spit, though."
"That is hardly ladylike, Dr. Cliff."
Father has always been an excellent mimic, his impression of Admiral Glass was spot on.
I laughed. "I am a sailor, sir. We can spit with the best."
Whether or not I was granted the certificate, whether or not I signed on for ship duty, I still owed the Navy reserve duty for the next five years.
"Well, no spitting in front of me," he said.
"Keep a calm face before the world, then go have a good scream out in the woods," I quoted grandmother Cliff's advice.
Father nodded, then he said, "I have a secret to share with you. You alone. You deserve to know why the Cliffs are under such scrutiny. Your Uncle Eadum has been informed that his name has been submitted to the heraldry lists and forwarded to the Rights and Honors committee."
"He's to become Esquire Cliff?"
This was the next step in the plan for the family we had been working on for so many generations, but I wasn't instantly delighted at the news. My reaction was far more complicated and needed to be thought through. I should want this almost-a-noble connection, but...
Father shook his head. "Not for elevation to esquire rank. He is being considered for a knighthood."
Skip a step in the long climb up in the world? "Why?" I asked.
"Service to the Empire. That is all that is ever said, isn't it?"
A great many cynical comments came to mind. The Cliffs had worked long and hard to obtain wealth and property without any help from the nobility. In fact, the nobility tried to make it ever harder to own the land that was so necessary to join their ranks. We were wealthier than many noble families. The growing wealth of the gentry certainly did not please the nobles that noticed such things - although a growing number of the minor nobility were making marriage alliances with our kind without putting up too much fuss over lowering their standards. Service to the Empire? Well, many Cliffs entered the military. We were proud to defend Ang. Service? We supported a Cliff colony far away in the New Islands. The Cliffs financed schools and charity homes, taught and healed in those places, as well. We set up scholarships. We certainly served the people of the Ang Empire. But were these the reasons Uncle Eadum was suddenly being considered for a knighthood, from which the entire Cliff corporate family would benefit?
Or was this one of the sops to the gentry the nobles gave out occasionally? The promise of one day achieving nobility was still so important in our hearts and minds, even when we tried to believe otherwise. We cherished the belief that someday we would be worthy to be recognized by those above us, that those above us would open the golden doors that separated their greatness from the common kind and we - We! - would be invited inside their beautiful garden. And once inside we would defend the exclusive rights and privileges of our new class as fiercely as any other noble.
After this momentary twitch of cynicism, a thought occurred to me. "Service to the Empire - do they mean the vaccine?"
"That is certainly a consideration," he said.
It would certainly be advantageous for the noble class to add a family whose blood held no taint of the plague to their ranks. All right, I couldn't quite stop my current cynical mood. Admirals Glass and North had frightened and angered me. I couldn't think anything nice about my betters at the moment.
"Please do not mention any of this to anyone," Father said. "But do keep it in mind should you have to face more questioning."
"Of course, sir."
"What shall we call ourselves, I wonder," he said, trying to lighten the serious mood. "Tern? Perhaps Gull?"
"There is already a Gull family, I believe."
"Sandpiper? I like Sandpiper."
"Why a bird name? What about Hedgehog?" I suggested. "I like hedgehogs."
"I recall the ones you used to feed in the back garden. Well, neither my generation nor yours will have to decide on a name change. Let us hope that your children choose something
"That is hardly ladylike, Dr. Cliff."
Father has always been an excellent mimic, his impression of Admiral Glass was spot on.
I laughed. "I am a sailor, sir. We can spit with the best."
Whether or not I was granted the certificate, whether or not I signed on for ship duty, I still owed the Navy reserve duty for the next five years.
"Well, no spitting in front of me," he said.
"Keep a calm face before the world, then go have a good scream out in the woods," I quoted grandmother Cliff's advice.
Father nodded, then he said, "I have a secret to share with you. You alone. You deserve to know why the Cliffs are under such scrutiny. Your Uncle Eadum has been informed that his name has been submitted to the heraldry lists and forwarded to the Rights and Honors committee."
"He's to become Esquire Cliff?"
This was the next step in the plan for the family we had been working on for so many generations, but I wasn't instantly delighted at the news. My reaction was far more complicated and needed to be thought through. I should want this almost-a-noble connection, but...
Father shook his head. "Not for elevation to esquire rank. He is being considered for a knighthood."
Skip a step in the long climb up in the world? "Why?" I asked.
"Service to the Empire. That is all that is ever said, isn't it?"
A great many cynical comments came to mind. The Cliffs had worked long and hard to obtain wealth and property without any help from the nobility. In fact, the nobility tried to make it ever harder to own the land that was so necessary to join their ranks. We were wealthier than many noble families. The growing wealth of the gentry certainly did not please the nobles that noticed such things - although a growing number of the minor nobility were making marriage alliances with our kind without putting up too much fuss over lowering their standards. Service to the Empire? Well, many Cliffs entered the military. We were proud to defend Ang. Service? We supported a Cliff colony far away in the New Islands. The Cliffs financed schools and charity homes, taught and healed in those places, as well. We set up scholarships. We certainly served the people of the Ang Empire. But were these the reasons Uncle Eadum was suddenly being considered for a knighthood, from which the entire Cliff corporate family would benefit?
Or was this one of the sops to the gentry the nobles gave out occasionally? The promise of one day achieving nobility was still so important in our hearts and minds, even when we tried to believe otherwise. We cherished the belief that someday we would be worthy to be recognized by those above us, that those above us would open the golden doors that separated their greatness from the common kind and we - We! - would be invited inside their beautiful garden. And once inside we would defend the exclusive rights and privileges of our new class as fiercely as any other noble.
After this momentary twitch of cynicism, a thought occurred to me. "Service to the Empire - do they mean the vaccine?"
"That is certainly a consideration," he said.
It would certainly be advantageous for the noble class to add a family whose blood held no taint of the plague to their ranks. All right, I couldn't quite stop my current cynical mood. Admirals Glass and North had frightened and angered me. I couldn't think anything nice about my betters at the moment.
"Please do not mention any of this to anyone," Father said. "But do keep it in mind should you have to face more questioning."
"Of course, sir."
"What shall we call ourselves, I wonder," he said, trying to lighten the serious mood. "Tern? Perhaps Gull?"
"There is already a Gull family, I believe."
"Sandpiper? I like Sandpiper."
"Why a bird name? What about Hedgehog?" I suggested. "I like hedgehogs."
"I recall the ones you used to feed in the back garden. Well, neither my generation nor yours will have to decide on a name change. Let us hope that your children choose something
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