A Fortuitous Visit

Cardinal Loep slumped heavily in the plastic folding chair, the seat creaking beneath his considerable bulk. An empty glass somehow appeared in his hand, though it had not yet been offered, and I nodded to one of the servants to fetch some wine. Anything to lubricate the awkward conversation I was about to endure with the man I strongly suspected had murdered my father and sent my younger sister to a far-off convent.

‘A lovely day.’ Loep suggested, casting his gaze across the gardens. ‘Very serene.’

‘We like to keep a little slice of home with us, my lordship.’ I said. Truly, the gardens had been father’s passion, but it would have sullied his memory to halt their upkeep and so it would continue in perpetuity most likely. I understood little of plants and had been home to Dirt only twice in my life. The greenery made me nervous, a reminder that mankind’s bitter seeds did not belong on this world or any other.

‘The pines are especially striking.’ He said, accepting my servant’s formal offer of wine to fill his glass. He began drinking immediately. ‘Keep it coming. I have always held a fondness for red wine.’

So they said, I wanted to blurt out, but instead I inclined my head in a non-committal nod.

‘I’m afraid young Josep that my visit today is no mere pleasantry.’ He said, his voice low and conspiratorial. ‘The gnashnabs at the Sancta have been pestering me for weeks to take the next shuttle and meet with you, and I have finally succumbed to their demands. One cannot keep the wolves at bay forever, you know.’

‘Of course, my lordship.’ I replied, giving what I hoped was a pleasant, neutral smile. ‘And how may the House of al-Yassim serve the Sancta?’

‘You have no doubt heard of the troubles on Dirt and the inner colonies?’ He asked casually, but I knew he was testing me.

‘Some small rebellions and petty heresies is what my Seers have deduced.’ I said. ‘Nothing the Guard cannot handle, or the Sancta Blessed. But we are far from the inner worlds and news takes many months to settle here.’

‘Just so.’ Loep said. ‘Just so. Rebellious elements and free-thinkers. Criminals and fools.’

‘And what has that to do with al-Yassim, my lordship?’ I asked. ‘We have provided the usual tithe of troops to Dirt and an extra shipment of worshipers for the Sancta. Above and beyond our sacred duties.’

‘Your record is beyond reproach, young Josep.’ Loep said, chins waggling comically as he shook his head. ‘But lest we forget your late father’s forays into the dark underbelly of system politics which led to his tragic demise.’

‘Tragic it may have been, my lordship Cardinal Loep, but God-sent.’ I said, hoping I put enough venom into my voice. ‘My father was a fool and a heretic and he would have dragged our whole family down with him had you not interfered. And I sing your praises each day, Cardinal. Each day.’

‘Be that as it may, young Josep, the name of the House of al-Yassim has been heard once more upon the lips of a traitor. Unrelated, of course. Possibly a friend of your father’s from before. But propriety and political pressures have led me to visit and so here I am to reassure your detractors in government that you are a pious young man of good manners.’

‘I thank you for keeping my family’s fortunes so close to your heart.’ I said. ‘You humble me and mine.’

‘And have you heard from your sister of late?’

‘We do not speak.’ I said, grinding my teeth in frustration. He was probing close to home. ‘It is better for her to spend her years contemplating her failures than fill her head with unwise hopes.’

‘A sagacious decision.’ Cardinal Loep said, guzzling more wine. ‘Shall we take a stroll by your pond?’

‘Of course, my lordship.’

‘Have you still got those birds in it? The loud ones?’

‘Ducks, Cardinal?’

‘Yes. Just so.’ He said. ‘Ducks. Isn’t God a jester at times, to gift us with such sights?’

I watched him struggle from the folding chair and begin waddling toward my house’s single yet impressive lake.

‘Indeed.’ I replied, following him, hands balled into fists. ‘As you say.’