Chương 20

The luncheon began to break up after the dessert plates were cleared. Families began to stand. Officials shook hands. A few veterans posed for photographs. Gladice stood when her father's chief aide came to the table. He bent close and spoke into her ear. She listened, nodded once, then looked back at Louis and Angelique. Her mouth crooked. Judith reached their table a moment later.

"Louis. Angelique." She looked from Gladice to Angelique.

"I see you were well placed." Gladice smiled.

"I like to think so." Judith nodded to her.

"Sergeant Simington, congratulations again." Then she turned to Angelique.

"Your mother and I are being taken through the Collective Memory Museum and then a small archival showing. Enjoy your afternoon. We reconvene for dinner at Civic Citadel." She touched Louis's arm and moved away. Gladice watched Judith go, then turned to Angelique.

"Your mother-in-law is terrifying." Angelique barely smiled.

"She's not my mother-in-law."

"Not yet." Gladice raised an eyebrow at Louis.

"But soon enough, I think." Louis rolled his eyes.

"You're assuming a lot."

"I'm an excellent judge of assumptions." Gladice looked him over and smiled.

"Anyway." She straightened.

"It appears that I have been assigned to walk you two through the mounted youth exhibition and civic range program this afternoon." She tilted her head.

"My father is apparently hoping I can translate your visit into something politically useful for New Orleans. And I'm hoping I can make Austin more entertaining before it kills me." Her grin came back.

"Shall we?" Louis looked at Angelique. She shrugged. They followed Gladice out of the room and down to the lower court. Cars waited beneath the eastern arcade. Constantine and Harvey were gone when Louis came out with the others. Philip crossed the court ahead of him and stopped long enough to speak quietly to Maria. Then an aide led him toward the lead vehicle, where the senior party was already forming. An aide sent Gladice to the first youth convoy car and directed Angelique in after her. Louis followed.

The doors shut. Cold air blew from the vents. The convoy took the highway out of Austin and into open country. Gladice crossed one leg over the other and looked out the window.

"You'll both hate the opening remarks," she said.

"They're meant for people who still believe the state is going to save them from their own mistakes." She turned her head toward Louis.

"You'll be fine. You're used to hearing your father promise miracles. Angelique, you'll be fine too. You're used to hearing the same thing in French." Angelique tilted her head.

"And you?" Gladice laughed once and looked back out the window.

"I don't listen anymore." Half an hour later, the convoy reached a training facility outside Austin. One side held riding fields and covered stands. The other held open-air shooting ranges cut into earthen berms. Cameras were waiting near the entrance. The grounds director came down the steps, shook Gladice's hand first, then greeted Angelique and Louis for the cameras.

"Sergeant Simington. Miss Bourbon. Mr. Collins. Welcome." The director gave them a practiced smile.

"We've arranged a short mounted exhibition, then a participatory round at the training range. Nothing too ambitious unless any of you become ambitious by accident."

"Perish the thought." Gladice waved a hand. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The director looked at Gladice once, then gestured toward the training grounds.

"Follow me." The director led them across a stone path to the first viewing stand. Below them, the riding field spread behind white fencing, its grass worn short by use. Several young riders circled below in pairs. Their backs were straight, their reins short. Angelique slowed by the rail and set one hand on the painted wood. A loose strand of hair slipped against her cheek. She tucked it back without taking her eyes off the riders.

"Now this," she said quietly, "I understand." Gladice glanced at her.

"You ride?" Angelique nodded.

"Since I could walk."

"Hunters or classical?"

"Mostly classical." Angelique watched the horses move through a change of formation.

"But my father also has some old friends who believe a horse should be able to jump a ditch and look unimpressed afterward." Gladice laughed.

"You're not as soft as you look." She turned to Louis.

"What about you?"

"I have some experience," he said.

"Not like that." She shook her head.

"Too much California in you."

"Something like that." He watched the riders wheel into a tighter line, dust lifting behind their hooves.

"I prefer bikes anyway." Gladice made a face as the riders passed below.

"Machines don't fight back. Horses do."

"Maybe I like things I can control." She stayed with the riders for another second, then turned to Louis.

"That explains a lot." Applause broke out before Louis could answer. Riders saluted the stand, turned their mounts, and exited in sequence. Stable staff brought three saddled horses from the far side. The director turned toward the delegation.

"We thought a short courtesy ride would be appropriate," she said.

"One circuit, a few controlled figures, and a gallop. Nothing difficult. The horses are experienced." Louis looked at the horses. Bay, chestnut, gray. All three looked fit, alert, and not meant for beginners. He looked at Angelique. She smiled back at him. Gladice gave a quiet laugh.

"Oh, I am going to enjoy this." She stepped away from the rail.

"I'll take the bay." She looked at Angelique.

"You look like a chestnut woman." Angelique nodded.

"That's fine." She turned to Louis.

"The gray is yours." Louis shook his head once and went down to the mounting block. A groom took the gray's bridle and turned the horse toward him. Up close, the animal looked larger than it had from the rail. The gray stood lean and restless, one ear flicking toward the field, then back to Louis. Louis put a hand on its shoulder. Muscle shifted under his palm.

"His name is Mercer," the groom said.

"He likes to be told where you're going before you go there." Gladice was already at the bay's shoulder. She laughed.

"He's not the only one." She took the reins, checked the girth with one tug, and mounted cleanly. The bay stood for her. She settled into the saddle, adjusted one stirrup by feel, and gathered the reins. Angelique mounted the chestnut more quietly. The horse shifted once beneath her, then stilled. Its neck loosened, and one ear turned back toward her. Her shoulders dropped the instant she sat down. She took the reins and sat still. Louis looked from Gladice to Angelique and was irritated at once.

Gladice sat the bay like a soldier. Angelique sat the chestnut with quiet ease. He mounted without trouble. For two seconds he thought he might get away with it. Then Mercer stepped forward before Louis had settled. Louis's heel slipped back, the rein tightened, and the gray lifted his head. Angelique sat steady in the saddle and looked at him once.

"You're holding too much," she said. He gave her a look.

"I'm fine." She tilted her head.

"If you say so." A few yards off, Gladice laughed. The director took the front, with escorts around them. The first stretch went well enough. Louis kept the gray to a respectable line. He lowered his breath and loosened his fingers on the reins. Mercer flicked an ear back at him and kept moving. They made the first turn without breaking the line. Louis saw Gladice close two fingers on the reins and release before the bay lost the line. She did not look down at her hands or feet.

The bay stayed quick and straight under her. Louis looked back to Mercer before his own hands tightened again. The second figure was tighter than the first. They made a sharper turn and then crossed the field on a diagonal line. The gray resisted his inside hand. Louis corrected, but the gray braced against the correction and stiffened through the neck. Louis sat deeper too late, and Mercer braced harder. The line held for two strides before Louis let his hands soften.

Then the director signaled the gallop down the long side of the field. Gladice took the lead, and Angelique followed. Louis closed his legs. His hands came back a beat later. Mercer surged. Louis pulled while his heels stayed on. The gray threw his head and shot forward. The field tilted. Someone shouted from the rail, but the hooves drowned it out. Louis caught one rein and pulled Mercer's head aside.

The gray shoved through the pressure and drove toward the far edge of the field, where the fence opened for service access. Mercer went for the opening. Dust kicked up under his hooves as he carried Louis through the gap. The rail and cameras fell behind as wind hit Louis's face and Mercer's neck filled his view. It was at this moment that he knew he fucked up.