“ — Watch will be looking for him,” Droit growled. “He won’t get far.”
“Some bloody Red General you are!“
Something crashed.
“You know, Lorencz, I’m sick and tired —“
“Officers!” A pause. “If you want to kill each other, do it in the examination room, where the blood will be easier to mop up. But do not disturb my patient while you do so.”
Another pause. Muttered invectives, too low to hear. For one more luxurious moment I kept my eyes closed, breathing in the familiar scent of medicinal herbs and tinctures.
I was alive. And that snide drawl meant I was safely in Dr. Kincaid Hawkins’ care. I whispered a prayer of thanks and opened my eyes.
Droit and Lorencz had dropped their voices, their tones sharp as they jabbed accusatory fingers at each other. A glass jar lay in shards on one of the tables. Hawkins saw that I was awake and abandoned the argument to move to my bedside. He was wearing a paisley housecoat pulled over a long, loose nightshirt. His white hair was rumpled but his eyes were alert behind circular glass lenses.
“Sorry,” I said, my voice weak. He gave me a stern look.
“I warned you that your bad habits would eventually catch up with you.” He leaned over the bed to check my eyes, then nodded with approval.
“I didn’t start it.”
“And you didn’t finish it, either, from the looks of things. What happened? Win too much at cards again?”
“No.” I tried to sit up. Hawkins slid an arm around my bare back to help. I shivered, realizing that I was naked and the examination room was icy. “How bad is it?”
“Cut muscle. Ten stitches. You got lucky.”
I lifted the sheet to glance at the bandages.
“What I’m worried about now is infection,” he continued. “I threw away everything you were wearing. You must stop using your clothes as surgical wipes, Axton. Taking a bath every two or three days wouldn’t hurt, either.”
“I’m sorry.” I smoothed the sheet back down over my legs, shamed by his words. Hawkins had known me before Hellsgate. Before I’d been broken.
“You should be. Losing a leg is a high price to pay for poor hygiene.”
“I see Ax ain’t the only sawbones with a crappy bedside manner,” Lorencz observed, walking around to the other side of the bed. She reeked of cigar smoke and coffee. “Did he learn it from you or vice-versa?”
“Axton was my student,” Hawkins said, “until he chose to give up the pleasures of the flesh for the discipline of the mind.”
“Terrible choice.” Droit rested a hand on my bare shoulder. I shivered again, suddenly too warm. “Do you happen to know Axton’s full name?”
“Yes. ‘Axton.’ Now, I said you could remain here until he woke up.” Hawkins waved a hand at me. “He’s awake, so go away.”
“One more minute.” Lorencz pulled out her cigar case and began turning it in her hands. Her red-and-orange hair glowed in the well-lit room, a striking contrast to her drab gray Watch uniform. “Malkin gave us the slip, Ax, but we got his name and description circulating and we posted guards at the gates and docks. I told everyone the reward only gets paid if he’s taken alive.”
“Do you really think he’s one of our kidnappers?” Droit added.
“My contact said he was bragging about being in the kiddie trade. I thought it was worth pursuing.” I considered giving them the results of my autopsy and then decided to wait. The laudanum Hawkins had given me was making me sleepy, and I wasn’t certain I could manage a complicated conversation yet.
“All right, that’s it,” Hawkins declared, watching me sag. “Both of you, out.”
Droit squeezed my shoulder once, then released it.
“When will he be back on his feet? Not that I don’t appreciate seeing him naked in bed, mind you. Although I’d prefer it was my bed.”
“The day after tomorrow at the soonest, and only on crutches. He’ll need to stay off his leg as much as he can for the next week. I’ll strongly advise him to stay out of your bed, as well, General.”
“Too bad. Okay, Wentworth, see you soon.” Droit winked at me. “Get some rest.”
“Wentworth?” Hawkins asked, puzzled, as I sank back on the pillows and closed my eyes.
The next day was pleasantly quiet. Lorencz’s fiance, Elliot Chime, dropped by during his lunch break to bring me Flowers Over the Dark Water.
“Arcady and Tegeus spent all night talking about what they were going to do to Malkin if they caught him.” He sighed. “They think if they can make him a gruesome enough example, you’ll be untouchable.”
“That’s kind of them,” I said, touched.
“Ax! You’re supposed to be the civilized one.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“And please be more careful.” He looked at me over the tops of his spectacles. “They’re both upset that you got hurt, and so am I. I expect you to be well enough to dance at the wedding, you know.”
“I’m tougher than I look,” I assured him. He gave me a sad smile and I could tell he didn’t believe me. I didn’t mind if it meant he’d order Captain Lorencz to look after me.
After he left, I opened the novel. The innocent but unfortunate mistress Peony was interviewing for a job as nanny to the widower Baron Darkmere’s children by the time I fell asleep. I woke again to a burst of light as Nobilis Michael Aronson swept into the room, pulling off a pair of leather gloves and rattling orders to the three servants who trailed behind him. I blinked, disoriented.
“Good evening, Axton. I’m so sorry; I would have been here earlier, but I was trapped in a board meeting all day.” Aronson glanced around the room as his overcoat and gloves vanished into his servants’ hands. “Are you warm enough? I brought a comforter.” An extravagantly stuffed silk comforter was draped over the end of the bed. “I told Doctor Hawkins I wanted to move you to my house, but he insists you remain in his care until tomorrow afternoon. He’s only allowed me an hour with you tonight, and you’re to ring if you feel any pain.”
“It’s good of you to come, my liege,” I said, embarrassed by my sickroom tunic and the day’s stubble on my cheeks. Aronson always looked handsome and aristocratic, while I looked even more like a vagrant than usual.
“Not at all.” He gave me a charming smile. “How’s your leg?”
The room filled with the scents of dinner as platters were set on the table.
“Hawkins stitched it up and gave me laudanum for the pain.”
“Good, good.” He waved and his footman, Thomas, swung me out of bed and into a chair, draping a thick dressing gown around my shoulders. Mortified, I tugged its heavy brocade closer as silver and china were laid on the table. Aronson was watching me with affectionate amusement, and I blushed.
“You didn’t need to bring a meal, my liege.”
“Ostentatious, isn’t it?” Aronson looked smug as a servant handed him a glass of wine. “But I wanted to visit you and I was starving. Is the doctor feeding you?”
“Not as well as this, my liege.” I dropped my eyes to the table. “You could have sent for me tomorrow.”
“Of course I could have, but what’s the point of being rich if I can’t spend it on my friends?” He shrugged and glanced up, his whiskey-colored eyes sharp. “Besides, I understand you have a lead on the man who kidnapped my wards.”
“It’s only speculation, my liege.” I reached for my wine glass and realized it was filled with water.
“Doctor’s orders,” Aronson said, sounding apologetic. “I’ll pour you a real drink tomorrow. Now, tell me what happened.”
I told the story again, doing my best to make it interesting, although I’m a miserable raconteur. Aronson asked a number of probing questions about Malkin, clearly hoping for information that might help him find the young bravo.
“I hope you’re right about him, because I need a new lead to the Banishat,” he said at last, as his servants cleared away the dishes. My poor appetite hadn’t done the meal justice, but he’d gallantly pretended not to notice. “Every trail we follow in the Vigilance comes up cold. The cabal has covered its tracks extremely well.”
“I don’t know for certain that Malkin’s involved,” I said again. “It was just a random lead. It may not go anywhere.”
“At this point, I’ll take anything I can get.” His expression darkened. “Those poor children deserve justice. The Banishat stole everything from them.”
“They have you, at least,” I said. Aronson shifted, his expression shifting between discomfort and pride.
Careful questioning and some quiet research in the Hall of Records had revealed something of his history, and I had guessed more after long hours of observing the way he and his cousin Droit interacted. Nobilis Aronson’s decision to make five homeless children his legal wards, and foster two others, had been a significant step in resolving what I suspected was a deep ambivalence toward intimacy caused by violent intergenerational family dynamics. I just worried that he might be trying to do too much at once. It would do nobody any good if he became frustrated and started repeating his father’s pattern of behavior. To avoid that, I did my best to provide him with as much support and advice as I thought I could get away with, given the vast disparities in our social rank.
“It’s not enough,” he said after a moment. “I can’t possibly make up for all the terrible things they’ve experienced.”
“It makes a difference, my liege. And you aren’t the only person taking care of them,” I said gently. “Captain Lorencz and General Droit are also looking out for their interests, and the Vigilance is providing them with the education and training they need as sentinels.”
“But…”
“Being abandoned or abused as a child has lasting effects,” I said, keeping my voice neutral, “but as long as we recognize those effects, we can adapt our behaviors to lead a fuller and healthier life.”
He looked away as plates of fresh apple pie were set before us, a flash of uncertainty crossing his handsome face.
“We found Finn’s family,” he said after a moment. “The Kenzies live out in the country, just as he’d said. They have seven other children. Very reverent. When Finn began to Manifest, they thought he was under Yzyrchye’s influence and beat him. A communicant found them and volunteered to take Finn away for a prayer cure. He was a slaver in disguise, of course. Finn remembers walking with him until they joined a small caravan on the road, and not much else. They must have nixed him there.”
“Does his family want him back?”
“No. And Finn doesn’t want to go back, either — or at least that’s what he said. But you should have seen him crying.” Aronson closed his eyes. “I wish you’d been there. I didn’t know what to do.”
“Just let them cry as often as they need to, until they’re finished.” I picked at the pie. It smelled delicious, despite my lack of appetite. “Were the other four with him?”
“They’re inseparable. And I’m sure they did more for him than I did.”
“It’s important that they know you’re there, as an adult, to support them.” I made a mental note to discuss Finn’s family with him during our next counseling session.
“The only family we have left to trace now is Jack’s,” Aronson said. “I think he has the best chance of finding a home again; somebody must have missed him when he never returned to the ship. All we have to do is find it and check its passenger list. Carel sent messages to the Vigilance in Candor, and they’ll check with the Watch.”
“What about Caro? Her mother’s supposed to be here in Dockside, isn’t she?”
“Caro doesn’t want to find her family at all.” Aronson gave a faint smile and began eating his dessert. “She spends all her spare time with Tegeus. He doesn’t seem to mind, although I’m worried that he’s a terrible role model for an impressionable young woman.”
“They’re both very independent,” I observed. He made a face.
“Too independent. Caro’s got a wild streak. What’s strange is that she and Jack are best friends, and Jack’s always so quiet and polite. I’m hoping he’ll be a tempering influence on her.”
I nodded, glad to hear that he was paying attention to the children’s relationships.
“What about Holly and Kate?”
“Holly’s doing well, especially in school. She learned her letters in the orphanage, so she’s ahead of everyone except Jack. She enjoys studying.”
“Don’t let her vanish into her books. Make sure she socializes with everyone else.” I wished I had my files with me so I could take notes. Holly had been hired out of an orphanage as a tweenie, the lowest rank of house servants, before she’d started to Manifest. She’d been kidnapped while she was in the Markets on an errand, and her employer had simply assumed she’d run away. Her position had been long since filled by the time she recovered her memories.
“Kate’s doing well, too,” Aronson continued. “She expressed an interest in law, so I arranged for her to do some work in Ban Jaspin’s office. I think he’s hoping she’ll become a Ministry sentinel.”
“You didn’t find her family?”
“No. We ran some ads in the Sun-Herald, but nobody answered. We’ll keep trying, but I’m not hopeful.” He scraped his fork over the plate, then glanced at mine. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like apple?”
I took a mouthful of pie to avoid hurting his feelings and then set the fork down. Aronson’s servants were clearing away the dishes, and I nodded to one of them to take mine, too.
“I think you’re doing an excellent job with the children, my liege,” I said, in part to distract him from my lack of appetite. “How are Angie and Kay?”
He sighed.
“Well, Angie hasn’t gotten into any fights this week, so I suppose things are looking up.”
“Have you talked to her about it?” I asked.
“Yes, for whatever good it may do. Apparently Caro’s been teaching her how to fight. And since Tegeus is teaching Caro — why doesn’t it surprise me that it’s all his fault, in the end?”
I smiled, but before I could reply, a servant opened the door and admitted Hawkins.
“Visiting hour is over,” my old instructor declared. Then he paused, looking around. “That pie smells good.”
“Please take the rest of it, Doctor.” Aronson stood and his servants surged forward. Before I knew what was happening, I was back in bed, the rich dressing gown draped over one post and the silk comforter pulled up over my lap. Fresh clothes were laid on a chair by the wall. “I’ll send a coach for you tomorrow, Axton. I’ll be in meetings all day, but we’ll have dinner at eight.”
“Thank you, my liege,” I said, then yawned and apologized. Aronson wasn’t listening, shaking Hawkins’ hand while his servants carried boxes back outside. He gave me one last wave and walked off as his cashmere coat, bearing its silver Vigilance pin, was draped over his shoulders by his footman.
“Well, Axton,” Hawkins said, picking up the leftover pie, “since when do you rub shoulders with the aristocracy?”
“I’m one of his charity projects.” I yawned again, suddenly exhausted. “He’s trying to make me respectable.”
“Ah … yes, that will take some resources, won’t it?”