Chapter 17 #2
“It would depend on their current positions. I’d be glad to wait on having them come on until the harvest was in.
No sense in making enemies at other estates that way.
But perhaps arrangements for them to visit once a fortnight or once a month until their employment begins properly, something like that. ”
“Seeing things at the various stages, that has a good pace.” Edmund nodded. “I can likely get away for an afternoon or two as well. It depends on the assignments of the week. Some of that depends on Uncle Alexander.” Then he took a breath. “We should probably get on to the bridge?”
“Yes, sir.” Master Benton got his gelding walking. “No one is surprised that Magister Landry is a demanding apprentice master, of course.”
“And how.” Edmund grinned at that, because again, he knew Master Benton would understand this, without Edmund needing to mask any of it or explain it.
“I want to live up to his expectations, of course. Besides, there’s a little drudgery, practising things over and over, but most of it is fascinating.
His experiences— well, Papa’s and yours, too— encourage an approach of pulling from different strands, rather than focusing on one narrow path. ”
“The mercurial nature of Lord Carillon shines through, yes.” Master Benton sounded entirely content at that. “That was something I first noticed in him, actually.”
Master Benton had never spoken of this directly, at least not to Edmund. “Oh? I’m exceedingly curious now, of course. If you’re willing to talk about it.”
“The story is brief enough. I’d been assigned to a new battalion, as happened frequently enough.
I was the oldest of the new privates sent along, and I rather took charge a bit, keeping people in order.
Your father came out— Captain Carillon, as he was then— and introduced himself.
He did it smoothly, charmingly. It was only much later that I realised exactly how deliberate he’d been about getting a laugh or two.
What he did, putting the men at ease, beginning to bring them into the unit.
A group, you understand, not a swarm of individuals. ”
Edmund had seen both his parents do that in various forms, and he nodded. “And you in particular?”
“His lordship called me in last, and I admit I was distracted by the state of his uniform and the dugout. It hadn’t been properly tended.
Oh, it wasn’t badly handled, but the minor details, you understand, had been neglected.
I have always thought that how we conduct ourselves in the worst of times speaks about who we are at the deepest heart.
Of course, Captain Carillon’s greatest attention was, as it ought to be, for the men under his command, rather than his collars or cuffs.
He saw my reaction, realised I was magical, and asked me about my background.
As soon as he learned I’d been in service, he took me on as his batman.
I have given thanks to Dea Bona every morning and night since for that chance of luck. ”
“And then took you out of the trenches.” Edmund knew a few of those stories, though not many details. The last part of that comment was another surprise. He didn’t think he’d ever heard Master Benton mention his own particular devotional focus before.
“Just so, sir.” There was a pause, as the horses walked along.
“Lord Carillon has an eye for staff, of course. His particular gift, I have come to think, was not simply bringing in people of competence, but in finding ways in which they might grow and flourish. For the good of all.” That was a fascinating way to put it.
“Improving the spaces around him, the way a well-tended estate improves the land magic for all nearby.”
That was certainly going to give Edmund a lot to think about. And to talk to Papa and Mama about once he’d had some time with it on his own. One thing he desperately wanted to know was how much of this Master Benton had planned to discuss in advance.
“That certainly includes you.” Edmund didn’t quite make it a question. “I know enough of the stories to be sure of that.”
“His lordship has been generous with his teaching from the beginning. And as you wish to rise to the challenge of Magister Landry’s expectations, I wished to rise to his lordship’s standards and needs.
These days, I am confident I have done so, but at the beginning I was quite nervous about the whole thing.
” There was another brief silence. “The particular gift his lordship has— and which her ladyship has further developed in him— is creating a space where the nervousness is acknowledged. Change is possible because of a trusting foundation.”
Edmund might have continued the conversation further, but just then they came around a curve in the road and along to a small cluster of houses.
There would be people close enough to hear, at least a chance of it, and that was no good for this sort of thing.
Edmund nodded, murmuring a “Thank you.” Then he cleared his throat.
“So, what should I know about the bridge before we get there?”
That, naturally, produced a well-organised summary of the history of the bridge. The particular concern of the moment was about whether it could handle a flood like much of southeast England had had the previous year. They were to look at the options for improving the situation.