Delcia stormed into the solarium in the second-floor tower. Patricia rose to her feet as the the older woman entered. She’d expected Nalia’s news would be unwelcome to Lady Caan, but she could feel some suffering in the woman. It was unusual for her to sense minor distress from a complete stranger, but maybe the shock of her experiences in Irenicus’ laboratory had sharpened her ability. She’d felt Anomen’s misery the other night well enough, but his was extraordinarily strong for such a trivial incident.

The noblewoman lost no time in making her position clear. “What do you think you’re doing, missy? Trying to wheedle your way into a position of responsibility you were never meant to carry? I questioned Nalia closely, and she says so far as she knows you’ve not so much as a drop of noble blood in your veins!”

Good thing Nalia doesn’t know about the Bhaal problem, then, thought Patricia. I can just imagine what sort of field day Delcia would have with that. A disreputable deceased deity is no heritage to take pride in, certainly, but it’s neither better nor worse than the mass murderers celebrated as the founders of many a “noble” lineage. Besides, nearly every noble house I’ve ever heard of has a few skeletons in its closet, members that are never discussed.

Aloud, she replied only, “I do not believe I ever made a claim to such parentage, Lady Delcia. Any misconceptions you may have had about my connections certainly cannot be laid at my door, for you asked me nothing about them.”

Delcia paid no heed to her rebuttal. “I’ll not have my niece sullied by continuing to consort with such disreputable folk! A gnome, of all things! And such a squinting little varlet!”

Patricia calmly interjected, “Yes, I believe Mister Jansen does suffer from a hereditary myopia. Hence his use of a loupe. It’s a common trait among families with strong magical tendencies.” With her own near-blindness, I’m amazed she had the gall to mention Jan’s small visual difficulty. How did she even recognize it? What was that old saying of Gorion’s about the mote and the beam?

Frustrated at her inability to dominate the conversation, Lady Caan nevertheless soldiered on. “And what about that--- that rodent that that ridiculously large man keeps toting around? I simply refuse to have my home invaded by vermin!”

Patricia confined her response to a raised eyebrow. Not even worth my time. She’s running dry if that’s all she can come up with about Minsc. I’m not even going to bother to point out the glaringly obvious fact that it’s not her home, but Nalia’s.

Delcia was goaded practically into madness now by the continued lack of response to her barbs. By pure instinct, she launched a telling strike. “And why that peach-faced son of a pitiful excuse for a noble should bother associating himself with such trash baffles me! Perhaps he has forgotten his status altogether, but I shan’t permit Nalia to consort with the likes of you!”

Patricia found herself inexplicably enraged by this attack on Anomen. It took her three deep breaths to be able to answer steadily, though her expression never wavered.

“Lady Delcia, I can only say that your insults to the rest of us are as nothing compared to the wrong you do that gentleman. Nalia and I both would have preferred to entrust the well-being of the House to his hands, as neither of us entertained a single doubt of Lord Anomen’s trustworthiness, his skill at arms, or his fitness to uphold his station. I am fully aware that my own services can be no more than second-best, but I am the only option available. You may accept my words or not; I do not care. I serve Lady Nalia’s interests now, and you may judge in time if I am taking advantage of her, or if she is not rather taking advantage of me. Good morning!”

Patricia rather wished she’d been wearing a formal gown, so she could have picked up her skirts and swept away from the old woman. She’d only felt sorry for her, until the grande dame had decided to lay into Anomen. But why did that bother her so much more than Delcia’s obvious contempt for Jan, Minsc, and even herself? Pondering, she decided that it was because of the class difference. When Delcia had been insulting the rest of them, it was just because she perceived them to be lower beings. She wasn’t aiming the insults at them personally, just to hurt Jan or Minsc, but because she didn’t like gnomes and low-class humans. And she’d expected Delcia to dislike the person who represented the change in the Keep’s life. To Delcia, she, Patricia, was no more than a walking reminder of the loss of Lord de’Arnise.

But Delcia’s attack on Lord Anomen had gone too far. There she had decided to attack someone she perceived as a member of her own social sphere, on the slimmest of provocations. The noblewoman had no idea how close the Watcher had come to paying the ultimate price for her safety, yet here she was reviling him. She’d no sane reason at all for disliking Anomen, except that he hadn’t been able to take over the regency. A new idea blossomed suddenly in Patricia’s mind. Could it be? Yes, she’d be willing to bet that was it!

She paused outside the entrance to the Great Hall and smiled to herself. Delcia must desperately want Nalia to settle down, and she hated the Roenalls. From her point of view, Anomen would have made the ideal Regent. Unmarried, heir to his own House but not on good terms with his father, as Delcia surely must know. And, now that Patricia came to think about it, neither he nor Nalia was hideously ugly or brutish, so there would indeed have been a good chance for propinquity to draw them together. She was sure Delcia would have found plenty of excuses to keep them both on the estate. Hmmm. An interesting idea to contemplate in her spare time.

Just now, though, she, Anomen, and Nalia were going to meet with the majordomo to interview the man Arat had recommended as the new Captain of the Guard. Anomen and the majordomo were already in the Hall, and Nalia slipped in by the west door a minute later. Promptly at noon, a tall, quiet man entered by the main south door. Patricia liked him at once. He looked to be about fifty, fair hair greying a bit at the temples and a bit weatherbeaten, but his stride was loose as he approached the table behind which the others were seated.

He stopped a few feet away from them and made a half-bow. Patricia automatically gave him several points; he’d shown respect for a potential employer, but no sign of obsequiousness. The majordomo referred to the sheet of paper left by Arat. The old Captain had declined to be present at the interview, and Patricia couldn’t blame him.

“Ahem. This is Cernick, my lord and ladies. Captain Arat has recommended him to assume the post of Captain of the Guard.” The formalities over, the interview began.

“Cernick,” said Patricia, “Unless and until you are offered employment by the House, I’ll thank you to refer to me simply as Patricia. By the request of Lady Nalia, I have accepted the position of House Regent. Lord Anomen Delryn has agreed to lend his counsel to us as well.”

The man nodded.

“Please sit down,” she continued. “I don’t like having to stare up at people.”

The ghost of a smile flitted through his eyes, as he complied, and Patricia added yet more points to the score in her head. There was at least some sense of humor lurking behind those grey eyes.

“I understand from Captain Arat that you were employed by the Flaming Fist north of here for some years. May I ask why you left their service? The Fist is known for fair pay.”

“Certainly, Patricia.” (She was right; he’d lost whatever awe he’d once had of nobles during his time in the North.)

“I married a woman from Beregost, and she died of a wasting sickness last fall. I’ve two little girls, and I felt they needed a woman’s care. My sister wed a yeoman farmer from here some years ago, and she was widowed herself last spring. She’s got two boys and a girl herself. We thought we’d do better teaming up. I took over running the farm and managing the hired help, and Tharma markets the milk and cheese and looks after the kids.”

“I thought I’d retired for good when I came here. Arat and I liked each other well enough; we’d drink our pints together at the pub and talk old soldiers’ talk. He liked having someone outside the ranks he could gab with, and I sometimes missed the old cameraderie of the Fist.”

Anomen nodded. “Aye, there’s naught like an army to forge a bond between men, whether they fought on the same field or not.”

“Exactly, sir. Well, Tharma and the children and I all went to Athkatla last week to do the season’s shopping and to look at schools for the oldest boy. He thinks he may want to be a clerk or a priest, so we plan to send him to town for a year or two to study. He can make up his mind then what he wants. Turned out to be a good thing, because the trolls confined themselves to taking off a few heifers from the north pasture. If we’d all been home, they might have been rougher. The hired men were smart enough to let them take what they wanted; I might not have been.”

Patricia understood what he meant. It was harder to see the things you’d put your own sweat into vanish than to watch someone else’s property be taken, even when your reason told you it was safer to let things go.

“Late yesterday afternoon Arat sent a boy over to see if I might be interested in taking over, and this morning I got your message with the appointment. Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

“What was your last rank?” inquired Patricia.

“I was a Captain in the company that was stationed within Baldur’s Gate itself.”

“So Duke Eltan or Duke Belt should be able to give you a reference?”

Cernick displayed his first faint sign of surprise. “I know of no reason they would not, Patricia. I had a slight acquaintance with most of the Dukes, though certainly no close ties.”

Anomen put a few questions to him about remanning the garrison, which Cernick answered readily enough.

Patricia asked the man to wait in the hallway for a few moments while they discussed the matter. He rose, made another half-bow, and left them.

Patricia looked at Nalia. “It’s easy enough to check his story, and he’s an old campaigner; you can tell that by his demeanor. If Anomen’s satisfied with his plans to rebuild the garrison, I’d say we should jump at him. He’s experienced and has family ties to keep him here. That farm gives him a stake in what happens in de’Arnise territory, and he’ll hear any grumblings quick enough from the local grapevine.”

Anomen added, “His ideas were sound enough, and I think he will do well with little supervision. May I suggest that we perform one final test?”

“A test for evil?” asked Nalia, unexpectedly quick on the uptake.

“Precisely, milady.”

“All right,” replied the mage. “I trust your opinions. Hire him.”

Patricia turned to the majordomo, as a thought struck her. “Alleyn, what is your opinion? Have you met this man before?”

“Only in passing, Lady Patricia,” replied the steward. He seemed pleasantly surprised to be asked for his view in this matter.

“Well,” said Patricia, “you may have the most constant contact with him, since your positions are roughly equal, and we may be absent a good deal at times. From what you know of his reputation and what you have seen of him so far, do you think you can work together smoothly?”

“Yes, your ladyship, I believe so. He seems reasonable enough.”

“Then call him back.”

Cernick returned and stood quietly before them.

“Cernick,” said Patricia, “it is our considered opinion that you are the best possible candidate for this position. If you are willing to undergo a single test, you may take up your duties as soon as it suits you. I believe Alleyn has already informed you about the salary. If you accept this offer, the two of you will have equal rank within the household, and I will expect you to work closely together. What say you?”

“What is the nature of the test, Lady Patricia?” inquired Cernick.

The monk noted the “Lady”. He’d taken her literally; he must mean to accept the position.

“The Watcher here will simply say a few words, by which he will know something of your character. I expect something similar was used when you joined the Fist, to determine if you would uphold the laws.”

“Aye, my lady. I’ve no reason to fear the eyes of the Unsleeping One,” replied Cernick. “Please, examine me all you wish.”

Anomen stood and approached the new Captain, chanting the prayer as he moved his hands in the prescribed motions. As he concluded, there was no discernible change, but Anomen nodded in satisfaction. “Helm is indeed pleased by your actions, Cernick. Your loyalty is commendable, and Lady Nalia should count herself fortunate to have secured your services.”

Patricia sighed with relief. That was one headache out of the way, anyhow. “The surviving Guards are within their old barracks. We have healed them as much as we could, but some must remain abed for a few days longer. If possible, I would like them to remain in the House’s service. They have proven themselves well in the past few days, and should be a strong core for you, though of course you may train them as you see fit, Captain Cernick. Also, you have my order to go to your children at least once every tenday. If you'd prefer, you may move all your family into a cottage closer to the Keep. Talk that matter over with your sister.”

“Lord Anomen?”

“Yes, Lady Patricia?”

“Would you and Mister Alleyn escort Captain Cernick over the Keep? Show him all the places that need repair, in particular.”

“Of course, Lady Patricia. When shall we ride?”

“Early on the morrow. Nalia must appear at the Council Building to confirm the letter she sent by the messenger, naming me Regent. We shall give the Roenalls no grounds to cry coercion.”