Chapter 26

It was well into the afternoon when Jorgarn's noon meal made it upstairs. With all the drama downstairs, he didn't mind. He especially didn't mind when it was delivered by Torbert, Fieth and Renoit.

"Well met, my friends," Jorgarn said warmly. "You have no idea how good it is to see male faces."

Torbert nodded but Fieth and Renoit looked confused.

"I take it you haven't seen your sister, Chicote," Jorgarn said. "Once you speak to her, my words will become clear. Come, gentlemen, sit. Tell me what has happened in the world while my life has become a tragic play before my very eyes."

Torbert laughed and Jorgarn filled Chicote and Elobert in on the barest of details about what was happening.

"That sounds like something my older sister would do," Chicote said with disgust. "What's going to happen?"

Jorgarn shrugged and looked at Torbert.

"If I had to guess, Rayna Clain is going to get her rear stomped by Lady Eslada," Torbert said.

"Oh, will it be public?" Fieth asked a little too eagerly, Jorgarn thought.

"Since Rayna made certain that Bralan was debased publicly, Eslada probably will insist upon it," Torbert answered. "I asked her to come to Jorgarn to make a formal complaint rather than just beating Rayna senseless at the outset. Truly, I hope it doesn't come to that. I believe if Denae were to demote Rayna or to hire someone else to run the staff, all would be forgotten eventually. Short of that, I am unsure of how it will play out. This has created a lot of hard feelings all around. Chicote, your sister is not happy. My daughter is not happy but I have my wife to attend to that. I cannot appear to take sides. Neither can Jorgarn but he can at least advise Denae."

"Oh, that went well," Jorgarn said ruefully. "I found out Denae knows several interesting phrases that a young woman shouldn't. Then she stomped out."

Fieth and Renoit looked at one another daring the other to speak. But it was Torbert who stepped up when Jorgarn sat silently.

"What was your advice?" he asked.

"I told her to stop pretending the she works for Rayna and to make Rayna realize that any action reflects on the Heiress and the Crown," he said. "Perhaps not that nicely but it was what I meant anyway."

The three men laughed. Torbert had a wife and two daughters. Fieth and Renoit each had older sisters. They understood perfectly the difference between what was said and what was heard.

"Perhaps you can fall back on the language barrier again," Fieth suggested. "It's worked well in the past for you."

Jorgarn laughed but shrugged.

"It is Denae's decision to make," he said. "I can offer my suggestions but I cannot force her to take them, nor would I if I could. I was simply trying to suggest that it has been only six days since Rayna's promotion. Denae cannot allow her to get away with this now and expect her to change later. She is setting precedent about who will make decisions and how people will be allowed to act and to treat others. I don't care if Rayna likes me. I cannot be fired and I cannot be replaced. I can be ignored but I am used to that. But someone has to make Rayna understand that is not she who will someday rule Emertland, it is Denae. If Denae is unwilling to do that, I am certain Eslada or Batrix or Lorida is up to the task. I, however, am done with it."

Torbert nodded.

"Well said," he offered.

"I can't wait to get back down to the training grounds where disputes are not settled with rumors and innuendo," Jorgarn continued. "If Fieth talks badly about Renoit, they get out the sparring swords and go at it. If he is malicious, he feels the birch rod. If he is egregious, he packs his gear and leaves."

"I hear Bralan plans to join the Guard next year anyway," Fieth said to change the subject because he could see Jorgarn getting angry, never a good thing in his estimation. "Are you getting much response about the new method of selecting candidates?"

"We will have at least 37 in the next class including 11 females," Torbert said with satisfaction. "Almost all the families with an eligible child who have a son in the Guard are sending another. I expect the number will grow once Court rolls around. Some of the females will not make it unless we seriously lower the standards we talked about or they seriously lower their weight in the coming months. But the males all have a brother, an uncle, a nephew or a cousin in good standing. I am hoping to have time to talk to Jorgarn about opening the female Guard up to commoners. By the way, we need a better name for them."

"Well, we have the Noble Guard and the Emertland Guard," Renoit offered. "Why not the Imperial Guard and the Majestic Guard?"

All eyes turned to him at once.

"It was just a thought," he said quickly. "I mean, I considered it once I heard about it. I knew this conversation would come up at some point."

"A good thought," Torbert said. "Do I hear any dissent?"

He paused for only a moment before continuing.

"I will make the suggestion to His Majesty this evening," he said. "Female nobility will serve in a unit called the Imperial Guard. Female commoners will serve in a unit called the Majestic Guard. Now, how about colors?"

"We stay with green and red, I think," Renoit said with a bit of chagrin. "No reason to set them apart from their male counterparts. If this works, in 20 years they might be serving in the same units."

Again Torbert looked around and smiled.

"Congratulation, Master Renoit," he said. "Subject to the approval of Sir Jorgarn and His Majesty, King Landor – mere formalities, I would think – you have just become the first lieutenant in charge of organizing the Imperial and Majestic guards. I suggest you draft either Melodart or Gorin to assist."

"And perhaps Belad," Jorgarn offered. "He is solid and well-schooled."

Renoit's mouth dropped.

"That was not my intention," he sputtered. "I mean, I don't think I would do well with it."

Jorgarn laughed.

"You're the only person thinking about the organization," he said. "Let the others handle most of the training schedule and goals. You need to plan and stay in contact with the candidates. I will work with you on a letter to send to them in the coming days. That means Fieth, you will have to take on more responsibility with the Noble Guard scheduling. Work together to make sure the grounds aren't too crowded and all that. Renoit gets first choice but I would suggest you take either Melodart and Gorin and perhaps Seni as your assistants."

"I was hoping for Lippit," Fieth said.

Jorgarn shook his head.

"I might as well discuss it here as anywhere," he said. "I think we need to make Lippit our quartermaster."

"Our what?" Torbert asked.

"It is a rank aboard many ships," Jorgarn said. "He is responsible for outfitting everyone and accumulating stores."

Torbert smiled.

"Which means you and I won't have to do those things," he said brightly.

"You are going to be busy enough keeping me from falling on my face," Jorgarn said. "And, well, I'm going to be busy extricating my foot from mouth for the foreseeable future."

The four men were laughing loudly when Pernice stuck his head in the room.

"Come in, come in," Jorgarn said. "We were just discussing the new Guard units. Have you given them any thought?"

Pernice's eyes widened.

"Not a one," he said. "Was I supposed to, Sir Jorgarn?"

Jorgarn waved his hand and the room laughed again.

"No, we have Renoit to do all of our thinking for us," Torbert said. "Thank Creation for that. Otherwise, we would be watching them arrive and wondering where to put them."

"Speaking of which," Renoit said. "We need to segregate the units. I think we might wall off that back section where the unused barracks stand. We can use those to house the Imperial and Majestic Guards. It will put the Emertland and Noble Guards in closer proximity but I think that is a good thing."

Pernice tilted his head.

"I like the names," he offered.

Renoit smiled his appreciation.

"Well, I suggest that every week at this time we meet," Torbert said. "It is an open time for me and Jorgarn for the next two months. The five of us and your four assistants will meet. Oh, and Lippit, too, and whoever he picks to help him."

Pernice counted heads.

"Uh, were you counting me?" he asked.

"Of course," Torbert said. "You will play a big role in the restructured Guards. I assumed you understood that. I'm sorry if it wasn't clear. But that is my intention and I'm sure it's Jorgarn's. I would say within two years, you will be the Emertland Guard commander."

Pernice's mouth dropped and he gulped.

"That might create problems," he said.

"Then we will rectify the problems," Torbert said firmly. "I believe I heard someone say that it is important that we establish from the outset who is making decisions. The fact is, we are. Those who don't like it are free to leave."

Pernice frowned slightly and he turned to Jorgarn.

"Is there a time I may speak privately to you?" he asked.

Jorgarn bit back a chuckle because he saw Pernice was serious.

"My next appointment is with that horrid, hateful medic tomorrow afternoon," he said.

The other three men had an inkling about what Pernice wished to discuss and they wanted to be as far away from it as possible.

"Actually, we are due at the training ground," Fieth said after glancing as Torbert and Renoit. "We got roped into bringing up this layabout's food but we must go. Take care, Jorgarn, and I hope you are back with us soon."

"Me too," Jorgarn said quietly.

Pernice remained standing when the others left.

"Do you mind if I close the door?" he asked.

Jorgarn said he didn't mind and Pernice took a seat and a deep breath.

"I have ended my relationship with Rayna," he said. "Today was too much. I spoke with Bralan several times over the past few days. She is a delightful young woman – and she doesn't look down her nose at me like most nobles. I was appalled when I heard what happened and I am no longer willing to put up with it. The Princess may accept it, but I will not. I hope this does not create hard feelings between you and me."

"No," Jorgarn said. "I'm sorry that it came to this but you told me it might. I warned Denae that I thought you were about through with the games Rayna was playing. I guess that didn't get passed along or if it did, it was ignored."

"Ignored," Pernice stated. "And the Princess was not the only one. I told her that I would not be a party to having my reputation destroyed because she was feeling resentful. She does not accept the fact that you have the power to ruin my career. Although I don't think you would, you could. There is no excuse for the way she is acting and her actions reflect badly on me."

"Why is it that we see that but they don't?" Jorgarn wondered aloud.

"Pardon?" Pernice asked.

"We understand that what we do affects not only us but others," Jorgarn clarified. "For instance, our actions are attributed not just you and me but to Denae and Rayna and Torbert and Landor and Lorida and Eslada and your parents and your sisters. You get my point. Denae is unhappy about what Rayna did. Don't mistake that. But she fails to grasp that it demonstrates that she has no control over her employees. What would you have done if one of our men went outside of the rules we set for them in battle?"

"Depending upon their action, I would have admonished them, punished them or killed them," Pernice said with a shrug. "If they showed up 10 minutes late for a watch, I would speak to them about it. If they ran from the battle, I would have flogged them. If they ran into a village and raped a woman, I would have killed them."

"And if they did it twice?" Jorgarn asked.

"Well, outside of killing them again, I would increase the punishment one level, remove privileges and strip them of rank," Pernice said without hesitation.

"Exactly," he said. "You would not have spoken to them the first time, the second time, the third time and the fourth time. At some point, you would accept that the situation is unlikely to change without more drastic steps. Am I the only one who sees a correlation between our units and a personal staff?"