In The Beginning, Gail Daley [red white royal blue .TXT] 📗

The next morning after breakfast, Rebecca looked Amber in the eye. "Well, are you coming back with us?" she asked.

Amber nodded. "Yes. Thank you for coming after me, Draconi Rebecca."

Lewys didn't have the heart to tell his old friend his grandson had to leave the keep, but he told Mort Serle would no longer be allowed to teach the children. When Mort explained this to Serle, he was furious. Angrily, he went down to Land's End, and started spending his free time in the taverns by the harbor.

"Should we advise the Harbormaster about him?" Rebecca asked Andre worriedly when she heard where Serle was spending time. "The village girls should be forewarned; I don't want another unwed mother on our hands."

"I'll take care of it," Andre promised her.

That afternoon, he and Logan rode down to the harbor. "I need your opinion of the port defenses," he told the Weather Mage when he asked Logan to join him. "It occurred to me we might be able to use a storm at sea to hold off the Shahen's fleet if an attack comes from there."

Logan stopped them at the lookout post. An older, grey haired man came out of the shelter. "How can I help you, Drakes?" he asked.

"Any large fleet of ships on the horizon, Thomas?" Andre asked him.

"No, Drake Andre. From here I can see almost to Marsden," he said proudly.

"Do you watch for storms from here as well?" Logan asked him.

"Yes, I can see them from quite some ways off," the man admitted.

Logan nodded. Dismounting, he stepped forward and shut his eyes. Tapping into the overhead Leys, he stretched his senses out as far as he could. "Amazing," he murmured. "With these," he pointed upward, "I can feel all the way to where the storms are birthed. There is one out there beginning now, far to the south."

"How often do they come?" Andre asked him.

Logan shook his head. "I'm not familiar with this area. Do you know?" he turned to the old man.

Thomas shrugged. "In the winter, we get the tail of one every few weeks. They usually blow themselves out before they reach us."

"Could you keep one together, this far north?" Andre asked Logan.

Logan laughed. "With those Ley Lines, I can bring on a hurricane, Andre. A storm like so powerful is a two-edged weapon though. Once I get it here, it won't just attack the Shahen's fleet, it will cause massive damage to the village, and maybe reach as far as Ironlyn."

"Then we need to start preparations to minimize any damage as soon as possible." He turned to look back over his shoulder. "We will need to build shelters up in the hills for the villages goods and animals, and harvest any crops early enough to get the best yield. How much warning will you be able to give before the storm hits?"

"I'll feel it coming. I should be able to tell within three to four days when it's going to arrive," Logan said. He added, "All the buildings near the shore will need heavy storm shutters, and any perishable objects should be moved to second stories."

Andre remounted. "Let's go get that started with the Harbor master."

The Price Of Virtue

WHEN MORT LEARNED AMBER had returned with Rebecca, he looked for Serle, and found him in his empty classroom, studying the maps of Ironlyn territories.

"Where did you get those?" Mort asked.

Serle shrugged. "They were in the library at the main house. Why?"

His grandfather hesitated. He had suspicions as to why Serle wanted the maps, but since he was about to bring up a touchy subject, he didn't want to start an argument about them. "Sarsee Amber has returned, and I am going up to the house to speak to her. I think you should come with me to ask her to be your wife," he said.

"We've already discussed this," Serle reminded him in a bored voice. "It isn't going to happen."

"Serle, she carries your child," Mort protested.

"I'll claim no mongrel child, from a commoner mother!" Serle sneered.

"I see," Mort said quietly. "In that case, I intend to do what you don't have the honor to do. I assume you will be leaving Ironlyn?"

Serle stared at him in silence. "Leaving? Why?"

His grandfather took a deep breath. "Because I can't expect my wife to tolerate you as a member of her household. Also, I know Lewys plans to remove you as a teacher. There won't be a place for you here."

Serle stood up so fast his chair tumbled over backwards. "You stupid old fool!" he snarled. "Alright, I will pack up tonight and leave in the morning. I warn you though, don't attempt to pass the brat off as mine."

"I don't understand how I failed you," his grandfather said, sadly.

Mort returned to their quarters and opened his strongbox. He counted out about a third of the coins it contained and left them stacked on the desk for Serle, before restoring the box to its hiding place. Out of habit, he added a concealment spell with the added component of a nasty shock if anyone but himself attempted to open it.

After eating a solitary dinner, he made use of the cottage bathing facilities, reflecting as he did so that it had been forty years since he had made ready to ask a woman to marry him.

He found Lewys alone in his study. Lewys looked up as Mort entered. "Have you spoken to Serle about Sarsee Amber?"

"Yes," Mort sighed. "He is adamant he won't marry her, so it is up to me if she will have me. May I speak to her?"

Lewys rose and put a hand on his shoulder. "I can't imagine the grief you feel at this moment. I will ask her if she is willing to speak to you. Wait here."

He found Amber in Mikel’s nursery with Catrin.

"He's so large," Amber said, touching her still flat stomach.

"They grow fast," Catrin agreed, fastening a diaper around the wiggling baby. She was tending him because she