The Pen and the Sword (Destiny's Crucible Book 2) (13 page)

As
for Yozef, as much as he seemed to have adjusted to Caedellium, who knew
whether the customs of his people and hers confused mutual understanding?
Whatever Yozef’s feelings and intentions, it was
she
who broke off
communication. He had attempted to apologize if the kiss offended her. She had
refused to speak with him after the kiss and had barely acknowledged his presence
on the morning when she left to return to Caernford. Therefore, it was up to
her to reinitiate contact.

Maera
first wrote of her pleasure at having met him and thanked him for time spent
showing her his shops and discussing issues of mutual interest. She closed the short,
neutral letter with crafted questions about his projects and her arrangement to
copy several books he’d expressed interest in reading. The questions implied a desire
for answers and thereby a return letter to Maera. She omitted mention of their
picnic or her departure.

Eight
days later, a return letter arrived. Given that the quickest she might have
received an answer was four days, after those four days she worried he wouldn’t
answer, and as each day’s mail arrived, her anxiety grew. She found herself
both relieved and unexpectedly nervous when Yozef’s letter came. She tore open
the outer paper and quickly scanned the letter, then relaxed and slowly read it
again. He was pleased to receive her letter and learn she had arrived home
safely. He had been happy to show her his shops and discuss issues and thanked
her for arranging book copying. He answered her questions and countered with a
couple of his own about her family, her studies, and how was the weather in
Caernford? The exchange left open opportunities for future letters.

Yozef
Kolsko Is Different

  
It was two days after Maera’s parents discussed her changed behavior and
possible implications, when Breda Keelan sensed the opportunity had arrived to probe.
In the early afternoon, mother and daughter sat on the back veranda finishing
mid-day meal. The conversation had been about the usual: Mared’s interests in
learning, much as Maera had been at that age; Anid’s chaffing at scholasticum
work; Ceinwyn’s moping so much, her mother had finally taken her to task. They touched
on news of the Narthani, Maera’s latest letters from Anarynd, and wasn’t this
the nicest weather? With the preliminaries out of the way, Breda struck. Guilelessly,
she hoped.

“I’m
glad you met and became acquainted with this Kolsko fellow. He seems to be
making quite a mark in Keelan and beyond. He sounds very mysterious.”

“Mysterious?
Yes, I suppose so. Mysterious sounds somewhat ominous, though.” Maera paused
for a moment. “Different? Definitely.”

“How
different?”

“Certainly,
with all of the new ideas he’s brought with him, particularly making things we
didn’t have on Caedellium before. Not just the ether and kerosene lanterns, but
new soaps, papers, and yes, the kotex.”

Breda
smiled. “I have to say, it seems odd for a man to think of such a product. I
can’t imagine your father even discussing the topic. He’d be mortified. So how
does Yozef Kolsko do it?”

“Mother,
he just casually
knows
things. That was only one example. Diera is
alternately ecstatic and chagrined at the new medicant knowledge she’s learned
from him. As with so much, it’s not that he’s an expert in any particular area.
He seems to pull pieces of knowledge out of the air.”

“So,
it’s not that he’s that smart, just that his people have more general knowledge
than we do?”

“Oh,
it’s assured his people know so much more, but he’s smart himself.”

“How
smart, compared to other people?”

Maera
considered. “Probably at least as smart as Diera and Sistian or any of the
scholastics at St. Sidryn’s and St. Tomo’s.”

Breda
noted that Maera hadn’t included her father in the list of the smartest people
she knew. She wasn’t offended. Culich Keelan never pretended to be an
intellect. He wasn’t dense, and his intuitions, skill at reading people, and
ability to see long term, when combined with honesty and integrity, made him a
formidable hetman.

“And
what about yourself, Maera? Is he as smart as you?”                                                   

Maera
looked sharply at her mother. She knew Breda understood that her eldest
daughter was smart—very smart. Breda also had been comforting when Maera expressed
frustration over dealing with others who couldn’t follow or agree with her
thinking. However, Breda had never directly asked for Maera’s own evaluation,
nor had Maera ever given it. Until now.

“No,”
said Maera. “I can’t say he is. I’ve never met anyone smarter than me.” She continued
looking straight at her mother with a firm and only slightly defiant stare. “He’s
definitely more so than all but only a few men I’ve met, although he’s smart in
a different way.”

“
How
different?” asked Breda, surprised at Maera’s bluntness, boast, or honesty, depending
on how accurate was her assessment.

“I
couldn’t put my finger on it, until I realized he didn’t feel pride in his
intelligence and knowledge. It just
was
. He simply takes it for granted
and doesn’t mind others disagreeing with him or showing more knowledge.”

“Could
one of those others be yourself?”

Maera’s
cheeks colored, though she continued to look straight at her mother. “Yes, it
could. All my life people have thought of and looked at me as being somehow not
quite correct. When I was young, at times I tried to hide that I was smart to
get people to like me more, but it never worked. Even you and Father. Mother, I
know you and he love me, but there’s always a hint that you wish I was a little
more like other daughters. As for Father, though he values my help, in his heart
of hearts he wishes I’d been born a son and feels awkward that I’m a
different
kind of daughter.”

“Oh,
Maera,” said her suddenly teary-eyed mother, “both your father and I have
always loved you dearly. If we’ve ever made you think we wished you were anyone
other than who you are, please forgive us!”

Maera
patted her mother’s hand. “I’m not blaming either of you. If anything, I’d blame
God or myself. Him for making me a person who feels out of place or myself for
not either somehow changing myself or just accepting the way the world is.”

“And
Yozef Kolsko, how does he see you?”

“I
sense he accepts me as I am. Possibly because he’s not from Caedellium and doesn’t
come with ideas of roles he expects me to fill. Maybe his people are just
different from ours. Maybe
he’s
different. I don’t know the reasons, but
I didn’t feel I had to worry about what I said. If he didn’t understand
something I was telling him, he simply asked it to be explained again or in
more detail, not that he had any problem with me knowing more. When I disagreed
with him, we’d discuss our differences and either come to an agreement or
resolve to disagree without the need for one opinion to win out. It was . . . exhilarating.”

Breda
could hear some of the exhilaration and perhaps a
relaxation
of spirit, in
Maera’s tone, and, on hearing it, pangs of regret saddened her that Maera was
only now able to share such feelings.

“So,
Yozef Kolsko brought all this out in you, dearest?”

“Yes,”
asserted Maera.

“And
more?”

“More?”

“You
know what I mean, Maera. More than just being comfortable with him. He’s a man,
you’re a woman—what do
you
think I mean?”

The
color on Maera’s cheeks came again, spreading to more of her face. “I
like
him, Mother. He’s nice, compared to most of the men I’ve met. Not that being a
hetman’s daughter, the eldest daughter, and one expected to produce an heir to
Keelan has allowed me to meet all that many men. And let’s be blunt, the last
few years the few new men I’ve met have been potential suitors. They’ve been hetmen
or boyermen’s sons, and those roles constrain what kind of men they grow into.
I’ve always assumed one day I’d marry one of them for the sake of the family
and Clan Keelan. I’d hoped to find a marriage like yours and Father’s, but I’d
given up that dream. I know my duty, that the day will come when I’ll have to
marry and have children. It’s just . . . I dreaded that day and the thought of
living the rest of my life with one of those suitors.”

“I
take it it’s different with Yozef?”  Breda unconsciously switched to using only
his first name.

Maera
was quiet, as she looked off into the fields north of the manor. Her gaze moved
over the green fields, groves of trees, and scattered patches of wildflowers.
“I don’t know exactly what I feel.” Several moments passed. “But it occurred to
me that if I
had
to marry him, I don’t have the dread I did with the
suitors. I can’t say if that’s love like between you and Father, but as
different . . . yes, even strange . . . as Yozef is, I respect him and am comfortable
around him. No, that’s not quite right either. There were a few times when we
were together at St. Sidryn’s that I felt more at ease than I can remember for
years, except when I’m with Ana.”

“Let’s
look at this from another perspective, dear,” said Breda, a conspiratorial tone
creeping into her voice. “Just for discussion’s sake, what would be the advantages
to the clan if you married Yozef?”

Maera
looked sharply at her mother. She recognized the tone of voice from when she
was plotting to convince Culich of something he might not initially favor.

“Well,
the obvious advantage is to produce heirs for the clan and, secondarily, quiet
any growing murmurs about that lack.”

“Yes
to the first of those, but I doubt the second is much of a concern for our
family, at least not yet. What else?”

“He’s
rich. I was astounded at the amount of coin coming monthly from his enterprises,
even after all the coin he puts into setting up new trades and contributing to
various causes. Moreover, it’s only going to increase from the trades and the new
products he’s already introduced. Blessed God only knows what he comes up with
next. He may already be one of the wealthiest men in Keelan and eventually
possibly in all of Caedellium. It would clearly be to the family’s and the clan’s
benefit for a close alliance with such a resource.”

Breda
noted that Maera was into her analytic mode and for the moment was not thinking
of herself and her feelings.

“It’s
not just the status of his wealth that might help us, it’s how some of his ideas
and the knowledge he brings from his people might help against the Narthani. I
see all of the reports Father sees, and I know how much he worries about the
future, but I wonder if even Father is aware of the severity of the Narthani threat.
I think Yozef
is
, and he’s spending coin to make gunpowder and cannon. Caedellium
may need every bit of help it can get to survive as a people, and I have the
feeling in my bones that Yozef will somehow make a difference. How I don’t
know, but all my intuition yells it at me.”

“So,”
Breda summarized matter-of-factly, “correct me if I’ve not heard right. If you
were
to marry Yozef, there’s a good chance you would be ‘comfortable’ with the idea,
it would help begin to produce Keelan heirs, and it would bind to the family
and clan a man of great wealth and knowledge. Am I missing something, or does
this not sound like a reasonable argument for you to marry this Yozef Kolsko?”

Maera
stared at her mother for several seconds, then sighed and sat back in her
chair. “Yes, Mother, it’s a reasonable argument. I would need time to
understand what I’m feeling. This is all so new to me. I’m not accustomed to
feeling confused.”

“Maybe
the best thing to do is to invite this Yozef here to Caernford for a visit,”
Breda stated. “That way, you can have more time to be around him, and it’s an
opportunity for your father to meet him.”

Maera
considered the suggestion briefly, then said, “Yes, I agree that’s a good plan.
Even aside from myself, Father needs to meet Yozef, so he can assess for
himself if and how Yozef can be helpful and to better understand how Yozef is
going to change all of Caedellium, in one way or another.” Maera paused. “How
much of this should I discuss with Father?”

“Oh,
I think it best to stick with the value of him meeting Yozef for himself. Let’s
see how that goes and leave the other parts for later. No point in confusing
your father with multiple ideas at once,” Breda said with a twinkle. “Besides,
who knows what ideas might come to your father, all by themselves?”

And
with some subtle tweaks by Mother,
Maera suspected.

“Although
it’s probably too soon to consider this,” said Breda, “if you decided you
wanted to marry Yozef, how would it be proposed?”

The
question hadn’t occurred to Maera. By custom, the man usually proposed
marriage, either to the woman or to her family. The woman taking the initiative
was not uncommon; however, this was not a common situation for any of the
parties.

Maera
sighed. “Oh dear, I think it would have to be either Father or myself. Yozef’s
still uncomfortable with his understanding of our customs, and I doubt he’d
propose on his own. I see no reason to involve Father at first. To be truthful,
I’m not sure Yozef would even be interested in marrying me.”