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their cups of tea with their feet up on the table and considering their verdict.'

  Frederick laughed. 'I see,' he said. 'Let's find out then shall we?' He returned to his seat, and pulled the chair closer to his desk. 'Show him in will you, please.'

  Draper moved across to the door and pulled it open, popping his head out into the hallway. 'This way, Lieutenant,' he said.

  Cromwell marched into the room until he reached a spot directly in front of the Emperor's desk where he pulled up, and marked time for two beats before planting his right foot down with a thump, bringing himself to attention. The sun shone into his eyes, but Frederick was impressed when he did not flinch.

  'Lieutenant,' Frederick said, 'may I say that the first thing you need to learn is that there are times when I am the Emperor, and there are times when I am but a man. The trick is to realise which role I am playing at any given time.'

  Cromwell looked puzzled.

  'Today,' Frederick continued, 'I am a man. Do you understand my meaning?'

  'Not really, Sire.' Cromwell's brow was still furrowed.

  'That means you can stand easy, Lieutenant.'

  'Ah!' Cromwell said, and visibly relaxed, but his look of nervousness still hadn't left him.

  Frederick supposed that in the circumstances that was to be expected. He looked across at Draper and nodded his head, at which his valet walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  'I understand that you are naturally curious as to where your Captain Winterburne is?' Frederick said. 'And, I imagine also, you would like to know why I have called you here.'

  'That's correct, Sire.'

  'Well, I shall not beat the bush,' Frederick said, 'but I should tell you that Lord Winterburne has, most likely, returned to his lands, Lieutenant. And, I don't know when, or indeed if, he is likely to return.'

  'I had heard that he had gone, Sire,' Cromwell said, finding his confident voice at last. 'But I don't know why.'

  'No doubt he thought that it might be best if he allowed the events of the last few weeks to settle down a little. To give them a chance to return to some sort of normality.'

  'I suppose so,' Cromwell said, 'but I would have thought he would have at least said something to the men. You know, to say goodbye and all that.'

  'We don't always have the time to do things in exactly the way we would truly want, Lieutenant.'

  'No, I suppose not, Your Highness,' Cromwell replied. 'But even so.'

  Frederick already found himself beginning to like the man standing in front of him. He had been honest in his feelings so far and he wondered whether he would turn out to be as much like Winterburne as he thought he already seemed to be. He was a plain speaker too, once he found his voice, and in anyone's book that was a good start.

  'Which leaves me with a little bit of a problem,' Frederick said. 'And I wonder if you might be able to help me to resolve it.'

  'A problem, Sire?' Cromwell frowned. 'If I can, then I should only be too pleased to help.'

  'Indeed,' Frederick said. 'I had hoped that you would say that. To be frank, I am short of a Captain of the Watch, Lieutenant, and I would very much like if you would be my Acting Captain.'

  Cromwell gulped and stared at Frederick, his eyes wide. 'Me?' he asked. 'The Acting Captain?'

  'Yes, Lieutenant, you.' Frederick replied. 'Will you do it?'

  'I...well...of course, Sire.' Cromwell visibly stiffened as he filled with pride.

  'Splendid! It is sorted, then.'

  Cromwell fidgeted on the spot, looking uncomfortable.

  'Is something wrong?' Frederick asked.

  'May I ask a question?'

  'Certainly.'

  'I'm not exactly sure what an Acting Captain does,' Cromwell scratched his head, 'it is not something that Captain Winterburne and I have ever discussed. Does it mean that I am just, sort of, pretending whilst he is away?'

  'No, Captain Cromwell,' Frederick said. 'It means that you will no more pretend to be Captain, than I will pretend to cut off your head if you let me down.'

  Cromwell's face paled as he realised the implications of what had just gone on between the two men.

  'Is that clear?' Frederick asked.

  'It is, Sire.'

  'Good. Then I think we understand each other.'

  Cromwell gulped.

  'Carry on, then, Captain,' Frederick said.

  He watched as Cromwell, obviously still shocked at what had just happened, turned and marched out of the office. After he had gone, Frederick sat back in his chair and chuckled to himself.

  oOo

  Cromwell strode across the Reception Hall of the Palace and over the mosaic of the Imperial eagle, his chest puffed out and a wide grin on his face. Without doubt, he thought, this was the greatest day of his life. Despite the fact that his mentor could not be here to see his triumph, he hoped that Winterburne would have been pleased for him. No, he was sure that he would have been. It felt like a strange moment; the deep breath before the dive into the sea, full of expectation, just before you remembered how cold the water really was.

  'Lieutenant!' Martell's voice boomed around the hall.

  Cromwell stopped and turned towards Martell, weighing up the Commander as he marched over to him. He was not entirely sure why he and Winterburne had not seen eye to eye all this time but there must have been good reasons and he found himself already feeling wary and suspicious of the man. Still, he thought, perhaps this would be a clean slate and he might be able to build some kind of relationship of his own with him.

  'The Emperor's had you up here too, I see,' Martell said, looking Cromwell up and down. 'He has a lot to answer for, your Captain, don't you think?'

  'No, not really,' Cromwell replied, noticing the edge in the Commander's voice, 'at least not any more. From what the Emperor said it sounds like he will not be returning to the city any time soon.'

  'Aha!' Martell slapped his leg with his black leather gloves. 'That's fabulous news, but probably for the best.' He lifted his hand and rubbed his face, a smile still firmly planted onto it. 'Things always seem to run a lot smoother in his absence.' He gestured towards the door that led to the Emperor's office. 'I'm just on my way to see him myself,' he said.

  'Are you?'

  'Yes,' Martell replied, 'and I would imagine that you and I will be getting to know each other rather well over the coming months.' He slapped Cromwell on the back with enough force to knock him forward a step. 'In fact, I'm fully expecting His Highness to give me command of the Watch. And, when he does, you can rest assured there will be some big changes when I get my hands on it.'

  'I shouldn't think he will,' Cromwell replied. 'Give you command, I mean.'

  Martell sneered as he looked down his nose. 'And, how would you know what's in the Emperor's mind?'

  Cromwell beamed. 'Because he's just made me the new Captain.'

  4

  The Nineteenth Day of Midspring,

  Imperial Year 2332

  Winterburne reached up to the saddle and pulled on the leather strap, easing the tension until the pin popped out to release the buckle. The strap pulled free and he lifted the saddle from the mare's back, carrying it across the camp to place it down next to the fire where he had already placed his heavy woven road blanket. This had seemed like the best place to settle for the night, here in the shelter of the stand of trees, away from the wind that had battered him all the way from Highport. After he had covered himself with the other bedding he should be warm enough through until the morning.

  He looked up at the sky. The lavender clouds were laid out against the riotous red and orange of the sunset. Somehow, out here in the countryside, the colours always seemed to be painted more vivid. Perhaps it was the lack of smoke from the city's chimneys, or even that his head was clear of the troubles of the Watch, but whatever the reason, it was without doubt, beautiful.

  It was quieter here than in the city too, an obvious thing to think of he realised, but the last birds of the evening had finished th
eir chattering and were settling down for the night, whilst the insects were already beginning to raise their music to take their turn and as he looked up the bats flew overhead chasing down what would be the first of many mouthfuls he felt sure. In truth, he welcomed the noise. It reminded him of the many nights he had spent outside in the woods as a child, alone, but not alone, the creatures of the forest adding to the background hum, and even the stillest of nights in the city never really settled to silence.

  The smell of cooked rabbit flesh still filled his nostrils as the carcass warmed over what was left of the campfire. He had almost finished the last of his jobs after which he would be able to sit near the warmth of the embers to finish off the last of the choice meat.

  His mind wandered back through the unexpected events of the last few days, the chase, the fire...and Alyssa. It had never crossed his mind that there would come a day when he would have to consider a life that did not include Highport or, indeed, a life without the watch, and now even the hint of something more had been snatched away. Not snatched though, for leaving had ultimately been his own choice.

  He allowed the thoughts of Alyssa to float around his mind for a brief moment; there had been times since leaving the city that he had considered turning around and going right back to the capital to claim her, but it did not serve him to continue these lines of thought for they hurt him too much. He didn't belong to the city any more, no sense of duty remained to burden him, and there were no ties to bind him...unless, that was, he wanted them to. He closed his eyes for a moment allowing