Free The Royal Sorceress by Christopher Nuttall Page B

will…”
    “And when they ask why, tell them that Captain Swing sent you,” Jack said. “And trust me on this – you do not want to defy me.”
    Shaking his head, he strode out of the building, leaving the broken man behind. He’d find lodgings in the Rookery, have a good night’s sleep, and then start preparing for his first act of resistance. The oppressors of mankind were about to discover that nowhere was safe from Captain Swing.
    And then they would discover the meaning of fear.

 

    Chapter Seven
    I can’t say that I am very impressed.”
    “No,” Gwen said. They were riding together in a carriage, the day following the disastrous food fight. She had been expecting Master Thomas to have a private word with her and hadn’t been surprised when it had finally materialised. Cannock and two of his friends had looked uncomfortable during the evening meal and seemed to be having problems sitting down. “I’m sorry about it.”
    “I’m glad to hear it,” Master Thomas said, flatly. “I expected a degree of maturity from you – and from young Cannock. His commission to go to India and serve as a sorcerer with the army may have to be delayed.”
    Gwen said nothing. A dozen arguments ran through her mind – from the marks she’d seen when she undressed in the evening, to the sheer unfairness of three ganging up on one – and she dismissed them. Master Thomas wouldn’t be too impressed if she started acting like someone in need of his protection. It was bad enough when her father thought her a foolish female who needed a strong male hand to guide and protect her throughout her life.
    “You are training to be the next Royal Sorcerer,” Master Thomas continued. “You will one day be giving orders to Cannock and his fellow Movers. Your multiple talents could have made the outcome of the whole affair far worse…”
    “I tried to restrict myself to Moving,” Gwen protested. “I didn’t Blaze them…”
    “You came close to Blazing them out of this world,” Master Thomas said. “They should have known better than to provoke you – and you should have known better than to lose control. Had you been born a man, we would have taken you when your powers first manifested and spent the last five years teaching you control. As it is, you will have to learn on the job.”
    “I didn’t rule that women shouldn’t learn magic,” Gwen protested, hotly. “That rule makes little sense if magic is part of a person’s body…”
    “I didn’t make the rules,” Master Thomas said. “There is no formal rule against ladies learning to use the magic they have. They are just rarely considered for employment by the Crown.”
    “But you needed to employ me,” Gwen pointed out. “Do all the rules change when situations require that the rules be broken?”
    “Of course,” Master Thomas said. “Just ask poor King Charles.”
    Gwen frowned. Charles I had lost control of his country – and his head – after crossing swords with Parliament. His son, Charles II, had finally restored the monarchy, but Parliament’s powers had not been diminished. George II had known and understood the power of Parliament – both to fund wars and fight them – yet George III had thought he could control it by fiat. George IV seemed to prefer to allow Parliament to handle its own affairs, while he enjoyed himself at Windsor Castle.
    The carriage lumbered to a stop and Master Thomas peered out of the covered window. He’d been remarkably unforthcoming about where they were going, or even why; he’d even insisted that Gwen refrain from practicing magic in the morning. She’d spent the hour waiting for him reading a tome of eldritch lore that seemed to bear no resemblance to magic as she understood it. The Mad Arab’s spells seemed to make no sense at all.
    “One thing,” Master Thomas said, in a gentler voice. “You are about to see sights that…some would say are not suitable for young ladies. And that is strange, because