Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce Page B

she did, Tobe was somewhere close by, passing tools, helping as she lifted heavy objects, scrubbing, feeding animals. She found that as they stood watch, pounded sheets, or dumped noxious tubs into the honey wagon and went out to bury its contents, men would drift by for a word or two. Some of it was complaints. Most was just a quick greeting or question, a way to size up the new commander. She made sure to answer each of the men courteously.
    She tried to put herself on carpentry detail, only to be politely refused. The third day the carpenters said no, she demanded to know why. She had experience, after all. She didn’t want the men to think she would do some chores and not others, though she knew she was a terrible woodworker. The master carpenter explained, politely, that Sergeant Dom had said Kel was a disaster with hammer, axe, or saw; they did not have wood or nails to spare. Kel spotted Dom up on the walkway, grinning down at her. He’d seen her approach the carpenters. She gestured rudely at him. She also stopped asking the carpenters for work with considerable, private, relief.
    Each night everyone, nobles, men of the Own, camp soldiers and civilians took their supper in the cookhouse. Each night Kel ate at a different table. At first the men were wary, not sure if she had come to lecture or to eavesdrop. They soon relaxed. Kel was very good at eating as if she thought about nothing else. As the men got more comfortable they would talk to her. They told her of their families, their experiences in the north, and their guesses about the enemy’s next move. Kel fixed their names and what she knew of them in her mind.
    She also placed bets on the contests that took place in the early evening: archery matches, foot races and wrestling. When Merric suggested the time would be put to better use if the men continued to work, Duke Baird replied before Kel did.
    “They need play, Merric,” the healer explained. “People need a release for tension. They need a reminder that not all the world is a fearful, war-shadowed place.”
    The next evening, Merric joined the archery competition, and came in third.
    After games, the men formed small groups, building little fires around the bunkhouses and barracks. Kel, Neal and Merric used that time to meet in the headquarters dining room to plan and to read any correspondence or reports. These came in almost every day. Couriers spelled to be invisible and noiseless brought messages from Forts Steadfast, Mastiff, Giantkiller and Northwatch. The three young knights read each one and wrote their own reports in reply. Sometimes they just listened as the men sang, particularly when Tobe’s unmistakable voice soared into the night sky.
    Kel looked forward to those night-time songs. They made her relax. She could appreciate the stars, the growing softness in the air, and the scents of wet earth and coming spring without thinking of everything she had yet to do, or of Blayce out there making his devices. The mage was never far from her thoughts, but each time she caught herself grinding her teeth because she wasn’t hunting for him, she forced her mind back to Haven. The safety of its residents came first, at least for now.
    Between work details she took out groups of refugees and convict soldiers to train with bow, staff and sword. The regular soldiers were used to training with their officers and comrades; she was only underfoot with them. The refugees and convicts had been made nervous by the barking sergeants. Kel gentled them along, suggesting without insults, showing them the exercises she’d done to strengthen her own body. Tobe helped her there. Her students were reassured by her patience with her young servant, watching her show him the way to master the small curved bow she’d found for him.
    One by one, bunkhouses and storage sheds went up and the infirmary was completed. The first furniture to be built was the cots and stools for the infirmary, then the beds for the