes.

“Well,
if that's the case we're definitely making some upgrades. No offense dear, but
I'm
not
freezing my can off come winter time,” he said firmly. He
pointed to the windows. They were large, once covered in lead lined colored
glass. Now they were smoke charred gaping holes.

“We'll
have to do something about them, weatherize them or something. Double pane at
least.” He explained.

She
nodded. “Yes, mother always complained about the terrible drafts.” She shivered
a little. He gave her a look but she nodded.

“It
looks like Max and his motley crew have put in provisions for upgrades though.”
He looked up to the ceiling above, pursing his lips in thought. Some of the
beams were charred but others looked good. “Well, with the rafters in each
floor we've got space to run plumbing and electrical lines so that's not a
problem. The walls will be a nuisance though. We're definitely going to need
insulation,” he said. He shivered a little and then turned back to her.

“What's
in here?” he asked looking in an open room. “Bedroom? All right...” He turned
to the opposite room and pointed.

“Mother's
drawing room,” Deidra said. She pointed to two other doors. “That one leads to
mother's... I mean my dressing room, that one to yours,” she explained. He
grunted.

“Your
mother was an artist?” he asked coming over to the drawing room entryway. She'd
said drawing but the translator had translated it as art. He was sure it wasn't
an art room.

Deidra
shook her head. “No, it's a room for her to sit in and receive guests.” She
pointed to a rocking chair in the corner. It was one of the few pieces to
survive the fire. The other was a scorched spinning wheel. “Mother said she
rocked us to sleep in that when we were babies,” she murmured. She picked up a
thimble and hugged it to her chest for a moment. He hugged her to his side.

“Family
heirloom, so it stays. Think it'll get some use?” he teased running a hand
through her hair.

“It'd
better,” she growled, eyes glittering as she clutched at him, pulling at his
belt and shirt. He chuckled.

“Ah,
what about your hobbies?” he asked. “I know you can't practice sword fighting
up here, but do you have any um... quieter ones?” he asked suggestively. She
chuckled.

“I
was never into needlepoint or knitting like mother and most of the other
Domina. Making dresses...” She set the thimble down on the chair. She looked
down at her new dress then shrugged. “I like the design, but the sheer drudgery
is taxing.”

“Yeah.
So that eliminates those, what about drawing? Painting? Sculpting? Reading? Or
other things?” he asked.

She
blinked at him then shrugged. “I do like to read,” she said softly looking
down.

“So
do I,” he said equally softly as he rubbed her neck and shoulders. “Now that
we've got books, we can do that. So we'll need a nice place for you to curl up
by the fire place. Comfortable so you can read your steamy romance novels,” he
teased, not sure she'd understand that barb. She blinked and then gave him
another glower. He ignored it and turned back to the main room.

“Floors
will have to be done, stained. Carpet in the bedroom of course. Electricity
to,” he said.  She nodded mutely. “We'll need to pick a stain, since the
room does get some good lighting what do you think a light gold stain?”

Deidra
came in and crouched, pulling her hem up and running her hand over the wood.
“So smooth,” she murmured.

“Belt
sander,” Ryans answered. He was sure of it now.

“What
did you mean by light?” she asked looking up.

“Light
as opposed to dark. A light stain, something close to what the color of the
wood is now. Or a clear, which would preserve its current color but protect
it.”

She
nodded. “Clear is better. Dark would be...” She stood up and hugged herself.
The late fall weather had broken the long heat streak and temperatures were not
getting out of the sixties now and dropping into the thirties at night. “I
don't like dark. It makes me feel sad.”

He
smiled as he hugged her. “Right, light or clear it is,” he said, not sure where
they would get it. He looked around. “Definitely need insulation in the floor
and ceilings. We can't insulate the walls, at least not much now... we could
add an inner wall I suppose, but that would limit the space inside and use a
lot of wood. We'll have to wait on foam core insulation I guess,” he sighed.
She nodded.

“What's
this?” he asked pointing to a crack in the wall.

She
smirked, pushing it shut. “Secret passage. I'll show you later. The stairs were
wood; they may not have been remade.”

“Ah,”
he nodded. “Watch that first step it’s a doozy in other words. Long fall down,”
he said dryly. He chuckled as she elbowed him.

“Okay,
what's this room?” he pointed to another room.

“The
bath,” she said.

“Ah,”
he nodded. “Well, royalty does have its privileges.” He let her go to go over
and look. He opened the door and looked inside. It was a spacious room with a
small window and a large cast iron tub. He nodded. “Definitely in need of an
upgrade.” He smiled at her.

“The...
shower I think you called it?” she asked amused. She came over and rested her
arms around him. “We can move the tub, or replace it.” The old tub had been
cracked in the fire when it had fallen through the floor.

“That
and other fine indoor plumbing items. Like a toilet. Definitely one of those.
I'd say... over there right?” he asked. He looked down at her as he pointed.

She
nodded. “I did like the one in the camper.”

“Right.
I miss it sometimes too actually,” he chuckled. He spotted a stained ceramic
pedestal in a corner near the small open window. “I think that is or was a wash
basin sink right? The pedestal?” She nodded. “Okay well, once we get some
running water we can have a fully functional sink. Hot and cold water. For the
shower and tub too... though I'd like to see a hot tub if we can swing it,” he
said and then smiled wickedly. She blinked.

“Baths
aren't hot enough?”

He
laughed. “I'll have to show you later dear,” he said and then smiled once more
as she kissed him.

“How's
kindergarten going?” Perry asked looking at Ryans. Ryans shrugged. They were
standing in the corner watching the class settle in. Things were getting back
to normal now that the epidemic had run its course and the new Queen was
settling into her role. Some of the lords had returned to their homes but a few
were reluctant. The students were sitting at rough wooden desks, with simple
stools. They didn't look all that comfortable. Some of the kids squirmed. Now
that winter had officially started with a thicker dusting of snow from the
night before that stayed all day the kids had nothing better to do. So, the
parents had reluctantly allowed them to attend school.

“To
be expected. Slow. But we're getting somewhere. Unfortunately some of the
parents think of this as free daycare, and some are scared we're going to
abduct their kids and experiment on them. The playground was a bit of a hit
though,” he grinned at that.

The
playground was a simple affair, swings, teeter totters, jungle gym, tether
ball, slide and a play field for the Kingdom's version of soccer. The kids and
even some of the adults had been enthralled by the whole idea. Some weren't so
happy however, and of course the kids couldn't really make use of it when there
was snow on the ground. “A few of the high and mighty are offended since this
is a mixed class. We've got backlash from the rich men tutors too.”

“Ah.
Yeah, have fun with that,” Perry chuckled. He nodded his chin to a few adults
in the room. They and a handful of teens were in the back of the class. “Interesting
age selection. Reminds me of a couple of redneck jokes I've heard in my day.”

Ryans
smiled. “At least they're trying. You've got to give them credit for that.”

“Thought
there was a special adult class for them though?” Perry asked. “Night school?”

Ryans
shrugged. “Yeah well, some have different schedules.”

“Or
some genius put the notice up on paper on the local billboards?”

Ryans
sighed, covering his eyes. “Don't remind me.” He shook his head. “We've got
town criers out telling people that the second class is tomorrow.”

“Heard
it was a big hit,” Perry said dryly.

“Yeah,
packed house. So packed we had to rent three taverns next door for the overflow
and we still had people in the streets. We've got our work cut out for us.
That's for sure,” Ryans sighed. Education was one of Sue's new priorities,
Education, health, and welfare. Her majesty had just appointed Sue as the
Imperium's first minister of medicine.

“Yeah.
At least they're willing and eager.”

“Some
of them anyway, but some idiots have started a whisper campaign so we've got
some resistance. It's going to take time for inertia to set in and take over,”
Ryans said testily.

“Yeah.
I ran into that when we set this up for the soldiers a month ago,” Perry nodded.

“A
month ago?”

“Yup.
Literacy is an important skill in combat. Knowing how to read a map or
directions in a battle...”

Ryans
held up a hand. “Gotcha. Good point. Can I borrow a couple of your trainers?”

Perry
shrugged. “Sure. As long as I can send in some recruiters to show the uniform
and get the pick of the litter,” Perry countered.

“Deal,”
Ryans nodded. “Wish other problems were this easy to work out.”

“Yeah,”
Perry chuckled. “Keeping politics out is the best way to success,” he waved.
“I'll send the trainers by tonight. Enjoy.” He waved as the class settled down.
The teacher glanced their way as Perry left.

“All
right class, we're going to start with the alphabet. These are the letters that
make up words and names. By the end of the class we're going to teach you the
letters of each of your names. Let’s start with you Setima … Your name starts
with an S...”

Ryans
nodded as the class buckled down to work.

“Another
project?” Cromwell, lord of Aborth looked down his regal nose at the royal
pair. “I hear you're replacing the royal tub? Isn't that an extravagance?” he
asked, with a slight sneer. Deidra was still digging into changes in the
Imperium, one of the reasons some of the lords had lingered.

One
thing the old Queen had accomplished before her death was changing the cabinet
and streamlining it. She'd found that a full five ministers had died, some
years ago and others had been taking their money without approval. Others were
doing the same job, adding layers of bureaucracy that had taken a week to sort
out. She'd finally settled into dividing them into covering the districts and
firing one old coot.