Julianna Tumbledare was an occasional pupil of mine. Her father, Patricius, worked deep in Partann. He wasn’t as much a condottieri as a martial administrator. If a condottieri captain plunged deep into Uttermost Partann, he wanted Patricius based in a town on his lines of communication. Patricius would maintain order with a firm but fair hand, keep the lines of communication open, keep supplies flowing, and ensure that graft and peculation were kept to the absolute minimum. Given that Patricius was as good as anybody at achieving this impossible combination, he was much sought after.

The problem was that he was a widower with a young daughter, and he felt that, at her age, the camp was no place for a studious child who wasn’t quite a girl any more but was not yet a young woman. Yet she made it plain that she did wish to accompany him. Thus…