The Lady and the Prince
Chapter 16

Bruce, Earl of Landsford, was a handsome, solidly built man of fifty or so. He and his wife, Beatrice, and his oldest son, Alistair, met Nick and Elizabeth at the main entrance to his castle. The earl and his family had spent a great deal of time at the palace and were well-known to the prince. Their greetings were both correct and cordial, and Elizabeth quickly felt comfortable with them.

The prince and his party were assigned one floor of a wing of the castle, Nick and Elizabeth both being given huge suites with more than enough room for the few servants with them. The rooms were richly and lavishly furnished, and Nick felt right at home.

When they were settled in, they were invited to tea with the family. Elizabeth was a little surprised the room it was held in wasn’t large and grand too, but rather cozy instead. It was just the six of them, the earl’s second son, fourteen-year-old Albert, joining them as well.

When everyone had been served tea, cakes, and cookies, the earl said, “I am very pleased to have you visit. Prince Nick…Prince Nicholas and I have known each other for quite a while.”

Nick grinned. “Earl Bruce was one of my favorite people to eavesdrop on when I was young. He served as our ambassador to both Franck and Drusia at one time or the other, and he had such interesting conversations.”

“Hmm, yes, and having them in Franckish or Drusian only stirred you to learn those languages faster, didn’t it, Your Highness?”

Nick nodded and took a bite of cake. Lord Alistair had only been waiting for a break in the conversation to ask, “Is Princess Anne well?”

With a smirk, his brother added very quietly, “And does she miss him?” Alistair kept his hand low and punched his brother in the thigh, which didn’t faze Albert a bit but earned him a warning look from their mother.

Elizabeth answered, “She was quite well the last we saw her, but you were at the ball yourself as I recall, and we left just a couple of days after that.”

Alistair reddened a bit, embarrassed at being so obvious in his infatuation. His mother commented, “My son does care for her so much, and she seems to like him in return?”

Nick and Elizabeth glanced at each other, not sure how to respond to Lady Beatrice’s attempt to elicit information from them about Anne’s feelings. At last Nick said jokingly, “I wouldn’t dare try to speak for my sister. I think she could still beat me up if she really wanted to.”

Alistair said brightly, “Yes, she is very good with weapons, isn’t she? And she told me you are too, Lady Elizabeth. Would you like a practice bout while you’re here?”

Earl Bruce said, “Alistair! That’s not really very polite. I’m sorry, Lady Elizabeth. My son occasionally has more enthusiasm than sense.”

But Elizabeth replied, “Not at all, I actually would like some sword practice if that could be arranged. I’m afraid riding in a carriage day after day with no chance to fence is eroding my skills.”

Lady Beatrice raised her eyebrows at the unconventional idea of a lady sword fighting, but Earl Bruce smiled. “Of course, if you really wish it, I’m sure my sons would be pleased to practice with you and Prince Nicholas as well. From what I hear about the Franckish situation, a little arms practice might be very timely. In fact, I might join you myself.”

“Actually, I’d like to see your long-wooled sheep,” said Nick, hoping to divert attention from sword practice. “As Head of Commerce, I’ve noticed the prices you’re getting for their softer wool are quite good.”

The earl’s face lit up, and he began a long story about how he had first found a long-wooled lamb and bred his prized flock. Nick was interested, but Elizabeth could see that Lady Beatrice, Lord Alistair, and Lord Albert had heard it all before undoubtedly many times.

At a pause in the conversation, she asked, “Lady Beatrice, I fear I have little interest in sheep, so while the men discuss business, perhaps you would show me your home?”

Lady Beatrice agreed quickly, and they escaped. The young lords looked like they would have liked to go too, but knew they would be expected to stay and talk about crops and animal husbandry with their father and the prince. They would just have to listen politely no matter how boring they found the long conversation.

Dinner was pleasant, not overly formal but with lively conversation provided mostly by the earl’s children. Two daughters had married and no longer lived at home, but both sons and two more daughters remained. Neither of the young women at fifteen and seventeen years of age had been introduced at court yet, and both were eager to hear about it from someone besides their parents and older brother.

Afterward Nick escorted Elizabeth for a walk through the castle while she told him what she remembered about the tour Beatrice had given her. They spent a couple of hours wandering, only got lost once, and ended up back at their suites pleasantly tired. Nick gave her a quick kiss good night.

One thing that Nick had learned from Elizabeth was that the earl had more than one office. He used his library as his courtroom and stored the related documents and all the historical documents of his family there, and he also had an office and meeting room that he used for his business dealings. Their wandering revealed that there were no guard patrols inside the castle, just stationary guards at certain posts.

“What do you think, Winkershime? Should I try to get into one of the offices tonight?” Nick asked.

“We’ll be here five days, Your Highness, there isn’t any rush. Although the library is public, so no one would be concerned if you spent some time there.”

“What’s the schedule for the five days?”

“Tomorrow the earl would like to show you his sheep and cattle herds since you expressed an interest in them. I believe the ladies will be going into town for some shopping in the morning. The afternoon is a short excursion up the Pyne River and a tour of the harbor. The following day there will be hunting, and the day after a large afternoon social. Your visit will end with a two-day fair and a ball.”

“Sounds pretty standard.”

“The earl has a reputation for being conservative and correct.”

“Then I’m going to bed early for once. Good night, Winkershime.”

“Good night, Your Highness.”

In the morning Elizabeth and Sylvie went with Beatrice, her two daughters, four maids, and a half a dozen soldiers into the town of Pyneriver. It was large and as a seaport had goods from all over the civilized world. Elizabeth found a puzzle box she thought Nick would like and a necklace and bracelet with oddly swirled green and black stones for herself. In among her blue dresses, she did have one or two green ones that would match perfectly.

Beatrice and her daughters bought a few things as well and advised her about merchandise she was unfamiliar with. They purchased some interesting fruit that Elizabeth had never seen before, promising it for dessert at dinner.

Nick knew very little about sheep and cattle other than they could be quite tasty. Earl Bruce realized that quickly and gave him a tutorial about the animals to the continued boredom of his sons who accompanied them. Nick couldn’t sustain his interest for as long as the earl could talk on the subject, so he diverted him with questions about his fee and tax structure. That Nick did replace interesting because he learned the reasoning behind the earl’s taxes and fees and also found out his feelings about the duties the Crown charged.

Alistair and Albert lost interest entirely and rode behind them having their own conversation about the relative merits of their mounts, finally comparing them to Falcon in front of them. Eventually, when the discussion of taxes slowed, they challenged Nick to a race back to the castle.

Nick wanted to, but he wasn’t sure the earl would approve, and he didn’t want to get the brothers in trouble with their father. But the earl just laughed. “Suit yourself, Your Highness, but I warn you, Albert hasn’t lost a race this past year, and when he did, it was to Alistair. But stay on the road and only race to the big oak so you don’t trample anyone at the castle entrance.”

The earl lined them up across the empty road and gave them the signal to begin. Alistair’s horse started the fastest, with Falcon and Albert’s horse dead even behind him. Nick estimated the big oak was about a mile and a half distant, a good distance for Falcon. Albert’s horse gradually overtook Alistair’s, and so did Falcon as Alistair’s horse started to tire.

Nick was almost able to keep up with Albert’s pace, but couldn’t quite catch him. Nick finished a length behind Albert, and Alistair finished two lengths behind Nick.

Albert pulled up with a big grin. “Should have laid a bet,” he said.

Nick replied, “Too late now that I’ve seen him run. That’s a fast horse. Will you use him in the hunt?”

“No, he doesn’t like to jump. Wait, your horse is a hunter?”

At Nick’s assent, both young lords expressed their admiration for Falcon’s showing on a flat course. Nick was pleased, and when he realized they were treating him as an equal, he was doubly pleased since he liked them. Alistair didn’t mind at all coming in third, and Albert didn’t gloat about winning. Nick decided he could probably live with Anne marrying Alistair, if that was what she wanted.

The afternoon boat trip was pleasant. The boat was large and stable and propelled by oarsmen on either side. There was inside seating for the ladies, and refreshments were served. Nick sat with Elizabeth for a while, but then went out and joined Alistair and Albert on the top deck. They discussed horses, hunting, and the possibility of war with Franck. Alistair was confident that if any Francks tried to invade Landsford, they would soon regret it. Landsford had a good-sized standing army including archers, dozens of knights, a potentially large peasant conscription, and their father’s leadership. Both brothers were proud of their land and enthusiastically enumerated all its defenses.

Nick said little as the young men extolled Landsford’s military prowess, but he kept track of all the personnel and equipment they said they had. He nudged the subject to Landsford’s history, and when the boat finally returned to the dock, Lord Alistair offered to show him the historical documents in the library.

Once back at the castle, Alistair helped Nick replace whatever he wanted. When Nick expressed an interest in how Earl Bruce ran his court, the young lord showed him document after document from the earl’s judgments. It was the easiest spying Nick had done yet, and Alistair seemed to enjoy digging around in the old papers too. One day he would become the Earl of Landsford, and understanding his family’s past and his father’s laws would become important. Nick could see that at the age of twenty, the young lord was just starting to realize that what he had learned from his tutors wasn’t going to be enough when he became earl.

Elizabeth spent some time stitching with Lady Beatrice and her daughters. Stitching was a good excuse to talk, elicit opinions, and get to know her hostess and her family. That was the point of the Progress after all. It had been difficult to spend much time with Lady Elena at Sothalia since she was so young and very busy trying to fulfill an adult role, but here in Landsford the ladies had time to chat and become better acquainted.

Dinner featured wild boar and beef, and the odd fruit from the market was sliced and sprinkled with a spice mixture for dessert. Elizabeth liked it, but Nick only had one bite and put it aside.

After dinner the four ladies retired to a separate room and played cartes, while the four men went to a room full of hunting trophies, drank brandy, and played a dice game. Nick was careful to ration his drink, and Albert was only allowed one heavily watered glass. Earl Bruce drank three glasses and Alistair two, but neither became drunk. The gaming was just for counters, and no money exchanged hands, so everyone was in good spirits when they retired, win or lose.

Nick took time to write down everything the young lords had told him about Landsford’s defenses as well as his impressions of the earl and his family before he went to bed. The Commerce messengers arrived daily, although their packets were a bit out-of-date, and Nick wanted to send in his military reports whenever he could.

Winkershime took charge of it as soon as the ink was dry. He had been managing Nick’s paper case more closely and ensuring the correct papers were moving in the correct direction, and the valise was always in trusted hands.

Nick went to bed early again, pleased with how easily he had gained so much information. He woke in the darkness. He smelled smoke, and he got up and checked the sitting room, but it was harder to detect there. He went back in his bedroom and traced it to the window. He couldn’t see the fire, but he could see black smoke drifting from some other side of the building, and he could faintly hear voices calling as well. He quickly dressed and ran down the halls toward where he thought the fire might be, falling in with others as he headed toward the back of the castle.

Emerging into the night, he saw the stable was burning. The bottom half of the walls were stone, but the upper half and the roof were wood, and the roof was on fire. Men had started a bucket chain from a nearby well. One man tried to go in through the big double doors, but was repelled by the heat. Nick saw Albert push past the man and plunge into the smoky building. Hal was there too, dancing around as if he thought he should follow Albert. Nick tried yelling to him, but the page couldn’t hear him in the noise and confusion.

Elizabeth arrived breathless behind him. She had thrown on a blouse, her riding pants, and sturdy walking shoes; it was a bizarre but sensible outfit to fight a fire.

Nick pulled her close so she could hear him over the loud roar of the fire and the yelling of the men. “Get Hal! Don’t let him do anything stupid.”

She nodded and ran toward the boy. Several horses suddenly burst out of the barn, undoubtedly released by Lord Albert, running between her and Hal. When they had passed, she was able to reach him and get him over into a bucket line next to Winkershime. When she turned back, she was shocked to see Nick go into the burning building. He had just said going in was stupid, what was he doing?

“No! Nick, don’t!” she called, but it was too late. Winkershime looked at her, and she gestured toward the building. “Nick went in!” she yelled at him. Winkershime swore in several languages, pushed her into his place in line, and ran toward the stable.

Nick found the inside of the stable dark with smoke. He wrapped his scarf over his nose and mouth. Burning embers were falling from above, and he put his matter shield above him as he started opening stall doors. Some were already open and empty, undoubtedly Albert’s work. He knew there was no way to save all the horses, but at least some would have a chance to escape if they had the courage to leave their stalls and could replace the door.

After the first couple of stalls, he stopped using his hands and just moved down the center aisle flipping open latches with his magic. No one could see him since he couldn’t see anyone, not even the young lord he was looking for. Undoubtedly Albert was trying to save his favorite horse, and Nick hoped he could replace Falcon too, but he had no idea where his horse might be.

There was a huge Fwooomp! from ahead of him, and Nick thought the hay stores had likely caught from the increase in heat. The smoke was getting thicker. He moved in a crouch, trying to replace air nearer the floor where the smoke was thinner, but he was starting to cough in spite of the scarf.

He was far into the stable, but where was Albert? He found Falcon and Elizabeth’s gelding stabled next to each other and the matched royal coach horses across from them. He unlatched their doors and used his trip line to poke their rumps and get them moving in the right direction.

The prince heard horses screaming and hoof beats coming down the aisle. He jumped to the side as a half a dozen horses skittered past. There were loud crashes both ahead and behind him as timbers from the roof fell. He staggered on farther into the stable and finally saw Albert on his knees trying to reach up and unlatch one last stall door. The young lord was badly burned and gasping for air.

Nick got to him and sheltered them both under his matter shield, but the heat was unbearable. “Come on, we have to go!” he shouted.

Albert could barely croak back, “No, there are more horses.”

“They’re dead, and we will be too if we don’t go now.” Nick didn’t wait for a response but grabbed Albert, got him to his feet with Nick’s shoulder under his arm, and started back toward the entrance.

The prince was suddenly knocked to his knees by burning beams hitting his shield. The shield held but tilted, and the heavy wood slid off to land in front of them. He got them both back on their feet, mostly carrying Albert. He had to do something right now, or they were both going to die.

He opened his aperture wide and drew in magical energy. He could turn magic into fire, but he had to reverse the process somehow and clear their way to the door. Nick sent the energy out in front of him, trying to attack the fire on the timbers blocking their path. Nothing happened; the magic and the fire weren’t interacting.

He was able to use magic to shove the burning beams to one side, but there was too much flaming debris to clear it all, and he didn’t have time before the rest of the roof caved in. If the roof fell, he would be crushed in spite of his shield.

Nick tried again, attempting to make the magic draw the heat out of the fire, sort of soak up the energy and then ground it all out into the already hot stone floor. Was that what the little magic book had said about how an energy shield worked? He couldn’t remember.

Outside the bucket lines were still going, but it was clear there was no point in tossing little bits of water on the raging fire. The stable was a lost cause. Water was being thrown on nearby buildings instead, and men with shovels were tossing dirt on bits of burning debris and spitting embers falling all around to keep the flames from spreading.

Winkershime was as close to the stable door as he could get, peering in for any sign of his idiot prince. Why had the brave fool gone in? Surely he had more sense than to risk his life for his horse?

Earl Bruce ran up next to him. “Someone said Albert is in there!”

“And Prince Nicholas,” Winkershime replied. Well, if Nick had seen Albert go in, that would be a better reason to risk his own life, but the Warwicks couldn’t afford to lose him. Didn’t he know that?

Elizabeth came over and stood next to the two men. All three were smeared with soot and dirt, her hands raw and blistered from the buckets, but none of them were going to move until they knew what had happened to their loved ones.

An inexplicable gust of wind came out of the open door of the stable, moving the smoke to either side. Through the suddenly open aisle in the smoke, an odd T-shaped apparition resolved itself into Prince Nicholas carrying Albert in his arms.

The earl leapt forward and took his limp son. Nick croaked, “I don’t know if he’s alive. He stopped coughing.” He then proved himself quite alive by coughing so hard he bent in half. Winkershime grabbed him and made him move farther from the burning building until he was completely out of the smoke and sitting on the stone steps to the castle.

Elizabeth spotted someone with a fresh bucket of water and took it from them, just saying, “I need this.” She brought it to Nick, who drank the water from his hands, splashed it on his face and head. Elizabeth could see his hair was crisped, and places where his clothes were charred or even burned away exposing reddened skin. Where was the bloody physician?

Winkershime peeled out of his shirt, wetted it, and gently patted Nick’s burns with it. Elizabeth realized Hal was standing a few feet away looking sick at the sight of his injured prince. She didn’t need to wait for the doctor; she knew perfectly well how to make a burn poultice, and Nick’s injuries didn’t seem too serious to her. She sent Hal for clean sheets and ran to the kitchen gardens. It was hard to see what she was doing, but the slowly fading glare of the fire was enough to identify houseleek.

Elizabet quickly gathered some of the leaves; the sap from fresh leaves would make a good burn poultice. By the time she got back, Winkershime had Nick lying down and was carefully peeling away his charred clothing. Oddly enough, only his legs were actually burned; the rest of him seemed to have mostly escaped the fire, even with parts of the flaming roof falling in. Sylvie had come with Hal and the sheets. Elizabeth had them tear up sheets while she crushed some of the leaves, matting them on the burns and bandaging them in place.

She had enough to treat more than just Nick, so she did, going to wherever people appeared to be injured. Some people had suffered burns when they had gotten too close to toss their water or had had fiery debris hit them. Sylvie followed her with the impromptu bandages and assisted in tying on each poultice. Elizabeth finally found the doctor with Albert, Earl Bruce, and Lady Beatrice. Albert was alive but burned far more badly than Nick, so she just showed the doctor what she was doing and got his quick approval before returning to treating the injured. He had his own salve he was using on Albert.

By the time she worked her way back to Nick, he was sitting up wrapped in one of the sheets and sipping from a cup. The kitchen had gone to work and was distributing broth and tea. Sylvie had a cup of each for her, and she gratefully sat down and began to drink, discovering she was very thirsty.

The five of them sat together on the steps, drinking and saying little. The sky lightened, and they watched the dawn. Men began arriving with the frightened horses that had escaped the stable and turned them into a large fenced grassy area.

“Did Falcon make it?” Nick asked.

Winkershime said, “Yes, all our horses that were in the stable got out. There wasn’t room for most of them, thankfully, so all the guard and wagon horses were out in a field nowhere near the stable. I understand more than half the horses were saved, thanks to you and Lord Albert.”

Nick finished his tea. “I’m glad, but give Albert the credit. I wouldn’t have gone in if I hadn’t seen him go in.”

Winkershime just nodded with a small smile. So his prince wasn’t quite an idiot after all, although he suspected the young man had used saving Albert at least partly as an excuse to save the horses. There was probably no way to explain it had still been foolish; the life of the second son of an earl was far less important than the life of a prince. In a way, he was a little bit proud of Nick for not realizing that.

Albert was taken inside on a stretcher, and most people had returned to their beds. Nothing could be done about the stable until it cooled down, so just a few men stayed to ensure the fire didn’t start up again.

Nick insisted he could walk, and they all walked slowly with him to see him safely back to his rooms. Elizabeth stopped him outside his rooms and gave him a light kiss. “I was really frightened for you when I saw you go into the stable. I’m glad you’re alive.”

“Me too. And I’m glad you know about plants and medicines. The burns already hurt less.”

“We’ll talk later. Rest now.” Elizabeth wanted to know how he had survived the inferno of the stables with only a few mild burns on his legs. She suspected magic, but was curious about why he had been burned at all if he had used some sort of spell or something. Apparently magic wasn’t as powerful as she had imagined. Or had he just been incredibly lucky?

Shortly after Winkershime got Nick into bed, the doctor arrived and got him out of bed again to soak his burns in a solution he provided and apply ointment when he’d finished. He said the ointment wasn’t much different from the leaves Elizabeth had applied, only more concentrated and would cover better with less mess.

It was full morning, and the birds were chirping by the time Nick got back to sleep. All activities planned for the day had been cancelled, and most of the people who had fought the fire were in bed until late morning or even afternoon.

Elizabeth did a long soak in a tub before going to bed, but only slept fitfully for a few hours. She was up while the castle was still very quiet, dressed simply, and went out to see how the surviving horses were. There were so many people injured she was afraid no one had treated the horses.

She found that many of the animals that had escaped the stable had burns, but they were all being treated and cared for. She went back into the castle and asked after breakfast. She was directed to a large room with a buffet. There were just a few people there that she didn’t know, so she helped herself and sat down alone and ate.

After her late breakfast, she looked for members of the earl’s family for an update on Albert. After wandering for a bit, she finally found Lady Beatrice in her morning room. Albert’s mother had sewing on her lap, but her hands were idle. Elizabeth knocked on the door frame and asked, “Do you care for company?”

Lady Beatrice invited her in and tried to be a good hostess, but Elizabeth could see she was distracted. “How is Albert? Will he be all right?” Elizabeth asked.

The young lord’s mother looked unhappy. “The doctor says he will survive and will be well again, but there will be scars. I hate to think of my poor boy…it could ruin his life, just for a few horses.”

“He did a brave and noble thing to save them. Scars won’t ruin his life unless he lets them. He gained them honorably.”

Beatrice nodded. “He always was the bold one among my children. Foolish, some would say. I’m told Prince Nicholas went into the burning building and carried him out. Was he badly hurt?”

“He suffered some burns as well, but I don’t believe they are overly serious. They’ll just be painful for a while.”

“I must replace some way of expressing my gratitude to him. If there is anything we can do for him, anything at all, we would be honored to do it. Would you tell him that for me?”

“Of course. I’ll visit him a little later. I think he’s still sleeping now.”

Beatrice smiled sadly. “I’ve been sitting at Albert’s bedside with his father. I thought while he’s still asleep I could accomplish something, but all I’m doing is thinking of him. I might as well go back. I’m so sorry this happened during your visit. I’m afraid all our plans are askew now.”

“Think nothing of it. We’ll be going to a lot of hunts and fairs and balls on our Progress. While we’ll be sorry to miss yours, perhaps, it will be even nicer just to rest and enjoy your beautiful Landsford.”

Lady Beatrice rose, and so did Elizabeth. “That’s very kind of you to say. Anything you and Prince Nicholas want, just ask.” At Elizabeth’s “Thank you,” she left to be by her son.

Elizabeth went back to her suite and found Sylvie up and about and going through Elizabeth’s trunk she had unpacked for their stay. Elizabeth assured her that even though the schedule had changed, she would manage with the clothing that was readily available and that Sylvie need not unpack any of her other clothes.

Elizabeth went to Nick’s suite and knocked. Hal answered the door and let her in. The bedroom door was ajar, and she peeked in.

Nick was awake and turned his head and smiled at her. He put his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture, and she realized that Winkershime, slumped in a chair next to the bed, was fast asleep. She waved at Nick, and he waggled his fingers in return, and she retreated and let them be.