The Studied Financier (2)

 2

Now, I would like to say that we have never had to deal with a dead body on the Ritzavoy IX before, but ever since my dad bought this cruiseshuttle so I could have steak on my birthday when the former maître d'hôtel was being a sprynk about it, strange things have happened here. Feliste had tried to warn us when finalizing the papers for it. When we actually became involved in solving the murder, he had been aghast. Apparently, in all his decades of running the luxury cruiseshuttle, he had simply looked the other way and let it work itself out!

Pops and I had never been on a luxury cruiseshuttle before we bought this one, so we never imagined in the midst of all the pleasant odors, sparkling fountains, and thick Xiepvuian rugs, there would be ominous undercurrents. The selling characteristic of the Ritzavoy XI was an atmosphere of serenity and repose. 

Granted, it was not as if I felt unprepared to deal with the situation simply because I never had to work for a single thing in all my life. I was the head of my father’s provincial military, and he had given me some of his mines to manage. The problem with being the head of the military anywhere in Upsilon Andromedae system, was that there had never been any wars. We really had never needed a military, but the system of government was set up by those who sent us here from Earth. It had worked so far, and no one really cared to change it. 

“Did you hear me? I would like a different room!” 

“Yes, ma’am, of course,” I saw that one of our smallest state suites was available, so I quickly put her there. Going up from a mid-level cabin to the top floor was a sure way to ease her rightful indignation. “Here you are, cabin 1870. 

“But we’re—”

“No additional charge,” I smiled. She walked off as if in a dream. 

“Berdelia, I’ve got to deal with a dead body in—” I glanced at the keycard, “cabin 14105. If anything else comes up, message me—not my father.”

“Of course, ma’am,” the typist barely looked up from her work. I vaguely wondered if I would ever get that used to having dead bodies show up on this ship. 

I hurried to the Gendarmerie Department at the bow-end of the deck, glad my father’s back was turned to Reception. I was trying not to move too quickly, but I must admit I was getting a little excited about being able to potentially work on another case. 

“Detective,” I said as I burst through the door, “there’s another body that was just found in 14105!” 

The detective left his feet propped on his desk, but slowly set down the com-tab. 

“I was wondering when you or Mr. Thomatian would show up.”

“Pops is doing intake. You already knew about the body?”

Detective Zimslow Marshaggins chuckled. 

“No. But I knew today’s the first day on a new planet.”

“Does this happen every time you get to a new port?” 

This drew chuckles from some of the other gendarmes. 

“Not always murder, but if something is going to happen, its usually the first day. C’mon men, let’s look lively now. You know the routine.” The detective took his feet off the desk, and everyone started moving at one. 

The Studied Financier (1)

 1

Themisto Spacedock

It was 09:55 on a breezy Themistese morning, and we had just finished docking a couple hours ago. It was the first time I had ever been farther than the moons on my home planet of Majriti and to have arrived at the planet that held the government for the entire star system was exciting for me. Men and women, who had delayed until the last minute to end their vacation, moved their traveling trunks past my reception area down to the shipping clerk so they did not need to drag them home themselves. 

I was wearing a cream-colored, gauzy, zippered unitard with a full-length, form-fitting, silvery-aquamarine suit jacket. Since I knew I might have to stand to greet new guests for a bit when we started boarding, I had decided not to wear my matching 4” heel thigh-high boots but went with my silver ballet flats that had straps wrapped around my legs until half-way up the calf. These might not have been quite the style finishing footwear I preferred, but they were certainly sensible. Especially in my new line of work for the luxury cruiseshuttle as the reception manager.

“Vixie,” my father called to me from the “Employees Only” door of my reception office. My proper name was Elevixie, but Pops had called me Vixie for as long as I could remember, and it was much less of a mouthful. “Feliste is going to help me with this first major intake today. He said something about needing the check-in com-tabs?” 

My smile fell slightly. I had expected Pops would want to do the intake with me. My father was like a kid in a candy shop with this ship, but he also had absolutely no idea what to do. He made our wealth in mining. Thankfully, when the old maître d'hôtel was fired—I mean that practically was why my father bought this ship after all—Feliste, the former owner, eventually came around to asking for the job. He did not need the money after selling one of the most expensive assets in the universe to Pops, but he had a sentimentality for the ship and just could not find it in himself to retire. 

“Here you go,” I said, bringing back my smile as I handed two intake com-tabs to him. “Send the staff Feliste wishes to help at the other doors over to me. No one else has come to pick there’s up, yet.”

“I shall not fail you!” my father smiled. I rolled my eyes at him. After thinking on it a bit, I decided it was probably best that I stayed in the reception area, anyways. I had no idea what strange problems might arise, but I was certain I would be called away from the intake to deal with them. That could quickly become annoying.

Speaking of problems, I could tell one was already walking up to my service window. 

“Excuse me, ma’am, but there’s a dead body in my bathtub! I would like a different room, please!” she said in the exasperated way one might complain about a spot on the spoon a waiter just brought to replace a spoon with a spot on it. 

The Baron of Latiz (26)

 26

Samh 10.21.1339 

The next morning, when Valanthus ate breakfast, he discovered that Amoranda and the other ladies had eaten early and his charge had taken them into the garden. 

This did nothing to calm his nerves. He had felt uneasy all night as if Amoranda had stumbled across some new trouble. He glanced out the window into the garden and saw them laughing and enjoying the two suns shining down on them. He then walked a few turns around the table. He had overheard the question about him but tried not to let it color his opinion of Amoranda’s long-time friend. With Biranta, he felt as if he had seen her somewhere before, but again, he had to brush this off because he could not place her. His agitation continued no matter how hard he tried to disperse it with logic. 

He finally concluded there was nothing he could do but watch his charming charge closely, especially while Tinsarentia and Biranta stayed. He wandered out to the garden and overheard Amoranda entertaining them with the story of Froch and Galeid's evil plot. There, he saw Biranta standing close to Amoranda, leaning into her with one hand locked around her waist and the other holding her hand. Amoranda looked slightly discomforted by this closeness to a stranger she had met less than a day earlier, which raised Valanthus’ indignation. 

At dinner, he watched Biranta’s looks and found her eyes almost continually upon Amoranda as if Biranta wanted to eat his charge instead of the meal before them. Valanthus flung dissatisfied looks at her, and she darted hostile glances back at him. 

Each day, he hoped for the two newcomers to leave, but each day they refused to take his hints, and each day his suspicions about Biranta grew stronger. Still, he had no proof. He knew he would need something to convince Amoranda that her friend had taken advantage of her generosity and that the stranger was not who she appeared to be. 

Finally, one morning, when the two had been there almost a week, Amoranda came down before anyone else was awake and met Valanthus walking in the hall. 

“Silvergor,” she said, “what’s the matter with you? What new troubles have taken possession of your mind? I’ve seen the cloud gathering upon your brow, and I can’t rest until I know the reason for it.”

“As always, Kidege, the source of my uneasiness stems from the real concern I have for your wellbeing. I have you so much at heart that the least appearance of danger gives my mind fresh alarm. However, even though I’m extremely uneasy, I fear you will think me to be a very imaginative old fellow, if I tell you the reason.”

“Come now, Silvergor, we have grown close enough to share even the most whimsical troubles.”

Valanthus sighed. 

“I suspect Biranta is not a woman.”

Valanthus could have sworn Amoranda was struggling not to laugh.

“I will always acknowledge myself obliged to you for your great care and caution,” she began carefully, “but please do not carry this line of thinking too far. What could have put such a thought into your head?”

“Observation puts a great many things in our heads. First, there is the evil-looking glances she gives me every time I come around.”

“I have already told you that she dislikes old men. I tried to convince her you were harmless, but I cannot begrudge her for it.”

“That isn’t the only thing that stirs my suspicions. Have you noticed how she looks at you? What of all her kind glances? And please do not forget all the rapturous embraces or loving squeezes. What about her eager desire to please you? How she gushes over every word you speak? Neither Tinsarentia nor Katamitoria behave in such a way toward you.” 

“Silvergor, I know everything you say comes from an honest heart, but in this, I think you are too fearful. Some women are more touchy-feely than others. Your passion for my safety is simply seeing these things in the wrong light. I can’t share your opinion in this for several reasons of my own. First, what object would a man have pretending to be a woman just so he could get close to me? Once he revealed his true self, he could expect nothing but disgust on my end for his fabrication. Next, I would never believe Tinsarentia, who would have to be aware of it, would be so base as to betray me like that. No!” she shook her head and turned from him. “Silvergor, there can be nothing in these opinions. Please, set your fears aside.” 

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The Baron of Latiz (25)

 25

Samh 10.20.1339 16:06

“Please show them in,” Amoranda replied. 

She was surprised to see two ladies entering, one of whom, Tinsarentia, was a childhood friend but the other lady was a stranger. However, since the stranger appeared with one so dear, both were equally welcomed. 

Since they arrived a little before dinner,  Amoranda invited them to dine with them after they exchanged introductions, and Tinsarentia explained she was in need of a vacation but did not want to travel alone. Both ladies readily accepted, and everyone followed Silvergor into the dining room.

“Is he a relation?” Tinsarentia whispered.

“He is much better than a relation, he’s a friend. My uncle has committed me to his care,” she replied.

As soon as dinner was over, Silvergor retired and left the four ladies to themselves.

“How long has he been with you?” Tinsarentia asked when he had gone. 

“About seven months. Even if he were not so very wise, he would be a good companion. The truth is he has saved both me and Katamitoria on several occasions.”

“Madam,” said Biranta, the stranger, in her deep voice, “if we young people gave in to all the whims of the old, we would be old before we had lived out half our days. I hope we shall not have too much of his company. There is nothing I hate more than an old man!”

“Oh, you will like him better when you are acquainted with him,” Katamitoria said. “Although I also doubted him initially, I have found him to be a very agreeable companion. For all his age, Silvergor is very nimble in his conversation. In fact, I would rather be talking to him most times than to men of our own ages.” 

This tribute raised a blush in Biranta's cheeks, which Amoranda noticed, and laughing she said, “If you had not just now declared your aversion to old men, I would be half afraid you had a mind to rob me of my guardian. 

They spoke a little longer on other subjects until it grew late, and Amoranda invited them to stay the night, which, of course, they accepted. Then, she had the maids lead the visitors to their own rooms. 

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The Baron of Latiz (24)

 24

Samh 10.20.1339 15:12

Three weeks later, Valanthus was sitting in the parlor with the two women discussing how to avoid the wrong kind of men. He had been pleased that not only had Katamitoria joined their sparring session but she was making progress in her own way. She would never be as bold as Amoranda, but she now had some skills should she need them. 

He believed these sessions where he spoke with both the women about recognizing a reprobate upon meeting him and then discussed how to boldly avoid them would prove to be even more important for Katamitoria since she was soon to be on her own. They had found a condo in a gated community that only allowed screened residents into it. This not only gave her the security she needed, the community to support her, and a maintenance-free environment without having to pay servants, but it was easily within her budget.

“You see,” he said, “a man of true judgment and good understanding has much contempt for the flirt. He is looking for a woman who has eyes only for himself, and he will never pressure a woman to go beyond her comfort zone. However, even if a woman is self-sufficient and capable in every way, if she entertains numerous men and encourages them all to court her, the right kind of man will steer clear. Think about your own feelings—would you go chasing after a man who was constantly in the company of twenty women and fawning over all of them. No. You would suspect him of being unfaithful to all.”

“But if you don’t dine with men and spend time in their company, how would you even meet the right one? I mean—no offense—but you have never married anyone. Perhaps if you had spent a little more time with some women instead of putting your youth into your work, you might have found the right woman,” Amoranda chided.

“Or perhaps I found the right woman, but she was a flirt. Since she did not want to give me her time but wanted to share her time with everyone else, I decided it wasn’t worth it,” he gazed into Amoranda’s eyes. “It was far easier on my heart to work than to be constantly trying to compete with others for her attention. When you truly love, you want not only that person to love you back with devotion but also that person to be happy. If that person’s happiness is in someone else and not in you, then you let that person go.”

  “But what about me? I only flirted with Kieron. Even if others had come to Cook’s door, once I believed he loved me, I would not have strayed. How was I to know he was not sincere?” Katamitoria asked.

“In his case, he was pressuring you to move too fast. He did the same thing to Amoranda, but I believe she balked at it since her heart was not committed to him.”

“In that sense, it seems her flirtatious nature was better for her heart because it kept her from being attached to any particular man. She could easily discard the cads who tried to pressure her.”

“Ah,” Amoranda sighed, “but I must confess that Silvergor is right when he says being a flirt is bad. My heart might not have been engaged to Kieron, but it was not engaged to any of the men who visited me. Sadly, it was the same men who came each day. If I had never opened the doors of my house and had instead forced men to meet me at the museum or other places where we could have shared a mutual hobby, I might have found the man who did turn my eye. It also did not stop those rogues from plotting to take me by force or deception. I can think of no worse fate that to be shackled in some man’s basement the rest of my life with my freedom and estate gone to his pernicious habits.”

“The compliments of those men,” Valanthus added, “are also nothing more than the compliments of a dog. They lick you and cater to you and jump all over you, but they would be just as loyal to anyone dangling meat before them. Empty flattery is nothing to build your vanity upon.” 

“Were you ever flattered when you were a young man?” Amoranda asked him. 

“There was a girl, and I believed her to be mine. At first, she did flatter me—not with empty words, but with her true admiration. However, we were very young. As she grew, she soon discovered I was not the only fish in the pond so to speak, and we had a falling out.”

“I think I need to learn to tell the difference between false flattery and true admiration,” Katamitoria said. 

“The first clue is the context. Is it something sporadic that slipped out or does the man always seem to be looking for a time to give you another compliment. Do the compliments come with a price—is he looking for something from you after giving them? These are all signs of insincerity. The second clue is the degree. Are you beautiful—does your clothing set off your eyes in just the right manner? Or, are you the most beautiful woman in the universe? When you have risen above every other woman on the planet, you have risen into the realm of false flattery.” 

Amoranda looked at him quizzically and started to say something, but they were interrupted by a servant. 

“You have two guests, Madam.”

The full book is available for sale HERE.

The Baron of Latiz (23)

 23

Samh 9.31.1339 08:05

Valanthus was confident Amoranda had finally seen the light regarding Colonel Kieron. He was less confident that they had seen the last of him. 

At breakfast, the day after the trial, Katamitoria asked if he and Amoranda would come with her to retrieve her belongings from Cook. Valanthus had initially planned to help Katamitoria get on her feet and manage the money she newly had acquired, but he accepted that she needed to inform Cook of her new situation. He also realized it would be best for them to accompany her since Cook’s husband had been close to Kieron. He did not want any chance of the poor girl being kidnapped and forced to hand everything back. It would destroy her after all she had been through.

After the two-hour ride in the landcraft, Katamitoria introduced Silvergor and Amoranda to Cook, a jovial and round woman who was soon informed of all the good fortune that fell on Katamitoria the previous day. Cook insisted they stay for supper, and they passed the day pleasurably before Katamitoria loaded her few things into the landcraft and said a tearful good-bye to the older woman with a mutual promise to always be friends and to write.

As they were going home, Valanthus noticed in his seat by the automaton chauffeur that the road was almost empty except five solocraft that seemed to be persistently pursuing them. Their way went through some uninhabited areas of the planet, and he was just debating whether he should alarm the ladies or not when they were hit from behind with an electromagnetic blast that shorted everything in the vehicle. He quickly grabbed the yoke, which was sluggish but manageable and prevented them from crashing into the sidewall of the highway as they slowed. 

The ladies came to the cockpit and instantly perceived the problem. Katamitoria was terrified, and although Amoranda seemed to be trying to be strong for her, he noticed the shake in her hand. 

“We are going to be robbed! I just know it. I have finally gotten ahead, and it is just my luck to have something like this beset me,” Katamitoria moaned.

“Take heart, we will get through this. Amoranda, take Katamitoria and get her settled in the escape pod. You must initiate the emergency power for it and get it started. We have less than a quarter of an hour to incapacitate their solocraft and get out of range before their blaster recharges.” 

Valanthus guided the landcraft to a complete and safe stop before springing from his seat and accessing the weapons cache. He was thankful he had overseen these well stocked in all Amoranda’s vehicles as soon as he had arrived to care for her. Of course, he also always traveled with his two throwing knives strapped to his thighs, his cudgel cane, his fighting knife strapped to his forearm and a poisonneedle shooter on each wrist. He grabbed the electromagblaster and a sonicshotgun, tucked Silvergor’s beard into his turtleneck so it would not get in the way, and headed to the door. 

Before he reached it, it slid open and two men wearing masks that only showed their eyes stepped onto the landcraft. The first held a large knife, the second was carrying steelrope. 

“Come quietly, old man, and tell us where the girls are if you value your life,” the man rasped.

As Valanthus pulled out the knife from his forearm sheath, he made a mental note that this was not a random attack. Someone knew Katamitoria and Amoranda were in this vehicle and wanted them.

The first attacker gave him no further time for reflection and jumped at him with a sloppy overhead strike. Valanthus parried it and tripped him. The second assailant lashed out with the rope knocking Valanthus in the jaw. Valanthus shot a poisonneedle at the attacker, hating to waste one of the precious two lethal shots he had, but unable to see a winning way of fighting both men in such a cramped space. The man with the rope instantly collapsed. 

The man with the knife did not flinch at the loss of his partner. Instead, he readjusted his grip and slashed at Valanthus, opening a cut on Valanthus’ upper arm. He instantly was on the attack, and Valanthus had to remain focused so he could parry each of the swift slashes. 

“You’re pretty spry for an old man,” the attacker stated stepping back to reassess his methods. It was then Valanthus noticed Amoranda behind the man holding a metal club. 

“I think all men should take pride in their health no matter what their age,” he replied, keeping the rogue’s focus.

The bar came down on the man’s head, and he dropped like a sack of taenite. 

“We only have about five minutes left to get out of here. We don’t have time for you to be playing around with these guys,” Amoranda said cheekily. 

“You should have stayed in the escape pod,” he said as he dragged the unconscious man to the door and shoved him out. Then, he leaned out and shot the solocrafts with the electromagblaster, smiling because they had left them in a cluster so one shot could hit them all. They all fell out of the air. He ducked back inside the landcraft as fireshot flacked the side of it.

Inside the escape pod, he noticed Katamitoria knocked out and strapped into one of the seats. His eyebrow shot up.

“She found the first aid kit and told me to wake her when it was over. I was too busy with other things to object. Are you wounded at all?” 

“Only a scratch, Kidege,” Valanthus said with a smile and sat next to her as she pushed the button to blast away from the wreck. He reached over and gently grabbed her hand.

“It was a pleasure fighting by your side,” he looked deeply into her eyes, but the moment was broken when she burst into laughter.

“You look ridiculous with your beard tucked in like that!” she snickered. Valanthus sighed and pulled his beard out of his shirt carefully. He was certain Major Yoeritt’s plan was never going to work. 

As soon as they got home, Katamitoria was carried to her room and Amoranda insisted on calling a doctor to care for Valanthus’ injury.

“We must be sure the knife wasn’t contaminated with anything,” she said and forced him to sit patiently on the couch while she coddled him.

The Baron of Latiz (22)

 22

Samh 9.30.1339 20:09

When Kieron returned, the judge, baliff, and the two appointed lawyers for each side were waiting. Amoranda asked immediately to see the marriage license before escorting Kieron and the justice of the peace into the parlor where all were waiting. On it she was surprised to see her name. However, upon giving it to the judge, he instantly recognized that it had been forged. The details of the case were quickly laid out and the evidence presented. Kieron’s appointed lawyer asked for more time to present their side, but the judge overruled it on grounds any evidence he proposed to gather would have no effect on the case. The judge requested private audience with the justice of the peace during the trial, who left in shame and who, they were told, was soon to lose her position for not calling the license into question. 

Kieron, when presented with the option to pay the bond immediately or go to jail, chose to pay the bond. The judge then fined him for forging a marriage license, and sentenced him to two years community service. Both Amoranda and Katamitoria were given restraining orders against him, and Kieron was told he would go to prison for a long time if the judge ever saw him again. 

When Kieron realized how matters went, he decided any complaint would be folly on his part and might get him a worse sentence.

“Can you forgive me for the injuries I have done you, Katamitoria?” he asked in the poorest display of acting Amoranda had ever seen. “I admit, I planned to wrong this innocent woman, but I have been inwardly remorseful for all I had done,” he informed the judge. 

The trial concluded and the funds were instantly transferred from Kieron’s account to Katamitoria’s account. Two robosentinals escorted Kieron off the property and the information about the restraining order was uploaded into their database so if he tried poking around again, they could immediately detain him and hand him over to the authorities. 

It was very late by the time everything concluded and the judge and lawyers left. Amoranda had one of her maids show Katamitoria to her room and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. 

The Baron of Latiz (21)

 21

Samh 9.30.1339 18:53

Colonel Kieron ran to Amoranda eagerly, but Pethany quickly made her presence known, and he stopped in his tracks. 

“My dearest Amoranda,” he said, “how shall I return this favor? I received your message with delight, and I have come to die at your feet.” 

“You seemed so very earnest for a meeting in your message that I felt I must give you an opportunity. What is it you wanted to say to me that was so secret?”

“To say, my angel? How can any man speak when he has so glorious a subject as Amoranda before him? Come to my arms, my lovely charmer, and let me whisper my very soul upon thy lovely bosom.”

“Hold on there, Romeo, before you fall into violent raptures let me know what your plans are. You have often equated a married state with a nightmare. I presume you give lip service to it because that is the way most young men are as opposed to that you truly believe it? Come, confess to me that you have a mind to marry.” 

“To tell you that I plan to marry would be to tell you I have do not plan to love you. Why would you want to subject yourself to one like me when instead you could forever make me your slave? The very thoughts of being bound to someone would make me hate that person and take all love from me.”

“Whyever would you think this? What proof do you have? Although my own experience and observations are young, I know several married people who in all appearance love one another exceedingly well.”

“The key is that it is only an appearance, but appearances are often false.”

“Why then by the same rule,” Amoranda countered, “the love of a man toward his mistress is as empty as that of a married man to his wife. We have no way to know the truth of either except by their words and actions.”

“What a pity that so many good things are said about so bad a subject,” he said.

“If you are so against marriage, why don’t you petition the government and get the marriage laws repealed? If it is as you say, then the lawmakers have imposed upon all of us something they do not believe is proper to follow yourselves?”

“There are political reasons based on the tenets taught to those who first colonized Upsilon Andromedae. Our marriages were initially arranged because they knew they were sending relatively few colonists to do the job. Even now, with our population spread across four of this system’s planets, it makes sense for some to still adhere to this principal and ensure that our miners marry miners and our government marries from suitable families who have been trained to govern. The founders who sent us also worried about wiping out the colony with Earthly diseases that we have not detected here. Now, please oblige me and let’s talk no more about marriage,” he replied.

“I hope you realize I am not yet at my last prayer for a mate that marriage is all I can think about. Please don’t assume despair has any hand in what I’ve said,” Amoranda conceded. “To change the topic, we’ll have some tea.” She nodded to Pethany, who left to get it. 

Almost immediately, Kieron’s com-tab buzzed with a message. No sooner did he cast his eye upon it when he knew it was from Katamitoria. Amoranda noticed with pleasure that the effects of a guilty conscious immediately seized his appearance. His tongue faltered, his cheeks glowed red, his hand trembled, and his eyes darted a wild horror. Setting his com-tab aside, he said, “It’s better for a man to have a wife, I guess, instead of a troublesome mistress.”

“I’m afraid I don’t believe you. If that message was from a mistress, I am sure you would be impatient to read it. In fact, I will readily dispense with all ceremony and beg you to do so.”

“The foolish girl who sent this, I own, I admit that I once had an intrigue with. However, she had a better knack at getting a heart than keeping it. Besides she gave me such trouble that I was almost weary of her before I had her. No, now, it is only you who commands my heart. I own no mistress but you nor will I ever wear any other fetters than those you put on me.”

Amoranda laughed.

“I am positive that you have said as much a thousand times—probably to the very lady who sent you that message. Come either read it while I am here or I can leave so you can read it in private.”

“Rather than lose one minute of your company,” he sighed, “I will do penance and read this while you are present. But be assured, I intended to have blocked it without opening it as I have already done several times for her."

Amoranda watched his face as he read and found it altered and then turn as pale as death. 

 “What is the matter? Is the lady not well?” she asked. 

 “I—I was mistaken,” he said after a pause. “This message actually came from my steward and told me of a very considerable loss I just had.”

“Pshaw, was that all?” Amoranda asked. “You know, there are misfortunes at all families. You’ll pull through, I’m sure. Come, drown your sorrow in some good tea.” 

He sat very moodily for some time, and Amoranda watched the struggles of his soul by his looks. 

“Colonel,” Amoranda said after a bit, “your tea will be cold. I wish I was worthy enough that you felt you could share the weighty affair that employs your thoughts.”

“It is a weighty affair indeed,” he said. “I have thought over those things you said earlier and resolved to do that which I have often thought no woman upon earth could have had the power of persuading me to do. Your charms and the points you brought up have dissolved my intentions. I would like to propose marriage to you.”

“I suppose that a man of your estate and quality will not allow me to object,” Amoranda said with a sly grin. “However, if I should comply with your request too soon, you will think I am too cheaply won and value me accordingly.”

“Actually, I am one of those who hate trouble. The less you give me over this, the more infinitely you will engage my heart to you. In fact, since your old crabby guardian is away from home and there is no time like the present, I will send for a justice of the peace. In only a half an hour we can finish the thing—and I hope I will never repent of it.”

“It is too late in the evening to find a justice of the peace, and you have no marriage license.”

“It doesn’t matter whether it is morning or night. I just happen to have a license at home that will do.”

Amoranda hid her shock as best she could. She was wondering why a man who had just been protesting about marriage happened to have a marriage license with her name on it available to him. Thankfully, he was distracted and took off for his home immediately. 

 

The Baron of Latiz (20)

 20

Samh 9.30.1339 17:28

“Madam,” Amoranda said when Katamitoria had finished. “What has happened to you is deplorable. I want you to know that although most of the men I have met are as detestable as the ones in your life, I do not believe all men are that way. My uncle has only ever taken care of me—and the guardian he sent to watch over me is also an honest, kind man. In everything, my guardian gives me free choice as to whether or not to take his sage advice, and he is training me to defend myself and be my own woman.” If anything, Amoranda smiled to herself, he would be in danger of me asking to marry him.

“I believe,” she continued, “that I can make you an acceptable present for sharing the worst part of your life with me. With your permission, I will also tell my guardian of your trouble, and together, we will strive to help you further.”

“I see nothing wrong with sharing my story with your guardian, but for all you trust him, you must forgive me if I do not.”

With that, Amoranda left Katamitoria, found Silvergor, and explained the situation while she retrieve the contract. Then, she returned to the parlor with Silvergor, the box, and the agreement. 

“This,” she said upon reentering the room, “I presume is the loss you lamented. I also want you to know that Kieron has not been at Gwarewhea since his injuries to you but at one of his homes near here. In fact, he is there now and trying to get me to meet him clandestinely in a copse at the edge of my garden. He accidentally dropped that box in my garden and does not know I have it.” 

The sight of the contract gave poor Katamitoria overwhelming delight. The joy diffused itself in every feature of her face. 

“Is it possible,” she asked, “that I am truly able to recover this testimony of his villainy? It is some little satisfaction for my lost confidence and honor that I have this justification.”

“I am glad the paper alone gives you confidence, but Amoranda and I have been discussing your present problems, and I believe it will take more than that to convince the rogue to pay up. First, we would like to extend to you the opportunity to stay with us until you are able to get on your feet again.

“I would like that very much. Cook has been so good to me, but I do not want to rely on her charity forever. I, also, do not feel safe there since they are not rich enough to have a security system.”

“The next matter then is resolving the contract. Do you wish to marry him at this point?” 

“My initial reason for wishing to marry him was because I believed myself to be in love and to permanently put a barrier between myself and my guardian. At this point, I know that Kieron does not love me and has treated any feelings I had for him with complete disregard. With the money, I feel I could set myself up quite well and start over in a new place.” 

“You have no need to explain to me that Kieron has a very bad character. I think you are making the wisest choice. The problem will then be to prove the Colonel has no intention of marrying you. I think I know a way of doing just that,” Silvergor said with his eyes twinkling. “That is as long as Amoranda is willing to play him a bit. I know you have promised me that you would never see Kieron any more unless I gave consent. In this case, I can see no way of guaranteeing the money unless you see him.” 

“I would love nothing better than to give the rogue his desserts,” Amoranda replied.

“Then, Katamitoria needs to write a message to Kieron to let him know she have recovered the contract. Explain to him that you expect him to give you a wedding date or to pay the bond, but do not send it, yet.” 

“Amoranda, I will need you to let me reply to Colonel Kieron’s last message and invite him here. You must leave the door open, have Pethany with you, and Katamitoria and I will be watching and recording on the security cameras. I will coach you what to say.” 

Amoranda willingly handed over her com-tab, and when Silvergor finished typing, he let her read the message before sending it:

Dear Kieron,

I would love to meet you where you desired, but my Beowulf, as you have called him is gone abroad for this night so that you may speak with me in my parlor. I eagerly anticipate all you have to discuss with me.

Amoranda

“It is an invitation to a man I now hate,” she said after sending it. “I only hope that it helps us gain our ends upon him. Come let me see what you have written.” She took the com-tab and perused her new friend’s message.

If prayers and tears could mollify an unrelenting obdurate heart, yours would have long ago been softened into justice and pity. But as they have failed me, I think it needless to try them anymore. 

However, I wanted you to know the contract you gave me and corrupted my servant to steal from me, is once more in my hands I intend to carry it as far as the law will bear, but I wish you simply name the date of our wedding so I do not have to publicly smear your name.

Your injured,

Katamitoria

The invitation sent by Amoranda was quickly accepted. Silvergor quickly coached them both in his plan. Katamitoria’s message was to be sent when Amoranda called for tea. 

Then, Silvergor and Katamitoria went to the security room and began to record the parlor and where they could hear everything that was said. They were no sooner there than they heard the visiting knock, and Kieron was led into the parlor where he Amoranda waited. 

The Baron of Latiz (19)

 19

Samh 9.30.1339 17:04

“The next day, as you might expect, I dressed in my best clothing and awaited Kieron and the justice of the peace so we could be married. However, when Kieron finally came, he did not have a justice of the peace with him. He gave me a paper, but when I read it, it was not a marriage license. Instead, it was a contract promising to marry me or give my ten hundred-thousand-notes instead.” 

Here Katamitoria, paused with a forlorn face and shook her head sadly. 

“I have to admit,” she continued, “that I was satisfied with that contract even though it was neither the marriage nor the license that I had been expecting. By him giving it to me and having Cook and her husband witness it, I felt like it was just as official as a license. I did ask him why he used this formality when he could have just married me, and I asked him if he had a guardian to prevent him from marrying whoever he wanted whenever he wanted.

“He told me he would only answer me alone, so I took the contract up to my room, hid it first in a locked silver chest and then I put the chest my writing desk in a locked drawer. When I came back downstairs, we were alone so I asked him to tell me his secret.

“He began by telling me he now saw me in his conscience as his wife despite not performing any of the legal requirements for it to be so. Here, he began one of the biggest lies he told me. He said that about nine months ago he courted a lady. However, about a month before the wedding she jilted him and was to be married to this man in one week’s time. He explained that if we got married before her, then he would forfeit most of his estate by the terms of the contract because it would look like he was the one who had cheated. He concluded by telling me that he would deny himself the pleasure of marrying me for a few days rather than undergo the scandal of marrying first. 

“I know—I have no idea why I believed this blatant lie at the time, but the only excuse I have for myself is that I wanted it to be true. Since he told me it was a secret, I did not share it with Cook, who I am certain would have guessed its true merit. He went home shortly after his storytelling, but came again early in the morning since he lived only a few miles away from Cook’s house. 

“Every time he came, he grew more familiar with me. I must confess, I enjoyed the attention. I hadn’t been around many men before and Kieron looked young enough that it did not bother me like the advances of my guardian, who was four times my age had. I quieted any discomfort by reminding myself that the contract I had locked away was as good as a marriage license. I thought I was secure. My fear and caution left me. I had only wanted to please him at this point because I saw the contract as him doing what I had asked to please me. 

“Three or four days after he had given me the contract, he came and told me it was time to see the house we would be sharing. He wanted me to come with him so I could adjust the decorating if I so desired. 

“Cook was unwilling to let me go with him but was also unable to persuade me from it. Her husband, who was a good friend of Kieron’s brushed her fears away and encouraged her silence on the matter.

“When I arrived, I thought myself at home. I was pleased to think how soon I could let my guardian know of the marriage I had made and finally receive my inheritance without worrying about being forced to be his bride. Instead, my doom was near. 

“When we were at lunch, a message came and he let me read it. It explained that the lady was married, and he told me we would get married on the next day. As soon as lunch was over, he sent for a marriage license and showed it to me. 

“Night came, he told me I should never leave the house again since it was almost my own. He promised me that I would have a room to myself and my maid could remain with me. Since we were to be wed in the morning, he explained it did not make sense to take me back to Cook for a few short hours. I am sad to admit that I quickly agreed. As you might expect, my maid left my side in the middle of the night, and he took what he wanted. 

“When we were at breakfast, Kieron told me it would be more appropriate to be married at Cook’s house than his. I was dazed but agreed. He packed me and my maid into his landcraft and sent me to Cook’s house, promising to meet me there with the justice of the peace in about an hour. 

“As soon my maid and I  got out of the landcraft at Cook’s house, my maid told me she had just gotten a message from her mother, who was not well. She begged me to release her so she could go home to take care of her. She promised she would return upon her mother’s recovery, but told me to find someone else as soon as I needed. 

“I told her she could take a full month before I would look for anyone. The jade thanked me and went away. It did not dawn on me until later that she had taken all her bags to Colonel Kieron’s the day before and did not go into Cook’s house for any remaining items. Instead, she stepped back into Kieron’s landcraft. 

“Inside, I was alone with honest Cook. The first thing she asked me was if I had married without inviting her? I told her no, but that I was very near it and that Kieron was currently getting the justice of the peace to bring him here for the wedding. She shook her head and said, ‘Oh, you poor duped girl. This morning, Kieron is going to Gwarewhea.’

“When I asked how she knew, she said she had gotten worried about me last night and went to his estate. Although she was denied entry, the servant told her I would be back soon enough because Colonel Kieron was to Gwarewhea early today. 

“It was, at that moment, as if my eyes were finally opened. I sent a quick message to him, hoping against all hope Cook had misheard, asking at what time he wanted us to have the wedding dinner ready. His response was devastating:

Madam,

An unlucky accident has forced me away to Gwarewhea. It is so very sudden that I do not have time to excuse my going. I hope at my return I shall find you where I left you, and you shall find me. 

Your most obedient,

Colonel Kieron

As soon as I read this message, I sank into a chair and began weeping.  Cook saw the com-tab slack in my hand and guessed there had been no mistake. I thought he loved me and truly wanted to marry me. Part of me saw my marriage to him as a way to permanently avoid my guardian’s advances without having to continue hiding. 

“Cook helped me to my bed where I lay for some days in a most miserable condition. Even then, I had hope that the contract would either eventually force his hand to marry me or give me a source of income apart from my inheritance and perhaps allow me to establish myself without it. With this little satisfaction, I got up and went to the fold out writing desk to take it out and look at the only hope I had left. Imagine my surprise, confusion, and despair when I could not find the paper or the silver box! Both were gone together. 

“I called Cook with a feeble voice who came to me to hear my new misery. As soon as I told her the silver box with the contract was missing, she gasped. She had seen my maid put one in her pocket the day we left for Kieron’s. She said she had asked what she was doing with it, but the wench told her I kept my makeup inside it and she was brining it to me. 

“I could do nothing but hope that two-faced sprynk met with a just reward for her treachery. I sunk past all hope of ever being independent of my guardian. It was several weeks before I regained my reason. Until then, I lay like a stupid log taking what sustenance Cook brought me unaware of anything but my grief. 

“At last, by degrees I recovered my senses but was I was infinitely less happy. When I looked in the mirror, I could not believe I was Katamitoria. After four months, I heard Kieron had returned from Gwarewhea. I immediately sent him a message the most supplicating terms asking if he was ready to wed, but he did not send me an answer. I wrote again and discovered he had blocked me. I had once a mind to go to his home, but I thought his behavior would be the same toward me in person as it had been to my messages. I would only expose desperation and give me something more to cry over. 

“It was then I discovered he had moved from me to the rich, young, beauteous Amoranda. I admit your beauty and fortune are far better than mine, but a player like Kieron has no true value for a woman’s good qualities. The only thing any woman can do to please him is to give into all his brutal pleasures. 

“I was sure you would shun such a man. But when I discovered that you seemingly were as deceived as I had been, I admit, I wrote a message to you and sent it so it could not be traced to let you know Kieron’s real personality.

“At this point, I hope I have engaged your justice, goodness, and pity, and that you will no longer encourage him but receive them in the same way you would receive the same from a married man. The only hope I have is that after all other women deny him audience, he may return to me and finish the promise he made. With the contract gone, I have no means of recovering any money, and after seeing the way my guardian and Kieron deal with women, I have no desire to try my luck at another relationship.”

The Baron of Latiz (18)

 18

Samh 9.30.1339 16:57

“In order to do this, I got up when at 04:00 with my maid. I made her pack for me and herself, grabbed all my mother’s jewels, which were now legally mine, and stashed the money I had in my pocket. We crept out of the house and took the road to an abandoned hunting hut in a nearby wood. I knew as soon as my guardian woke up, he would realize I was gone and begin searching for me. I felt if we could stay there for three days and live on the meagre supply of food I had grabbed from the kitchen on the way out, we would be able to avoid him.

“We stayed in the deserted hut that night and the next day toward evening we ventured back along the road until we came to a farmer’s house. There for a thousand-note to the man who knew neither of us, he took us to a friend’s house in Bunew. 

“When I was about ten, we had a female cook who had lived in our family many years and who finally married. She was surprised to see me at 07:00 but welcoming. I sent the farmer on his way home again and thought myself the happiest creature upon Samh. I had gotten myself to safety and now had one to whom I could share my secret since I did not trust my maid with it. 

“Cook, as I called her, had married a gardener who worked for some time for Colonel Kieron. I presume, you know the man.”

“Please excuse my rudeness for interrupting,” Amoranda said, “but were you the one send me a message all those months ago?

“Yes, I did. I had not been living with Cook three days before Kieron came hunting and popped in before we were aware he was coming. It is possible you will not readily believe at this point that I ever had a face worth looking at but—"

“Although you now have a livid pale complexion,” Amoranda could not stop herself from interrupting again, “your features are still fine. I firmly believe if you had a little peace, your beauty would return.” 

“Thank you,” Katamitoria said as she blushed. “I know Kieron saw something worth his notice. He no sooner cast an eye upon me than he vowed he was stricken with everlasting love. He took Cook aside, and she gave him my name but not the reason for my presence. He spent the remaining part of the day with us and most of the night before he could be persuaded to leave. The next day, he came again and after wearing on my all day, he managed to win my foolish heart. I was inanely content with every word that fell from his bewitching tongue. 

“As soon as he realized I was enthralled with him, he wasted no time trying to take advantage of me. One day we were alone, and he began to pressure me beyond my comfort zone. I asked him to stop abusing the freedom I had given to him. Prior to that moment, I believed his intentions to be honorable. I told him if he was not planning on entering into a marriage contract brokered by Cook, I did not want to see him any longer. 

“After saying this, I left the room and went to my own where I locked myself up and did not come out while he was there even though he remained for many hours. The next morning, before I was awake, a message came from begging to have one more chance. He stated he was completely sincere in seeking a wife. He promised to throw himself at my feet and make every effort to convince me of this. 

“I wanted to believe everything his oily tongue said was true. I did not reply, but within a quarter of an hour, he was at Cook’s house. What an tireless creature this man was in his pursuit of enjoyment! Not surprisingly he was a careless negligent wretch after it. He asked me what he could do to convince me he truly loved me. He felt he had already sworn how much he loved me and wondered what actions could confirm those pledges to me. 

“’If you want any other action with me,’ I told him, ‘there is a single one that would open the door to all the rest.  Once you perform that action, I will be yours forever and we will work as one to build your estate.’ The base liar replied that he was overjoyed at my caution, and that he would return the next day with a contract that would satisfy me of his intentions. After this promise, he stayed only a short time, but left me in the greatest state of peace I had ever known. 

“Once he was gone, Cook came to me and told me she thought he was not sincere. She had seen Kieron and my maid whispering together several times. She warned me not to trust the servant, especially since her attitude had been so sullen and Cook had seen nothing but the bad mood in which she sulked. 

“I know explained that I did not completely trust her, and that I thought that was the reason for her peevishness. She had wanted to tell me why we left my guardians home in such a secretive manner. Cook was not pacified by these words and begged me to fire the maid. She even offered to find another woman to replace her, but I, again, naïvely wanted to think good of everyone until shown proof of their corruption. Besides that, new people usually made me quite nervous until I had been around them a while and I did not want to go through that with a new maid.

“Cook told me I was making a bad choice but did not continue to press the matter. I was so ecstatic at the promise of marriage, I quickly forgot about my maid’s private conference with Kieron. 

The Baron of Latiz (17)

 17

Samh 9.30.1339 16:31

Amoranda moved to the security room and watched the interaction through the cameras. As she looked at the gate, she saw a poor, thin, pale youth hardly able to sit on his horse it was so big. The horse, although tall, looked as if he needed a doctor more than his owner. While she watched, Silvergor’s normally gruff stranger voice came much gentler as if he were afraid the youth might take off in fear.

“Why don’t you get down, and I will take you to the lady of the house?” he finally asked.

Amoranda realized there was nothing to fear from this visitor, who was too weak and unassuming to create any problem. She went back to the parlor to wait until Silvergor conducted the youth to her. After the stranger was seated, Silvergor glanced at her questioningly. Amoranda silently nodded so he turned and shut the door on the way out. She expected he was probably standing guard in the hallway in case she needed him. 

“I believe it is normal,” the stranger said in a flood of tears, “for those of us in absolute agony to want all mankind to join our miserable state. I want you to know, however, although I am miserable, I am envious of your peace. I am hear solely to prevent you from befalling the same fate as me.”

“Your looks without your tale evoke pity in me,” Amoranda replied. “Please, may I give you something to drink so you have the strength to tell your story?”

“Food and I have been mostly strangers to each other for several months but telling you what has been burdening my heart will give me both strength and joy.”

Amoranda sat in silence wondering how her own fate was tied into the fate of this stranger. She could not imagine the burdened background of this visitor or what kind of adventure was so important to share. 

“Madam,” the stranger said, “I have one request before I begin. I ask you to understand I was young and naïve when my ordeal began. Please do not be too severe upon my conduct or condemn me by telling me I have reaped the dessert of my own folly.”

“I will do my best to hold all reflection to myself. I have committed my own follies and am aware of how easily they can lead to evil.” Amoranda promised.

“The first thing I want you to know is that despite my dress and hair, I am a woman—albeit a wretched, miserable, and unhappy woman. My father was Baron to a very plentiful estate and when he died and my mother died, I was placed under the care of an old family friend and neighbor. I was to inherit my father’s estate when I was either married or reached the age of 24 as is custom. At that time, I was only about fourteen years old and our neighbor who stood in for my father was as tender as my own father had been. If he had kept within the bounds of honor and loved me only as a daughter or arranged a marriage for me, I might have remained happy and innocent. Within less than a year, however, I was getting ready for a ball where I had been led to believe I was to meet the man that would be my betrothed. At this point, I was living on our neighbor’s estate, and he came early to my room and watched me as my maid finished my hair.

“’Katamitoria,’ he said, ‘you are too lovely.’ 

“When I asked him what he meant by this, he seemed a little confused and left the room. I had a bad feeling, but I did not want to assume the worst about anyone—especially one who had taken me in and cared for me—so brushed off the event. 

“At the ball, I could feel him watching me. I eventually asked him if he was going to introduce me to my intended, but he told me if I did not know who it was, I would not learn it at the ball. On the way home, however, he informed me that he had arranged to marry me.

“’How?’ I asked not willing to understand him. ‘Why?’ 

“’Oh, Katamitoria, stop talking. Your innocence only further seals your fate. The wedding will be in two weeks.’

“It is not possible for me to tell you, Madam, how shocked I was. I could hardly keep from passing out. I begged him to recall his scattered senses—to find another to be my guardian if he was unfit. As a father figure, I respected and adored him. As my future husband, I was revolted.

“Nothing I said affected him or caused him to rethink what he was about to force me to do. I had no knowledge of how to legally stop the proceedings without a friend or guardian in the world. My heart sunk. I saw an only a man whom I had known and believed to be noble to be a black criminal entangled in a guilty lawless love. 

“As soon as we got home, I fled to my room and locked the door. I spent the night crying, thinking how to extricate myself from the miserable condition I was in. I could only think of one since my guardian was too far gone to be brought to reason. I had often heard a desperate disease must have a desperate cure so I resolved to stop this sham of a wedding by going where he would never see me again. 

The Baron of Latiz (16)

 16

Samh 9.30.1339

A couple days after the horrid message from Kieron, Amoranda found herself sitting on the couch next to Silvergor discussing the finer points of a novel she just read.

“I don’t want to be like the woman in this book, but I find my life to this point to be too similar. She relies on those around her to take care of her.”

“You might have been like her when I first came, but you are learning.”

“I would never be able to fill my uncle’s shoes in the military even with the training you are giving me.” She looked into his gentle, ice-blue eyes. “I wish you had a son. Then you could arrange a marriage for me with him and take care of me always.”

Silvergor laughed. “If I arranged a marriage for you with my son, you would have to rely on him to take care of you and not me. Either way, it’s always best to stand on your own feet.”

“Why did you never marry?” she asked. To her, he seemed as if he would make the perfect husband. He advised without force and taught by letting her make her own choices then shielding her so the consequences were not quite as hard as they might have been. 

“I guess I never found the right woman to accept what I have to offer,” he said after a few minutes of avoiding her question and her eyes. For a minute, a shiver went down her spine. She could almost imagine he was talking about her. She brushed it off with a little giggle, chiding herself for believing a man as old as him would have any interest in a foolish 18-year old. Just then a servant entered.

“A gentleman on horseback is at the gate. He desires to know if he might be admitted to your presence for a quarter of an hour. He insisted that his business was urgent but it would not take long to explain.”

Fear shivered through Amoranda’s spine. She had felt jeopardy on all sides lately and wondered from where this new danger had come.

“Silvergor, would you—” she didn’t need to finish.

“I will let you know who it is,” he said, rising.

Amoranda had been so lately in jeopardy that she had no desire to greet any new men without Silvergor to serve as a shield from them. He had turned on her robosentinals that were sitting in storage, fixed the ones that were broken, and upgraded their programming to take care of the perimeter, but Silvergor could ask questions and demand things that the robosentinels where not capable of doing. 

The Baron of Latiz (15)

 15

Samh 9.28.1339

After Amoranda saw the evil some of the men whom she trusted had planned for her, she allowed Valanthus free reign to clear the house of the caterpillars that had infested it. This was not a difficult task since rumors as to what had happened to Galeid and Froch abounded. Most men stopped appearing without so much as a warning.

Valanthus also decided that Amoranda and Pethany needed to learn self-defense. Most other landed women had already moved onto advanced weaponry by Amoranda’s age. She had not even learned basic hand-to-hand combat—evidence of just how much her parents had ignored her education. 

He also started conducting daily training sessions to teach her how to get rid of a man without feeling guilty about it. 

“Oh, Amoranda, I shall die if you don’t marry me,” he wailed in the garden one day, dramatically falling on his knees a little more spryly than someone of Silvergor’s age would be expected to do and grasping her pant leg. 

“I’m sorry, but I am not interested in you as anything more than a friend. Please, get up. If you can’t act civilly, I will have to bar you from my presence,” she said, stepping back and pulling her leg away from him. 

“I knew you liked Henlow better than I. You are such a horrible flirt,” Valanthus wailed. He wished he could call up tears on command like an actor, but he figured the roll-play would be good enough.

“That’s it. Be gone. I do not wish to be shackled by marriage right now and being shackled to you is worse than being married because it comes with all the emotional trauma and none of the joys.” With that, she turned to go back inside.

He hurried after her and grabbed her shoulder. She quickly put her hand over his and tossed him over her shoulder.

“Oh, that was a little harsh,” he said rubbing his shoulder as he laid flat on his back.

“I’m so sorry, Silvergor! I was just doing what I thought you wanted me to do,” she rushed to his side an in an instant, he had her pinned under him with her arms held.

“How many times must I tell you not to trust anyone?” he asked with a sigh. The rage in her eyes only added to her beauty. She kneed him in the back, but it wasn’t enough to dislodge him.

“I think that concludes our lesson today,” he said, pulling her to her feet.

“I wouldn’t have done that with anyone but you,” she sulked. 

He smiled. She had made much improvement since he first arrived. He believed that one day she would be so well-accomplished in her fighting skills that she would no longer need him to keep anyone at bay. That thought saddened him slightly. 

He wondered again at the wisdom of Major Yoeritt in sending him to do this task. If she found out his real identity, he was certain she would prohibit him from courting her. However, if he got her to stand on her own two feet, would she allow anyone, including him as his true self, to spend time with her? 

“Silvergor,” she said breaking the silence and stopping him with a hand upon his arm that made his heart skip a beat. “I have grown to care about you as if you were the father I always wanted.” 

He struggled to keep the same look on his face. He did not exactly want to be her father. 

“Please, don’t trick me like that again,” she said. “I truly thought I had hurt you.”

Valanthus laughed heartily. “It would take a lot more than a toss like that to hurt me. I am a tough old bird as the saying goes.” She frowned, the pain was evident in her eyes. He grabbed both of her hands in his. 

“I promise,” he said sincerely, “that I will never pretend to be hurt again—as long as you promise never to have sympathy for a man who has harassed you—whether he is truly hurt or not.” 

“I promise, you are the only one who will get my sympathy when you are hurt.” She grinned in relief. 

Something about her earnest promise pulled at his heart, though, and he was content to retire to his room when they got inside. He had spent too much time with her lately, and it only caused his feelings toward her to grow. 

When he came down to dinner, she was pacing.

“That rat! He sent me a message again!”

“Which one,” he asked.

“Kieron!” she said, pointing to her com-tab on the table.

Kieron had tried to made two visits since his last one, but Silvergor would not admit him. By Amoranda’s consent, he told the Colonel she was engaged, which irritated him immensely and which probably was the reason for the following: 

Madam,

If it were possible for me to unriddle a woman’s behavior, I would immediately try my skill at unriddling yours. However, I believe men of deeper intelligence than I have been baffled by it. I must leave you to your own wild mazes: one day you caress me, the next you push me away, a third I am received again, and a fourth I find myself quite banished. 

Although this is common from most women, I never had cause to mind it so much in you until that old whimsical fellow came to give you ridiculous advice and to give all your admirers endless torment. What the devil does such a young woman have in common with such an old windbag? Why does his pernicious counsel interfere with our pleasure? 

If you value me at all as you once gave me reason to hope you do, meet me in the little grove at the end of your garden at about 21:00 tonight. There, I will teach you some secrets you never knew before. I have this contrived way so I will not come near the house. Your old Argus will never suspect you if you come alone to the arms of 

Your faithful admirer, 

Kieron

The Baron of Latiz (14)

 14

Samh 08.21.1339 21:48

Baron Valanthus ate dinner with Amoranda and afterward retired to his room to prepare. He sighed as he looked at the beard in the mirror. This would be so much easier without it. 

When the appointed time neared, he grabbed two of the canes he had and went to find Amoranda. She was in the parlor with the real Pethany and the taller and stronger version. Both servant and mock-servant wore a white turtleneck covered by a black tailcoat with long tails and a short cutaway front held together by one button at the breast. The tight black cargo pants and military boots completed the look. 

“I knew I was forgetting something,” Valanthus said looking at the dirty blonde ponytail wig that matched Pethany’s hairstyle.

“You have a scarf. If it can hide your beard, it certainly can hide your hair,” Amoranda giggled infectiously. 

Although he was glad he could bring her some joy at a time like this, he silently vowed to choose a mustache if he every had to masquerade again. 

“This is Henlow,” she said once she stopped laughing.

After exchanging a handshake with the servant, they took their places in the greenhouse. He handed Henlow one of the canes. He wished he could have a sonicpistol but did not want to blow out the glass. Soon, they saw the two brazen rogues walking rapidly toward them across the lawn. 

Mr. Galeid ran to Valunthus-as-Silvergor-dressed-as-Amoranda and caught her in his arms.

“Make no resistance, Madam,” he cried. “You must come along with me quickly.”

Mr. Froch did the same thing to Henlow-as-Pethany. When the kidnappers pulled an ethered rag out of a bag to gag and incapacitate them, the two presumed ladies grabbed their cudgels and took the thick balled ends to the rogues’ heads. 

Although the initial hit dazed the would-be-kidnappers, they quickly realized the victims did not plan to stop beating them, so they reached in their belts for their tacticalazers. Valanthus struck Mr. Galeid’s out of his hand before he could aim, and Henlow tripped Froch with a leg swipe before he could draw his. All this while, both masqueraders laid into the scoundrels so unmercifully that Galeid and Froch began to beg for mercy. 

At that point, Amoranda and a crew of servants with lights came across the lawn to see what the commotion was. It was almost too much for Mr. Galeid when he saw her and Pethany. He could hardly believe his almost swollen shut eyes. He looked first at the real lady and then at the feigned one.

“Froch, you villain. you have betrayed me!”

“If I have,” Froch said from where he lay on the ground, “I am certainly not getting a reward for it. I believe I will never stir either hand or foot again.”

“Well, gentleman,” Amoranda said, “have the actors come? When does the dance begin?”

“It is over, Madam,” Valanthus said, “These gentlemen have been dancing playfully with us while we beat their drums to a sorrowful new tune.”

“Why, what is the matter?” she asked. “I hope you have not hurt them in your play.”

“Not at all, madam,” said Valanthus. “Henlow and I decided to sit here this evening in drag, and these two beaus had a mind to ravish us. They tried to gag us with ether.”

“I am sorry that I was forced to use my cudgel upon you,” Valanthus said sarcastically to Galeid. “I hope you will excuse it. If I had been in a different dress, I would have used a better weapon.”

“I think,” Amoranda said, “he did not follow rules of knighthood with you because I see he drew his sword, even though he took you for a woman.”

“Yes,” Galeid said choking with rage, despair, and disappointment, “I took him for you, and I would have had a glorious revenge for your flirting if it had been you. Death and fury, at least I have been given some satisfaction telling you how I would have used you had fortune been so kind as to have put you in my power. Know then, proud beauty, I would—"

“I know already,” Amoranda said interrupting him, “as much of your designs as you can tell me. But gentlemen if you do not end up in prison, let me know, and I will make a better provision for you. I have an uncle going to Xiepvu who needs some slaves. I believe at my request, he would take you into his service. In the meantime, sit there until the authorities arrive.”

“I hope,” Froch said, his tongue being the only part he could move without pain, “you have more hospitality in you that to turn us over to them in this condition. You should have called for a surgeon to set our dislocated joints in order and wrap up our wounds. I don’t believe I shall live through the week.”

“That would be a great pity.” Amoranda said sarcastically. “The world would have a sad loss of so worthy a man.”

Upon which she and her retinue went back into her home, leaving the two battered beaus on the lawn. Valanthus, Henlow, and four other servants watched them while they waited for the authorities. 

“Froch, you traitor, why did you tell them our plans!” Galeid grumbled. 

“I am innocent. Do you think I would be in such a condition if I had ratted us out?” 

“Liar!” Galeid said, drawing a throwing star from his boot. As soon as Froch saw Galeid go for his boot, he pulled out a poisonneedle and lofted it toward him. The star and needle crossed in midair before hitting their targets. Valanthus and the others stood in shock as the two men fell over dead. It had happened so quickly and so unexpectedly none could stop it. 

The Baron of Latiz (13)

 13

Samh 08.21.1339 13:04

Amoranda had never been so kindly lectured in her life. Silvergor’s words convinced her in her own breast that he was right. Because she had been allowed to do as she pleased for so long, it was difficult for her to yield to someone else who had her best interest at heart. 

As soon as lunch was over, Mr. Froch was announced. She told her servant to have him wait in the parlor and quickly explained who he was to Silvergor.

“I am confident you can handle this by yourself. I will see you in a bit,” he said and headed off to try on the package that had just arrived. 

“Madam,” Mr. Froch said when she entered the parlor. He rushed over to kiss her hand. “I have often envied the favors you confer on Mr. Galeid. At the same time, you tell me I have an equal chance. Since you can’t have us both, I wish you would at least declare whom you prefer and let the other find another to worship.”

“Mr. Froch,” she said, “your friend and you are gifted with equal merit. It is hardly possible to say whom I like best. Besides, if I should declare in favor of you, Mr. Galeid would not believe I was in earnest. On the other hand, if I say I like him best then you will not believe I speak from my heart. In short, everything I say, both of you construe to your own advantage. If I look easy and pleased in your company, you determine I must certainly be in love. If I am grave and reserved, you assume I am trying to hide my love. For some reason, both of you imagine I am fond of gaining any conquest over any heart. Then, you seem to think once I have gotten that conquest, I find it so very trifling that I quickly dispose of it or, just as I might with one of my old gowns, give it away to my chambermaid 

“If you please,” said Froch, “stop with these general comparisons and discuss the particulars between Mr. Galeid and myself. If I were to prove to you with undeniable reasons that I was better than him, do you promise accordingly to reward me?”

“I faithfully promise,” Amoranda said, “to reward you both as you deserve. Why, here is Mr. Galeid coming up the walk. I would be willing to bet he has as much to say for himself as you have said on your behalf.” 

Mr. Galeid was led into the parlor after a few minutes. 

“I will provide a little county entertainment for you, Madam, if you will do me the honor of seeing it tonight,” he said. 

“You are always so very obliging,” Amoranda said, “but you know Mr. Galeid, I never go far from home especially at night.”

“You have to go no farther than your own greenhouse,” he countered. “There is a local theater troop that was practicing a percussion-dance routine, and I convinced them to come perform it in the lane just outside your security fence. Because of the nice hill on which your greenhouse resides, we should be able to see it well from there. I have ordered them to be there exactly at 22:00 so the road will be quiet and most of the moons will have risen.” 

“I bet lit by the moons it will be as amazing as it is on the stage,” Froch added. 

“Yes,” Amoranda said, “It sounds delightful. I anticipate a great deal of pleasure at that time, but I wish I had known about it this morning. I would have engaged Kieron to come also, and he could have brought some ladies with him. Oh, well, I guess we will have it to ourselves.”

“Come then, Froch,” Galeid said, “we will go and see them do it once more before they perform in the lady’s view.” 

As soon as they were gone, Amoranda went into her room and changed. Then she had her maid take her overdress and scarf to Silvergor while she delivered the package of clothing for the servant who was accompanying him. 

The Baron of Latiz (12)

 12

Samh 08.21.1339 11:37

Baron Valanthus was so delighted by her good-natured humility that he could hardly keep himself from jumping up and celebrating this small accomplishment. It had been torture this morning when he had to stand by and not be her champion before Kieron. Admitting she had been wrong was such a big step it seemed to warrant some kind of celebration. However, he knew such raptures would be unsuitable for a man Silvergor’s age.

“Madam, what use is our reason if we chain it up when we most need it? If you had not stifled your inner logic, I know it would have shown you Colonel Kieron’s villainous designs. It would have told you how much he desires your body and that the only love he has for you is to satisfy his own bestial desires. He wants to rob you of all you have that is good and leave you to the world, which would finish the misery he began by pitying you and despising you as long as you live for falling for one like that who wears his true intentions on his sleeve. It is true, Madam, that you have a fortune and that would keep many from talking about your shame to your face.”

He turned to her and looked into her beautiful, brown, innocent eyes. 

“When I was young,” he continued. “Men were taught to value a lady for virtue, modesty, and honor. I confess those are unfashionable qualities but they are still valued ornaments. Give me leave, Madam, to go a little further,” he said taking both her hands in his and closing his eyes a moment as he savored their warm softness. Then he continued with what he felt was his duty. “I must tell you how misfortunate you have been by being left so long to your own choice of company. Your good nature and lack of experience together with a greedy desire for flattery, which, pardon me madam, is a weakness, has encouraged such a heap of vermin about you. These men should shouldn’t be allowed to live except that by doing so it gives us a better idea of the brave, the just, the honorable, and the honest men.”

Amoranda had tears in her eyes. He leaned forward and allowed his lips to brush her forehead, causing his heart to race. The bell rang for lunch, and he released her hands. Holding them had taken away his urge to hold and comfort her. They stood, and he followed her in to eat. 

He wondered how long it would be before she saw through his sham costume and threw him out of her life again. It was very difficult to help her learn to control her passions while he struggled to control his own.

The Baron of Latiz (11)

 11

Samh 08.21.1339 11:27

When Amoranda realized she had upset Silvergor, she immediately began to be very sorry for it. Her first thoughts about Kieron’s behavior had been the same she always had for troublesome admirers—get rid of them without cutting the connection. To hear her new guardian interfering in her business irked her. 

She never expected him to leave. She hoped he would sit quietly down again and let her deal with the problem. Instead, she had stood against him and had given Kieron false reason to believe she cared for him. She also knew her behavior toward Silvergor would highly trouble one of the best uncles on the planet.

“Please, Kieron, just go,” she said when her guardian had left the room. “I wish to be alone today.”

 “Amoranda, I would do any of ten thousand things to oblige you, but I desire one thing in return for all,” he said as he stared into her eyes. A shiver ran down her spine. Thankfully, Pethany entered just then, and her presence gave her courage.

“When I understand you,” she replied, “I will know how to reply to that. In the meantime, I repeat the request I made many times: Leave me now.”

Without warning, he grabbed her roughly and forced a kiss upon her. Before she could react, he was gone.

“Are you okay, Madam,” Pethany said, and she nodded. “He’s a bad one. I hope we never see him again, but I fear he will keep showing up. I am glad Mr. Silvergor had me come in here—otherwise who knows what he might have tried!” 

Amoranda was glad he had not come looking for his lost box. She had not had enough time to decide upon a plan for dealing with such a request. At the same time, she now worried he might show up again just to ask for it. She considered returning it if he did come back just to get rid of him quickly, but she knew having the box would not cause him to leave her alone. 

After splashing some water on her face, she went looking for Silvergor and found him in the parlor in a very thoughtful melancholy posture. The stolen kiss had convinced her she had been foolish to offend her guardian. She needed him. She was certain his presence would have prevented Kieron’s actions—Silvergor would have given his life rather than allow it if Kieron’s own shame had not stopped him. 

“Silvergor, I came to tell you I am concerned about what happened today. I hope it pleases you to know that I sent Colonel Kieron away. I faithfully promise you right now I will never come into his company anymore without your consent.” She crossed over and sat down next to him. “I admit, I have the greatest desire on the planet to please you. I do believe you are sincerely my friend. You have so far provided nothing but good aide and advice. I will always listen to your counsel. Please don’t let this early quarrel destroy our future friendship.” Tears came to her eyes.

The Baron of Latiz (10)

 10

Samh 08.21.1339 08:57

Baron Valanthus had gotten up early to put on Silvergor’s grey beard and wig before the household servants came around to check on him. When he had arrived last night, he had been slightly nervous that Amoranda would recognize him, but she apparently had so much on her mind that she had not paid much attention. When her uncle had proposed this scheme, he merely went along with it to humor him. He was pleasantly surprised that although Amoranda had not heeded the note he tossed her while she was in the garden with her admirers, she did seem to be willing to listen to his advice. He could not wait to get his hands on those scoundrels who wanted to kidnap her.

He had only been a few minutes at the table when Amoranda walked into the dining room. She was wearing a black unitard under a moss-green, gauze tent dress that went to her ankles. Her auburn hair was also covered with a solid, moss-green scarf that she had wrapped around the lower part of her face so only her brown eyes peered out. His breath caught. She had been an adorable but pernicious child. Now, she was a gorgeous flirt. 

“Good morning, Madam,” he said. “I don’t think I am going to fit in that unitard. She laughed, and the sound brought a smile to his face.

“Good morning, Sir,” she replied. “I figured you could order a unitard on your com-tab for delivery today. The dress might be a little short on you, but it and the scarf should fit you fine. I already ordered an outfit for the servant who will be joining you. Did you sleep well?”

“As well as these old bones will allow. Are you planning on many visitors today?” he asked as he rifled through the options on his com-tab and quickly placed the order. 

“I’ve informed the servants to allow no one but the two rogues. That way, I won’t miss them, and we can get this over with so I never have to see them again.”

“Very wise, Madam,” he said. 

A loud commotion arose in the hallway as they were enjoying their breakfast.

“I’m sorry, Sir, m’lady is not seeing any company today.”

“I know, child. She told me yesterday she would see no one except me today! Where is she?” 

Silvergor grabbed his cane and stood as Colonel Kieron burst into the room.

“Excuse me!” Amoranda shot at him, her face the picture of outrage.

“Amoranda,” the Colonel said arrogantly, and Silvergor held his cane tighter. “How do you explain this behavior? What have I done to deserve banishment?”

“Kieron,” Amoranda said, “I need to take a break sometimes from company. Taking a break from visitors makes me more pleasant when I come into company again. The last I knew, I may deny visitors as often as I please without a break in either my good nature or my good manners.”

“True, Amoranda,” Kieron said, “but I should be acceptable always.”

It was all Valanthus could do to keep from throwing the rogue out, but he knew that as long as she was handling the situation well it was best to let her do it.

“I am surprised to hear you say you should always be admitted to my home after having declared so heartily against matrimony yesterday. I believe, Kieron,” she said sharply, “you will find those mistresses you seem to prefer a little partial to variety. They will hardly like you as much as you think you deserve. So why do you expect me to behave as if I am chained to you when you have no plans of offering me marriage?”

Valanthus blushed to hear her talking of what Kieron must have proposed to her and could remain silent no longer. 

“Sir,” he lisped as best he could through his anger, “I was sent here by very good authority and have been charged to inquire of every man’s business who comes into this house. I, therefore, want to know if the lady is correct and you do not plan to marry? Why are you coming here if it is not to court her and arrange a marriage?” 

“Dear child,” Kieron said to Amoranda, “What peculiar old prude is this?” Then turning to Valanthus, he said, “Listen, geezer, your only business is in the other world, and you would do well to go prepare for it without envying us the pleasures you are past enjoying yourself.”

Valanthus locked eyes and began walking slowly toward the intruder, dropping the lisp entirely and speaking through clenched teeth, “I assure you I am still very capable of all pleasures, but the greatest pleasure that I can possibly have is to preserve the honor, dignity, and wishes of the lovely charge committed to my care. I will do this to the utmost extremity of my power, and I promise you until you give a better account of your intentions you will never see her again.”

Amoranda stood immediately and placed herself between Kieron and him. 

“I think, Sir,” she said to Valanthus. “But, you assume a power too great for so short a time we have known each other. I would prefer it if you give me leave to dismiss my visitors myself.”

Kieron popped his gloating head around Amoranda’s shoulder. 

“Well said, my dear. Would you like to take the old fool by the nose and toss him out?”

If Amoranda had not been standing between them, he would have shown the syphilis-infested sprynk what would happen if he even thought about touching him or Amoranda.

The lady kept herself between them but turned to face Kieron. 

“Absolutely not,” she said, anger still wavering her voice. “Whoever lays a hand on him has seen the last of me.”

“Madam,” Valanthus said somewhat deflated after she had rebuked him. “If I have been so unhappy as to say anything to trouble you, I here in the humblest manner ask your pardon. However, if I am not to take notice of Colonel Kieron’s behavior or the inappropriate behavior of others like him, I have no business here. It would be best if I return to him who sent me.” Stepping around her and again losing his lisp he spoke directly to the offender. “For your part, you are far to much of a spineless waste of a man to pull me by the nose.” Then, he left the room. Although defeated, he was not so foolish as Kieron probably  wished an immediately sent Pethany directly into the dining room with her mistress. 

“And, Pethany, stay with her until Colonel Kieron is gone unless Amoranda herself commands you otherwise.” Then he went to the parlor to think what would be the best path forward for himself. He chose that room in case Amoranda or her maid called out—there he would be able to hear them.

The Baron of Latiz (9)

 9

Samh 08.21.1339 08:02

The next morning Pethany came to her lady’s bedside as soon as she was awake. 

“Madam, I was in the garden and found a silver box,” she said showing it to her. 

“I think that it is Kieron’s ammunition box,” Amoranda said, but when she opened it, there was nothing inside it except a paper. 

“Draw the curtains open,” Amoranda said, “and let me see it.”

Pethany gave her the box, and when she had opened the paper, she found it was a contract between Kieron and a lady whom she believed had contacted her but whom she had never seen. It stated that if Kieron withdrew from his promise of marrying the lady, he should then forfeit ten thousand pounds to her. Reading it nettled Amoranda to the very heart. 

“How does Kieron come here to approach me with his declarations against marriage while at the same time he’s engaged himself so firmly to another?” she asked. “Is he so base that he uses me only to divert himself during those hours in which he can’t meet with the one he likes better? Give me my clothes,” she said. 

“I’m sorry,” Pethany said. “I didn’t know you loved Kieron so, Madam. I shouldn’t have shown it to you. I had no desire to put your ladyship into such a passion. I doubt he meant to give it to the lady in the first place. Look, the date of this contract was signed above a month ago.” 

“Pethany,” Amoranda said, recovering herself and smiling. “I believe you are afraid that I have an inward private inclination for this worthless colonel. But since you have always been a faithful and honest servant, I will do my best to put you at ease. I assure you he is upon the same level as the rest of his sex in my esteem, and I yet know no man upon this planet that I have a special favor toward. It is actually quite the opposite in this case. I have more of a resentment against his behavior toward me. If the lady this paper was designed for still wishes to accept the agreement, I will certainly give her it in an instant.” 

“But, Madam,” Pethany said, “What if Kieron comes and enquires for it.”

“If he comes today,” Amoranda said, “tell him I am seeing no company. Tomorrow, I will put this contract out of his reach so even if he comes he will no longer be able to obtain it from me. As long as my mind does not change, and I lose my courage to second thoughts, it will be done. Please remember, though, I don’t want to see any company today except Mr. Froch and Mr. Galeid. Pass my orders on to the others, please.”

Pethany immediately left to do as she was told, and Amoranda folded the contract up, placed it in the silver box, and hid the box under her mattress. When Pethany returned, she helped Amoranda to dress. Then, the girl Amoranda hurried down to meet Silvergor at the breakfast table. 

The Baron of Latiz (8)

8

Samh 08.20.1339 20:14

“I beg your pardon!” she said. Deep down she was honored the old man wanted to fight for her even though they had just met. “What can your feeble arm do with the robust rascals? They will make no more of you than they would have made of me. And I think I don’t want them to get away without a good thrashing.”

“Fear not,” Silvergor said, “my arms can still do wonders for so good a cause. A vindication of your honor fills my veins with young blood that glows to revenge your wrongs.” 

“What of your long, gray beard? Will you shave it to play my part? The darkness will only hide so much,” she hitched one eyebrow up. Half of her wished he would shave the thing. It looked like someone had hung a matted Pekingese off his chin.

“Ah, I will tuck most of it in and wear a scarf around my head.”

“Well,” Amoranda said, “I find I have the remains of a brave man to play my part. If you have so great a mind to show your prowess, I won’t stop you. If they happen to get the best of you, though, we will reverse the ancient custom. Instead of you delivering the distressed damsel, I shall come to rescue you.” 

“And have you any military training, Madam?” 

“Alas, I was never instructed in defense, but I think I can point a sonicpistol at them and at least hold them at bay while you tie them up.”

This made Silvergor very merry in spite of all his gravity, and that pleased her. Since it was bedtime, she had her servants conduct him to his room, and she ordered them to treat him with great respect. 

Before falling asleep, she decided having a guardian nearby would be a pleasant experience even if it meant giving up a little of her freedom.

The Baron of Latiz (7)

 7

Samh 08.20.1339 23:04

As soon as supper ended, Amoranda told Silvergor what Mr. Froch and Mr. Galeid had plotted. Silvergor’s cheeks glowed with anger.

“How can such a lovely woman as you expose yourself to such base company as them? Is it possible that the fine perception which pours from your lips with every word you speak gets anything back from spending time with such vermin? Can a man add mud to his wine and drink it with pleasure?

“Pardon me, if my zeal for so good an uncle to you and so good a friend to me pushes me a little too far. It is not possible for me to see anything so beloved by him run into such rubbish. You seem to have so true a notion of our sex to be so grossly imposed upon by them.

“Say no more,” Amoranda said, holding up her hand in protest. “I have promised to be mostly governed by you. Since my uncle has sent you in his place, I submit to your advice and bring myself to comply with your desires as much as possible.” 

The old gentleman beamed at her reply, and Amoranda could not refrain from being pleased herself to see how happy he was. 

“But, Madam,” Silvergor said, “I long to know how you intend to deal with those villains who plan to kidnap you?” 

“When the hour comes for them to execute their intended project, I plan to place to sturdy servants dressed in Pethany’s and my clothes in the greenhouse. Since they plan to do this at night, it will make it easier since the moons will be their only light. It will not be easy for them to distinguish between my men and us until their sense of feeling alerts them to the secret. My servants are not lacking in courage, and I hope the injuries they sustain will give them second thoughts about doing it again. I dare say my servants will give them love for love and pay them in their own coin. What do you think of my counterplot? Isn’t it better than theirs?”

“I think so,” he said, “but I have one earnest request to make. Since this is the first thing I have asked of you, I hope you will not deny me.”

“No,” Amoranda said, “I am sure you will ask nothing I should refuse, and therefore, I promise.”

“Then, let me be the one impersonating you in the greenhouse tomorrow night.”

The Baron of Latiz (6)

 6

Samh 08.20.1339 17:57

After Amoranda had thanked her groundskeeper and he left, her butler entered and told her that an older gentleman had just stepped out of his landcraft at her gate. 

“He told me your uncle sent a letter of introduction for him,” the butler said. 

Since her world seemed filled with plots, she had not had time to check her recent messages. She quickly scanned through her com-tab and found one from her uncle: 

I have at last, my dearest Amoranda, found a person to whom I think I can entrust your care. He is an old and dear friend for whom I have the greatest value. As such, I want you to take him into your confidence and use him in my stead to help you manage all your affairs. I have so good opinion of your prudence in all matters that I believe you will probably not need his advice often. For this reason, he will only give it to you when you ask him unless he finds it necessary to intervene. Although he is an old man, he is not rude, abrasive, nor sour. You will, I hope, because of my past behavior toward you, know you are very dear to me. I have no better way of showing it for the future than by putting you into such competent hands as those of Silvergor, which is the name of the gentleman I am sending. His retinal image file is attached for your security. If you would oblige me, please show your respect for him to give me great comfort.

Your most affectionate, 

Uncle Jarlwyn

When Amoranda read the letter and uploaded the security file into her system, she had the butler confirm the gentleman was Silvergor and lead him into her parlor. The gentleman had gray hair and a long matching beard, and was bent over a cane. Amoranda’s first thoughts were that she was not all that pleased with having such and elderly guardian, but since her uncle was now acting as both her mother and father, she resolved to obey him. 

“I find, Sir,” she said with a welcoming smile, “I am no longer my own mistress, but I am to live under your restrictions. I promise you I will always listen to your advice and obey it as often as I can. In return, I do hope, however, you will remember that I am young and lighthearted. I know you are older and much more serious about life than I. The disparity in our years may also prove to show a vast difference in our dispositions. I will make a bargain with you. If you will bear with a little of my youthful folly, I will bear with a great deal of your aged sagacity. Then, we will be as agreeable to one another as it is possible for Age and Youth to be.” 

“Madam,” Silvergor said, “I agree to all your proposals, and I will be very cautious how I advise you. The times I do so will be when your own reason must side with me. I am sure you already have too much sensibility to act against reason unless you do it inadvertently. All young people are fond of pleasure and tend to thrust out every thought that opposes that path with disgrace, but—”

“Goodness,” Amoranda said, “I believe you must be a minister because you are preaching so much about running away from pleasure. You are going to argue me out of my sensibility. I told you I would not jump into your serious measures instantly. Come, innocent cheerfulness is more acceptable than a crabby temper that gives everyone a stomachache when they must be around it.”

“Madam, I think you misunderstand. I am not as disagreeable as what you have described. I believe both young and old people act with that very innocent freedom you speak of, but what I protest against is unrestrainedly pursuing pleasure, which is more apt to be done by the young and which all too often leads them to destruction.”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘pleasure?’” she asked. 

“I call everything pleasure that pleases us. I dare say you will admit a great many things may and do please us which are very flawed. For example, suppose a fine young lady of superior beauty invites all the men on the planet to visit her. I do not doubt it would give each one participating an exquisite pleasure, but at the same time, this great fault would give other people exquisite grief. All the other women would certainly feel pain when they see one monopolizing all the male world to herself.”

“Surely not,” Amoranda said, blushing slightly. “There never was any such thing as a single woman who could enthrall every male. Believe me, Sir, you all love variety too well for that. Your affections, like your money, circulate all the planet over so that it is only the woman can keep her admirers the longest that we feel pain, not who can keep them always for none of us could expect that.

“But come, Silvergor,” she said, “I must admit you have come to me at a very important point in time. Since my uncle has commanded me to use you as I would him, after supper, I will give you an earful of intrigue and prove the duty I owe him and my confidence in you.”