The Captain passed away, the details of which would do no good and
so shall not be spoken of, but the officers aboard were suddenly over our heads, and made
the best of a bad situation for the rest of the tour... it was this that determined I
would never allow myself the luxury of ignorance again, and so learned all I
could about everything anyone would teach me. Of course, verifications from trusted
sources were obtained, including some interesting personal experiences...
In due time, I was given a command of my own, then a Frigate as I
proved myself, but the bureaucracy and system whereby "nobles" got promoted
because their grandfathers were good sailing men began to chafe... I had done more than a
few good turns in my time at sea, and had become known among the merchant houses, where I
decided to try my hand - the least stuffy of those merchants, Lord Spenser, "liked
the cut of my sails", and gave me free rein with his second-best ship to prove myself
anew... Id met his snip of a daughter, all rambunctious and fire, nowhere near
proper at all - I shouldve known I was hooked by the depth of reaction she got from
me, but my mind was on business. The riding lessons were embarrassing enough without her
laughter, but I began to form a plan, figuring that she could laugh in her element all she
wanted, Id find a way to get her into mine. Business boomed, as did our guns on a
few occasions, and Id done everything I felt a man my age could do, but came a
quandary - her father was dead, she was being raised by a monastery, and I knew what a
proposal would look like - a commoner marrying for money. Come to find out shed been
being courted by a German of questionable ancestry, one "Muerk" by name, who had
in fact planned what I was trying to avoid. In my defending her honor, he died. 'Twas
then the negotiations began in earnest, and a more shrewd business person Ive not
met, but I suspected her true feelings for me when orders were cut for me to move my
command to the flagship of the House. As negotiations were concluded, she relaxed and
showed the confident innocence of the young girl she will always be. No more laughing at
me when riding, now we laugh together, mostly at the horses enthusiasm or occasional
lack thereof.
More recently, Tours de Grosse: He was in more ways than appearance
much like myself, but bolder, louder, sharper in some ways... he was very like me in
beliefs concerning nobility stemming from deeds, not blood, in knowing that personal
competence is a mans only value to his fellows, and in knowing that when intentions
have been forgotten, results endure. He gave his life to save the life of a woman he could
never have, and in telling of his feelings for her, remained true to his own code of honor
(and probably, if truth be known, saved my life as well, giving me the only real
reason to stay alive when anyone else mightve given up) He never spoke much of his
time away, except to smile and shake his head, almost ruefully. The one time I pressed him
about it, he muttered something about love not being enough to feed the family, and
damning the meddlers who arranged marriages for status...
Enough of me, and I am sorry my speaking of Tours has caused you
hurt - Im ashamed to admit that when he died, I had no idea what to do with his
personal effects... Theyre in one of my trunks....
<Noting looks of discomfort on Cates face> Dearest?
|