“Honored father,” he said, and bowed, which made Boji grab his coat with both hands, for safety.
“Son of mine,” his father said in that deep, ominous voice. “ Whatis that?”
“A pariid’ja, honored Father.”
“One can detect that basic fact. Let us amend the question. Whyis it here?”
It was not a good thing to dodge Father’s questions. He had rehearsed what he would say when he had to tell his parents about Boji. He had rehearsed it every night. But all of that was useless. “One requested him, honored Father. One had gotten the cage, and one thought—”
“Thought. One is very glad that thoughtentered somewhere into the transaction.”
“One is confined to this apartment, honored Father, and one has no chance to go out to the country, and one misses it, honored Father. On the ship at least there was the garden.”
“One sees you have fairly well started one here.”
The plants. The many plants.
“One admires plants. And one so admired the cage, which is brass,nand’ Father, and not at all breakable! One in all points remembered the rule, that I might have brass, and it is very solid. I cannot possibly damage it! And one is very happy with the apartment, nand’ Father! One is very happy with the cage, and the plants, and since it is out of the question, one is very sure, to bring a mechieta to the BujavidcOne is sure there is no stablec”
“Not for a hundred years,” his father said dryly.
So there had been a stable, once. He was almost distracted off his carefully memorized track.
He wondered where it had been.
But he faced his father, desperately shoved the existence of mechieti out of his mind, and said, calmly, refusing even to entertain the possibility that his father could take back his birthday party, “One has had him for days,honored Father. One wished to demonstrate first that he is no problem and that he does not smell at all, because we keep him very clean, and he does not eat much, and he does not make a mess on the carpetscwe have sand for him, and we have been very good about taking it out.”
His father began to laugh, slightly at first, and then really to laugh.
He was very keenly aware there wasa mess, and it was him. Egg was all over his coat, all over his hands and face. He hoped the staff could save his clothes, but the coat was a bit clawed, too, and probably ruined, and he really did not want his father to know that at the moment.
“They bite,” Father said. “They climb. They nest in strange places. They do not do well in a house.”
“But I have all the plants,” he said. “He is happy here!”
“This is a forest hunter,” Father said.
“Have you ever had one, nand’ Father?”
“I have hunted with them, yes.”
“At Taiben?”
“At Taiben,” Father said, and a glance raked him up and down. “One takes it the creature is not well trained.”
“He is only a baby.”
“He is three-quarters grown and had best learn to come to a whistle, soon, or you will not be able to control him.”
“ MayI keep him?”
A small silence. “If you can train him. Ifyou can train him. I had a good report from your tutor this morning.”
“He is an excellent tutor, honored Father. And one is trying very hard. And one will train Boji. One will! He is very quick.”
A second silence. “You understand that your mother will have concerns about the baby’s safety with this creature in the apartment. He must not bite, he must not steal, he must not escape this room, and he must, above all, learn to come to you when called.”
“ Yes,honored Father! I shall teach him! He will not be a problem! He will be clean, he will be absolutely clean! And he will not bite the baby!”
His father looked at him and laughed, outright laughed, as his father rarely did.
At his expense. But it probably wasfunny. At his expense. His father laughed and laughed.
“Of all things,” his father said, then: “Take a bath. And one trusts no egg got on the carpet.”
“Honored Father.” He felt heat flowing to his face. “One regrets to report honestly there is egg on the carpet. One will have to call the servants to clean it—and they will. I have the promise of two excellent servants!”
“Have you?”
He had stepped into trouble. And trying to dodge around reasons with his father was just not a good idea.
“Someone had to carry out the sand and the eggshells, honored Father. But one has learned his bad tricks now, and it will not happen again.”
“One is certain something of the like can certainly happen again,” his father said, “and one doubts you have yet seen all his bad tricks.”
“Yes, honored Father.”
“So be smarter than he is. That seems a minimum requirement. Mind, he is here by my permission, which is hourly subject to change.”
“Honored Father.”
“One came here to tell you a bit of news.”
“Honored Father?”
“Your great-grandmother is back in the capital. Her plane just landed. She invites us all to dinner. Your mother and I have business this evening, with a charitable society, and that is an excuse. The plain fact is, considering the business afoot, it would not be politic for us to meet with your great-grandmother socially until the business with the Marid is settled. But you will politely represent us at your great-grandmother’s table. We have told her you will be there.”
“Yes,honored Father!” He bowed. He understood, he actually understood about the Marid. And he was gladto go to dinner at Great-grandmother’s table. If he were not standing there trying to restrain Boji from pulling free and ruining everything, he would have had all his mind on it and been entirely happy.
“You are to behave impeccably,” his father said sharply. “There will be politics at the table, even if no one mentions it, and lives rest on this agreement. Be wise. Be quiet. Be invisible.”
He bowed as his father left. And Boji squirmed, as he had been doing, trying to get free, or to bite him, or just because he was bored with being still.
“ Quiet,you!” He took a careful grip with his left hand on Boji’s harness and resisted the urge to be angry with Boji, who understood nothing about carpets or his father’s power or that he had nearly gotten banished back to the market to be sold again. He found a grip that quieted Boji, and carefully smoothed his fur.
Boji looked up at him with big golden eyes.
“You have to behave,” he found himself saying. Hewas saying such a thing to somebody else. The world was upside down.
And to be sure nothing else went wrong, he went to the cage and retrieved Boji’s lead, clipped it on and let him go.
Boji immediately tested the limit of it, bounding to the nearest chair, to the floor, all around him, winding the leash around his legs, and making him look ridiculous. He was passing the lead from one hand to the other to prevent being tripped, about the time his bodyguard showed up in the other doorway, all quiet and sober and wondering what had happened.
Boji chattered at them in reproach and climbed his leg and his coat, wanting to go all the way to his shoulder, as if he were a tree.
He stopped Boji at the crook of his arm, holding the lead very short, and Boji took a grip on his fist, peering over it, staring at his bodyguard and chattering defiantly at them.