“I'm sorry.” She mumbled and walked away.
Chapter Ten
“Um, what?” Tor said to her back, catching her sleeve lightly, which got an annoyed glance from her as she looked over his head. Finally she looked down and her eyes focused.
“Tor? Sorry, didn't notice you.” She sounded distracted and glum.
“Are you alright?” He asked quickly, leaning close in hopes that not everyone in the room would hear.
She shook her head. “Not here. Later. I'll explain, but… It isn't for this place.”
“OK. Later. Don't forget though.”
Collette, the lady in pink that stood right behind him oriented herself so that her chest pressed against his back briefly, nearly the back of his head, so that she could see who he talked too. She introduced herself using her title again, Baronetta Coltress. Trice's eyes went wide as she noted the contact between them and then she sagged a little, looking almost like she was going to cry.
Tor pointed out that Collette was with Count Thomson, which helped his friend perk back up a good bit. She was probably glad to have her other, more appropriate, friends around. After all, he couldn't help her much here, especially if something had made her sad. Or help her anywhere else really, unless it was a simple problem that one of his little field projects or devices could aid with. Or a baking emergency. Then he could do something.
Seriously, he was all over that one.
Her dress was a deep blue, one that offset cornflower color of her eyes wonderfully, she wore a simple silver chain around her neck from which the shield he'd given her flashed. Trice wore it openly as if it were something to be proud of. Did she expect danger he wondered? Maybe he should stay ready then. Trice knew her way around these things better than Tor ever would, no doubt. Collette noticed where he looked and pointed at it excitedly.
“Oh! Is that a Tor device? I haven't managed to get one yet. Almost no one has them you know. How did you manage, I mean if it's alright to ask?” Her voice didn't sound catty or anything, just curious.
Trice smiled and pointed at Tor with a half wave. “He gave it to me, several months ago. A present just because, he said. It's a full Tor-shield, one of the newest ones, the fourth model, updated past what the military has even. And smaller too. The original plates were about the size of half your hand. This one's barely the size of a large coin as you can see.”
The woman behind him grasped his shoulder slightly and spun him half around. She didn't speak to him, but to Trice instead.
“Seriously? Are you two… friends?” Tor started to say yes, but Trice shook her head.
“Not that kind. He's just really nice.” Her smile looked a little sad to Tor, which didn't make sense. A lot of things just didn't in this world of royals and palaces.
A deep voice came from behind Collette. “That's true. He gave me the shield I'm wearing and my flying gear too.” Count Thomson smiled. “Tor is a good friend to have for a lot of reasons, and trust me, these things aren't even the biggest part by half. He saved my honor once.” Tovey put a hand on Tor's shoulder and smiled. “Something I haven't forgotten by the way.”
Trice nodded.
“Me either.”
It took him a second to get what they meant, the whole thing with him hitting Tovey on the back. Right. He was about to tell them that there was no debt between friends, which was just true, but didn't get a chance.
A stirring came from up front, near the raised platform the King and Queen were on. No more than a sudden silence and shifting of weight, but the whole room suddenly turned to look. It was kind of amazing really. A field of effect? That felt right, but whatever had gotten their attention was already finished now. Kind of a shame. It would have been interesting to examine how it worked.
Mind magics like that were considered delicate and complex things, rare and valuable, but not overly useful in day to day life. Though a field that projected a sense of peace would have worked at some of the King's meetings Tor bet, wondering if the man had one yet. If not he should find a master builder to make him one.
The loud man called out for Trice's parents, the Duke and Baroness. Tor wondered why the woman wasn't a Duchess, but figured there was some complicated and ultimately baffling reason he wouldn't understand. They both walked to the front, the crowd parting gently before them, slightly stiff looks on their faces.
The King explained loudly for the whole room with a gentle smile.
“A gift! Master Tor asked me personally to deliver these to you. Two sets of flying gear with full shields. May you use them with joy and prosperity.” Richard handed over the box his eyes alight.
Everyone clapped as if it was a big deal. Then again, it was delivered from the hand of the King, which did kind of make it special. Tor figured that if he'd just given them each a bag of fertilizer from the stables people would have clapped too. The idea made him want to laugh, but he didn't feel like explaining just then. Especially to their daughter, lest she think he was insulting them instead of just laughing at the idea itself.
Instead he shook his head and murmured just loud enough for Trice to hear.
“Master Tor? Kind of him, but I have a long way to go before I earn that title, you know?”
From behind them a few people someone, a woman, asked if the Baroness was sleeping with Tor or something, to get such a gift.
At first Tor was afraid that people thought his gift was too poor to be given like this, which he agreed with. After all he'd just wanted it to be passed along, not publicly presented. Maybe slipped covertly somehow. But that thought changed suddenly when the same woman boldly proclaimed that, if it was, she'd gladly sleep with him for a chance at the same thing.
A huge man standing next to her cleared his throat gently, “dearest, if that would work, I'd beg you to myself. In fact, I'd suggest it even if he isn't giving things away to everyone. Such an alliance would be advantageous, don't you think?”
The woman chuckled a little, still watching the Morgans, who seemed pleased enough at least.
“I do think. We must make a point of having the man over for our next party.”
Trice eyed him and smiled.
“Good! Now all we have to do is tell them that you gave it to them because you love me and then convince the King to give you a title, and you can marry me instead of…” Her voice died, realizing that people could hear her, and worse, were listening.
Tor didn't ask what it was about, but knew that it had to be big for her voice to have been that serious about something so obviously absurd. Not that he wouldn't love to marry her, or someone like her, all he had to do was rise about sixty social levels and he'd possibly be within those three steps of her that everyone kept telling him about. Maybe. Probably not. He thought about it and tried to work it out for real. Sixteen social levels not sixty, if he was generous and started as a scholarship kid from the Lairdgren school instead of his birth status of village bakers' kid. Could it be done? A few times in history a great warrior or very wise man had climbed the ranks, becoming a councilor to the King or general in the military… he thought.
Well, he wasn't a great warrior, that was for certain. Was he wise? Heh. Maybe in seventy years, if he worked at it hard enough, about the time he earned being called “Master Tor”. That wouldn't do him any good with Trice though, would it? Best to get his mind back in the real game and focus he decided. He tried to take the evening meditatively, as he'd learned in class at school, from Instructor Doris, accepting, noticing and not responding overly.
“Well…” He said, his voice soft and a little dreamy sounding he knew, from the meditative state. “I'll see what I can do in that regard.”