In Which King Davin Misses His Wife

King Davin of Bentlefay to Queen Christina, his consort:

My dear Tina,

I hope everything is going well in Seaward, and that the christening of the ship went off with no trouble. Thank you again for taking that on for me; they always expect me to walk around on those damned swaying puke buckets and there is nothing I hate more than being seasick, unless it’s pretending I’m not.

I have a surprise for you which I hope will make you very happy: we have finally found a reliable bodyguard for Dulcie – and this one can never propose marriage to her, because she’s a woman. You needn’t worry that a woman won’t be sufficiently imposing, either, since this one is bigger than I am and looks like she could break a door with one blow. Archer and Rafe are both satisfied with her strength and skill, and we’ve arranged for her to study up espionage with old Bilk, in case of drugs in the food and things like that.

Best of all, Dulcie likes her, so it looks as though we may have some peace for awhile. It’s a great relief to my mind to have the bodyguard question settled once and for all. You won’t go forward with the Hingbach thing now, will you? Because if Dulcie runs away to sea I will have to go after her, and if I get seasick on a ship at dock I can only imagine what taking one on a quest would be like.

Oh, by the way, it was Winnie who found the new bodyguard, so I told her she could have the new guardsman a few times a week if it’s all right with him. It turned out to be a relief to the poor boy – he had been stealing out anyway and going to her every night, and it was starting to affect his performance on duty. Having it be official will make it much easier for him to get up in the morning, so everyone will be happy -- except poor Patkin, I suppose.

Winnie’s Sir Bardolph sent along a rumor that Marshweather has been sending men into Hingbach. I sent Rafe into Marshweather to see what he could find out, and he thinks they might be planning a surprise attack. I can’t believe that senile old fart Lucan is up to doing much, but it sounds like it was that man Bleake’s idea, which means it might actually happen. I suppose we shall have to send some men up to the border, and I’ve set Dulcie to working out castle defenses. It keeps her occupied, and it isn’t as though I can make heads or tails of it. Still, it would be better if you were here to see to it yourself. You had better leave Seaward tomorrow instead of at the end of the week. I think you will agree that you are needed here.

Yours,
Davin

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Christina, Queen Consort of Bentlefay, to King Davin:

Darling,

Of course I will come home if you are missing me! Seaward is all right for a few days but now that the ceremony is over I have nothing to do but have dinners with the Admiral, and I can never understand a word the poor man says because of the jaw. It embarrasses him so much; I’m sure he is just as relieved as I am to hear that the King requires me urgently back at the Tower!

Listen, darling, before you go doing anything rash: don’t bother sending too many men to the Marshweather border. They did that ten years ago and they lost; Bleake isn’t going to try it again. I’m not against having some kind of presence there, but if all our men are at the border and they sneak in through Hingbach’s mountains instead and strike the capital, we won’t be able to fight them off. That’s what I’d do if I were them, and what I’d do if I were them has been a fairly accurate prediction up until now. Hingbach is occupied on their western border at present, so they probably aren’t patrolling the frontiers very well. I’ll take care of the rest when I get home, but I don’t want you to go haring off on a wild goose chase. Dulcie’s castle defenses will probably do adequately if they come early.

Delighted to hear about Dulcie’s new bodyguard – it would be such a bore to have to deal with that when we need to concentrate on the Marshweather problem. The bit about Winnie and the guardsman was brilliant of you, my dear – and of course it’s just like her to be a step ahead. Winnie is always a treasure, but when you appeal to her interests she is a positive genius. And of course I never meant to go on with the Hingbach betrothal – that was just temper and Dulcie knew it. I’m so sorry we worried you, darling.

Anyhow, I have told the maids to start packing my things and the Admiral says to tell you…something. I’ve told him to write it down if it’s important and I will carry the message back with me. Kisses, my darling, and I hope you are sleeping with your nightcap even though I’m not there to scourge you into it. You don’t want to catch cold when we’re going to have a battle at any moment.

Yours always,
Tina

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