‘Tasaio of the Minwanabi has four of them,’ the boy said unhelpfully.
The Midkemian’s blue eyes fixed in turn upon the house slave, and, flattered to be consulted as an authority, Mintai flourished his polishing rag toward the expanse of Mara’s army, it is an assignment made sometimes when a force is too large for one commander. These will now be subofficers to Force Commander Lujan, and each will command a company.’ A puzzled look crossed his face. ‘This must mean she’s dividing the army.’
Kevin waited for Mintai to qualify, then belatedly realized when no explanation followed that the old man must be a bit simple. ‘What’s that mean?’ he prompted.
He received a Tsurani shrug. ‘Perhaps the mistress wishes to call more soldiers to her service.’
‘So we can beat Tasaio,’ Ayaki broke in. He made a noise in his throat that was his idea of the sound a man might make while dying, then grinned brightly.
Kevin poked the boy in the ribs again, and the sound effects dissolved into laughter. ‘How many men exactly are in a company?’ he demanded of Mintai.
The old slave repeated his shrug. ‘Many. It is all to a Lord’s liking. There is no fixed rule of quantity.’
But Kevin’s curiosity was only whetted by vagueness. ‘Then how many men answer to the Patrol Leader?’
‘A patrol, obviously, barbarian.’ Mintai showed signs of wanting to return to his polishing. The outworlder might be his Lady’s lover, but he was due no respect for asking silly questions.
Predictably, the barbarian missed the cues that his interest had become a bother. ‘Let me ask in a different way. How many men usually in a patrol?’
Mintai pursed his lips and refused answer, but now Ayaki was eager to show off. ‘Usually a dozen, sometimes twenty, never less than eight.’
That a nine-year-old could keep such a nonsensical system straight was just another anomaly on this crazy world. Kevin scratched his head and tried to make order out of chaos. ‘About ten, say. Now, how many Patrol Leaders does a Strike Leader command?’
‘Sometimes five, other times as many as ten to each company,’ Ayaki declared.
‘You don’t need to shout like you’re on a battle field,’ Kevin reprimanded, and tried, despite several retaliatory pokes in his own ribs, to figure in his head. ‘So each Strike Leader can command as few as forty men and as many as two hundred.’ He blinked as he looked back into the hot sun, where the newly promoted officers arose and resumed their places. ‘Then how many Strike Leaders do you need before you split your forces like this?’
Ayaki was laughing too hard to answer; Mintai tired of the window and scooped a dollop of wax onto his polishing cloth. As if the floorboards might vanish from under his feet for lack of attention, he knelt and began vigorously to rub. ‘I don’t know. How many men does our Lady command now? I think from the extra help in the kitchen this last two years it must be close to two thousand – we have twenty or twenty-two Strike Leaders, or so I heard Kenji boasting. Now let me do my work, before my back gets whipped.’
The threat was pretence; Mintai was a household fixture, and too well liked by the overseer to receive much more than a scolding. Kevin fended off Ayaki’s boisterous play and calculated. Most of the garrison rotated, spending part of the month in barracks near the house, so they could be with wives and children. The rest were housed in small huts near various points along the perimeter of the estate, or were out protecting caravans or river barges bearing Acoma goods to distant markets. It would be hard to judge, precisely, but the slave’s estimate could be accurate. Mara might well command as many as two thousand warriors. Kevin whistled low in appreciation. From gossip he knew how small a garrison she had inherited when she first assumed her ruler’s mantle, something like thirty-five men. Now her forces were growing to rival those of the very strongest of families in the Empire.
A pity, he thought, that the location of her estate was so poorly suited for defence.
But the disquieting thought followed naturally, that perhaps the Lady did not amass her military might for protection only.
A cloud crossed the sun, harbinger of the first afternoon shower. The ceremony on the practice field was ending, square after square of green-armoured warriors facing about and marching at Lujan’s command. Mara and her advisers made their way toward the estate house. Suddenly anxious to meet her, Kevin suggested that Ayaki go to the kitchen and bother the cooks, who were making fresh thyza bread, by the smell riding the breeze. The perpetually hungry boy needed little persuasion, and by taking shortcuts through the courtyards, Kevin managed to be waiting for the Lady as she entered her private quarters. He, preempted one of the maids and helped her out of her heavy robe. She allowed him, still and silent, and less responsive than usual to his touch.