Parno's Gambit: The Black Sheep of Soulan: Book 3 Page 14

  “You can help me by training 1st Corps into as fine a fighting unit as you can over the next few months while I try to keep the Nor off balance. That will be difficult, especially without Beaumont and Whipple here raising hell behind enemy lines but I have to do it, nevertheless. I can't afford to let the Imps get settled enough to come at us with all hands and the cook again. Whatever made them withdraw last time wasn't anything we did. We can't count on that happening again.”

  He stopped there, seemingly having ran out of steam. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

  “Headache?” Karls asked.

  “Just eye strain I'm sure,” Parno shrugged. “Doesn't matter. Pain is part of the job. I do think I 'll rest a bit, though,” he stood and stretched. “I've gotten everyone their marching orders and I'm sure Davies can do all that without me looking over his shoulder. Nothing left for me to do but read reports and wait. I can do both tomorrow just as easily as I can tonight. Good night, Karls.”

  And just like that, Parno had put an end to any discussion of his problems. He hadn't been so abrupt this time, but the message was just as clear;

  Butt. Out.

  ~*~

  “Your quarters are ready for you, sir,” Harrel Sprigs said quietly and Parno had to work not to jump.

  “I need to get you a bell,” he groused. “How did you know that's where I was going?” he demanded.

  “Well, it's my job to know,” Sprigs shrugged. “And I heard you tell Colonel Willard good night, as well,” he grinned. “I knew you would eventually want to retire so I made sure your quarters were ready.”

  “Thanks,” Parno laughed just a small bit, shaking his head slightly. “Are you still disappointed that you didn't get into a line unit, Harrel?” he asked suddenly.

  “No, milord. I am not,” the young officer shook his head. “I've served the Kingdom much better here than anywhere else I could have gone. I'm satisfied of that.”

  “Good,” Parno nodded. “And good night, Captain,” he added at the mouth opening of his tent.

  “And to you, sir.”

  ~*~

  “I don't know what we're going to do about this.”

  Karls was sitting at a fire with Cho Feng, his brother Enri seated across from him as well grasping a bottle of the home-made beer that Karls had once more procured.

  “What is it you think you can do?” Enri asked, taking a long pull from the bottle. “That is really good,” he looked at the bottle.

  “There is no action we can take that will solve this problem,” Cho offered into the dark. “This is a problem that he must deal with himself. Whatever the good physician did or said, she struck an extremely sensitive place. I suspect that he has compared it to betrayals past, such as his brothers before the start of the war. If this is the case, then he will right himself before long. It will take longer simply because the betrayal will be worse here, in his mind. But he is strong and he knows the path he must walk. He will be fine.”

  “I'm not so sure,” Karls resisted the temptation to just take Cho's words for it. “I'd like to think so, but this. . .this is different. I don't know what happened between the two of them but it hit him hard. Hard,” he stressed, looking at the other two men.

  “I'm not comfortable delving into the Marshal's personal affairs,” Enri said finally, shaking his head as he rose. “Not at all.”

  “He's not just the Marshal to me,” Karls replied evenly. “Or to Cho.”

  “I know that,” his brother smiled gently. “Nor would I try to stop you. But I do not enjoy the same relationship with the Marshal you two do. I cannot place myself into his personal business as easily as you can. I will have to concentrate on making sure things run smoothly while the two of you work on restoring the Marshal's equilibrium.”

  “You only use big words like that when you're drunk,” Karls laughed. “How many of those have you had?”

  “At least one more than I should have apparently,” Enri admitted before draining the current 'one' in his hand. “Now, I am off to bed where I hope that this fine beer allows me to fall into a deep sleep.”

  “Good night, brother,” Karls told him. Enri waved over his shoulder as he made his way toward his tent.

  “Your relationship has improved,” Cho noted.

  “Yeah,” Karls admitted. “Kinda glad for it. Hard to work with your older brother looking over your shoulder though,” he chuckled.

  “I am sure.”

  “You really think he will be okay?” Karls asked.

  “He will have to be,” came the steady reply. “He has no choice. And he is aware of that.”

  “I wonder what she said to him?” Karls shook his head. “I mean, I would have sworn she was all about him and nothing else.”

  “That is not always a good thing,” Cho said evenly.

  ~*~

  “Doctor, are you alright?”

  Memmnon was easing himself back into his chair after an examination by his physician. He was sore, but not so sore that he hadn't noticed Stephanie's distraction of late. Or Winifred's for that matter.

  “I'm quite alright, Highness, thank you for asking,” she smiled at him. The smile was not as bright as it might once have been, however. Nor were her eyes.

  “Look here, Doctor,” Memmnon's voice sharpened slightly, though not in a commanding way. “I may not be terribly bright in some ways, but I can see that you are at least somewhat distressed. Over what I do not, indeed cannot know, but the distress itself is apparent. You have done a great deal for me over the last several weeks. Surely there is someway I can help you, even if it's just to lend you an ear.”

  “You're very kind, Your Highness,” Stephanie said after a few moments to gather herself. “And I deeply and sincerely appreciate your concern. I'm afraid however that there is no real help in the situation I find myself in. To put it simply, I did something foolish and now I must live with it.”

  “I can sense the hand of my brother here somewhere,” Memmnon sighed. “Tell me doctor, and be truthful now; has he in some way violated your trust or disrespected you in any-”

  “No!” Stephanie looked so shocked at the question that Memmnon was momentarily nonplussed by it. “In no way,” she continued more calmly after a few seconds to compose herself. “I assure you that Prince Parno has done no wrong, Your Highness,” she said very correctly. “If anyone has acted poorly between us, it was I. He has always been every inch the gentleman in my presence.”

  “I-really?” Memmnon didn't know quite what to say and found himself stammering a bit.

  “Really,” Stephanie affirmed. “Your lack of faith in him does you a disservice in this case,” she decided to go ahead and cement the idea that Parno had indeed done no wrong. It was the least she could do she decided, considering.

  “That is possible,” a red-faced Memmnon nodded in agreement. “However, it has been his pattern for many years to act in just such a way.”

  “Perhaps because no better was expected of him,” she said simply as she put away the last of her instruments. “Forgive me, for it is not my place to lecture,” she said, standing. “I believe that I can pronounce you fit again, Your Majesty,” she declared to him. “You will continue to experience twinges of pain for a while yet, as well as stiffness and soreness, both of which should lessen over time. Your physical activities will still need to be limited, but that will change as you regain your strength with more activity than you have been allowed to this point.”

  “You speak as if you are leaving, Doctor,” Memmnon said quietly.

  “I am indeed, Your Highness,” she nodded. “The need for my presence has thankfully passed and there is no need for me any longer. I am of course at your service should any medical need arise in the future,” she promised him. “But I feel confident that you are on the road to recovery.”

  “I was not thinking of me, Doctor,” Memmnon observed carefully. “Then again, perhaps I was,” he decided after a few seconds to ponder. “What will become of Winifred
in your absence, Doctor? I cannot think it would be acceptable for her to remain here in the palace without you as her chaperon and ward, so to speak. I know she would miss you, as would I. And I do not know that she would remain here without you, nor could I blame her.”

  “Nonsense,” Stephanie scoffed. “For all her headstrong ways at times, Winnie is a grown woman who is more than capable of making her own decisions. She is intelligent and strong. And I am certain she is in good hands here.”

  “That is not what I meant,” Memmnon shook his head. “At the moment no one questions her honor staying here because of your presence. And she is not uncomfortable here again because of your presence. Should you depart, I am not certain either of those things would remain true.”

  “I understand your concerns, Your Highness-”

  “Please, can you not at least when we are in private just call me Memmnon?” he cut her off gently. “You have been my doctor all through this most trying of times and it's safe to say I have few secrets left from you. And we will one day be in-laws as well,” he added with a soft smile. As soon as he said those words, Stephanie looked away slightly, her face falling.

  “Ah,” she heard him say ever so softly. “I see.”

  “No, I doubt that you do,” she shook her head slowly. “You will blame him, as you always have, but. . .this is not his burden to bear. There is no blame for what has beset me now but me. And merely calling you by your name rather than addressing you properly would be wrong,” she added.

  “I must have someone to talk to,” Memmnon shrugged. “I always knew things would be like this, but. . .my father had advisers and friends that he had accumulated through the years. What friends I have made are few, and they are far away from here, mostly serving in the army. A few scattered nobles that don't give me a headache just looking at them but they are likewise busy trying to make sure we can survive the war. And burden? Doctor, that sounds very much as if you are-”

  “No, I'm not,” Stephanie sighed, having known as soon as she said the words that she had chosen them poorly.

  “I see then,” Memmnon nodded, though he clearly didn't. “So what has happened that you and Parno are no longer. . .close, shall we say? I must admit that he seemed very taken with you on the rare occasion when he spoke of anything personal to me. I believe you had made him the happiest I have ever seen him.”

  It was too much, that last, and Stephanie burst into tears. Gathering her things, she nearly ran from the room, ignoring Memmnon's calls.

  ~*~

  “What did you do to her?”

  Approximately fifteen minutes after the doctor had fled his apartment, Memmnon now faced the wrath of a redheaded Fury.

  “I did nothing, I assure you,” Memmnon held up a placating hand to try and calm the raging tiger. “I tried to engage the doctor in simple conversation. She spoke of leaving the palace and I tried to get her to stay. I wanted her to remain and be my, our, physician, and be here for you. I did not want you to feel alone or uncomfortable here in anyway. I also asked her to use my given name, at least in private, as we would one day be in-laws.”

  “That may not happen,” Winnie almost growled.

  “I know that now,” Memmnon was sweating by this time. “I didn't know it then. The last I had heard, she and Parno were to be married at some point after the war. Or at least at the point where our defeat was no longer so possible. I did not know there had been any change. And even if there has, I still want her to remain here and be the Royal Physician, as well as be here for you to lean upon.”

  “You think I need her to lean on?” Winnie asked, a dangerous light in her eyes.

  “I think you want her here, and that you consider her your friend,” Memmnon nodded. “And I know that she has been assisting you with issues of court and other things that you may think you need in order to please me.”

  “So I'm just trying to please you,” Winnie actually smiled, which by now Memmnon had learned was not always a good thing.

  “I think you have been trying very hard to please me, though your efforts are not necessary because your very presence pleases me and you need do nothing else in that regard that you do not wish to,” a very wary Memmnon replied. The change in Winnie was abrupt.

  “What?”

  “I said it isn't necessary for you to bend to the pressure of court to please me,” he repeated. “If you want to learn those things, then I support that, fully. If you do not, then it isn't necessary. I do not want you to change, to try and become what you think I want you to be, because you are already what I want you to be; you. It was not a socially conscious woman of court who stood in my bed chamber and challenged me when I thought Parno was in danger or when I wanted you to leave so I could discuss sensitive information. Nor that stood ready with bow and sword to protect her friend from possible attack while she labored to save my life, either.” He took a deep breath, then plunged ahead.

  “That was the woman I fell in love with on near first sight, Winifred. I love you because of your strength, your loyalty, your beauty and your determination. I don't care if you wear silks or buckskin, I don't care if you know which plate goes where or what colors are in season or any of that other rubbish that so many 'noble' women seem to be fascinated by.” He leaned forward slightly and a furiously blushing Winnie took a step back in spite of herself.

  “I want you just the way you are, or any other way you chose to be,” he said simply. “Do not change one hair on your beautiful head because you think I want you to. I want you to be happy, Winifred. I want you to be happy, here with me, for as long as we live. I want you to be my wife, and yes I'm afraid that means be my Queen thanks to my sister, and I want you to bear and raise my children. Raise them to be strong like their mother and not weak like so many of our blood have turned out to be. As my brother and sister turned out to be.”

  “I want you to marry me and stay with me and never leave me,” he finished, reaching into a small pouch on his belt he removed a box and opened it. Inside was a ring with a single large emerald.

  “This was my mother's,” he said simply. “I wish you to wear it, if you will consent to be my wife. I have already spoken to your father and he has given me his blessing to ask you for your hand, and I am doing so now. I had not planned. . .that is, I had planned for this to be different,” he stammered slightly. “However, regardless of how it happens, I want you to marry me.”

  For the second time in less than an hour, a woman fled Memmnon McLeod's rooms, crying.

  ~*~

  “I don't understand,” Memmnon said an hour later.

  “There's little enough a man can do to be understanding a woman's ways, milord,” Whip shrugged, his voice sympathetic. He had answered an urgent summons from the King thinking something was wrong with his daughter, only to find that the King needed someone to talk to.

  “But I…everything I did was for her!” Memmnon continued as if Whip hadn't spoken. “I didn't mean to make the doctor cry! Or make Winifred cry, for that matter! I thought she would want the doctor to stay here with her as well! That it would make her more comfortable than staying here alone!”

  “She like as not would have wanted her to stay even had you not said anything,” Whip nodded. “Yon lady doctor has been a good influence on the girl, there's no denying.” He was at a loss to explain anything to the young King. His only foray into courtship had ended with Winifred's birth and he'd never had the nerve to try again.

  “I don't understand,” Memmnon was shaking his head again. “I just don't. . .”

  ~*~

  “. . .understand,” Winnie was shaking her head. “Why is it you feel you have to leave? Just because things may not be the same between you and the Prince doesn't mean you can't stay here!”

  “Winnie, I need to get away from all this,” Stephanie shook her head. “It's too much. Every time I look around. . .everything here reminds me of him,” she settled for saying.

  “I need you to be here,” Winnie pleaded, eyes we
t. “Memmnon just asked me to marry him!”

  “You knew that was coming,” Stephanie told her. “What did you say?”

  “Nothing,” Winnie admitted. “I went there mad because I thought he made you cry, and he told me that all he'd done was ask you to stay on here for my benefit, and then he pulls out this honking great ring and asks me right there to marry him!” she almost cried. “I ran out crying after that,” she admitted.

  “Oh, Winnie,” Stephanie hugged the younger woman. “You can't leave him like that, it isn't right!”

  “Well if I knew what to do I wouldn't have!” the redhead shot back. “Yes, I knew he was thinking about it, but he admitted he had planned to do all that another way. Said my being upset about you had kinda changed his plans a mite.”

  “Winnie, my battles are my own to fight,” Stephanie told her firmly. “While I appreciate your being so loyal and caring for me, you need to concentrate on your own life and the changes that are coming. Starting with what will you answer?”

  “I can't stay here alone,” Winnie shook her head. “And we can't get married until he's King. I. . .I don't have anywhere to go but back to Cove Canton,” she sighed. “I only came here because you offered me the chance to come see the Royal City, remember? My pa ain't got a house here, he's just sleeping in a room at the Foundry, he said. Which is okay for him, but there ain't no room there for me. At least back at the Canton I got a house to live in.” She stood suddenly.