The Green-Eyed Man

Chapter 5

5

Just as the family were finishing their dinner, a knock sounded on the dining room door and Clive popped his head in to say that Stefan had asked to see Sheldrake.

Sheldrake wiped his mouth neatly with his napkin before informing Clive that they would see him in the salon in fifteen minutes. “And bring down the fine Montreyan port that Argyve gave me the other week.” He smiled at Maud. “Will you be joining us, my dear?”

“I will. I don’t want Stefan to get into the way of only conferring with you, do I? Besides, I want some of that port.”

They finished their coffee, bid Jayhan and Eloquin goodnight and made their way downstairs. They came upon Stefan in the hallway, squatting down, intent on scratching a large tortoiseshell cat under the chin. The cat was purring its appreciation and pressing itself up against his knees.

“You asked to see me?” asked Sheldrake dryly.

Stefan turned his head but did not immediately stand up. “Oh, hello. You are wonderfully punctual. Good to know.”

“That cat is George and he knows he should be in the kitchen,” said Maud, with an edge to her voice that George ignored.

Stefan gave him a final stroke and stood up. “He must have followed me in. Would you like me to take him back before we get started?”

“No,” said Maud, sailing past Sheldrake who was holding the door open for her. “He’ll wander back when he’s ready.”

Sheldrake and Maud arrayed themselves in armchairs before him and waved him to another. Stefan sat down neatly and attempted a smile. He was just about to speak when Clive arrived to deliver a tray bearing a cut glass decanter of a dark ruby port and three glasses. Stefan looked a bit startled. After all, he had eaten his dinner earlier with the servants in the kitchen.

“Don’t worry,” said Maud kindly, “we won’t force port on you every time you want to see one or both of us. It is our custom to have a quiet drink after dinner and we thought you might like one after you did such an excellent job with the staff today.”

“Besides,” Sheldrake added shrewdly, “I suspect you have quite a bit you need to discuss with us, now that you’ve seen the place.”

Stefan accepted a port from Clive and nodded his thanks. “I do.” He waited until Clive left, then began, “Firstly, I need to know who among your staff knows Sasha’s true identity. I’m feeling my way in the dark, not knowing who I can say what to.”

“Oh, of course you are. So silly of us not to have thought of that.” Maud rolled her port in her glass, enjoying the blood red light that shone through it. “Leon, Clive and Beth know. Eloquin also knows, since she dines with us, but she is not as involved as the other three. Hannah, Rosie and Edgar and the farmhands don’t know.”

“And why is that?” asked Stefan. “Are they untrustworthy? I thought your staff were particularly recruited for their discretion. Unlike other households, none of them is ever heard to gossip or let slip information about you or the household’s affairs.”

Sheldrake took a sip of his port, allowing the silence to linger. “You are correct. Sasha’s revelations are relatively new to us and I suppose we are still feeling our way. Edgar only started with us a few weeks ago and Rose, his older sister, has always shown an antipathy towards Sasha, which concerns us.”

“And we are not convinced of their acting skills, if we are trying to maintain Sasha’s deception of being a boy when outsiders come to visit,” added Maud. “We decided the fewer who knew the better…” Her tone indicated that it was open for discussion.

Stefan looked into his port, then took a little sip. His face lit up. “Oh, very nice.” He did not seem to have an obsequious bone in his body. After a moment he asked, “What does Leon think?”

“We didn’t ask him,” replied Sheldrake.

“Ahuh. Or Clive or Beth?”

Sheldrake frowned. “No.”

Stefan c****d his head to one side. “Is it worth me venturing an opinion? I don’t want to waste your time… or mine, if it comes to that.”

Maud and Sheldrake exchanged a glance.

“You are very cocksure, young man,” said Sheldrake repressively.

Stefan just grinned. “No, I just like to be clear. If you don’t want my opinion, I won’t give it. After all, you haven’t asked anyone else’s.”

“We are the master and mistress of this house, Stefan. It is our decision,” said Maud firmly.

Stefan restrained himself from saying that was obvious and merely said, “Of course.”

“Go on then,” urged Sheldrake, leaning forward. “Tell us what you think.”

Stefan leapt lightly to his feet and took up a position in front of the window before turning to address them. “I think you are both very clever, can command magical powers although I am not sure what they are yet, you have great influence at court and are kind to your staff and people you know.”

“But?” asked Sheldrake dryly.

Stefan gave a grunt of laughter. “But… I think perhaps you underestimate people… in particular, your staff.” Before they could respond, he waved his hand. “A simple example is Leon, who knows you think he’s not clever… hence the remark about being big and bovine… but he took all of two seconds to overcome his surprise at my size when we first met. I was never going to catch him before he had my measure. His fighting technique may be unsubtle… I haven’t seen it, I’m just going by what he said… but he knows his limitations, which is worth its weight in gold...” He paused. “Shall I go on?”

“Please do,” said Sheldrake, in a tone that did not bode well for Stefan’s future with them.

“From what I saw today, Hannah has remarkable hand-eye coordination, even though her girth means she mightn’t be able to move very fast. Rose is very competitive and, given a chance, would strive to develop her fighting skills.” Stefan nodded. “You’re right, though. She does resent Sasha. Perhaps she is aware that he/she is getting special treatment and doesn’t know why. You see? Competitive… and hierarchical. She firmly believes that indoor servants should be given precedence over outdoor servants.”

He crossed to the table where he had left his port, picked it up and sipped it, taking a moment to savour it, before continuing, “Jake is enthusiastic but clumsy. He does what he thinks a bloke should do, without thinking it through. Now, he really isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and he was the one goading Leon to fight me. Luckily, he will follow Thompson if Thompson leads, and Thompson is sensible and quietly competent. He has trained with a bow at some time in the past and was better with the sword than anyone but Leon. Beth has excellent reflexes and anticipation; you could see that from the blocking exercises. Clive lacks confidence in himself but may be good if he trusts his instincts. Same with Edgar.”

“My word,” breathed Maud, “the amount you learnt in one morning.”

Stefan gave a self-deprecating shrug. “That’s my job, training people. If I don’t know where they’re starting from, how can I know what to teach them?”

“And what about Sasha and Jayhan?” asked Maud.

“Oh!” Stefan grinned. “They are full of energy and enthusiasm. Jayhan curbed his natural impetuousness to let your staff have first turn. Impressive in one so young. Made Rose a bit uncomfortable, though. They are both quick and agile but Jayhan has a tendency to get carried away and fall over his own feet, so to speak.”

Sheldrake chuckled. “A masterful description of my son.”

“And what about Sheldrake and me?” asked Maud.

Stefan shook his head. “I have no idea. You both masked your strengths.”

After a considering silence, Sheldrake stood up and crossed to the tray where the decanter stood. With a wag of the decanter, he offered Stefan another, before pouring another for Maud and himself. Stefan took this as a hopeful sign that they weren’t about to toss him out on his ear.

Sheldrake sat down, leaned back and crossed his legs, all aimed, Stefan suspected, at keeping him in suspense. “And what,” asked Sheldrake, “is your opinion about informing all the staff about Sasha?”

Stefan hid his satisfaction at being asked and answered matter-of-factly, “I would consult with Beth, Clive and Leon before making a decision, because they know your staff better than I do. But from my short acquaintance with them, I think that if you include them and train them, you more than double the defences around Sasha. An hour, even half an hour, a day would improve their fighting skills immeasurably.”

“But what about the risk of them spreading the word about Sasha, especially Edgar?” asked Maud.

“You’re right,” Stefan answered, skipping a few lines in the conversation, “I think Rose will change her attitude if she understands why. Edgar would be well-intentioned, but his little mouth might run away with him in the village or with his mother. Jake could also be a problem if he felt the need to brag after a few pints in the pub.” He looked at Sheldrake, “Any suggestions, Master Mage?”

Sheldrake frowned at his casual tone, but bent his mind to it nevertheless. He sipped his port and gazed into it, then looked around the room and generally kept the other two waiting for a good five minutes. At last he said slowly, “If and only if they are willing, I could bind them from using particular words; for instance Queen, Kimora, amulet, shaman.”

Instead of being impressed, Stefan gave it his consideration and then said dubiously, “But you could say those, hmm, concepts without saying the actual words, couldn’t you? A female leader from a neighbouring country, for instance?”

Sheldrake stared at him icily. “I thought that by the time they came up with an alternative like that, they would have remembered to keep the secret.”

“True. Good point,” said Stefan, completely unfazed by Sheldrake’s obvious dislike of having his ideas vetted. “Any other ideas?”

Maud smothered a laugh as Sheldrake’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head in outrage.

“You know,” continued Stefan, aware of, but unmoved by, Sheldrake’s reaction, “it’s a bit tough for a little boy not to be able to talk to his mum. Who else is in their family? Could his mother be trusted to keep this secret?”

Maud thought for a minute, keeping a weather eye on Sheldrake. “I think there are a couple of younger children, too. Their father died a few years ago. I know nothing about the woman but I suppose we could find out easily enough. Sheldrake’s network could tap into the village gossip.”

“Hmm.” Stefan thought for a moment before turning to the mage. “Sheldrake, if Edgar’s mother passed the vetting process, is there a way for her to temporarily override, then re-instigate your spell? After all, we’d still want it in place while he’s on his way home and when he went out to play with other village children, wouldn’t we?”

Sheldrake’s mouth quirked in a half smile. He was beginning to get used to Stefan’s equal-to-equal approach. He nodded. “Yes, I think I can do that. It will be an interesting little exercise for me.”

“The other thing to consider,” continued Stefan, “is that Sasha’s gender is going to become harder to conceal as she gets older, especially if the King expects her to dress for court before she leaves here. Your staff are bound to find out.”

Maud sighed. “You are absolutely right. I hadn’t really thought about it yet, but it would be ludicrous to think we could hoodwink our staff for long. Her first visit to court is next week and I have brought three dresses from town for her to try on. We will tell them tomorrow evening. We already have an important meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning. I would like you and Leon to attend both meetings, if you please.”

Just as Stefan was about to take his leave, a discreet knock on the door was followed by the advent of Clive bearing a letter on a tray.

“I beg your pardon, sir, but this has just arrived from the King. Apparently, it is urgent.”

“Thank you.” Sheldrake tore open the envelope and scanned its contents. He glanced up at Stefan and Maud, also noticing in his periphery vision that Clive was trying to make himself inconspicuous by the door and had not left immediately as he normally would. “The shaman and two of the men who attacked us in the forest have escaped. The other six are still in custody.”

Maud had paled with shock. “Oh, Sheldrake! If that man gets back to Toriana, she will know that Sasha still lives and of her association with us.”

Sheldrake nodded grimly. “Send Leon to me,” he ordered Clive, without even looking at him. “And with the heightened risk, I think we must tell the staff about Sasha first thing in the morning. I think we can squeeze it in before our meeting with Jon, Electra, Argyve and Yarrow.”