Ring of Fire II(241)
Well, no. She knew as surely as she knew anything that even if she'd been as good a shot as the real Annie Oakley, Janos Drugeth would have done exactly what he was doing.
She even knew why. A Hungarian nobleman's valor was only part of it. Two days after the encounter in the church, she'd told him about the torturer in Franconia. And the hours she spent in prayer because of it. They understood each other quite well, in some ways.
There was no way she was going to pull the trigger, and she knew it, and he knew it, and he knew she knew he knew it, and . . .
"You are the most exasperating man!"
She leaned way over the rail of the bridge, clasped the gun tightly in both hands, pointed the barrel straight below her, and emptied the entire clip. She even had enough presence of mind to make sure another barge wasn't passing through before she did it.
And she didn't miss the water, either. Not once. Hit the Danube every time, dead nuts.
She felt a lot better, then. She even used the gun to give Janos a little salute as the barge made its way down toward Austria. She didn't stop looking at him until it passed out of sight. And he didn't stop looking at her.
Then she giggled. "I guess Denise was right. Maybe I should get a tattoo."
When the others finally emerged from the shelter they'd taken behind the goods piled on the barge, Allen O'Connor came up to Janos, still standing in the stern.
"You got balls, I'll give you that. I told you the woman was crazy."
Janos said nothing. If a man couldn't recognize a sign from God, right in front of his face, what was the point of explaining it to him?
O'Connor shook his head. "No telling what she'll do. You ought to warn the emperor about her."
"Oh, yes. I most certainly shall."
Chapter 15. The Motto
High Street Mansion, Seat of Government for the State of Thuringia-Franconia
President's Office
Grantville, State of Thuringia-Franconia
December 1634
"As long as the Regensburg authorities drop the serious charges," said Ed Piazza, "we won't contest the rest. We don't actually want to let people get the notion that officials of the SoTF can fire a gun anytime and anywhere they please."
Josua Mai, one of the down-timers who served the SoTF as legal advisers, seemed hesitant. "Ah . . . Mr. President. I'm afraid that the charge of fishing without license and with equipment not approved by the fisherman's guild is a serious charge, in Regensburg. The fine is quite heavy."
"Is there any jail time, too?"
"Not if the fine is paid. Otherwise . . ." He grimaced.
Ed nodded. "So we'll pay the fine. It's not as if we're actually broke. Not even close, in fact."
The lawyer looked as if he might argue the matter. Despite his good humor, Ed was not in the mood for legal quibbling. "We'll pay it," he said firmly. "Noelle's gone way past her pay grade plenty of times, what she's been willing to tackle. The least we can do is return the favor. End of discussion."
He sat up straight, just to emphasize the point. "Any spin-off problems I need to deal with?"
Mai looked at his notes. "Well, Grantville will need a new garrison commander, but that's not something you need to deal with, Mr. President."
"I thought it was decided not to fire Knefler. Not that I'd mind it if he quit. Sure, he screwed up, but you can't fire officers just for making one mistake."
"Ah . . . the problem is of a different nature. It seems that shortly after he returned to Grantville he assaulted Denise Beasley with a quirt. Tried to, at least. According to the report I received from Chief Richards, the girl was actually doing a fair job of defending herself with—ah—" He rummaged in the notes and drew forth another sheet. "Seemingly, every loose object you might find in a roadside tavern, short of a full-size table."
Ed chuckled. "Boy, can I picture that. Girl's got a hell of an arm. Star pitcher for the girl's baseball team until she lost interest." Then, he scowled ferociously. "But what I want to know is why we didn't fire Knefler for that."
The lawyer was still examining the report. "He will be discharged for it, Mr. President. After he gets out of the hospital. His injuries were quite severe. A number of bruises and a split lip inflicted by the girl—Chief Richards says she gave as good as she got—and then . . ." He cleared his throat. "Well. The father arrived. And was apparently in a very foul temper even before Knefler drew his sword. Tried to draw his sword, rather."
Both Ed and Carol winced. "Oh, Lord," she said.
After the lawyer left, Carol Unruh shook her head. "What was Noelle thinking? She's usually such a responsible person."