Chapter 24 Aleksis
24
Aleksis
The rain had abated. The last awkward meeting with Bishop Petras was over. Aleksis had suggested that a swift departure would allow him to present the troubling facts about the Birchlands to the Ruler without delay, meaning Lady Elisabeta should have a good plan in place by the time of the Grand Council. He’d emphasised that both he and she were fully aware of the need for any messages touching on delicate matters such as this – for instance, those that might be dispatched to the leaders of their neighbouring countries – to be handled with the highest degree of secrecy. He’d thanked the Bishop for his hospitality. Petras had farewelled his visitors quite amiably. Whatever it was he’d been hoping to achieve, it seemed he believed he’d succeeded.
The ferryman got them across the choppy waters of the lake in good time, helped them unload the horses, and waved them off with a grin. The roads were slippery with mud. Aleksis knew must restrain the urge to push the horses, or Karolis, too hard. The pace must be slower, but even with the required stops to rest the animals, they could be there by late evening. Pavel had agreed to stay abreast of any developments at court during their absence and to brief them as soon as possible on their return. It had to be tonight. Aleksis needed to know how things stood before he saw the Ruler.
‘Makes you wonder why Petras and his crew choose such out-of-the-way spots for their religious houses,’ Matiss observed as they negotiated a slippery downhill stretch. One error here and a horse might fall and snap a leg or cause its rider some serious damage.
‘They’re not keen on visitors,’ said Karolis. ‘Or at least, uninvited ones. They like to keep their secrets as just that. Secret.’
Silence for a while. Then Aleksis said, ‘You made a few friends there, from the looks of it.’
‘Mmm. There are some good fellows among them, or they would be if they hadn’t been drawn into a certain mode of thinking. It is what it is.’
No further discussion; even on an isolated track such as this, some matters were better not spoken of aloud. When it became safe – if they ever reached that point – there would be a whole world of things to say. He thought of Stasya, and the way sometimes she seemed to have so many words in her that she struggled to hold them all in, and sometimes locked herself into impenetrable silence. How much easier it was for her to tell a story than to answer questions or give an account of events. How she had her very own way of doing things, a way that was both powerful and, for her, perilous.
‘Aleks?’
‘Mmm?’
‘Don’t forget, there are plans in place.’ And when Aleksis did not answer, Matiss added, ‘And folk we can trust.’
He knew he should answer. But his thoughts were not under sufficient control.
‘Having doubts? You look like you’re carrying a heavy weight.’
‘Some things you can’t plan for. We saw that with Rihard’s ludicrous activities in Heartwood. Achieved more or less the opposite result from what was wanted.’
A silence. The path levelled out; they rode beside a river fringed with willows. Birds called in their branches; the clouds had parted enough to let light fall on the rippling water.
‘And yet,’ Aleksis said, ‘some would see our aim as no different from his. With the potential to cause significant harm.’
Matiss did not reply, and for some while they rode on in silence. The nearer they came to places of settlement, the more important it would be to speak only of immediate and practical matters.
‘We might consider changing horses at the inn,’ Karolis said, breaking the silence, ‘rather than resting ours and taking them all the way. Could the host accommodate that, do you think?’
‘They could, but it’s an untidy arrangement. Someone’s got to do the return trip, switch them over again. I’d prefer to be without that issue.’
‘They’ll need a fairly long break,’ Matiss said. ‘You as well, Karolis. Don’t want to strain that leg any further than you need to.’
‘I’ll be fine,’ Karolis said, but something in his posture told Aleksis he was starting to feel uncomfortable.
‘We’ll rest until we’re ready to go on. The days are getting longer; we should have adequate light most of the way.’
‘If it helps,’ Matiss said, ‘we know you’re on edge, Aleks, and we understand. Chances are nothing will have changed at court; we’ve only been gone a few days.’
‘Mmm.’ In a few days, Aleksis thought, things could turn upside down. Under Elisabeta’s increasingly unreliable leadership, the Northlands were vulnerable. The visit to Dragon’s Keep had only underlined that. Petras might be considered an ally right now, but he was a man who followed his own visions and his own passions. The One and Only God was not a deity of peace, friendship and goodwill. And Petras had what amounted to a substantial private army at his command. The Grand Council was drawing closer. If ever there was need for Elisabeta’s senior adviser to provide her with a voice of common sense, it was now. Common sense. Support. Wise counsel. His father had been senior adviser before him, back in the days when court had felt almost like home. What would his father think at this moment, if he could look into his son’s mind?