“Then I’ll have to put up with it,” said Rix. “I can’t waste a day on a hope that’s probably forlorn, much less a fortnight there and back. Now, to business.”
“Indeed. Was it wise to take on Leatherhead’s men, after all they’ve done here? It hasn’t endeared you to the servants.”
“To defend Garramide I’ve got to have experienced fighters. There was no other way to get them in a hurry.”
“After all they’ve done here you’ll have to work damn hard to get the people on side. And make sure your thugs keep to their barracks.”
“I meant what I said,” said Rix. “I plan to run Garramide the way my great-aunt did. I expect you to advise me on that.”
“I will,” said Swelt. “What are you going to do about Blathy?”
“She said she was entitled to remain in Garramide. Is that correct? Or should I ask Porfry?”
“I wouldn’t bother.”
“Why not?”
“He’s a fanatical Herovian. He sees you as an upstart who has just discovered his true heritage and plans on using it to his advantage.”
“You don’t like him?”
“His first loyalty isn’t to Garramide,” Swelt said simply.
Rix put that aside for later. “You tell me, then.”
“Blathy quoted the founding charter correctly — the widow of the previous lord is entitled to remain here…”
“But?”
“Two points.” Swelt studied his sausage-like fingers. “The intent of the provision was to provide for the widow of a legitimate lord — not a passing bandit who seized Garramide by killing everyone who opposed him.”
“And the second point?”
“In law, before becoming a widow, it’s necessary to be a wife. Mistresses don’t count.”
“So I can get rid of her…”
“Why do you hesitate?”
“It feels like a dishonourable thing to do… even knowing that she’s hardly better than Leatherhead.”
“Honour can be taken too far, Rixium.”
“The fall of House Ricinus has given me a new appreciation of its value,” Rix said drily.
“If you want to take the place of your great-aunt, you’ll have to take the hard decisions.”
“I’ll think on it. What’s the state of the fortress?”
“You tell me. You’ve just spent all afternoon inspecting it.”
“The defences are in good condition, apart from the gate itself. I’ve ordered the carpenters and masons to begin strengthening it in the morning. But I wasn’t talking about the walls.”
“Depends what you plan to use Garramide for,” said Swelt.
“I didn’t come here to hide.”
“I’m pleased to hear it. Why did you come?”
“To fight for my country. I’m going to raise a small army and harry the enemy every way I can.” Rix studied Swelt’s round face, expecting him to demur. He did not have the look of a fighter.
Again Swelt surprised him. “Your great-aunt would have been proud.”
“It’ll put Garramide in danger,” said Rix.
“As one of the oldest Herovian houses in the land, built by Grandys himself, Garramide is already threatened. We can either fight, and probably lose, or hide like craven cowards and gain another few months. Either way, Lyf is coming.” The tiny eyes drifted around the room, then settled on Rix again. “But you’ve just shortened the time by weeks.”
“I don’t follow.”
“You sent Tordy and his wife away with nothing.”
Rix frowned. Glynnie had said the same thing, but he was so tired he could not think straight. “Yes?”
“Tordy’s a moron, but his wife is stiletto-sharp, and she’ll sell the news for a high price.”
A throbbing pain in Rix’s belly matched the agony in his wrist.
“In two or three days,” said Swelt, “Lyf will know where you’ve gone to ground, and he’ll come after you.”
“How long have I got?”
“Perhaps a fortnight.” Swelt’s gaze drifted back and forth across Rix before settling on his face.
“Where’s the best place to cut them off?” said Rix, cursing his poor judgement.
“Tordy’s been hunting in the rainforest all his life. You’ll never find them.”
“Damn! Well, give me your report.”
Swelt produced a set of hand-written inventories which he passed to Rix, then proceeded to recite them word for word and number for number — the entire contents of the pantries, larders and cellar, the number and state of the arms in the armoury, the kinds and numbers of the beasts grazing in the outer yard and on the many farms.
“Enough!” cried Rix, his eyes glazing at the thought of so much book learning. “Just give me the gist.”
“Which particular gist would that be, Rixium?”
“What we have plenty of for a siege, what we lack, where our strengths and weaknesses lie, the state of the treasury — ”
“Ah,” said Swelt. “The treasury.”
“What about it?”
“It was most handsomely endowed when your great-aunt died, but since then…” Swelt spread his pudgy hands.
“You’re the damned castellan,” Rix said savagely. “You’re the man in charge.”
“I was when your great-aunt was alive. But after you inherited…” Swelt peeled off a piece of torn thumbnail.
“Get on with it!” cried Rix, the pain in his wrist growing by the second.
“You weren’t of age, and Lady Ricinus did not entrust the job to me.” There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. “She sent in a factor of her own, a fellow called Scunlees…”
The name meant nothing to Rix. His mother had employed dozens of factors. “And?”
“Scunlees’ instructions weren’t to manage your estate, but to strip it.”
Rix studied Swelt, wondering if he were lying and had stolen the treasury for himself. But he did not think so. It fitted too well.
“Go on,” he said.
“It appears that the stories about House Ricinus’s vast wealth were exaggerated, Rixium… but I don’t think that comes as news to you.”
“It doesn’t,” Rix said slowly. “Mother spent staggering sums on bribes to get us into the First Circle of families. And Father squandered an even greater amount training and equipping the Third Army.”
“An army that was wiped out in the first hours of the invasion of Caulderon.”
Rix shook his head, trying to clear his memories of that horror. “By the time of the Honouring we were on the brink of bankruptcy. Tell me the worst,” he said grimly.
“The treasury is almost bare,” said Swelt. “Had I not hidden part of it, Scunlees would have taken every last chalt. And he sold half the flocks and stores a month ago; more than we could afford to lose.”
“Where is the bastard?” Rix said furiously. “I’ll wring his miserable neck.”
“When the news came of House Ricinus’s fall he was gone within the hour — with everything he could cram into his saddlebags. The great dame would weep.”
“I don’t remember her being the weeping sort,” said Rix.
“Just an expression,” said Swelt. “She would have nailed his head to the barn door.”
“Go on with your gist. What about men to man the walls?”
“With the fortress servants, the labourers from our farms and stables, the bakers and brewers, masons and smiths and so forth, we can muster three hundred men at need. Though only a handful are experienced fighters.”
“Plus Leatherhead’s fifty. I’ll knock them into line and start training your folk in the morning. How many other people are there?”
“Another few hundred. Plus children, nursing mothers and pensioners.”
“That’s a lot of mouths.”
“We’ve stores in the fortress to withstand a siege, though they won’t last for months. And if winter gets any harder we’ll have to feed half the serfs on the plateau, or see them starve.”
“We won’t see them starve,” said Rix. “We’ll all tighten our belts.” His eyes slipped to Swelt’s astounding middle.
“Some more than others,” Swelt said drily, though Rix sensed approval. “Your great-aunt would have said the same.”