Re-Organizing - 11. Chapter 11

Every head in the room turned as the young man entered the room. Dressed in perfectly tailored Dracul garb, he gave a nod to the assembly, then turned his head to me. In perfect court decorum he took a few steps toward me, bowed, and waited.

I smiled and said, “We welcome you to our home, Baronet. As you are new to your office, we will require your oath of fealty, if you are prepared to do so?”

He dropped to a knee and said, “I, Marco Giancarlo Dino Nardone, solemnly swear my unwavering loyalty to you, Charles Gregory Fowler, and to the Barony of Pittsburgh of the Nation of Dracul. With body and soul, wisdom and strength, I pledge to serve you and the vampires of Lake Placid faithfully. In every endeavor, in every challenge, my allegiance shall not waver. May our bond be unbroken, and our alliance be steadfast until the end of days. So say I, so shall it be."

I replied, “I accept your oath in the name of the Barony of Pittsburgh and the Nation of Dracul. Arise Baronet Nardone and let me introduce you to your brother Baronets.”

Marco stood and bowed from the neck to Scott and Billy before following me to meet the Baronets of New York. I pointed at the most vocal and said, “Baronet Ruf, I would like to present Baronet Marco Nardone, the new Baronet of Lake Placid.” Turning to Marco I said, “Baronet Ruf has been the Baronet of Albany since the mid-1860s.”

Baronet Ruf offered his hand as he said, “Please call me Jeremi; we are now neighbors. Welcome to New York, Baronet Nardone.”

Marco smiled as he shook Jeremi’s hand, and replied, “If I am to call you Jeremi, you must call me Marco. I hope I may call on my neighbors for advice?”

Baronet Shutz offered his hand as he said, “I am Boris Shutz of Syracuse, another neighbor, and of course you may call on us, Marco. We all will certainly be calling on our Baron for his guidance as it seems he intends to remake the Barony of Pittsburgh.” Realizing what he said might be taken wrong, he added, “Of course, we have faith that all his changes will improve the lives of our vampires.”

Baronet Reilly said, “I am Iwan Reilly, of Binghampton. I mean no insult, Marco, but you look rather young to be a Baronet. May I ask your age?”

Marco smiled as he said, “I turned six during Prince George’s court earlier this week, and you haven’t insulted me. I feel young to be a Baronet, but we must have faith in the fates, do we not?”

“I am Samuel Gerig, of Buffalo. Though we do not share a border, we are New Yorkers. I welcome you to our Barony, Marco, and I have faith that you will do fine. I’m sure you’ve learned much from your father.”

Marco nodded. “I learned from watching Mi Patri, Si, but as I boarded the plane, he told me not to call him for advice. He told me to look to my brother Baronets and my Baron for any guidance I might need.”

Jeremi smiled and nodded as he said, “Wise advice, Marco. Something we all would do well to take to heart.”

Baron Tobias Barta of Hazelton was standing on the fringes of the group and chose this moment to speak. James had said his voice sounded like Peter Lorre, and on hearing it, I agreed. “I agree, Baronet Ruf. We all would do well to listen to the wise words of My Lord Fowler. I, for one, will be quite focused on tailoring my Baronetcy to fit exactly what My Lord desires.”

I resisted rolling my eyes; rather I said, “As I’ve said, there will be no major changes without serious consideration to the overall effect such changes might have on the Barony. We’ve discussed several issues and are researching these before any decisions are made.”

“Might we ask what issues?” Antonio Rizzo asked.

I was saved by Andrew who announced that dinner was served. Once we were settled at the table and were enjoying Amy’s wonderful cooking, all eyes turned to me, obviously not distracted by the change in location.

“In answer to Baronet Rizzo’s question, we are concerned about the children in the Barony and will be reviewing what laws are on the books to protect them. If we feel they are not sufficiently protected, we will consider addressing that issue,” I replied. “Further, Lord Barnes, our Lord Advocate General, is concerned with the rights of those accused of a crime. He and his team are looking into what protections these individuals have and the feasibility of some changes to that aspect of the law.”

Blake Wooster asked, “Are Baronets under your reign to have any of our responsibilities returned, My Lord?”

I turned to him and asked, “Before we address that, would you care to elaborate?”

“Certainly, My Lord—”

I held up my hand and said, “I do remember saying that this is not a formal setting, Blake; please call me Greg.”

Everyone smiled as Blake nodded and said, “Sorry, Greg, force of habit. As you know, Baron Evans conquered Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. Prior to that conquest, Baronets were much more involved in the day-to-day operations of their Baronetcy. Over the past hundred years, Baron Evans has removed almost all responsibility we have. I have no need to hold court, I have no authority over orphans, and Connecticut no longer has an Office of Baronial Records; our vampires must travel to Pittsburgh for identification.”

I turned to Jake and said, “Lord Adjutant General, would you care to address any of this?”

Jake cleared his throat and said, “We are eager to return services to the local levels as much as possible. To that end, I have instructed the OBR to present a budget and plan for opening regional offices. Of course, I can’t say how many, where they’ll be, or when we will start opening them, but that is one thing we are eager to address.”

I turned to Tommy who understood the meaning. He said, “I will be asking the senior Marshals in the Barony for their input on creating Marshals’ offices in each Baronetcy. Of course, I will work with each Baronet to tailor our office to your individual needs.”

I didn’t even need to prompt Chris to say, “I will be taking similar steps to open offices in each Baronetcy. I hope to have prosecutors, an office for a public defender, and a legal aid office to help vampires navigate both human and Dracul legal issues.”

Before anyone could ask questions, I said, “Keep in mind, everything my Council has said is still in the conversation phase. As I said earlier, we require your input so we can make a smooth transition from the system now in place to a system that will best serve the vampires of Pittsburgh Barony.”

Billy spoke up. “Please direct that input through my office, as His Lordship—” I glared at him. “Sorry, so Greg isn’t spending all day on the telephone.”

I looked around the table and said, “Please understand, I had not intended to announce any changes today. I simply wanted to meet you and get to know you and allow you to get to know me. If I were in your position, I would be concerned if a new Baron immediately announced changes. After speaking with you, I realize that you are eager for the changes we have in mind.”

Marco nodded as he said, “I am eager to see the school.” When everyone turned to him in surprise, he turned to me with tears in his eyes and said, “I have failed you on my first day, My Lord. You have not announced this yet?”

I smiled. “You have not failed me, Marco; I never said it was a secret.” I was glad to see him nod, accepting that he had not failed. I then proceeded to explain how we came up with the idea of the school, our plans for opening in January, and sharing photos of the site. I was happy to see that every one of the Baronets were eager to let their vampires know of this opportunity, and most were supportive of the concept.

“I, for one, will gladly send my son to your school,” Jeremi Ruf said with a nod of his head.

“Will you require attendance, My Lord,” Boris Shultz asked, “or is it voluntary?”

Stunned, I stared at him for a moment. How had we not considered this issue? I saw Scott and Billy grin slightly as I improvised, “We haven’t decided, Boris. We want to hear what the Baronets think.”

Everyone was silent for a moment as they considered this. Finally, Blake Wooster said, “That is a rather complicated issue, Greg. On one hand, our society would benefit greatly from increasing the educational level of our young people; on the other, the inconvenience of families having to relocate for two or three years while their child goes to school is not inconsequential.”

“A valid point,” Jeremi argued, “but how much will our children lose if we delay their education until they are old enough to live on their own?”

“As I understand the human school system, at least here in the US,” Antonio Rizzo offered, “the youngest children are in primary schools, which are in almost every community. They then move to an intermediate school, which combines several of these primary schools. Finally, several of these combine into an even larger high school. Could we not have something similar, My Lord? Or is there no room for flexibility in your plan?”

“There is always room for improvement, Baronet Rizzo,” I replied. “I am not so proud that I can’t admit my mistakes. We planned all this out without a lot of input from more experienced vampires. If I understand your suggestion, we would have several schools for children aged two to four years, then move them to a larger campus where they are boarders for three or four years?”

William Spencer said, “I think parents would be more willing to drive halfway across their own Baronetcy daily rather than pick up and move to a school for a few years.”

“Yes, but unlike Connecticut, the Baronetcies of Pennsylvania are one hundred and fifty miles from north to south. Even half of that is quite the daily commute,” James shot back.

“You are forgetting the one major advantage to Greg’s original plan, gentlemen,” Marco said quietly, getting everyone’s attention. “Our children currently have to remain hidden for the first four years of their lives, unless they’re fortunate enough to live far away from the nearest house. If they are living at a vampire only school, they can run and play outdoors, they can socialize with other young vampires. I see your point of view about having a small school in several locations, but that doesn’t help hide our children, and it reduces the number of other young vampires they meet in their formative years.”

“But growing up hiding teaches a child how to keep our existence a secret when they become adults,” Giorgino Rossini argued.

“Growing up alone teaches a child paranoia,” Jeremi quickly replied.

Voices were slowly raising, and I was about to step in when Marco said, “Gentlemen, I would like to suggest a compromise, if I may?” When everyone went quiet, he continued. “The school that our Baron designed is very close to completion. That fact cannot be changed. Rather than attempting to redesign it before it even opens, I would suggest that we encourage the parents in our Baronetcies to enroll in the school as designed. Notice I said encourage, not require. If a large enough percentage of our children go, we, as a society, win. If they don’t, we ask them why they didn’t and, if they reply that they want their younger children kept closer to home, then we build a series of primary schools to accommodate them. Older children can still use the— forgive me, Greg, but do you have a name for the school? It gets confusing at times, having no names for anything we’re discussing.”

I smiled and said, “We haven’t named it, Marco. We thought the first students might like that honor. If it will make conversations easier, you can call it the ‘Laural Run Campus,’ as Laural Run runs through part of the property.”

“We might also consider not pushing to build another school until we give this one eighteen months to see how it’s received,” Scott suggested. “If this concept is accepted, it will likely be accepted in other places; if it is not, we will know this and already be trying the primary school option, for lack of a better way of saying it.”

“If we do end up building several primary schools, we could always contract with another Barony to teach their older students at our boarding school,” Baronet Spencer offered.

“A very wise suggestion, Bill,” Jeremi said before turning to me and asking, “Is it true that you are meeting with the Viscount about locating another school in my area, Greg?”

“It is true that I was supposed to meet with the Count, the Viscount, and the Barons of Concord, Manhattan, and Queens, but that meeting was postponed by the Count,” I replied. “And yes, western Connecticut was one suggestion, as was northeastern PA. Would you prefer we not consider your area, Jeremi?”

He shrugged and replied, “I wouldn’t object to it, Greg, but wouldn’t it make more sense to simply add to the Laural Run school rather than build another campus specifically for Manhattan and/or Queens? Laural Run is closer to New York City than it is to most of Marco’s Baronetcy and all of Connecticut.”

“We should find out what the parents prefer before we discuss adding to Laural Run,” Brian said. “Jeremi and Marco both have excellent ideas that we should explore in more detail.”

I laughed, looked around the table, and said, “Well, I’m glad we didn’t discuss any business at today’s meeting.” When everyone quieted down from their laughter I said, “We don’t need to resolve this today, gentlemen, and I have two appointments this evening that I must attend to. You are all welcome to remain and continue your discussions well into the night, but Scott, Billy, and I must leave you.” I turned to Marco and added, “Your home is currently a crime scene, Baronet Nardone. I am certain that Andrew can provide accommodations here in the castle until that is resolved.”

Everyone stood when I did. Blake Wooster said, “I believe I can speak for all my brother Baronets when I say today was an encouraging day, My Lord. If you intend to continue as you have started, you have my undying loyalty.” Everyone in the room shouted, “Hear hear!”

I thanked them all for their kind words, then Scott, Billy, and I headed for the east sitting room where Opa was entertaining two friends from Switzerland. One was the heraldic artist he had mentioned, and the other was the man Opa thought would make a good tutor for our children. On our way, I contacted Jenny, mind-to-mind, and asked her to bring the boys. I wanted her opinion of this tutor, and I also wanted to see how he interacted with our sons.

We found Opa speaking with two young men: one was slender and quite short, with olive skin and dark hair that reminded me of Count Nardone, and the other was tall, athletic, and fair-haired, with the look of a northern European. Neither appeared to be more than thirty. As we entered, they stood and Opa said, “Ah, here are my grandsons now. My Lords, may I present Antonio di Puccio Pisano and Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. Gentlemen, may I introduce Baron Gregory Fowler and Baron Scott Warnick.”

Both men bowed to me and, after I gave a slight nod, I offered my hand to each, saying, “Opa hasn’t told me much about either of you, other than to say that you are both more than qualified to assist us.” I looked at Antonio Pisano and said, “If I may, I will start with you. What name do you prefer and are you the artist or the educator?”

Pisano grinned and replied, “If you study the history of art, you will find me called Pisanello, but of course I cannot go by that name more than five hundred years after I supposedly died. When I renewed into this life, I decided to embrace my true identity and chose the name Antonio di Pisano da Cereto. My story is that I am an Italian immigrant, living in Zurich.”

Before I could reply Billy said, “You painted the portrait of Emperor Sigismund.” He glanced at Opa then back to Pisanello and added, “I bet that’s where you met Vlad Dracul, isn’t it?”

“I was working on the portrait when Vlad was invested into the Order of the Dragon, yes. I was working on a chapel in Verona when I slipped and fell. I would have perished had Vlad not changed me,” he replied.

I looked from Pisanello to Opa, then asked, “So that means you’re my uncle?” I pointed at Scott and added, “Our uncle?”

Opa answered, “Yes, Greg, Antonio is your uncle, as is Johann.”

“I go by Henrik Zell Pestel in this life, father, no need to confuse the boy,” Pestalozzi scolded Opa. He then turned to me and said, “Father all but insisted I come tutor his great-grandchildren, My Lord.”

I shook my head and said, “My name is Greg, Uncle, save the honorifics for court.” I turned to Antonio and added, “That goes for you as well, Uncle Antonio.”

I was about to inquire about Henrik’s background when Jenny appeared with the boys. “Gentlemen, may I present our sons: Matthew, Michael, Chipper, and Charlie,” I said, pointing to each as I named them. “Boys, this is—”

A stunned Jenny interrupted, “Johann Pestalozzi and Pisanello?”

I laughed and asked, “I take it you know them?”

Abashed, Jenny replied, “I’m sorry, Greg, I’m just surprised. When you said you were getting a tutor, I thought you were getting some random college professor, not the father of modern education.”

“Opa brought them, Jenny,” I said. “Until five minutes ago, I hadn’t heard of either of these gentlemen.” I turned to them and added, “No offense intended. I’m certain if I had continued my education I would know your names.”

Both gave a slight nod, accepting my ignorance, then Uncle Henrik addressed the boys. “I am your tutor, and your Great-Uncle. When addressing me in the former role you are to call me Maître, or Master if you haven’t learned French yet. Other times, you may address me as Uncle Henrik.”

I was surprised when the three older boys all replied, “Oui, Maître.” I was utterly stunned when Charlie also said “Oui, Maître.”

“It seems you all have a foundation in French,” Henrik said with a smile. “We will explore your grasp of languages at another time. For this evening, I am Uncle Henrik.” He looked at Jenny and asked, “Have we met, Madame?”

“We have not, Master Pestalozzi,” she replied. “As a student of education I am familiar with your work.”

“You must also be a student of art,” Pisanello, er, Uncle Antonio said, “if you are familiar with my humble work.” He also addressed the boys, saying, “And you may call me Uncle Antonio, no matter if we are relaxing or I am helping you paint.”

He turned back to me and said, “Forgive me, Greg, I should have asked first. You don’t mind if I work with your sons at times while I’m working on your heraldry?”

“You are both welcome to stay as long as you like,” Scott said before I could reply. “We assumed your task would take several months, Uncle Antonio, and we expected Uncle Henrik to be here at least four years.”

“From the way the conversation is going, I assume you both have accepted the positions Greg was going to offer?” Billy asked.

“Forgive me, Uncles,” I said, embarrassed, “This is our sons’ third father, Billy, or, more properly, Lord Steward William White.”

Henrik replied, “As I told Father, I am happy to spend as much time here as you need. I understand you’ve built a school?”

“We have,” Scott replied, “and we would welcome your input on that as well as tutoring our sons.”

“We would also like to include the children of our staff and the Marshals who serve here at the castle, if it isn’t too inconvenient,” I said. “I feel we need to support those who support us.”

“I can tutor twenty as easily as I can tutor one,” Henrik replied.

For the next hour, Scott sat with Henrik and the boys as they got to know each other while Billy, Opa, and I discussed ideas for a Coat of Arms for Baron Gregory Fowler. When Opa told me he was Vlad Dracul and that I was Drăculeşti, he had warned me that disclosing this fact could be dangerous, as some might see it as my attempting to style myself as the prophesied king. I wasn’t concerned about that as much as I was concerned about Opa’s privacy.

While he never actually denied the fact that he was Vlad Dracul in a previous life, Erich Zell had gone to great lengths to encourage people to forget that part of his life. Scott, Billy, and I had discussed this and, at the insistence of Opa, we were going to embrace our heritage and style our Coat of Arms to highlight our link to Vlad Dracul.

Uncle Antonio was renowned for his work in medals and heraldry, and I knew better than to tell him exactly what I wanted. Rather, we spoke in broad terms, listing some specific things that should be included. To highlight our link to Vlad, we all agreed there should be a dragon prominently featured, and to highlight our ties to the Drăculeşti, we chose red and black as the primary colors. Billy was quick to point out that we would need to have Robert come up with livery for the household staff that used those colors without having them look like Dracul military.

When Jenny took the boys to bed, Scott, Billy and I spent the next two hours getting to know our newfound uncles. We learned that Opa had met Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi while on a trip to Zurich in 1826 where he found a despondent old man who was watching his life’s work being dismantled. Rather than let him die, Opa had offered to attempt to change the man, giving him an opportunity to continue his dream of improving the world through education. Obviously, the change had worked, and Henrik, as he is now known, had quietly worked in the background improving universities around Europe for the last two centuries. Now he was eager to help us improve educational opportunities for vampires, at least in the Barony of Pittsburgh.

Uncle Antonio continued his work after his change until he was able to fake a death in 1655, after which he traveled the known world, occasionally painting portraits of lessor known people, always aware that he had to hide his talent so his works, after his death, didn’t mimic the work he was able to claim. Eventually he was able to pass himself off as an artist who worked in the style of Pisanello.

When our conversation finally wound down, I contacted Andrew and asked him to join us. When he did, James, Donna, and Marco Nardone were with him. James had never mentioned Henrik or Antonio, so Scott and I weren’t sure if he knew they were his brothers. When he entered the room, we got our answer.

“I see Father is pulling out all the stops to help Greg,” James said as he walked to embrace his brothers. “Are you staying long? Or is this just a short visit?”

“It seems I am to be here several years, James,” Henrik replied. “I will be assisting Greg with his school, as well as tutoring your grandsons.”

“And I will be here for several months at least,” Antonio said, “as I am to design a coat of arms. While here, I will endeavor to guide the boys through art history and hopefully help them discover their own talents.”

“If you are willing, Uncle, we would be honored if you would paint portraits of Scott, Billy, and me. Individually and together,” I said.

Billy quickly added, “And an official portrait of Greg in his Baronial Garb, to hang in our main hall.”

Antonio laughed and replied, “It seems I am to be here for several years as well, James. Should I plan on portraits of you and Donna as well?”

James nodded, saying, “If Greg and Scott don’t overwhelm you, we would be honored, Piccolo Maestro”

I turned to Marco and said, “Forgive our manners, Marco. May I present Vlad Dracul Jacob Erich von Zell, my grandfather,” I said, pointing at Opa. “And these gentlemen are our uncles, Antonio di Puccio Pisano and Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, currently using the names Antonio di Pisano da Cereto and Henrik Zell Pestel. Uncles, may I present Marco Giancarlo Dino Nardone, Baronet of Lake Placid, NY.”

On hearing me call Opa ‘Vlad Dracul’, Marco stared at me for a moment, then recovered and said, “I am honored, Lord Dracul. Never did I imagine I would meet you.” He turned to Uncle Antonio and said, “È un grande onore incontrarla, Maestro Pisanello. Mio padre è un grande ammiratore delle sue opere.” He then added, “Forgive me, Don Carlo, I said ‘It is a great honor to meet you, Master Pisanello. My father is a great admirer of your works.’"

Antonio laughed and said, “Then I will have to paint his portrait as well. It seems my career is to be renewed.”

Opa said, “And I am simply Erich Zell, Baronet. I believe that is the name your father knows.”

“Si,” Marco replied. “Mio padre has nothing but respect for Baron Zell.” Marco looked from Opa to me, then continued, “May I tell him of your true identity? Or is this a secret?”

Opa gave me a slight shrug, so I said, “It is neither a secret nor something to be broadcast, Marco. Uncle Antonio will be designing a Coat of Arms for me, reflecting my Drăculeşti heritage, and I will openly embrace it, but I will not be broadcasting it.”

Marco nodded as Scott added, “Opa has done his service for Dracul, Marco. It may be best if Vlad is allowed to fade into history, for now.”

Marco gave a slight head bow and replied, “Understood, My Lords.”

“Donna and I just came in to say goodnight, Greg. Marco and I are the only Baronets still here. We walked the others to the door on our way here,” James said.

“Once you’re settled in, we expect you two,” Donna said, pointing at Antonio and Henrik, “to visit us at the farm.”

Henrik made a face of mock terror as he said, “We have been summoned, brother. I bet she is still angry about Vienna.”

Donna rolled her eyes as Antonio also feigned terror, pointed at Henrik, and said, “It was his idea.”

I made a mental note to ask what happened in Vienna as James and Donna gave everyone a hug and left for the farm. Once Opa, Henrik, and Antonio excused themselves and followed Andrew to their rooms, we sat with Marco and told him all we knew of the situation in Lake Placid. His questions demonstrated that he was, indeed, prepared to serve in his new role, as his focus seemed to be on healing the community and moving forward. He was astutely aware of how carefully he would have to navigate in a community recently led by a religious zealot, and he was eager to begin.

“Have you met the late Baronet’s Esquire?” he asked.

“He is in the custody of our Marshals,” Billy replied. “He was in the home of the late Baronet when Greg and Scott rescued the twins.”

Marco thought for a moment, then said, “I should meet him as soon as possible, Don Carlo. It is possible—” He stopped, suddenly looking embarrassed. “Forgive me, My Lord. I should not use such a familiar name for you, now that I am in your service.”

I took his hand and patted it. “I’ve told the other Baronets to call me Greg unless we’re at court, or in the public eye, Marco. Why should you do anything differently?”

Relieved, he smiled and said, “Thank you, Don Carlo. As I was saying, it is possible that he was acting out of fear of retribution. Unless you plan on charging him with a crime, he might be of great value to my making inroads into my new community.”

I nodded. “If you feel he can be of value, we can overlook all but the most heinous of crimes. You and I can meet with Chris and Tommy tomorrow and see where the investigation stands. For now, I hope you’ll forgive me, but it has been a long day. Until you can move into your new home, please consider this your home.”

We walked with Marco to the stairs, and after ensuring that he could find his room and find his way to breakfast, said our goodnights. As we headed to our room, Scott brought up something we had been discussing for weeks.

“My beast doesn’t want to wait, Greg,” he said as we passed my office.

“Mine agrees,” I replied, “but now that I’m a seated Baron, will anyone care?”

“Few vampires have official ceremonies, Greg,” Billy interjected.

“And what about you, Billy? Have you decided to join us as our mate? Or are you just our lover?” Scott asked.

“I thought I answered that when I agreed to be a father to your children,” Billy said.

“Then we’re a thruple?” I asked.

Scott and Billy exchanged a look, then both nodded as Scott grinned and said, “And we make it official tonight.”