“Sorry to interrupt, Highness,” the soldier said, that evening, “there's a ship from Tew approaching the harbour, flying what looks like some kind of royal standard.
“The king of Tew?” Esme asked, shocked.
“Not his, the message said, but it looked official.”
“Did you get a description?”
“A crown, a tricorn, a sword and a something that looked like a kid's spinning top, highness.” the messenger read.
“Not a child's top, a woman's distaff, a hand-spinning wheel,” Hayeel said. “That and the crown are the queen's standard. The bicorn and sword are from the king's.”
“So it's the prince?” the messenger asked.
“Princess is more likely.” Esme said, “Oh! We wondered what Tew were planning, Hal. I think we know, now; they've decided on the marriage first.”
“I think you need to go and meet your friend, Esme. She's about to have an unpleasant surprise.”
“Or maybe not,” Esme said, “Not every arranged marriage is entered joyfully. But yes, she'll have some sort of surprise, anyway. Messenger, please pass on my orders that apart from those on guard duty, the entire royal guard be available for escort duty, full dress uniform, including shields and bows, in about fifteen minutes.”
“Yes, highness.”
“And then take a message to the minister for foreign affairs that I need to meet her at the same time, no, actually, we go past her home. Have her be ready to join me, again, formal dress.”
“Certainly, highness.”
“Ambassador Hayeel, have you met the princess of Tew?”
“No, highness.”
“I think, perhaps, you will soon be introduced to her, if you wish.”
“I do not understand, highness. Do you go to her?”
“She has come with flags declaring who she is for all to see. I will not insult her by making her bob about in the harbour and send messages back and forth. If, as I believe, she has come to marry my brother, she will be expecting a royal welcome. You may come if you wish, and I will say we were talking when we heard of her approach.”
“The emperor would not leave the palace for a supplicant royal.”
“She is not a supplicant. She is an honoured guest and possibly the greatest hope for long term peace between us and our warlike neighbour. If it is a surprise attack, then there may be some undignified scrambling to behind the soldiers shields, but the harbour cannons will destroy the ship quite quickly.”
Hal said, “Esme, I think it'd be good if I and some of my men were in full dress uniform too. That way if your ministers do want to use that surrender document, there's no inconsistency.”
“Certainly Hal. You'll join us at the port?”
“I expect you'll join us. Perhaps you'll want to talk to Henk too.”
“Not particularly. It was bad enough talking to his generals.”
“I was thinking of you asking him if they'd met.”
“They have. Just before he went into the smuggling business.”
“Oh. OK. But you don't know what they thought of each other?”
“Not really. Only by his report, which was 'a bit too bookish for my taste, but pretty enough.'”
“Not much help there then. The accounts I've heard say she's beautiful and reasonably intelligent.”
“Should I be glad that we're engaged?”
“I know I am. I know which of you I came hoping to marry, Esme. And who impresses me on a regular basis.”
“She might impress you too.”
“Are you so uncertain of me? Yes, you are, aren't you? Esmetherelda, if you don't mind being overcome with my emotions, I open to you.”
Esme feeling uncertain, risked touching his face. He was hurt that she thought him so fickle, glad she was able to reassure herself, and almost struggling to not yell his love for her at the top of his voice, and sing about his thankfulness to God that he'd brought them together. Her touch, this moment of intimacy, was also filling him with new joy, and even greater anticipation of when they would marry. She snatched her hands away. “How do you think with all that going round your skull?” Esme asked, reassured that in his mind there was no doubt: she would be his and he would be hers. “You're even more besotted with me than I am with you.”
“As the poet said, who needs wine when you're drunk on happiness? You'd better get changed and I'd better get changed. I'll meet you at the harbour, my princess.”
“I'll meet you at the harbour, my handsome prince.”
The ship from Tew was just drawing up to the quayside when Hal, wearing his formal clothes finished inspecting his marines. They'd changed hastily and were not in their parade best. “Well,” he said, “Truth be that you do be in a bit of a sorry state, lads! But you'll do, just straighten yer caps and be glad the sun's not up and like as not these 'ere landfolk woudn't notice at midday. Now, that there boat be of Tew, and Tew've been stirring, like I've said. So I want all eyes open here. Ye'll see her ports are open and her cannon are out tail first. That's good, but that's a Tew ship. They can have two cannon per gun-port. There might be another just sitting there, waiting for orders.
Which is why our guns are loaded and primed. Watchmen, you look at what's happening onboard as well as what do be up with us on shore. It do be a royal ship, and those flags say the princess of Tew do be on board, but who knows, maybe they're telling a fib or three. So, if they pull in their gun-tails and leave the ports open, or if there do be a ruckus down there and you see ladies running for cover, top gunners are to leave the cabins alone, but standard warning: take down her masts, and take out her rudder. And if they roll out their guns, then I want an immediate whole broadside aimed for the midships, waterline and then just keep along pounding the waterline until you skink her. Try to miss the powder-store, I'm going to be pretty close to it, and so's the crown princess. Hopefully nothing happens, but if they start something, at this range, we need them thinking of getting off, not aiming their guns. Got it?”
“Won't they just bottom out, captain?”
“That's the cargo quay, sailor, and it's high tide. They'll bottom out, but the top decks are going to be awash when they do.”
“Why all guns to midships, captain? Wouldn't it be better to hole her all the way along?”
“Tew ships, sailor, store all their glorious guns and shot and all that complicated stuff that keeps them shooting so fast midships; If you hit 'em hard midships, they've got a handy habit of breaking their backs and disabling their quick-fire guns all in one go. Any more questions? No? Right, honour guard form up on the quay, we'll go and welcome the Tew princess, assuming she's aboard.” Hal didn't think there was much to be gained by letting Esme spring the trap if there was one.
“Don't we wait for the princess-regent, sir?”
“She'll be along soon, marine, have no fear.”
The royal vessel of Tew, named the 'Royal Dragon' outgunned the Albatross, without question, but Hal wasn't very impressed by the seamen on board. Not one of them alerted the captain to his approach. “Ahoy, Royal Dragon!” He bellowed. “Do be your captain available?”
“Who wants to know?” a sailor asked.
“Well I know it do be a bit gloomy, sailor, but surely you've got eyes to spot a body of uniformed marines?”
Someone else glanced at them, and Hal heard him call, “Captain, sir! Honour-guard of marshland marines in full dress on the quay, not sure who's in the middle, sir.”
The captain strolled over. “To what do we owe this... visitation?”
“Well now, captain, it being the case that peace has only just broken out, my men and I were just a bit nervous when we see the pride of the Tew navy glide into port all unannounced and unexpected by anyone we've talked to. I do be right thankful that you came in with your guns tail-out, and I was just hoping that that's the way they'll stay.”
“And if they don't?” The captain asked.
“Then the lads on the top guns might mistake your intention, and fire a warning shot or two, captain. They'll not be shooting at cabins, of course, but it'd be a right shame to scare the royal passenger you claim to have.”
“Who are you to issue such threats?”
“I do be prince Hal of the Three Isles, captain. And in my history book, a Tew warship with thirty-six quick-fire guns sailing into port unannounced and without a by-your-leave do be itself quite a threat. I'd not think a couple of top guns aimed at mast and rudder counted as more than a precaution, myself. And I just thought that it might save some embarrassment if I asked you to keep your guns just where they are.”
“You are uncouth, prince Hal,” a young female voice said from a porthole just above him. “Why do you issue such threats and insults?”
“That do be because eleven years ago one of your father's ships, flying the royal standard, sailed into a port and then started shooting, princess Yalisa. Sorry for the suspicion, but like I told the captain, no one I've talked to expected you.”
“Then maybe you've been talking to the wrong people.”
“It may be, highness, it may be. Anyway, welcome to Caneth. How was the voyage?”
“Tolerable, but lacking in civil company.”
“Well, the princess-regent will be here to welcome you soon, highness.”
Yalisa didn't miss that reference, and decided to play ignorant. “His majesty is unwell?”
“It appears the kitchens served something that disagreed with his medicine, highness, but he seems to be improving now. Quite how that substance got into the meat remains one of life's little mysteries. Ah, I think I hear marching.”
“Into the meat?”
“We assume so. Into or on to, anyway. Deep enough that it poisoned the spit-hounds, anyway, and the the cook is very particular about them only getting scraps left on the bones, not off anyone's plates.”
“You've obviously been investigating carefully, highness.”
“Me? Oh no, I just listened carefully when the grand-vizier explained what he'd found out so far.”
“Not much progress.”
“No?” Hal asked.
“Some poisoned hounds are all he's found out in ten days?”
“Oh, princess Yalisa what a thing to admit knowing! You'd been doing so well until then.”
“Well, I never was much good at pretence. Tell me, prince Hal of the Isles, which princess has his majesty named regent?”
“Patience, highness! She do be coming in sight now, so why don't you come out on deck and say hello?”
“Because I want to know who I'm greeting!”
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“Well, I guess I'd better go and tell her you're hiding, then.”
“You're just going to walk up to the princess regent, are you?”
“If you happened to be up on deck you might even witness me being lucky enough to get a kiss.”
“You're at war.”
“Not any more. Unless she's cross with me for talking to you and your captain before she got here, but that's a different kind of war. Excuse me, highness, I must go and greet my fiancee.”
“What?” Yalisa exclaimed. Hal didn't answer; he'd been walking away from the ship when he'd apologised for leaving, and was quite certain that she'd heard him anyway. Fifty steps later, he was passing through Esme's stopped honour guard to meet her.
“Well?” Esme asked.
“There's a young woman on board who didn't correct me when I called her princess Yalisa, and who knows when your father became ill, and called me uncouth for pointing out to the captain that the top-gunners on the Albatross are watching her ship's gun-ports very carefully. I told her the princess regent was coming, and she got relatively annoyed with me when I wouldn't say which sister that meant. I also said that we're engaged and that if she came up on deck she might see me getting a kiss.”
“You think?”
“You are looking very beautiful in that sari. You can put it down as a diplomatic necessity, if you like,” He then thought to her, [If you want to convince her that you've surrendered, Esme, then you can't assert independent rights.]
“I see, and what does diplomatic necessity say about which body of soldiers serves as the front line?”
“How about left and right, indicating trust? Oh, by the way, Esme, ladies, if you have to run for cover, go back way you've been coming. The Albatross crew will see you and shoot down the ship's mast and smash the rudder if that happens. That's classed as a warning shot and instruction to behave very nicely. If they are so stupid as to roll their guns out muzzle first, then the Albatross will be aiming to disable their rapid-fire system and sink them quickly.”
“Rapid fire system?” Esme asked.
“They've got two guns per port, the recoil from one swings the second into firing position and delivers a cannon ball and powder charge. It's heavy, it's complicated, but it means they can shoot five or six shots for every two of ours as long as no one breaks it. Which is exactly what the Albatross will be aiming to do.”
“Firing on that ship would be an unprovoked act of war, Hal,” Esme said.
“With respect, highness,” the captain of her honour guard said, “a Tew battleship running out their gun muzzle first is roughly equivalent a group of their soldiers grabbing you and holding a knife to your throat. The harbour defence guns will also fire on such provocation.”
“I stand corrected,” Esme said, kissed Hal and took his arm and put it over her shoulder. “It's chilly and I should have worn a scarf. Let's go and meet Yalisa of Tew.”
“She's probably wondering how many of her father's plans are in tatters,” Hal said.
“Probably,” Esme agreed. “But unless those plans are her own, she is welcome to visit. Even if she herself suggested she marry Henk, she is welcome to visit, as long as she was not involved in his plans against father.”
“And what of his plans against you?” Hal asked.
“I will see how involved she was before deciding. Will you announce me, Hal?”
“Certainly, by name, or title?”
“Title is sufficient. If she does not know who was named Regent-at-Need, it is her fault.”
“Shall I mention that, then?”
“Yes, give her that clue.”
“Princess Yalisa of Tew, Captain, companions of the princess and crew of the Royal Dragon,” Hal bellowed, “It gives me inordinate pleasure to introduce my fiancee, named as Regent-at-Need by his Majesty the King of Caneth and now in this time of need the Princess-Regent of Caneth. Let all understand that she has all the rights and privileges of the monarch of Caneth, and she has no need to defer any decision to her father's will, and it is her signature and seal that has brought peace where there was once war.”
“Was that last bit necessary?” Esme asked.
“You're my fiancee, I'm allowed to be proud of you.”
“I expect you were heard on the other side of the harbour, prince Hal,” Yalisa called down. “Princess Regent, may I set foot upon your sovereign soil?”
“You are almost certainly welcome, Princess Yalisa.” Esme replied. “And it would certainly make talking easier.”
“Your words do not convey certainty, Highness.”
“There are some rumours that Tew was not all-together innocent in my brother's poisoning of my father and kidnapping me, Yalisa. I do not believe you personally would have concocted such a plan, but given the miniscule possibility that I am wrong, I would not like to say that you are certainly welcome.”
At that, Yalisa practically skipped down the gang-plank and curtsied before Esme.
“I said to my father when he ordered me here that I would much prefer to have you as sister-in-law than your brother as husband, Esmetherelda. I take it Henk overstated the security of his situation in his letter. He has fled?”
“He is under arrest, on several distinct counts of treason, as well as charges of raping a palace servant, bringing a false report to his Majesty to start a war and numerous other charges. So, if you wish to personally spit in his face you are welcome to. I have also ordered guest rooms to be prepared for you should you wish for more cupboard space than a ship can offer.”
“Captain, we ladies will accept the Princess Regent's generous offer. We will not require an escort.”
“Highness, you must have an honour-guard!” The captain replied.
“No captain, father must be appraised of the changes in circumstances. Do I presume that our ambassador is awaiting transport home, princess-Regent?”
“No. I'm informed that ambassador Ralek is still suffering from the virus he caught two weeks ago. I've had a short chat with him and am sure he was not involved. Perhaps you will be able to assure him that it is safe for him to recover. But, speaking of recoveries, Hal has heard a rumour that your own brother was injured recently? Is there any truth in it?”
“Yes, he was showing off his command of a new mount and it trampled him. I do not know what the rumour said, but the injury was most severe. I was half-expecting father to tell me he had died, but instead I was sent here to marry Henk. Captain, you will bring me news of my brother when you return.”
“Highness, your father's orders...”
“My father's orders to me were that I come home as Esmetherelda's sister-in-law or not at all. You may remind father that he agreed that I should have a two month period to consider my choice, and tell him that prince Henk will be dead before the end of that time, so I've no real opportunities to become Esme's sister-in-law. Perhaps he will consider changing his mind.”
“How old is your younger brother, Hal?” Esme asked.
“Twenty-two, loves being at sea especially now he's captain, and loves God.”
“And single?” Yalisa asked.
“Last I heard,” Hal replied.
“Please introduce us, your highness. Father isn't famous for changing his mind, but even if he doesn't, he might accept marriage to your brother as fulfilling his command to me.
"You may tell him that the worst part of the voyage was the thought of having to choose between permanent exile from home with a price on my head or a loveless marriage to a man of little or no faith. The sailing part was entirely pleasant. Except for the storm; in the circumstances where death seemed like an interesting third option, I found that amazing.” Turning back to the captain, she said, “The tide is still high, captain. If you stopped blocking the gang-plank and allowed my companions to disembark and then gave orders for off-loading our luggage, you could depart this port. I have the impression that that shore-leave for the crew will not be pleasing to my hostess.”
“Oh, I don't know.” Esme said, “As long as they're unarmed, answer a few simple questions truthfully, and are just coming ashore to spend some of their hard-earned money on some food and drink, I have no real objection to some extra revenue. It's not like we're at war or your soldiers are invading Caneth, is it?”
“They'd better not be. Otherwise you'd be impounding the Royal Dragon, wouldn't you?” Yalisa said.
“Of course.” Esme said, matter of factly.
“And now the possibility's been raised, perhaps the captain ought not leave port until morning,” Hal said. “He wouldn't want his crew to believe that he would willingly hand a royal princess who might even be the heir to the throne into the hands of a regime on the brink of war, would he? That and cancelling a promised shore-leave might lead to mutinous thoughts among the most loyal crew.”
“No shore leave has been promised,” The captain growled.
“Captain, are you aware of any plan to trigger a war with Caneth?” Esme asked, then added “In the next few weeks, that is. I know that there are always strange ideas floating around at court.”
“No, princess Regent.”
“Well, that's a relief! Perhaps you'd like to consider shore leave for your men, then. Princess Yalisa apparently enjoyed the storm, but perhaps your men would like to feel dry land under their feet, taste different food and see different faces. I will not be asking them to divulge troop movements within your borders or anything like that. I will be asking instead if they plan to commit any crimes during their visit, if they would report crimes they witnessed, and if they had heard anything about my brothers crimes, such as the hiring of mercenaries. I may also ask some personal questions or opinions not related to their service at all. Those who plan to commit a crime will be advised to stay on-board and watched if they ignore that advice, those that refuse to be interviewed or who I decide are lying about important issues will not be permitted to leave your vessel. I assume you will issue written shore passes. I will counter-sign the passes of the people who pass interview.”
[What are you doing Esme?] Hal asked.
[Public relations.]
“I have over a hundred men on board, highness.”
“I guessed that, captain. Most of them I'll question in batches of perhaps five or ten. If you wish to witness the questioning yourself or delegate that task to an officer, you are of course welcome to.”
“Your suggestion is unheard of,” the captain said.
“Not so, all sailors wishing to have shore-leave on Tesk routinely underwent such questionings when Tesk was still part of the Kingdom of the Isles.”
“And you wish to reinstate that archaic practice? Fine! it's your time, highness.”
“Thank you, captain.” Esme said, smiling, “Your crew will no doubt welcome your generosity. Please permit the unloading of princess Yalisa's companions and their luggage and provide shore passes to those you deem fit for such a privilege. I'll be discussing a few things down here.”
Yalisa looked at Esme in amazement, “What do you think you've just done, highness?”
“I've just convinced the captain to let his men bolster the local economy, demonstrated that I can get him to change his mind, and entirely turned the conversation away from war. I've also puzzled you, and my honour-guard, confused my foreign minister, Valentina here, and absolutely shocked the honourable Hayeel, lady ambassador from the empire of Dahel, who of course has my permission to write all about my strange behaviour in her report to her government. First things first, Captain, please send a runner to the city watch saying that I'm going to be allowing some sailors from Tew to be on shore-leave, and rejecting others, and I fully expect my decisions to be enforced, So the watch officer must send down sufficient numbers to surround the ship's berth, watch for rowing boats, and ensure only those with my counter-signature on their shore passes leave it or return to it. We wouldn't want any of them recycling passes or sneaking extra passengers on board, would we? And he'll also need enough extra people to follow any I mark as 'watch' that's to say those who might be planning a crime.”
Hal suddenly grinned as he realised what Esme had done. By getting the captain to agree to her granting a selection of the crew passes, she was also preventing any Tew spies from making contact or running home.
[Or the Tesk ambassador,] Esme agreed silently. [If I've really upset him.]
“Right away highness,” the captain said, also smiling. Both at her bottling up the Tew crew, as well as the way that it wasn't going to be him or his men on night watch. Turning to Hayeel, she asked, “Does my action make a little more sense to you now?”
“But you do this yourself, highness.”
“You think perhaps I should ask my sister to listen to these sailors' thoughts? I am considerably tougher than she, and I've had more practice.”
It was Yalisa's turn to be visibly confused. “Listen to their thoughts?”
“Mother is from Tesk, apparently I have enough Tesk blood in me that I've developed the gift of Tesk. Yes, that gift of Tesk, Yalisa.”
“And that's how you'll know if they're lying?”
“Exactly. Lady Hayeel, I assume you will also be reporting your own growth in this area to your government?”
“I wish there was a way I could be watching when they hear of this.”
“That's probably not practical, you'd have to deliver your own message. Do you know if your government have any experience of thought-hearers?”
“A hundred and seventy years ago, one visited from Tesk. The emperor declared her gift to be so dangerous that she must become part of the royal family, and married her himself. She was his first and only wife.”
“And is your present emperor married?” Hal asked.
“The next emperor is my age but I do not aspire so high.”
“Well, maybe he will be tempted anyway. So, you'd better also write that I realised you trust in the Saviour, and that I say that is an important factor in why you have been invited to the palace; and invited to spend time with me, and why I suggested you see if the catalyst effect worked on you. If you will not write these things, then I shall. Your late husband's title that you have inherited was ambassador to the royal court of Caneth, wasn't it, not the palace?”
“Yes, highness.”
“The court is wherever the monarch and his or her advisors are, as long as the monarch is willing. Interesting travel opportunities your title opens up there, Ambassador Hayeel. Yalisa, I'm very sorry for ignoring you. What you don't know is that my mother's brother has made some disturbing discoveries about the sun, desperately hopes he is wrong but cannot convince himself of it, and therefore hopes to complete the Tesk Challenge if you've heard of what that is, to ask the aliens to come back. One part of that will basically need all the kingdoms agreeing on a few things.” Esme said, “for instance about slavery.”
“You do not allow it at all, is that right?” Yalisa asked.
“Correct.”
“And Dahel?”
“My mother was officially father's slave, and although he treated her as free, as a foreigner, he could not free her. And as he died in debt, she chose not to tell the slave dealer who bought her that she needed a certain medicine to live.”
“I am sorry for your loss.” Yalisa said, “But question the legality of her onward sale. I understood that once a foreigner bought a slave, he or she became free automatically?”
“You are right, but she was not purchased, she was willed to him by a business partner. A loop-hole in the law that father spent a lot of money trying to solve, he failed. And because she was a slave, and a foreigner cannot obtain travel papers for a slave, she could not leave port with him.”
“And there is no embassy of Tesk, Caneth or the Isles in Dahel who could have granted temporary travel papers, even in exceptional circumstances,” Foreign Minister Valentina said, “And Tew will not issue such papers for a foreign-born spouse.”
“If you had an embassy in Dahel you would issue travel papers for a slave owned by a citizen of a foreign country?” Hayeel asked, confused.
“For the husband or wife of a citizen of a country where slavery is not permitted, we slave-free countries would offer him or her what we call protective citizenship. It has happened a number of times in Tew.”
“And because this is known, ignorant land-slaves have offered their daughters or sometimes sons to passing traders, hoping to thus get freedom for their child, only for the trader to turn out to be a slave-collector.”
“One solution, of course, being to end land-slavery, another being to execute more slave-collectors,” Hal said.
“Yes. I do want to set up an embassy in Dahel though.”
“Many minor principalities also want to do this. So far Dahel has embassies in other countries, but no countries have embassies in Dahel.”
“I predict that changing,” Hal said, very aware of Esme's thoughts. “I think the first step would be to have an ambassador on a ship in the trade-harbour. The harbour-fees are cheaper than rent anyway. Once the ambassador is there, and issuing papers, registering births and deaths, and so on, then the authorities are likely to pay more attention.”
“They are likely to demand that the activities stop,” Hayeel said.
“They can demand, but there are laws regarding what they can enforce, and if the markings of the vessel proclaim it the sovereign property of a significant monarch, say Caneth or the Isles, and an appropriate guard of marines, things would get quite interesting. I must suggest it to Dad. Are there any others in a similar situation to your mother, Hayeel?”
“Some, probably.” she admitted.
“I think your first group of interviewees are about to arrive, Esmetherelda,” Hal said.
