Chapter 2
Kitiara was early into the class, before the other girls; and Horgey appreciated it. She had donned a gown of rich Harper blue wool of the finest quality, part llama hair from the High Reaches, rich and soft and warm. Horgey found the winter weather mild compared to the bitter snow he had left behind at the Weyr; but nobody else here seemed to, and several people had looked at his light clothing and had shivered! Kit's gown was trimmed with figured velvet of the same colour, the high pile cut, the low pile uncut, and in the shape of lap harps between fanciful swags of leaves. It ran around the bottom of her skirt and formed the sleeves, heavy and full, puffed into a tight cuff of the same wool as the body of the gown. Over it she wore a cape of Eastern grizzly fur, a redder shade than the Western High Reaches grizzly that was generally black, and whose fur was most prized for bedding furs. Most apprentices wore cloaks to go to classes, since they often had to cross the courtyard to go to various classes.
"My new Gather gown; I was going to give it an outing and declare who I was at the Gather, but it may as well come out early" Kit grinned at him as she hung up her cloak. Horgey saw that she sported both Rank and apprentice knots on her shoulder.
"Thanks" he said; meaning both for the gown and the knots. She smiled. She looked quite stunning, Horgey thought, her gamine little face transformed by the smile into an elfin beauty!
"No trouble. I checked up on your prospective pupils for you; thought you'd like to know all I could find" she said.
"Now THAT's an added bonus" said Horgey, pleased. "Spill, my good brat."
She grinned.
"You picked up that one off T'rin" she commented cheerfully. "The good news is, I outrank them all – NONE form a Major Hold, though two of their Holds are rich enough to come close. Lesara is from Fairpastures Hold in Telgar, baby daughter of an ageing father, spoiled rotten and by the rumours I've heard she once had a firelizard that fled from her Between for all time!" her own little blue, Flute, cheeped his own disapprobation as Kit's eyes snapped blue fire. Horgey stared in horror.
"Kit, how COULD anyone drive a firelizard Between? Even the old, unreconstructed me longed to love and be loved by the firelizard T'rin ended up with!"
Kitiara shrugged.
"I can't understand it; but I guess it might not be true anyway. It's only what's been said, and rumour runs on lying feet as the Masterharper says. It might just be worth watching her in case it is true."
Horgey nodded.
"Indeed! What else did you find?"
"There's another pretty wealthy one, from Sweetwater Hold in Igen, where I guess sweet water is worthy of note, 'cos from what I know the bits that aren't desert are swamp. Her name's Asrina; she has a firelizard. I gather that she's not that good at getting out of bed – her own, that is, it's idleness, not promiscuity. I went and wheedled Dunca a bit" she explained. "Though that might not mean she's entirely lazy; some of the boys need…..prodding ….in the morning" she grinned. "Nothing like squeezing a wet rag down their neck to get them moving."
Horgey chuckled.
"Yes; H'llon is the least lazy man I know, and he has trouble getting up to fight Thread early in the morning and he's pretty grouchy before breakfast at the best of times!"
"Even so!" grinned Kit. "There's two others with lizards, Tireena whose brown seems pretty nervous and I think that's because she's the one who screeches like a wherry-kite when she loses her rag; and then there's Dorasha, who has two firelizards. She's seabred from Hithe Hold in Fort, and I'd not mind betting hers are Impressed from wild clutches, 'cos she sails and I don't think her people have many marks to rub together, least of all to waste on firelizard eggs for a mere niece. The last girl is the youngest, Varalie, who has no firelizard; but she's only fifteen turns, just a kid."
"Your age, Kitiara my dear child."
"Yes, but then I have a profession; I feel heaps older than any of them, you know. It gives you a purpose and helps you grow up, I suppose. Varalie seems a nice kid, though, and Dorasha isn't bad I think. Varalie tried to join in games with the boys only that sour faced creature Lesara stepped all over her to make her make like a lady. She and Dorasha hang together because I think they're vaguely all right people and the others are just what you might expect of such – like the fosterlings with my sister that threw me in that ditch that T'rin rescued me from when you first met me."
"It seems a lifetime ago" said Horgey. "But apprentice! WHAT a way to craft a sentence – 'I think they're vaguely all right people'!"
Kit grinned unrepentantly.
"The meaning was clear enough, Journeyman" she said cheekily "And isn't that the reason for language?"
"I can see YOU'RE trouble already" said Horgey.
"Butter won't melt in my mouth in front of our – uh, your, pupils!" She said. "It's just….well, you know."
He nodded.
"Yes; we share the bond that T'rin has changed our lives for the better, me especially; and we both think he's the best there is. Hush, I hear the approach of a large giggle – er, gaggle – of girls!"
Kit chuckled at his deliberately mistaken collective noun!
It was a lovely sound, her chuckle, he thought; a distinct contrast to the irritating giggles of the girls now coming in, waiting to meet a new teaching Journeyman and ready to be coy about it.
The five Ranking girls came in in a cluster, a tall, sneering girl pushing to the front. Her knots had the fine plait of red, white and green; as Telgar utilised a plait rather than a twist of its own red, white and blue, this could be the girl from Fairpastures Hold who might or might not have driven a firelizard Between. Her peevish and cruel face – pretty enough if one ignored the expression – did nothing to dispel that shocking rumour. She looked taken aback to see the Journeyman seated in a wheeled chair, flanked by a girl whose Rank knots showed a Major Hold in the gold thread that twined round the complex knot of a cadet branch of the main family; and who wore apprentice knots besides.
A coltish, dark haired girl also stared at Kit's apprentice knots; but her look was envious and she sighed gently.
"Good morning, ladies" said Horgey. "I am Journeyman Horgey, and this is Apprentice Kitiara, who is my assistant."
"She's a LADY?" Lesara's rather nasal voice was incredulous. "How come a LADY is demeaning herself with an apprenticeship?"
Horgey felt his eyes narrow.
If apprenticeship was demeaning in the eyes of this chit, doubtless she despised all crafters and would give him but scant respect as a teacher – he must definitely watch HER!
"Apprentice Kitiara is of the line of Lord Groghe, who believes in the old adage 'Blood obligates' said Horgey, levelly "And feels therefore her Right and duty to be more in life than some useless ornament."
Lesara gasped, and two red spots of anger appeared on her face.
It did not improve her appearance.
"Journeyman, are you calling me a useless ornament?" she hissed.
He met her gaze.
"Only if you are calling craftsfolk something demeaning, my girl" he said. "Now take your place; I have better things to do than to bandy words with silly little girls. And I have yet to learn all your names and assess your ability so I may know how fast we may progress" he waved them all to their chairs, set out in a semi-circle in front of the row of desks, a music stand in front of each chair.
Horgey was glad of Kitiara's researches; Dorasha, the seabred girl with two firelizards seemed likely to be little if any trouble, for she looked eager; and the youngest girl, Varalie, had a frank and open face. Lesara was trouble, and still sulking over being called both a useless ornament and a silly little girl. Asrina looked as though she would soon have lines of discontent on her face and Tireena was overdressed with her hair piled up frivolously and looked as though she had never held anything as heavy as a thought between her heavily bejewelled ears. She was the one Kit had said had a hot temper; presumably she flared up quickly, for at least she did not look sullen. From the stories Horgey had heard of the popular Queenrider L'rilly – another granddaughter of Lord Groghe, proddy old beast – the Gold Riderhad once been shallow and distinctly snippy. Perhaps there was hope for Tireena yet!
Horgey called the class to order; and asked for scales and triples by way of general loosening and relaxation.
Apart from Dorasha, they did not seem to find it relaxing; and there were several glaring discords on the triples which only Dorasha managed on one breath in the approved manner.
"Kit, show them how it goes" Horgey growled. "Dorasha, you know what you are doing; you may sing with her, try to hold the note until I signal it off."
Kit's fine trained young voice soared up the octave in the triples; and held the note longer top and bottom than Dorasha could manage, cutting neatly as Horgey closed his hand.
"Thank you" said Horgey. "Dorasha, I'll speak to Master Shonagar: you need more specialist training to make the most of your voice. Asrina, your voice is quite pretty, it could be developed better if you put time and effort in on it. I can speak to Master Shonagar for you too."
Dorasha grinned, and murmured thanks; Asrina pulled a face.
"What for?" she whined. "We did a lesson already for that – er, for that Master" she modified her epithet as Horgey glared at her "It HURTS doing things the way old Shonagar wants!" she complained.
"MASTER Shonagar is trying to develop your lung capacity and the way you use them" said Horgey, sternly, not about to let a slight to a Master go. "It's like exercising any muscle; it hurts until it's fully trained, then everything comes easily."
She shrugged.
"I can sing any ballad to entertain my family" she said "Why should I put up with pain for so-called clever music? My parents think I have a very pretty voice and you said it was too. Why should I have to bellow like some fisherbrat?"
Horgey counted to ten.
"It's not about bellowing" he said carefully "But about control – soft as well as loud. Well, as you're not one who thinks louder is better, at least we shan't have to try to find a way to moderate you to not deafen your parents; if you're not prepared to give them your best efforts in return for their paying for your lessons, I suppose that is between you and them. If you change your mind tell me; otherwise suit yourself. The chance is there to improve on nature as you do by the wearing of fine gowns; but it's your voice. If you want to flaunt it naked and unadorned in public it's your business. Now we've loosened up let us move on to a little gitar playing."
If he hoped to shame Asrina into changing her mind he was, he feared, wasting his breath. She merely smirked. Horgey ignored her and handed out a sheet of music to each of the girls and to Kitiara; and picked up his own gitar.
The music was one of T'rin's simpler pieces called simply 'Flying'; it was a jaunty tune with simple chording in the key of D.
The girls stared aghast.
"But – we don't know it!" ventured Varalie.
Horgey blinked, nonplussed.
"Is that not the point of the Harper hall? To teach new music? Is it that you want to sing it through first without gitar to get the tune clearer in your heads before you add fingering?"
They looked at him blankly.
Dorasha raised a faltering hand.
"Dorasha?" he said.
"Please, Journeyman, we don't know how to sing a tune from music if we've not learned it" she said. "I – I think I can work out some of it, but…"
Horgey was horrified.
"I thought as Ranking girls you had been taught some basics! Have you then not been taught the values of the notes or their relationships in the scales?" he asked. "I am sorry, I did not know that your education had been so neglected!"
"We know such things perfectly!" snapped Lesara. "But that doesn't mean we can string all this lot together!"
"If you did indeed 'know all that perfectly'" said Horgey "You would be able to sight read perfectly adequately. Very well, since there are omissions from your education, that is what I am here to teach. Being able to sight read new music that comes to your Holds is one of the things that you are getting this education to be able to do; it is a valuable skill, even essential for the learning of new teaching ballads, as well as for the entertainment of your relatives and their guests."
"But the Hold Harper is there to play it until we know the tune" whined Asrina.
"And if he is ill, how nice for you not to have to rely on him" said Horgey, firmly, working on keeping his voice pleasant. "We'll start with the melody. Kitiara will sing it through while you follow on your sheets; you may point with your fingers if you wish."
Dorasha, Varalie and even Tireena made some effort; Lesara and Asrina looked frankly bored.
Horgey frowned at them.
"Why are you two girls here?" he asked.
"We've come to learn how to play musical instruments of course" said Lesara.
"And how do you expect to play music if you can't even seem to read a note and take no notice of the basics?" asked Horgey.
Lesara yawned artistically.
"WE are not grubby apprentices, Journeyman" she said in a bored tone. "We don't need such things; only to be shown the correct fingering and how to pick out tunes."
"I find your manner insolent, my girl, when you've not even bothered to listen to the explanation that to pick out tunes you must needs be able to read them" said Horgey. His voice had a touch of ice in it.
"Insolent? YOU are insolent, Journeyman, to contradict me. Be sure I'll speak to the Masterharper to get you disciplined, demoted or thrown out or some such if you continue to speak to me like that!" her voice was a definite hiss.
Horgey's little green firelizard Cadenza chattered angrily, the orange in her eyes echoing Horgey's own fury. The Journeyman had turned white with his anger. She had no authority to threaten that; but had not Master Robinton assured him that he would back any discipline, Horgey might well have worried how much power she did have!
"You're out of line, Lesara" said Kitiara. "I suggest you apologise NOW while the Journeyman is still shocked into disbelief that you should speak so disrespectfully."
"Apologise? Me? What for?" sneered Lesara.
"For being" said Horgey, levelly "A pert and disobedient brat whose father would have done well to have handed out discipline on the part it would have done most good. Very well, girl, if you are determined in your er'hrm contumely" he borrowed one of I'linne's polysyllables "You shall be on water rations for a sevenday. You do NOT speak to a Journeyman as you have done."
She jumped to her feet.
"How DARE you even suggest such a thing! You jumped up commoner, I'll…"
Kitiara interposed herself between the Ranking girl and Horgey.
"You'll do what? Strike a Journeyman – bad enough! – who's also a cripple and can't spank your overstuffed backside raw like you deserve? If you want to fight, Lesara, you can fight with me, and I'LL give you lumps!"
"KIT! That will do. There will be NO fighting!" said Horgey loudly. "Step back or you'll join her on water rations!"
Kitiara stepped back.
"I apologise, Journeyman" she said. "I forgot myself."
He nodded.
"Apology accepted. Pass me a sheet of paper."
Kitiara complied; and Horgey scrawled a note with a graphite stick to Silvina that the girl Lesara was to be on water rations for seven days. He attached it to Cadenza's collar and sent her images of Silvina. Cadenza piped happily, and disappeared.
"What was THAT about?" demanded Lesara.
Horgey gave her a long, flat stare.
"Can you manage to ask a question civilly?" he enquired.
"What?" she stared.
He shrugged.
"I'll take that as the negative. If you cannot ask a question with civility, I'm afraid I really cannot be bothered to answer it. Now take your seat, you silly creature and we'll add the chording. You've wasted enough of the lesson time of those who DO want to learn with your shenanigans; I'm sure they're very proud of you."
"Yes, do sit down and let us get on" said Varalie. "You're boring."
"Be quiet, you – CHILD!"
"Lesara" said Horgey "Are you trying to be sent home? I have far more power to make that happen to you than you do to me."
Something about Horgey's quiet demeanour – copied from R'gar when dealing with bumptious weyrlings – made her subside; and Horgey heaved a secret sigh of relief.
The girls were nervous of their gitars, fumbling even the simple chording; especially Dorasha, who seemed to have no idea even where her fingers were.
They struggled through the piece, Horgey watching Dorasha with a frown, for she had shown hitherto some reasonable talent and skill as well as a joy in music.
He turned to her.
"Dorasha" he said, quite gently.
The girl flushed and looked down.
"Not quite such Master's pet now, are you, you clumsy clot fisherwench?" he heard Lesara whisper.
"That's another two days water ration; nine, not seven, for spite" he said. "Kitiara, see Silvina and ask her to amend the note I sent; for I do not trust Lesara's sense of honour to report her own punishment."
Kitiara nodded; and Varalie gasped at the imputation of a lady's honour; but did not look surprised. Horgey turned back to Dorasha, who looked ready to burst into tears.
"Pick up the sheet of music" he said; dimly remembering another story he had heard in the Weyr.
The girl reached with her left hand.
"Do you write with your left hand?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Yes sir" her voice was almost inaudible.
"Don't cry, girl, it'll spoil your voice" he said firmly. "If you're left handed, it's no wonder you make like a fool with your gitar strung for a right handed person. Have you duties or lessons after this period? There's a half hour before the midday meal."
She shook her head.
"It's for us to primp in" volunteered Varalie.
"Ah? Well she looks sufficiently respectable without need to primp" said Horgey. "Kit, you'll be my chaperone; stay behind the others, Dorasha, and we'll string your gitar for your handedness, and you'll have to put in some time copying the chord boxes backward for your practising. I'll help you work them out to start with, and check over the ones you do yourself. I don't guarantee it will work; but it has to be worth a try. Now!" he addressed the rest as she stammered thanks "The rest of you can take this music with you and practise it in your own time; we'll open with it for our relexation exercise next lesson. Dismissed!"
The first terrible class was over!