Shards of a Broken Crown Read Online Free PDF Page A

brother.

    “Erik!”
    Dash turned to
see Rosalyn hurrying down the corridor, and stood aside to let the
young woman pass. Dash knew the girl felt overwhelmed at times by
being the mother of the next Baron—she was Gerd’s mother
because of her rape at the hands of Erik’s half-brother—and
Erik was her closest friend. They had been like brother and sister as
children, and he was the first person she turned to when in distress.
Dash watched as she came to the Captain’s door and started
knocking.
    Erik opened the
door and said, “What?”
    Dash hesitated a
moment, then continued to walk past as Rosalyn said, “It’s
the Baroness. She’s refusing to let me bathe my own son! It’s
just one more thing she’s taken from me! Do something!”
    Dash stopped and
said, “Excuse me.”
    Both Erik and
Rosalyn turned to the young man. “Yes?” asked Erik.
    “I
hesitate to intrude on the basis of overhearing a conversation I’m
not party to, but to avoid any embarrassment, may I make an
observation?”
    “What?”
said Rosalyn.
    “Given her
somewhat. . . forceful nature, the Dowager Baroness has actually been
rather leisurely in acquainting your son with his new office.”
    Rosalyn shook
her head. She had been a pretty girl growing up in Ravensburg with
Erik, but the birth of two children, hard work in her husband’s
bakery, and the travail of the recent war had put premature grey in
her hair and robbed her face of the softness Erik had known in his
youth. Her eyes were now hard, and she was leery of hearing anything
from Dash that would further remove her from her son.
    “Gerd is
now Baron von Darkmoor,” said Dash, trying to be patient and
instructive without sounding patronizing. Rosalyn might be an
untutored common woman, but she wasn’t stupid. “For the
rest of his life, many of the things you did for him will be done by
servants. Had you been Baroness, you would never have bathed him, nor
changed his diapers, nor perhaps even nursed him.
    “It’s
time for you to begin his education as Baron.” Dash waved
around, indicating the castle. “This is now the frontier of the
Kingdom, until the West is retaken, and may continue to be a critical
stronghold for years, far into Gerd’s adulthood. Gerd is almost
five years old, and soon will spend most of his day with tutors and
instructors. He needs to learn to read, to write, the history of his
people, riding, weapons, court protocol. . .”
    Erik nodded,
putting his hand on Rosalyn’s shoulder. “Dash is right.”
The young woman looked defiant and Erik felt her shoulder tense under
his hand. He smiled. “But there’s no reason you can’t
stand nearby and watch as the servants care for him.”
    Rosalyn said
nothing for a moment, then nodded and turned off to retrace her steps
to where her son was housed in the Baron’s quarters of the
castle. Erik watched her retreating back, then turned to Dash.
“Thanks for pointing things out.”
    “I
hesitated to insert myself into your conversation, but it’s
only the truth.”
    Erik glanced
down the hall to the corner where Rosalyn had turned out of sight and
let his eyes fix on the distant space. “So many changes. We all
have so much to adjust to.”
    Dash said,
“Again, I don’t mean to presume, Captain, but if you
require any assistance . . .”
    Erik smiled. “I
suspect I will. And I will count on you and your brother. If you
haven’t heard yet, you’re both being assigned to my
command.”
    “Oh?”
said Dash.
    “It’s
your father’s idea. He’s going to take a hand personally
in this coming campaign.”
    Dash nodded.
“He’s his father’s son.”
    Erik said, “I
didn’t know your grandfather well, I must say, but well enough
to know that’s a compliment.”
    Dash grinned.
“If you had known him better, you might not think so. Ask my
mother if she ever decides to return to the West.”
    “Anyway,”
continued Erik, “the King has his hands full in the East, with
most of his army absent and