Memory of Morning (19 page)

"I have never accosted a woman in my life! Though the court accuses me of it! What did you tell them?" he demanded of his ex-wife.

I wished that Samel Swan was here. Whenever the captain's formidable temper erupted aboard the
Moonrunner,
the ship's surgeon always braved the beast and talked him back under control - even if he had to shout longer and louder than the furious captain to do it. Since Dr. Swan was not here, I spoke to Dane Copper very loudly.
"Calm down, Captain," I said to him. "Please."

He muttered, but he took a step back and took a few deep breaths. His fair face slowly faded from bright red to a more normal color. He looked back at me. "Will I do, Dr. Cliff?"

Mistress Reed held out her hand. "May I see that document, sir?"

He hesitated.

"This lady is the administrator of Mercy Home, and the order of Gray Women assigned here," I told him. "Whatever the difficulty, I am sure she will be of help."

He handed the paper to Mistress Reed. While she read, I looked to the nurse who stood silently by through all this. Of course I did not know her name, but I recalled working with her - without any thought of who she had been or why she was here. Which was the whole point of the life the Gray Women chose.

The administrator read the document. Resignation added to her annoyance when she looked back at the captain. "You do have the right to confront your accuser," she told. "Although I wish you had chosen another way."

"I believe in direct action, ma'am."

"He does," I murmured.

"Captain, Gray Woman, come with me to my office." She turned to lead them away, adding, "You as well, doctor. Two witnesses are necessary."

I did not want to come along. I certainly didn't want to witness the private, painful, scandalous conversation about to ensue. This man had held my life in his hands for over two years and brought me home alive and wiser and richer for it. I considered him a friend, and more than a friend in my heart.

"I am on duty, Mistress Reed," I said. "I cannot spend much time away from the walk-in."

"Then we will go there."

There was no getting out of it. Alas, there was no one in the walk-in waiting room. I showed everyone into an examining room. I stood by the curtained doorway, hopefully listening for a patient to come in from outside. Where was the screaming and blood when I wanted it?

Mistress Reed took a seat on the examining table and said calmly. "You may address this Gray Woman, Captain Copper."

"What are you doing here, Shele?" he immediately asked his ex-wife. "You never sent me word you were unhappy. I am sorry to have left you alone so much, but you knew my life. You could have gone to sea with me."

She ignored everything but his question. "I come to be here because I wished this life. I knew I did not belong in the secular world. I knew the life I had chosen as a wife was wrong. I was empty whether you were home or not. When I discovered the pamphlets and speeches of the Women, I knew where I belonged. It was necessary to divorce you to join the order."

"You abandoned me! What of your marriage vows? Responsibilities? Our child? It took me weeks to discover where you'd left Doree."

"Did you have to claim abuse?" Captain Copper asked. "Do you know what the divorce grant accuses me of could ruin my career? I've already had to testify before Gracer committees three times. The Admiralty has questioned me, as well, about my beating my wife - which we know I have never done. Worse than that, our child doesn't think either of us love her. You have caused a great deal of trouble for others while finding yourself, Shele."

"Enough," Mistress Reed ordered. She turned a stern expression on the former Shele Copper. "Did you lie to obtain freedom from this man?" she questioned.

The woman faced Mistress Reed for a moment, her gaze on the floor. She finally nodded.

Mistress Reed sighed. She addressed Captain Copper. "The Gray Woman will make a statement of the truth to satisfy the questions of your superiors."

"And what about our daughter?"

"Your daughter is yours. Take care of her. Come," Mistress Reed said. She took the Gray Woman's arm and hurried her out. I had to jump aside to get out of their way.

Captain Copper would have followed them, but I pulled the door curtain closed behind their exit and stood firmly before the door. I would not let the big man get past me. "You can't change them, the Gray Women. Their discipline is as hard as any naval training," I told him. "Mistress Reed's promise is the best you will get from them."

He gestured. "But--Shele--my wife."

I shook my head. "I am sorry, sir. Believe me, I am." I was. Except for the gleeful guilty part shouting
he's free!
deep in my soul.

He ran a hand through his thick, dark blond hair. "I don't know what to do. I have nowhere to go."

This was most surprising. "But, the
Moonrunner
, captain?"

"It will be months before the
'Runner
is properly refitted. Plus I'm assigned to the Admiralty Planning department until the ship's ready. And there's no setting to sea for certain captains and ships while the truce with the Framin holds."

"Word of the
Moonrunner
out patrolling might be considered a hostile gesture?" I asked.

"Exactly, Dr. Cliff. I can't send Doree to the house she was born in. My estate is falling apart. I don't know if Shele is responsible, but there was a fire. I cannot keep my daughter at my club, and there's not an inn or guest house room to be had in Loudon with this Seeker Season nonsense going on."

My answer was not an act of impulse. Though I thought the ramifications through quickly, I knew what I was doing when I said, "You and your daughter are more than welcome to stay with my family until you can get yourself organized. We have far more room than we can use. And having the famous Captain Copper as our guest will add much honor to our household."

Chapter Twenty-Six

I found a man in the waiting room. His clothing looked ruffled, but he did not seem in the least injured. He looked me over quite thoroughly as I came toward him. He smiled.

I smiled back.

He was a very handsome young man, with wavy brown hair, bright blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, and a mouth that seemed to have difficulty not smiling. "Good evening, Gray Woman. Are you in charge here?"

"Are you a family member?" I asked. "Of course you are not," I corrected myself. "You just checked the man's name."

"I am with the criminal apprehension division of the House of Justice," he told me.

I noticed now that although he did not wear a clerical tabard, he did have a small enameled badge of office pinned to his tweed coat lapel.

"Is he in trouble?" I asked.

"Do I detect a hint of hope in your voice, ma'am?" He looked at me with his head tilted slightly to one side. There was a merry look in his eyes.

I folded my hands primly at my waist and kept my expression as serious as possible. "Of course not, sir. Is he in some sort of trouble?" I repeated, though I doubted it was any of my business.

"I am told he nearly started a riot this evening. There is some tension in the neighborhood from his accusing immigrants of deliberately bringing the plague with them from their home island."

"Why would anyone do that?"

"The Gracer claims it's to spread the sickness so the newcomers can take over jobs from the locals. There is some mumbling in the neighborhood that he might be right. A faction of immigrants gathered to debate this with the locals in Madder Square."

There had been plague riots before, and massacres of innocents blamed for the Red Fever. One of the reasons for the war with Framin came from their belief that the plague originated in the Empire and that we had spread it deliberately to weaken them. We had never accused them of the same, though some people probably thought this to be true. I hoped no one really blamed anyone else for spreading the disease now. How could that fool Gracer accuse anyone of such a thing? Why were the Gracers trying to turn back the clock on every front they could think of?

"And how close to a riot did this
debate
come?"

"A few rocks were thrown. There was some cursing. The local guards managed to get everyone to disperse, but the tension had no business being stirred up at all. I've been asked to point this out to Gracer Moor, cleric to cleric, with firmness and the support of the Goddess of Justice."

So, someone was trying to rein the Gracers in. This was good to know. "I could conduct you to Cleric Moor's bedside, but I doubt it will do you any good at the moment. I prescribed poppy for his pain and stress."

I led him to Cleric Moor's bed. To my surprise the Gracer was awake, though just barely. I left the Apprehender with Moor, though I cautioned him not to tax the injured man too greatly for I had already stitched him up as much as I intended for this evening. the Apprehender chuckled as I left.

After this, I went to the walk-in admitting desk where there was nothing for me to do. I left word that I would be in my bedroom for a bit of sleep. Of course I checked the other wards first, taking special care to have a look at the plague patients in the isolation ward. Not that there was anything I could do for someone suffering the disease. One either recovers, goes mad, or dies. These people had been vaccinated after admission to the ward. The hope was that this would soften the effects of the Red Fever, but so far this experiment showed no signs of helping. I wondered how much of my own blood now flowed in these peoples' veins and silently apologized that it was no help to them. Though I did have the thought that the patients and I were family of a sort now.

I was ridiculously depressed when I entered my quarters. It was fortunate for my mood that Star was there waiting for me. She didn't take up much space no matter how small the bed. The Gray Women kept therapy pets, and had made no complaint to my bringing my dog to share the room with me.

I sat down and she jumped into my lap, giving my face a few licks. It was not so much her affection that snapped me out of my melancholy and vanity but her familiar whine that told me she needed to go outdoors. This taught me that my place in the world was to see to my dog's needs.

I fetched paper gloves and a couple of small composting bags, in case she had more than urination in mind, and put on her leash. Star does not like wearing a leash - well, I certainly see her objections - but leashing was a strictly enforced city ordinance in Loudon. Stray dogs were rounded up and killed, and I was taking no chances of such a thing happening to my Star.

We went out through a rear door. I had a key for this door, but the lock was so loose that a key really wasn't necessary. Star led me around to the front of the building.

"Want to stretch your legs some, do you?" I asked as she pulled me to the right and up the street. I was sleepy and shouldn't be away from the Home for long, but the night breeze did feel good brushing my face.

We took only a step before Star growled. A man rose from a seat on the stairs of the Home's main entrance.

"May I join you?" the young Apprehender asked. "The streets around here are not as safe as you imagine, ma'am," he added after I hesitated for a moment. He looked down at the still-growling dog. "Sweetheart, you would be a snack for some of the curs the mugging men bring with them."

I nodded my agreement and he fell in step beside me. Since I accepted his presence, Star left off growling. She'd be begging for him to pet her at any moment, affection hound that she was.

"Why were you lingering by the door?" I asked as we reached the end of the block. "Do you fear some trouble over Cleric Moor's presence? Or do you worry about the plague patients' safety?"

"Perhaps I was waiting for you," he suggested.

"Your tone is most pleasant and teasing, sir, but do not try to protect my sensibilities from any thought of danger. I am not that sort of gentlewoman."

"What sort of gentlewoman are you, then?"

"One who can dodge questions as easily as you can ask them," I replied. "Apprehenders are notoriously curious, but I have had practice with one such as you."

"You have had encounters with the law, ma'am? For what were you apprehended?"