Derry's Wedding

Chapter  7

Only Labor For His Pains

"Oh, you are home for supper, my lords. We didn't welcome Sean properly last night, as he was hurt. We'll do better tonight, I promise, Sean."

"You do me great honor, milady," he accepted gracefully. "I'll be down directly I change clothes."

"I shall hold you to that," she smiled.

So there was no escape. He found Morris in his room waiting for him and was soon back in the hall looking (if not feeling) rather less fatigued, at least. Gregory gave him the place of honor on Lord Michael's right, and at last Derry met Lady Meagan, who was lovely, if a bit chattery. He also greeted Lucas, Gregory's younger brother, and his wife, Lady Celia. He knew her well, for they had engaged in a mutual flirtation of several months' duration a few years back. Neither had been seriously interested in the other, but the game had been fun. He was glad when Lord Michael came in because Celia had begun to tease him about being ousted from court.

To his displeasure, Derry found himself seated well away from Lady Dacia, who was on the other end of the high table with several other ladies. These Gregory identified as his cousins Amalie, Susannah, and Gyddian, his sister Rosemary, and Lady Kathleen McIvers, Colin Grant's "Katie."

"I heard a good bit about Lady Kathleen today," Derry commented drily.

Gregory laughed at his tone.

"I'd wager you did! Colin fell like a rock when he came home from Coroth, but her father put it in his will she's not to wed until her younger brother's knighted."

"He groaned a lot about that," Derry grinned. "Which one is he?"

"That's him, there with Keevan," Gregory pointed, " the one with the rumpled blondish hair. They're of an age–both sixteen last May."

"Any chance of your father knighting him early?"

"Well, he might. David's fairly mature for his age, and smart. Doesn't say a lot, but you can tell he's thinking. Figures out strategy in a snap. He's got one of those logical minds. Though he does have a woeful tendency to read everything he can lay hands on."

"Well, that's not really a bad thing, Gregory. I've learned to appreciate reading a bit more than I used to."

"Aye, well. If David does well this summer, I expect Father might knight him just so Katie and Colin can get married. "

"Well, that'd make Colin happy," Derry laughed. "Her too, I expect." He smiled at another boy now serving him with a trencher of sliced meats and breads. "Thank you."

"Will–will you want anything else, Lord Derry?" the boy asked.

"Not for a while, thank you. Go get your own supper, if you aren't the unlucky one has to stay at table the whole time."

"Not tonight, my lord. Thank you."

"He looks like family, Gregory," Derry remarked as the boy left. "Who is he?"

"Did Father not introduce you? I'd have thought he would. That's Geoffrey, of course."

"Geoffrey?"

"Uncle Adam's second son."

"Oh."

Derry was puzzled, for though he knew and liked Sir Adam McKelvey, Baron Munro, he had no idea why Lord Michael would introduce him to his brother's younger son. Gregory heard the puzzlement in his voice.

"Did Father not tell you at all, Sean?"

"Tell me what?"

"He's assigned Geoffrey to squire for you while you're here. I thought surely he'd have told you that."

"It didn't come up that I was to have a squire," Derry shrugged. "He was too busy giving me a list of what he wanted me to do."

Gregory nodded in sympathy, then asked. "Are you truly staying a good while, then? It's not just a quick visit?"

"I can't go back to Rhemuth or Coroth until I'm called back. The king and my lord Morgan made that abundantly clear."

Gregory's eyes sparkled with amusement. "In front of the whole court, I heard."

Derry winced. "Just the Privy Council, actually. It took perhaps ten minutes for the rest of the court to hear."

"Sean, I don't know how you manage it," Gregory laughed. "You could always find trouble. Geoffrey's much the same. I suppose that's why Father decided to let you have a turn looking after him."

"Wonderful. Payback for my past sins."

"Of course." Gregory sobered somewhat. "But Geoffrey has had a hard time, Sean. It's not easy having a perfect older brother, and Peter really is. Uncle Adam has a hard time not comparing them, too."

"The older boy was knighted last year, wasn't he? I remember seeing your uncle at the ceremony, but I missed meeting the boy."

"Peter's a good knight. Geoffrey will be, too, but he's not having an easy time of things, Sean. Maybe you can help him more than we can because you don't know Peter. It's hard not to compare the two if you know both."

He grinned at Derry.

"Lucky for Lucas and the younger boys Father was comparing them to us, you know. We stayed in so much trouble the whole of our youth that anyone who wasn't constantly causing problems had to look good."

"I expect so. Well, I'll need a squire with all your father's laid on my plate."

"Aye, he wants to keep you busy so you won't have time to get too friendly with my sister," Gregory chuckled. "That way he won't have to cut you into crow bait."

"Not funny, Gregory. I get the cold shivers just thinking of waking up with his sword at my throat."

"Wish I'd seen it," his friend laughed.

"Seen what?" Lord Michael inquired, turning from Lady Gwyneth to his guest of honor. "Sean, I want ye to write yer letters tonight. Want Ethan to leave first thing in the mornin'."

Derry shot a look at Gregory before he answered.

"Of course, m'lord. But I can hardly slight Lady Gwyneth's welcome, can I? I see the musicians are tuning up. I really should dance with the ladies."

Lord Michael followed his gaze to the far end of the table where Dacia and the other ladies sat.

"Ach, I suppose so. Ye can start wi' Meagan and Celia, though. Only fittin'."

Derry wasn't sure why that should be so, but he complied. He was glad to hand Celia back to her husband.

"Your wife is not much changed, Lucas," he told the younger man. "She still likes to tease me unmercifully for every slight fault."

"Slight fault? Ha! Best watch him with your sister, Lucas," Lady Celia continued to tease.

"I won't have to," Lucas grinned. "Father will do that."

And that seemed to be true, for Dacia suddenly appeared at Derry's side–on Lord Michael's arm.

"Father says we may have one dance, Sean," she informed him, "before he makes you go to work. We'd best have it before he changes his mind."

"As you wish, milady," he bowed, taking her by the hand and leading her to join a set of four couples. The music was for a lively dance that left little breath or time for talking, so they had exchanged less than half a dozen sentences before they were ending their dance and Lord Michael was hurrying Derry out of the hall up to his study to write his letters to the king and Morgan.

"Give Lord Derry a cup o' wine, lad," Lord Michael said as he sat down at the desk Derry had just left and began to scan the parchments there. "He's earned that, at least."

The boy brought the wine carefully, and Derry took it gratefully. He grinned as the boy yawned hugely.

"I know. I'm sleepy as well, Geoffrey. We haven't been formally introduced, but your cousin told me who you are. I remember your father very well from my own childhood."

"Your childhood, my lord?"

"Yes, childhood. We visited here, my parents and I, when I was very young–five, maybe. Gregory and I got into all kinds of mischief in the first couple of days, and your poor father was the unlucky one who got the decidedly unpleasant task of keeping up with us for the rest of the stay. I wonder if he remembers fishing us both out of the lake; I remember the thrashing he gave us!"

"Ye were both young rascals," Lord Michael commented, having signed both letters. "Seal these up, Sean. Got yer signet?"

"Aye, m'lord. Geoffrey, will you hold the wax for me?"

"Of course, my lord."

The parchments were soon sealed with Derry's personal signet and his Royal Councillor's seal as well; that done, Lord Michael nodded.

"Weel, Gregory said he told ye, Lord Derry, that I'm assignin' Geoffrey here to be yer squire while yer here. He's ready to do the work, aren't ye, lad?"

"Y-yes, Uncle. I–I'll try to do my best for you, Lord Derry."

"I'll be glad of your help," Derry told the boy sincerely. "Your uncle has given me plenty of work to do. He seems to think keeping me busy will keep me out of mischief."

He grinned at Lord Michael, who merely arched on eyebrow at him.

"I don't recall ye ever stayed long out o' mischief, Lord Derry. But I can hope ye've improved with maturity and better instruction. Ye'll join me an' Gregory an' Lucas to see Ethan off in the mornin', won't ye?"

Derry tried not to wince.

"Of course, m'lord," he signed. "Early, I take it?"

"Aye, first light. Go on to bed now. Geoffrey, lad, will ye light his way up the stair?"

"Of course, Uncle. My lord?"

He picked up one of the rushlights. Derry bowed slightly to Lord Michael, who gave him a very satisfied smile. Then Derry followed the boy out the door and up the stair, but when they reached his room, he did not just dismiss the lad but instead waved him into the room for a few minutes.

"I'm really too tired to think tonight, Geoffrey, but I suppose you need to know a bit about my working habits and all. I generally get up early, anyway, so unless I'm not down in the hall when Lord Michael arrives, you needn't come wake me. I'm to start helping in the armory yard and patrol drills tomorrow, so I'll need my arms seen to, as well as my own horse. I'll expect you to join me for training, since that's now part of my duty as well, to oversee your own training. I'm fairly easygoing, but I expect your uncle may find plenty for us both to do."

"I-I'll do my best, my lord." The boy bit his lower lip, looking not at all sure he'd do well at his new duty.

"I know you will, Geoffrey. That's all anyone should ask of another. I'll try to do my best by you, too."

"I–I'm not very good at a lot of things, Lord Derry," the boy blurted out. "I do try, but somehow–"

"You manage to mess things up?" Derry asked sympathetically. "Well, that'll give us a bond, Geoffrey. I wonder if I still hold the record for most punishment duties in one season? I lost count of how many extra hours I had to spend the summer I was thirteen, redoing what I'd done wrong the first time. Are you older or younger?"

"Just the same, my lord. I was thirteen end of January."

"Well, then. I will try very hard to recall that summer, though it's not something I thought I'd ever care to remember again. Go on to bed, lad. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, my lord. Good night."

"Good night, Geoffrey."

Derry sat down and began to take off his shoes. He knew he would need a squire with all the duties he was going to have; he also understood that the boy needed a mentor. But he couldn't help remembering the satisfied smile on Lord Michael's face, either, nor the impression that it had nothing at all to do with those very real needs. By assigning Derry a personal squire, Lord Michael had given him a shadow–and a chaperone. And he was sure that Lord Michael was well aware that it was now going to be even closer to impossible than he had already made it for Derry to have any time alone with Dacia!

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