Chapter 46: A Boon Granted

Joseph’s cabinet had met without him while he was ensconced in his office with the door closed.

“Forcing the landholders to house troops is not a good start to his relationship with the lords,” Alexander said.

“And ladies,” Elena corrected.

“But it is a good idea, though,” Alexander admitted.

“I believe I see the king’s strategy,” Choran said.

“It was fairly simple to me,” Genrico said. “He’s not going to allow the landowners to dictate his decisions. They are employees: that’s all the landholders are. Most of them won’t mind. The only ones that will complain are the ones that complain about everything. At least this time, the nagging will be justified.”

“It is more than that,” Choran said. “He has crafted a ring around Tyrell. When Julia and Catherine join Elena and Elizabeth, he will be telling everyone that precedent will only serve as his guide. He will look to the past but only as an indicator before allowing it to intrude on the present. It is the same with forcing the landholders to feed and house soldiers on their property. He is establishing that there is only one ruler and that is Joseph. In a way, it was what he was telling us when he ignored our protests. We are, after all, his employees, too. But he knows we are loyal to him. He doubts the loyalty of the men he will compel to accept this so he will use men he trusts to keep the landowners he distrusts in line.”

“He has already told me to authorize the soldiers to put down anything they deem as insurrection,” Genrico admitted.

“I think he is paranoid,” Jonathan said. “We have rapidly become a military society.”

“That, too, was by design,” Choran said.

“I don’t think so,” Genrico said.

“Oh, it wasn’t Joseph’s design,” Choran said, explaining himself. “The fault for that lies with me and Lady Elena. Joseph would have been content to arrive back in Tyrell with 20 or 30 men to look after things. I’m afraid that Elena and I forced him to bring an entire army back with him – in case we had designs upon ousting him from his throne.”

“That is ridiculous!” Elena said loudly.

“To us, certainly,” Choran said. “We know that we had no intention of anything of the sort.”

“But Joseph is a soldier,” Genrico said. “I will admit he was a bit unsettled when he learned of the army you’d amassed in his absence.”

“They were his soldiers!” Elena said, still peeved.

“He didn’t know that,” Jonathan said. “To be honest, when I heard of it, I was a bit concerned myself. I trusted you, Elena, but I really didn’t know Choran.”

“And Joseph was the exact opposite,” Genrico noted. “He trusted Choran but he didn’t really didn’t know Elena.”

“We were friends for years,” Elena protested.

“And then a decade passed,” Alexander cut in. “Yes, I can see where there is much blame to go around. I suppose my problem with sending soldiers to police some areas is that I’m as much to blame as they are.”

“No,” Genrico said firmly. “It is like this. The men and women of Hulett, Drummond, Golrick Halversham, Palmer and Heilman love the idea of having a powerful man to ensure their pockets jingle with gold and they can sleep in peace at night. But that are unwilling to pay the price that safety and prosperity costs. Too often, that price is blood.

“You, Alexander, you were willing to pay that cost. So were you, Jonathan. So was I. So were Aryn ... and Kendall ... and d’Arnott. They came with us or raised men to send. They did not stay at home in their comfortable manor with their feet next to the fire. That’s what the old lords did – exactly nothing. This is not just a penalty for permitting Wilhelm free reign. This is a penalty for ignoring Joseph’s offer to join him. This is the price for putting themselves ahead of the good of the country. Do not ever let me hear you compare yourself to those people again. Those men are unworthy to wipe the sweat from your brow.

“These men had the chance to earn Joseph’s respect – and my respect – and they let it go past. You did not. You seized the opportunity and now you are in a position to help guide Azkoval into the future. They wish to look to the past. Joseph will never permit that. Yes, if he determines that the old ways are best, he will stick with them. But, and I can tell you this from more than a decade by his side, if something needs changing he will do everything in his power to change it. And, by the gods, these men need to change.”

“So you have come to support this?” Jonathan asked.

“I support Joseph,” Genrico said. “Rightly or wrongly, I will always side with him. If he believes this is best, I will do my utmost to prove him correct. If it requires the deaths of a few families along the way, I suppose I will learn to live with it.”

“He’s not been often wrong so far,” Alexander admitted. “Perhaps I am just an old man stuck in his ways. I do not know but you’ve given me fodder for thought. You are correct about one thing: We will support him publicly even if we oppose him privately. I made that mistake once and I fear it helped lead people to Wilhelm’s cause. I will not repeat my error with this king.”

“I agree,” Elena said. “There is one thing about the young Joseph that has not changed much in the years. Once he makes a decision, he will not change his mind easily.”

“He will change it if things go badly,” Choran said. “I’ve seen that firsthand. We all have.”

“Oh, I wasn’t saying that,” Elena revised. “I was simply saying that if he believes this to be the proper path no amount of persuasion is going to change the route.”

“He used to say: Lead, follow or get out of my way,” Genrico said with a laugh.

“He stole that from me,” Elena pointed out. “I stole it from Queen Melina. She used to say that to King Welton all the time.”

Alexander nodded thoughtfully.

“Which is what Joseph is saying now,” he said. “He’s telling the lords that the world is changing. They can help the lead the way or follow along behind it. But if they believe they can obstruct the change, he will move them out of his way.”

“Alexander, I know you are close to some of them,” Genrico said. “Perhaps you can pull them aside and explain reality to them. Let them know, I will not hesitate to order their deaths if Joseph desires it.”

Joseph tucked his shirt back into his trousers and opened the door.

“My apologies, Lord Halversham,” he said. “I fear I dozed a bit.”

“It is I who should apologize, Your Highness,” Malcolm Halversham said. “I should have recognized the closed door for what it represented and left you to your solace.”

“It is fine,” Joseph said. “I have some weighty matters to consider and I find it drains my strength. A bit of nap often clears my head. I apologize that I have been unavailable today. Alexander told me that you wished to speak to me. I planned to find you tomorrow.”

“This can wait until then,” Malcolm said quickly.

“Well, you are here and so am I,” Joseph pointed out. “Please, come in. There is no telling what might grab my time tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Malcolm said. “I will try not to take up much of your evening.”

Unlike most people, Joseph did not urge the man to forget the formalities. Lord Halversham was one of the men that Joseph believed needed a lesson in humility.

“I am happy that you arrived safely,” Joseph said. “Liala says that your granddaughter is cut from the same cloth as many of my friends.”

“That is high praise, indeed,” the lord said. “The duchess is a very impressive woman. I truly enjoyed the exhibition at the pits this morning.”

“Oh?” Joseph asked. He was unaware that Lord Halversham had been there.

“Indeed,” the lord said. “That young woman is a perfect example of the Trimble creed.”

“I am unsure of what that creed might be,” Joseph admitted. “I know they are called The First Soldiers of Azkoval.”

“A worthy title for them,” Halversham said. “Their motto was Fidelity, Honor, Country. I am delighted to know that some of the blood still runs through Azkoval. We are ... we were ... weaker because of the families Wilhelm eradicated.”

“Lord Halversham, I am a plainspoken man,” Joseph said. “Part of is the circumstances I found myself in but most of it is because my father and mother insisted I be. To that end, I will speak plainly to you. You were no friend of my family.”

Lord Halversham nodded sadly.

“Your Highness, when you reach my age, you will look back at your life and you will always be able to spot your mistakes,” Halversham said. “You’ll also have a clearer view of why you made those errors. I have traced my flaws to arrogance and pride. I had far too much of those qualities and far too little common sense. The difficulties between my family and yours started just after you were born. For a time, your father had me living at the castle. I served him much as Alexander serves you. I was too arrogant to understand that he was the king, and I was not. We had a heated exchange over some trivial matter or another. I don’t recall what it was and it matters little now. I offered my advice and Welton ignored it.

“Rather than accept that he had every right to do as he pleased, I left the capital in a huff. I began telling all and sundry that Welton was a fool that would lead Azkoval to its demise. I am thankful that my rhetoric saved my family but I have lived in misery of the knowledge that it helped to cost yours. I came here to apologize to you, Your Highness, for my actions those many years ago. Your father was a fine man and your mother was a lovely woman. They would have been proud of you. I’ve also come to tell you that I will relinquish my role as landholder when I return to Halversham next month.”

Joseph sat back, slightly stunned at the news. He had pegged Halversham as a man that would hold onto power for as long as possible.

“My son has served as administrator for the past few years,” the lord continued. “I’m pleased to say that his views are completely in line with yours. For years, he urged me to fight Wilhelm as fiercely as I could. His only problem was that he didn’t recognize how powerless Wilhelm left us.”

“I’m afraid I don’t see that either,” Joseph admitted.

“We are a coastal holding and we have a port,” the lord explained. “When the travesties reached the ears of the populace, many were able to flee quite readily. Bianca was just a baby but I sent her and my daughter-in-law to Denaya because I feared for her safety. I have learned that she lived only two towns away from where you settled. As I told you, my criticism of your father stood me in good stead. I was allowed to keep my holding – for what that was worth. When your family fell, Halversham was home to almost 7,000 men and women. A year later, we had less than 2,000 – mostly older men and women. We had no children to show us the future – or for us to fight for. I know that sounds selfish but ... it was a selfish time. When you came to ask us for troops, I did my best to comply.

“It simply wasn’t possible. I am too old. My heir and his wife had been murdered less than six months before. We had no men or women of fighting age. I was still grieving for the loss of my child and I fear I left you with a poor impression of my family. My son is certain of it.

“He pointed out that we still have Bianca to cherish because of you. He wished to go with you but I forbade it. I was trying to help Bianca get over what she’d seen and I could not spare him. My wife is long dead and my son’s wife is ... unfriendly. She no longer resides in the manor but that is our problem. You have plenty of your own so I will not add to them. I wanted to attend Court in my official role one final time and I wanted to bring Bianca here. It is for her that I make a request of you. The people call you Joseph the Benevolent and I dearly hope that holds true now.”

The lord took a long breath.

“I have heard tales of the young people that populate the castle now,” Malcolm said. “The Duchess Liala has confirmed most of what I’ve heard.”

“Lord Halversham, most of the rumors are false,” Joseph cut in. “I am not intimate with any of the young ladies here.”

He didn’t add “yet.”

“Your Highness, you are an adult and so are they,” Malcolm said. “Your liaisons or lack of them aren’t my concern. You have deemed Bianca an adult so I will not interfere in that portion of her life further. I am singularly unequipped to deal with it in any event. What I wish is that you permit Bianca to stay here when I leave. The memories of her parents’ murder still plague her and there are few people her age in Halversham. It is improving each day but we still have much to do to get our population more evenly distributed. We have many older people and several young families with babies. We have few her age. I ... I want her to be happy.