HONOR BOUND (The Spare Heir) by Michael G. Southwick

Author:Michael G. Southwick
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter XIV

It couldn’t have been more than a moment or two after Jorem had fallen asleep when there was a tapping at his door. The door creaked open and a candle floated into his room.

A child’s voice whispered, “Master Jorem, its morning sire”.

“Not master,” Jorem said groggily, thinking this had to be a dream. “It’s just Jorem”.

“Master or no, ‘tis still morning,” the child’s voice said unperturbed. “Biorne said I was to wake you.”

Jorem sat up and ran his hand through is hair. “What time is it?” he asked of the boy who had awakened him.

“It’ll be sun up in about a mark”, the boy said as he lit a candle on the nightstand next to Jorem’s bed. “Cook’s got hot nut bread with honey and juice waitin’ for you.”

Without waiting for a response the boy turned and left the room. Jorem sat there for a moment trying to wake up. There was a basin of water on the nightstand so Jorem splashed some on his face. He dampened his hair and ran his fingers through it to straighten it a little. The cold water helped a little but his mind still felt numb. He hadn’t slept so hard in a long time. Nor had he been required to get up so early after a hard day’s work.

When he arrived at the blacksmith’s shop he found a lantern hanging on a peg next to the door. Opening the door Jorem saw that the room was dark. Lifting the lantern from the peg he walked into the room. From the chill in the room Jorem could tell that the fire in the forge had not been stoked. Not sure what to do, Jorem stood for a moment and looked around. He was just about to go looking for the smith when the door opened behind him.

“Mornin’ lad.” Franks deep voice resonated off of the walls. “Perth—that is, the Dukes son—has invited me and my family to witness his knighting. I thought he might be willing to have you there as well but I fear he holds you as responsible for Ben’s injuries as your kin. So if you’re of a mind to you can sweep up around here or, if not, you can take the day off.”

Jorem thought about his options for a moment then said, “I’m already here and if there’s many that feel as Pertheron does it’d probably be best if I kept out of sight for a while.”

“Probably just as well,” Franks said. “People around here don’t think much of the royal family. The Duke does a fair job for the locals but we don’t see much benefit from the throne for all the taxes we pay.”

Jorem wasn’t sure what to say so he just shrugged his shoulders. He knew he should defend his father, but he didn’t know enough about the situation. He did know that his father spent a lot of time dealing with problems throughout the kingdom. He had seen it himself during some of the council sessions that he had been at.

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