Quint felt relieved, but the explanation left the subject of letting women into the flat open. He was too young for that kind of thing and was too timid to clarify the rules any further.
“Do you play cards, Tirolo?” the middle lieutenant asked.
Quint shook his head and shrugged. “I wasn’t able to learn. My mother wasn’t interested, and my father never taught me, preferring to spend his leisure in the village pub.”
“So did mine,” the senior said. “I learned at the training fort.”
“Which one?” Quint said.
“Mine was in the northeast.”
“Central for me,” Quint said. “Fort Draco.”
“That isn’t one of the main ones,” the middle lieutenant said. “It has regular soldiers mixed with wizard corps recruits. There aren’t as many recruits in the southeast since most of that area is settled with…” The lieutenant raised his eyebrows. “Forgive me.”
“You were going to say hubites. There is magic among my people, but it isn’t a strength. The local hedge wizard called me a wild talent, but I thought he had done that to raise the price he received for selling me to the army.”
“Pressed. I see,” the senior said. “You’ve done well for yourself. Talent has a way to emerge.”
A curse and a compliment, Quint thought. The curse didn’t come with emotion, just a recitation of facts that Quint agreed with.
A woman younger than Quint’s mother walked through the door with her arms filled with bags. Quint was the first one there to help. The woman looked cross for a moment but then relaxed. “Masmo’s replacement?”
“In the flat, yes,” the senior lieutenant said. “Quint, this is Marena, our housekeeper.” He turned to the woman. “Marena, I introduce you to Lieutenant Quinto Tirolo, who was on the same expedition as Masmo.”
“You look too young to be a lieutenant,” Marena said without a greeting.
“He earned it,” the youngest of the three lieutenants said. “A hero of sorts. Quint was recently promoted.”
“For good deeds,” she said. “That would be the only way.”
“For good deeds,” Quint said. “I am pleased to meet you.”
“I should hope so. You won’t be eating dinner without me on two days of the week.”
“I will look forward to it,” Quint said.
Marena snorted and took her bags into the small kitchen.
“You can bring your wash and put it in the clothes sack. Marena will wash tomorrow,” the senior said. He leaned closer to Quint. “Marena can be a bit prickly, but she is very good at what she does.”
Quint hoped so. He retreated to his rooms, separated the clothes, desperate for a cleaning, and filled the rest of the sack with his washing.
The youngest of the lieutenants was the only one of the group remaining with the others in their rooms. Quint would be more comfortable in his, so he also left the sitting room. He went through his notes on strategy to be better prepared for his first meeting with his strategy group the following day.
Quint had no illusions about being a substantial contributor, so he studied to look less dumb than he probably was.
An hour later, Marena called for dinner. The bedrooms were evacuated, and they sat at the table outside the kitchen. It sat six, and there were five plates set. He guessed Marena joined them.
Once dinner started, Marena looked at Quint and then at the others. “Be warned, I may raise my rates if he stays,” she said. “There were bloody clothes in that sack, and I don’t like cleaning bloody clothes.”
Quint wondered if there was a story behind that. He should have rinsed out the uniform that was splashed with the blood of the officer he had killed at the battle.
“If there is a next time, I’ll rinse the blood out. I’m new to being in action,” Quint said.
“What action?” the youngest lieutenant said. “You fought the sappers?”
Quint sighed. He couldn’t in good conscience hide his actions from his new flatmates. Quint told them about his weakness spell that incapacitated all the men except the officer. Quint said he had to put the man down with a short spear.
“I thought those were worthless,” the middle lieutenant said.
“I used three strings to make the spear into a usable weapon. The officer was in a weakened state when I fought him.”
That part was primarily true, Quint thought.
“Three strings. You made the most of being at the tail end of the army,” the senior said.
Marena narrowed her eyes as she glared at Quint. “I thought your clothes were blooded helping with the wounded. You did well for your first encounter with the enemy.”
Quint was surprised to hear a compliment.
“I had to do something, or the wagon drivers would have been killed,” Quint said.
“Have a little more of this,” Marena said to him. “I may still want a raise.”
“I’ll pay all of the increase since you are raising your rates because of me.”
Marena nodded with her eyes narrowed again. “I expected you would, and I’m sure they did, too.”
