Free Well of the Damned by K.C. May Page B

children were sleeping with mice in
their pallets, and probably rats too, and bugs. The kitchen…”
A strong shudder shook her shoulders. “There were roaches
everywhere, running across the floor, climbing on the tables and over
the food. It was disgusting.”
    “What
was their excuse?”
    She
let out a growl of frustration and anger. “His excuse was
arrogance and denial. He had the children hidden away somewhere, but
I saw some of them, and they looked underfed. There was a chair,
Gavin. He tied children into the chair when they misbehaved, and he
kept a variety of switches in the same wardrobe where he kept their
toys.”
    “So
what’d you tell him? How’s he going to fix it?” He
took his seat again but held onto her hands.
    A
smile brightened her face. “You’d have been proud of me.
I threatened to shut the place down and move the children. I would
have – I was ready to proceed – but he convinced me to
let him fix things.” She outlined her agreement with the
orphanage overseer, and Gavin nodded his agreement as she spoke.
    He
was proud of her. After hearing her express doubts almost constantly
about her ability to fulfill the role of queen, it lifted his spirits
to see her confidence building. She made a wonderful queen, but he
couldn’t convince her of that. She needed to learn it herself,
and it appeared she was on her way.
    Excitement
quickened her tongue as she said, “I’d like to also
provide books and hire people to teach the children to read. It’s
a skill that can come in handy when they’re older. Aside from
learning to read and count, I think they ought to be taught a trade –
carpentry or tailoring or cobbling or cooking – something they
can use when they’re old enough to leave the orphanage.
Something their parents might’ve taught them had they not been
taken so early.”
    “That’s a good idea.”
He often wished he’d spent more time learning to read, as
Edan’s father, the Lordover Lalorian, had urged. “Maybe
we can give tradesmen some kind o’payment to take these
children under their wing.”
    “Oh,
Gavin! That would be wonderful, but won’t Edan object to the
expenditure?”
    “When
people are happy, they’re productive, and when every citizen is
productive, the whole country’ll thrive. I don’t think he
agrees, but we won’t know unless we try it.”
    “I
wholeheartedly agree.” Her enthusiasm didn’t stop there.
“I want to go to Ambryce and visit the orphanage there. If it’s
as wonderful as I’ve heard, it could be a model for the
orphanage in Tern and elsewhere.”
    “Sure,
once the rain stops,” Gavin said. At her scowl, he explained,
“The rain makes travel dangerous. There’s no telling when
the sky’ll clear.” Especially if the rain was magically
caused, as the weather scientists believed.
    “The
children’s welfare can’t wait until it’s convenient
for me. They need my help now, rain or not.”
    “I
didn’t say wait until it’s convenient. I said wait until
it’s safe. You’re the queen. I won’t let you take
unnecessary risks.”
    “It’s
not a risk if there’s no danger. The Lordover Keyes traveled
all this way without incident, and he’s an old man. He told me
the roads were passable. I’ll have Lila and Tennara with me,
plus your choice of guards and my usual attendants. They won’t
let anything happen to me.”
    He
grunted in response, unappreciative of the skill with which she
countered his argument.
    She
smoothed his hair with a calming, loving hand. “I would ask you
to come with me, but you have other pressing concerns. I can do this.
You believe in me, don’t you?”
    He
felt peaceful, less concerned about her proposed journey than he had
a moment earlier, and wondered whether she was using her empathic
skill to influence him. Unlike others with a gift of empathy, she
could also push her own feelings into her target. It was how they had
all survived the demon Ritol’s attack. No, she wouldn’t
do that.