Confrontation

The first sign of trouble was when Saul walked in and addressed him as "Lord Vetinari" instead of his usual greeting of "Havelock!"

The second was when he tested the waters by asking "Does the Commander know you are here" and got the terse answer, "No, my wife didn't know I would be by, my lord Patrician."[1]

Vetinari got his third and final sign, when, being more surprised at the anger he felt coming off of Saul than he thought he'd be, forgot the reason Saul was here in his office and said, "I understand that congratulations are in order, Lord Ramkin-Vimes?"

Saul exploded.

"How dare you give me that? You've known since you called her in two months ago. What the Hells were you thinking, sending my pregnant wife to Überwald ?

—
Vetinari had met Saul for the first time at a party that Lord Ramkin was hosting, a year or two after Vetinari had failed to save a man called John Keel, and a year or two before he took the office for himself.

Most everyone shied away from him, not-knowing that he not-killed the last Patrician.

Saul just walked over and introduced himself, then invited him for a drink in the study.

"You do realize I do not drink?" he asked as Saul closed the door behind him.

"I figured as much but it got us both out of there didn't it?" Saul replied.

And as far as Saul was concerned, they were friends from that day on.

He was the only person, besides a letter from his aunt, to genuinely congratulate him on gaining the Patricianate.

He was probably one of only five or six people in Ankh-Morpork who wasn't in the slightest bit scared of him.

He was one of the only people who still called him Havelock.

—

He looked up to see Saul looming over him. The mistake many people made about the Ramkin-Vimeses, Vetinari had found, was in assuming that Sam was the one to watch out for, and Saul was just dumb and kind.[2] And it was certainly true that you never, ever, wanted to cross Commander Samantha Vimes, not if you valued your life or well being.

But just because the man was extraordinarily self-effacing did not mean he was an idiot, not by a long shot. And he was kind, yes, and extraordinarily patient, this was true.

That just meant when he got mad, Saul Ramkin-Vimes got really mad.

"You cannot tell me that you did not know, Havelock. I know you have a tail on my wife-how can you not when she makes so many important people mad? And I am sure your little spy told you all about how she stopped by Mrs Content's. Hell, even if they didn't, I'm sure you saw some little tells in Sam and figured it out within thirty seconds of her coming into the office."[3]

His voice dropped. "I didn't think my friend would send my wife, my child, into danger."

"But I did," Vetinari finally spoke.

There was silence for a second.

"Why?" Saul asked.

Vetinari looked out the window. He supposed that he could give a grand, eloquent speech about the greater good, and the health of the city, and the vast improvement on the world stage that the couple had made in their trip to Uberwald. But Saul was his fri- a very important person, and deserved a short, honest answer.

"I did, and I would do it again. Your wife was needed in Uberwald, and what she helped do has made the world, I do not want to say a better place, but certainly has put things on the right path. I would die for this city, Lord Ramkin-Vimes, and you know as well as I that Commander Vimes would do the same."

Saul looked at him with blue eyes gone icy. "You would have her sacrifice the life of our child, potentially?"

Vetinari nodded. "Yes."

Saul closed his eyes once, then opened them again. "That would break her."

There was silence again in the room.

It was Lord Ramkin, the richest man in the city, the largest holder of property on both sides of the Ankh, holder of the oldest title in the city, and possessor of the largest private armory who broke it.

"You will not put Sam in that position again. She stays here, in the city, until the baby is one. Do you understand?"[4]

Vetinari looked at Saul for a long moment, then slowly nodded.

"Agreed".

Saul walked out without a word.

It would be three months before Vetinari saw him again.

[1] A little Vimes popped up in Vetinari's head to say "damn, you really pissed Saul off-" before he shooed her away.

[2] And according to many society gossips, using Sam as a beard. To prevent bloodshed, Saul did his best to make sure that Sam didn't hear that little tidbit.

[3] Vetinari had often thought that Saul's father, the bigoted, short-sighted buffoon, had made a massive mistake in sending him to Huddlestone's instead of the Assassin's School. He always felt that Saul would have done rather well there.

[4] He wanted to say never. It killed him not to. But gods damn it all to hell, he knew deep down that Vetinari was right. He hated Vetinari for being right but he was right. That being said, damn if he wouldn't keep his wife in the city while she was pregnant at least.