All is Fair by Emma Newman Page B

he tried to think of something he had really worked hard for, he couldn’t.
    “You’ve coasted and done just enough to have an average life.”
    “There’s nothing wrong with that,” Sam said.
    “Not at all,” Iron replied. “If you’re an average man.”
    He led Sam to the other side of the building, which was open to the woods. There were two huge wooden doors which had been slid open revealing a forge inside. A man who looked like he was in his sixties was working a huge set of bellows, making the fire roar beneath the chimney.
    “When I’m stuck, I come down here and work the metal,” Iron said. “There’s nothing like doing something real with your hands, making something solid that you can see and touch. I’ll look after the fire,” he said to the man. “You go and take a break.”
    Sam looked at the anvil and the rows of tools hanging, waiting to be used. He walked in as the older man left and picked up one of the huge hammers. It felt heavy and… real. More real than anything had for a long time. “So this is why they call you Lord Iron? It’s a nickname?”
    Iron was looking at the fire. “That’s one of the reasons,” he said quietly. “Now. Let’s get to work.”

 
    7
    Margritte tried not to listen to the sound of her son retching in the room next door. She drummed her fingertips on the table as she waited but the rhythmic tapping did nothing to block out the noise. She tried not to let the fatigue take her; there was much to do before she could go to bed, but it would all come to naught if her son didn’t pull himself together.
    The door opened and he came back in. His face was the same colour as his lace cuffs. He sat down next to the fire, shivering.
    “Feeling better?”
    He glared at her. “I haven’t been able to keep a thing down since I got back from the Patroon. I can’t believe what you’ve done, Mother.”
    “Did you think me utterly incapable?”
    “I’d hoped you’d heed my advice and not suck the entire family into your hasty decision.”
    “Well, Lord Tulip and the Patroon didn’t feel the same as you. Now, are you going to face up to what’s ahead of us or are you going to cower over a chamber pot whilst the Patroon chooses who’ll take your place?”
    She felt a pulse of guilt as his brow furrowed, but, if she pandered to his weakness, events would soon overtake him.
    “I can’t march into Londinium and challenge the Duke. He bested father. I haven’t picked up a sword for over fifty years!”
    “That child bested your father because he had the backing of his patron. Now you do. And your father was unprepared. Neither of us expected the attack. The Iris boy acted alone in that Court, but you will have several families behind you.”
    He twisted in his chair to look at her. “Who?”
    “The Wisterias, Violas and the Peonias.” She smiled. “I didn’t only speak to the Patroon.”
    “What have you done?” Alexander leaned forwards and buried his face in his hands. “That’s half of the colleges dragged in.”
    “Those colleges wouldn’t belong to those families had it not been for your grandfather, don’t you forget that. They owe us a great deal. Supporting us in our time of need is the very least they can do. I know you want this to go away but life isn’t just books and theory. It’s family and honour too.”
    “And power,” he said. “That’s all you care about.”
    “The only reason you’ve been able to enjoy this blissful life is because of the hard work of your ancestors. You’ve never had to struggle with anything more difficult than a philosophical debate. It’s time for you to grow up and do your duty or I’ll be the first to tell the Patroon that you’re not man enough to do so.”
    He stared at her, wide-eyed and childlike. “Can’t you see what this is doing to you?” he whispered. “The monsters are making you monstrous.”
    She looked away from him, feeling a sting in her chest. She didn’t want to tell him that