Soldier at the Door (16 page)

He stopped and looked at Mahrree who had been staring at him
adoringly during his little speech.

“What?” he asked.

“I’m remembering how you said your mind was like my mind. Have I told you lately how you’re the most perfect man in the world?”

“No, you’ve been quite derelict in that duty. But you’re making up for it,” and he kissed her on the lips. “Mahrree, promise me we’ll always remember to talk to our children. By the way, what was Poe taking from you?”

“I wanted him to read the
Stories of the World
. He didn’t seem to be familiar with many of them, and the teachers aren’t bothering to teach them! I learned about those in school several times when I was young.”

“And who was your teacher?” Perrin reminded her.

“My father,” Mahrree nodded. He always explored the furthest reaches of what was known and what could be imagined. That didn’t seem to be the purpose of schooling anymore.

Mahrree thought about Poe’s description of school
now, and she grew restless merely thinking about
memorizing
stuff
all day long.

It was sadly remarkable, she decided, that in such a short time full school had taken the world—as captivating and full of wonder as it is—and diminished it into something merely dull.

It takes a worrying kind of intellect to do that so efficiently. And she was just starting to think there was no intellect among the Administrators.

Apparently there wa
s, just the wrong kind. And who did that intellect belong to?

Mahrree didn’t know the answer, but at least Terryp’s stories would make Poe’s evenings worth remembering.

“I had a copy of those stories,” Perrin remembered as he put down Jaytsy who was squirming to be released, and scooped up Peto instead. “I loved the one about the giant that holds the world on his back. I used to imagine that land tremors were because he had an itch he couldn’t reach.” He smiled at the memory. “And then,” his voice became lively, “I figured when it was thundering, that was when he sneezed!”

“
Eww, now that’s not very appetizing right before dinner!” Mahrree sneered. “So what was the rain?—Oh, never mind.”

“And then,” Perrin wasn’t finished yet, his eyes looking twenty
years younger, “I decided that when he had intestinal pains it was—”

“Nothing I want to know about!” Mahrree shut him up.

Perrin gave her a disappointed look. “You may not want to know about it, but I am sure little Peto here would. Right, my son? The bodily functions of giants are fascinating to little boys,” Perrin held up his son and rubbed noses with him until he giggled.

“And right now,
you
are that giant.”

---

After dinner there was a knock at the door. Mahrree opened it to see Qualipoe’s robust mother standing there looking radiant. She wore a gown that took Mahrree’s breath away. It was the same shimmering fabric of Poe’s, but with stripes of pink and burgundy which seemed to shine even in the dark of the evening. A long coat of finely woven black worsted wool, which matched her glistening black hair, protected her from the growing chill.

“Good evening, Miss Mahrree—I mean, Mrs. Shin,” Mrs. Hili apologized with a smile.

“Oh, it’s always Mahrree. Come in, please!”

“Actually, I won’t, I’m on my way to the concert tonight. I just wanted to return this,” and she handed Mahrree
The Stories of the World
. “Qualipoe won’t be needing it right now.”

“Why not?” Mahrree asked, disappointed. “He seemed excited to read it. I’m sure if I talk to him I can convince him to—”

“No, he
wanted
to read it,” Mrs. Hili interrupted. “But I told him he probably shouldn’t, at least not right now. I don’t want him to have too much on his mind before the testing next week.”

Mahrree narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying that reading this book will . . . make him forget what he needs to know on the test?”

“See, I knew you’d understand!” she breathed easier. “If he remembers this nonsense,” she gestured to the stories, “but then doesn’t remember the numbers and facts he’s memorized, well then, there’s a problem.”

“Oh, I am sure he won’t confuse flying arrows from another people assaulting our world, with the definition of an acute angle!”

Mrs. Hili did not look amused. “You may not realize it, but if the children perform well on the test, the school will receive funding from the Administrators.”

“The children get paid for learning? My, maybe
I’ll
go back and be a student,” Mahrree said mischievously. “But I don’t see why we need money. The school house—”

“Is in shambles!” Mrs. Hili exclaimed.

“Really?” Mahrree blinked. “What happened to it?”

Mrs. Hili rolled her eyes. “Come now, you know what it looks like—stone walls, wood floor, log supports, so basic, so . . . tast
eless.”

Mahrree was completely lost. “Exactly how is that tasteless?” The description matched her own house.

“You really haven’t been out lately, have you?” She glanced down to Jaytsy who was hanging on her mother’s skirt. There was unidentified food and patches of dirt smeared on her face and dress.

“Cute little girl,” Mrs. Hili said, unconvinced of her own eva
luation. She looked back up at Mahrree. “You haven’t even seen the new building project, have you? The new home development, on the south side? They’re building with blocks now, and the structures are astoundingly innovative!”

“Innovative, huh?” Perrin came up to the door to join the co
nversation. “They’ve had block buildings in Idumea for about seven or eight years now. I admit they are sturdy and
possibly
safer in a land tremor. But honestly, I find them rather bland. Every building looks the same—same gray color, same square shape, each block poured to look exactly the same. Anything with variety is broken down and recast. Now stone and log buildings—those have character!” he smiled.

Mrs. Hili did not. “What some call character, others call provi
ncial.”

By the blank reaction on his face it was obvious the distinction was lost on Perrin.

Mrs. Hili decided to educate him. “Captain Shin, consider the wisdom in building with block. You can have smooth walls and any kind of shape you want!”

“As long as it is roughly the same shape as the house next door,” Perrin pointed out. “I’ve seen what they’re doing in Idumea. And you have to hire men specially trained to build them.”

“Well it’s easier and faster to build all of them the same shapes.” Sensing that she was losing the argument, she turned to Mahrree, “You should come see them. I think you’ll be impressed. It’s what
everyone
wants this year.”

“Not me,” Perrin said shortly.

“But you should!” Mrs. Hili insisted.

“Why?”

“A grand house would prove how important you are to the community! To show your position!”

“My uniform does that,” Perrin said coolly.

“Not well enough,” Mrs. Hili countered with the air of a woman truly in the know. She glanced around their gathering and eating room that showed the remnants of the dinner, washing, and playtime. “This is
hardly
the way to impress others.”

Mahrree shrugged, never having been much concerned about Mrs. Hili’s opinions. “I’m not worried about impressing others. I don’t even know who I should worry about.”

Mrs. Hili rolled her eyes in her plump face. “You need to impress everyone! You need to get ahead! Attention! Progress! My goodness, what does a captain need to do to become a major?”

Perrin folded his ample arms across his broad chest. “Kill someone.”

Mrs. Hili went deathly pale.

As much as Mahrree approved of her husband’s answer, she chuckled to lighten the mood. “Not
exactly.
He trains the men well, has them prepared for attacks—” and, because she couldn’t help herself, she added, “I mean, he’s
already
killed a dozen men.”

Mrs. Hili began to swoon backwards.

Perrin smiled smugly.

Gripped with guilt, Mahrree groaned and caught Mrs. Hili by the arm before she fell over. “What I’m
trying to get at is, we’re simply not
worried
about impressing people. We’re more concerned about what the Creator thinks of us.”

Mrs. Hili shifted her gaze from the terrifying captain to Mahrree’s deliberately sweet expression. She snapped out of her reverie.

“Yes, yes of course. Although I think you’re completely wrong, Miss Mahrree. I mean yes, we worry about the Creator’s opinion, but we
live
in the
world
. We have to
impress
the world.”

“Why?” Mahrree genuinely wanted to know.

Mrs. Hili blinked. “You really don’t get it, do you?”

“What I don’t get,” Perrin started, while Mrs. Hili looked at him
uneasily, “is why people would spend so much money on those houses? They cost three times what our home cost.”

“At least!” Mrs. Hili puffed up proudly, straining the seams on her dress. “And the increasing values will multiply capital within the safe realm of speculative ventures.”

Perrin and Mahrree both stared at her.

“What does
that
mean?” Mahrree asked, not able to bear the suspense anymore.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Mrs. Hili confessed. “Our money ma
nager explains it so much better than I do. You should come by and look at the houses.”

“No,” Perrin said resolutely. “I don’t see the reason at looking at something I know I don’t want.”

“Oh come now,” Mrs. Hili said. “What would it hurt?”

“A lot,” he said. “After I met Mahrree, I didn’t go looking for any more women. I was satisfied with what I have. Same with my house. Why look for something more if I have all that I need?”

“And you’re
from Idumea?
” Mrs. Hili asked incredulously.

“I barely escaped in time,” he deadpanned.

Mahrree snorted and made a mental note to kiss him later. “Besides,” she said to Mrs. Hili, “the new houses are too far away from the fort.”

“That’s not a problem!” Mrs. Hili said with a chubby finger in the air. “There are plans to build another housing development on the old catapult fields!”

Mahrree’s face fell. “You can’t! What about Catapult Day?”

Mrs. Hili scoffed. “Nonsense. Housing is far more important.”

“Maybe, but I won’t allow anyone to build there,” Perrin told her.

“Why not?!  Who are you to say who can build there?”

Mahrree had seen that look in Perrin’s eyes before, but only directed at an obstinate mule. She gently squeezed his hand in a useless attempt to calm him.

“I am the commanding officer of the Administrators’ Army of Idumea, ordered to protect the citizens of Edge,” he declared in a worrisome tone. “The area is unsafe and would present an inviting target to Guarders looking for food, weapons, animals and . . . u
nsuspecting women wearing
silk
.” His voice dripped doom. “They
love
silk.”

Mrs. Hili began to swoon backwards again. “I’m . . . I’m sure it will be rethought, Captain. It was
only a suggestion by some of the developers, you see . . . when they were looking for land for new school buildings, they noticed the catapult fields across from the fort—”

“Wait a minute,” Mahrree interrupted her. “Developers are
already
looking for land?”

“Of course! Our children will undoubtedly perform well on the test, and we’ll get our building.”

“And if they do poorly on next year’s test, do they have to give back the bribe?” Mahrree asked in all seriousness.

Jaytsy pulled on her mother’s dress and began to holler for her attention.

Mrs. Hili shook her head. “This is so hard for you, I can see. Don’t worry, Mahrree,” she said as Mahrree bent down to pick up Jaytsy, who had sprung a leak from her nose. “This difficult time will be over soon enough, then you can get back to living in the world with the rest of us.”

Mahrree was bewildered. “What do you mean, this difficult time will be over soon enough? What time?”

“The time you’re tied up by demanding little children! Truly, you’ll soon forget how difficult this was once they’re old enough to go to school.” She winced as Jaytsy demonstrated her high pitched scream and ability to kick in all directions at the same time.

Mahrree tried to hand her to Perrin, and Jaytsy added flailing to her list of skills. Perrin took Jaytsy, held her at arm’s length to avoid being bruised, and walked her back to the kitchen.

Mahrree sighed and said, “It’s bathing time, but I guess that’s obvious. My children have me tied?”