“Not on the hill by the quay,” Duchess Andelin protested, appalled, as the boys explained that shields made excellent sleds.
“Suicide hill!” said a blond boy enthusiastically.
“Sir Miche said, Sir Miche said that three pages are buried at the bottom, after they went sledding there last year and went straight in the Brede and froze all up,” piped one little boy, his eyes round with horror at this dreadful tale.
“I don’t know about that, but itisterribly steep,” Duchess Andelin replied, reluctant to call the honorable Sir Miche of Harnost a liar.
“We built up a snow wall at the bottom,” another boy reassured.
“And I hit the wall and went up and my hat and boots fell off!” exclaimed Valentin, around a mouthful of greens. “Denin said I flew twenty feet!”
“Did you really? I mean, you must be careful,” Duchess Andelin corrected, though it was clear to Mionet that she would have liked to try it herself.
There could be no other word for this buteccentric.Especially after the meal, when the long table was pushed back against the wall and the boys formed a circle on the floor, with two boys taking up position in the center with wooden swords, to demonstrate their skill for their duchess.
“My lady,” Mionet murmured, trying to signal polite disapproval as the Duchess of Andelin sat down on the floor between the smallest boys.
“It’s all right, the floor isn’t dusty,” Duchess Andelin said, flashing a happy smile at Mionet. She had quite forgotten herself; she was as enthusiastic as any of the boys, clapping and cheering as each of them took their turns and asking questions about the maneuvers they were demonstrating.
The boys had taken her completely into their hearts. And even if it was bizarre, it seemed harmless until one of the boys disarmed his opponent with a smashing swipe that made Mionet’s hands sting with sympathy, and the wooden sword whipped through the air directly at the duchess’s head. As one, Leonin and Davi lunged to intercept it, too late.
Ophele caught it with one hand, inches from her nose.
“Wow,” breathed a tow-headed boy, and the pages offered a scattering of applause.
“That was a good strike, wasn’t it, to disarm him?” Duchess Andelin asked, looking at the boy who had disarmed his opponent. But Davi and Leonin were completely unappreciative.
“My lady, would you mind sitting back a bit?” Leonin bent to take her elbow.“Please.”
“Oh, but—” she began, looking automatically to Davi for her ally. But he shook his head, his left eye narrowed, and offered his hand to help her to her feet. She sighed. “Very well. I can’t see so well from back here. Batistin, how did you do that, that thing with your hand?”
“I saw His Grace do it, isn’t it great?” The boy boasted. “You strike hard, for this part of the sword…”
Thiswas why.
Even as the duchess sat down a safe distance away, Mionet instantly realized that this was a living example of a reason for many of the manners of nobility—no, thecautionof nobility. The Duchess of Andelin could not afford to risk the least harm. There was small chance that being struck with a wooden sword would do any lasting damage, but stranger things had happened. Princess Ophele Agnephus, beloved child of the Emperor, Daughter of the Stars, had a duty to protect her own sacred blood, to perpetuate it, and to join it to His Grace’s in the creation of his heir.
Blissfully unaware of these considerations, Duchess Andelin cheered and applauded, congratulating the boys on their skill in the final demonstrations. There was only a little trouble in her face when they finally bid farewell, and the boys trooped back out the door to be bundled off to the barracks.
“Jacot didn’t look well,” she said, once the door was safely closed, her brows puckered with concern. “Has he been ill, do you know?”
“No, my lady, but we don’t see much of the pages,” replied Davi, dragging the heavy table back into place with cheerful disregard for the existence of servants. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“He swam the Brede to come here,” she said reminiscently. “His Grace wasn’t letting anyone in, but Jacot swam across the river, and Miche threatened to throw him back in. It was so good to see them all again, I swear Valentin is three inches ta—”
“You ought to be more cautious of yourself, my lady,” Mionet interrupted, with careful moderation. It was not for her to chastise a duchess. “You might have been hurt if that sword had struck you.”
“That can never happen again,” Leonin said immediately, as she had known he would. “We ought to have anticipated that. You must keep well back in future.”
Duchess Andelin looked between them in surprise.
“But even if it had hit me, it wouldn’t have done any real harm, it’s just a practice sword,” she protested, appealing once more to Davi. But even he shook his head.
“Can’t take that chance, lady. His Grace would have our necks, if he saw that.”
“It is a noblewoman’s duty to keep herself safe,” Mionet agreed, seizing the opportunity to drive the lesson home. “That is one of the reasons why nobles do not mix with commoners, and sit away from them when they are present. You cannot risk harm fortheirsake. What would happen to those boys if they accidentally hurt you? In the Empire, the penalty for drawing blood from a noble is a flogging.”
This was a winning argument. It might even be sufficient to end this nonsense once and for all, and Mionet felt the momentum behind her as she went on, gently and regretfully explaining the necessary divisions between classes, not just for the lady’s safety, but the safety of her people.
