Part 12 (2/2)

She smiled, reached out and patted his arm in a pro- prietary way before taking her leave. Jarrod watched her crab her way carefully down the stairs and surren- dered to an intense feeling of relief and satisfaction. It was no small thing to get the better of Olivderval. Her jolly, outgoing personality masked one of the best minds he had ever met. The Concordat had been his own idea and, though Ragnor had embraced it enthusiastically

66 during their last meeting, he had doubted that he could sell it to the Isphardis. He still wasn't sure, but the Oli- garch's apparent acceptance was a good sign- Well. thir- teen years on the Commission had made a diplomat.

He had made his mistakes and he had learned. Practice was giving him confidence.

chapren 7

ie double walls of Spa.r.s.edale lofted grey and grim, defying the summer sunlight. The fortified manor was old, and there was no hint of the new style in its archi- tecture. It was built on an artificial hill, the better to avoid the corrosive power of the now nonexistent Out- land atmosphere. A s.p.a.ce around the bottom of the hill was enclosed by blind walls with square towers at the corners. There were only two gates in the outer walls, one north, one south, their doors defended against fire by sheets of iron. The flat hilltop was surrounded by the inner walls, and these were pierced by arrow slits.

The manor house itself was invisible from beyond the outer gates.

In happier times the demesne fields that lapped against the somber walls would have been a patchwork of greens, grain followed by peas and beans, fallow, then forage. There had been an extensive kitchen gar- den in the lee of the southern wall with an orchard beyond it. The men from Oxeter had felled the fruit trees and destroyed the garden. The fields had been trampled, first by the raiders and then by the Queen's troops. The besiegers' tents now rose where wheat would have been ripening.

There were three villages dependent on the manor- Upper Waltham, Middle Waltham and Nether Walt- ham-and in these the officers of the Royal Forces were billeted. Since bed and board were paid for, the more

68 affluent of the freedmen and cottars who had s.p.a.ce available were happy to be inconvenienced. All the lo- cals were happy that the lord's boonwork was in abey- ance. Indeed, there was an almost festive feeling in the villages. This feeling was, in no little part, due to Da- rius' strict regulations on dealings with the landsmen.

Upper Waltham boasted the only inn in the area and it was there that the General had established his head- quarters. Of all the local folk Elfreg, son of Elgast, was probably the happiest. With the foreign General in res- idence, there wasn't a hint of trouble, despite the fact that the Stook and Plough had the only supplies of wines and spirits in the region. Ate, of course, was a different matter. That was brewed in almost every household, with varying results, but, if the siege lasted long enough, Elfreg confidently expected to make his fortune. True, he had lost the use of his back bar, taken over by the General as a strategy room, but it was a small price to pay.

The General was, in fact, sitting in that same room, legs thrust forward, hands linked over an incipient paunch, staring morosely at drawings of Spa.r.s.edale pinned to the paneling. There were side views of the outer fortifications, but most were of the interior, seen from above. The cloudsteedsmen had proved unexpect- edly useful.

Though the drawings did not show as much, the main house, which occupied the central position, was built of stone and slate-roofed. Darius knew from reports gleaned from former servants that it was constructed over a ground-level undercroft, used for storage. A small chapel shared one wall. There were no indications that the Semicount was a Matemite. so Darius sup- posed that the chapel was dedicated to local deities.

The inner courtyard contained a number of separate buildings. There was a kitchen, a bakehouse, a smoke- 69.

house and a privy. The well stood close by the kitchen.

The drawings were unreveating, but the outbuildings were wood-framed with wattle-and-daub walls and thatched roofs. Two gates, one east, one west, gave onto broad stone stairs that descended to the lower court- yard. Given adequate amounts of food and the contin- ued operation of the welt, a small force could stand off a much larger one, even if the outer walls had fallen.

The bailey contained a wooden granary against one wall and a stone stable for horses, plough oxen, carts and harnesses. Workrooms for the saddler and the wheelright were against the north wall, together with a mews for hawks with weathering stones for the young birds outside it. There was a second well close to the stairway and a large communal privy in the southwest comer. All in all, a well-set, well-thought-out establish- ment. There were weaknesses, though. For one thing, the place hadn't been constructed with cloudsteeds in mind. Thatched roofs and timbered walls were easily fired from above. He had not resorted to that yet, but a trip to the privy had become a risky adventure.

He heard a rumbling of voices and his head came up.

A moment later there was a rap on the door and Otorin came in.

”Well, welcome back,” Darius said, sitting up and drawing his legs in.

Otorin deposited his saddlebag on a chair and grinned at his old chief. ”I thought you'd be here so I took the liberty of ordering some ale. I've been riding for seven hours and the roads are d.a.m.nably dusty.”

Elfreg appeared as if summoned by the words, obse- quious smile firmly in place. He put down a tray con- taining two tankards, some bread and a pot of meat paste. He bowed himself out and closed the door qui- etly.

70 ”Would it be indiscreet to ask where you've been?”

Darius asked.

Otorm put his tankard down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ”Of course it would be, es- pecially''-he raised his voice-”because we both know that that miserable innkeeper is listening at the door.”

Then he added in a more normal tone, ”What I have to tell you will make it obvious enough.”

”Take your time,” Darius said, knowing he had no choice.

”Where d'you want to begin, Stronta or Oxeter?”

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