A Man For All Seasons

By Karina McRoberts

Living on in his master's castle, an ageing Vidor finds it falling down around him, but continues his nightly assignations and experiments.

Added to this is an ever-increasing stream of animal refugees. With no idea how to feed them all, he decides to go into business to make ends meet.

Helped by his wise-talking raven Alban, Vidor must thwart a greedy development company from destroying the animals' home. But is he already out of time?

Part tender romance, part cheeky comedy, A Man For All Seasons brings feel-good in spades, shines a light on life and death with dignity, and pays heart-lifting tribute to all eco warriors, wherever they may stand.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Next Chapter
• Release date: Jan 20, 2022

Karina McRoberts

I write intelligent fiction - currently in four genres - historical romance/adventure fiction, epic fantasy, ghost stories, and comic fantasy. Books to enthrall and delight, entertain and enlighten. Fabulous characters and plenty of surprises. Lots of interesting author's notes for book club people! Writing since 2013, Karina McRoberts has published five novels in two genres - a time travel adventure/romance series (The Palace of the Stars and The Mine's Eye) and an epic fantasy trilogy with a female lead and modern themes (Chelandra, Master of the World, and Juggernaut). Her smaller works include an anthology and a short-story (The Haunting of York - A Ghostly Anthology and Lost and Found - A Ghost Story). Karina derives inspiration from living in a beautiful forest, while working with her husband to restore the remainder of their environs from degraded farmland to habitat for wildlife. Tahshi, their wonder dog extraordinaire, is a friend to all. In addition to being an avid conservationist, Karina is a musician with a keen interest in world and renaissance music. She has wandered very far and been engaged in a variety of professions, ranging from migrant sweat-shop labourer to research scientist. Recently, she's been busy as a lizard surgeon and sometime snake handler. Karina has intense interests in the evolution of social justice and the expansion of human (and animal) consciousness. Never at a loss for inspiration, she aims to bring her readers entertainment, enlightenment and, most of all, pure enjoyment! Karina is presently hard at work on her next novel, The Light, Book Three of the Harker Investigates Mysteries.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

THE HEART'S DESIRE

It was a dark and stormy night.

Really.

It was!

You can't lie about a thing like that.

The man of the house, now its master, busied himself lighting lamps and building up his hearth fire.

"Ah, thith cathle! Now mine! The Mathter wath too kind."

Vidor loved his home. And nights such as this reminded him of his birth. Well, as best he could remember— he'd learned of it only from stories The Master had told him.

How the wind that night had howled in its wildest fury, the riotous tempest battering at the shutters, desperate to gain entrance! Great swords of lightning striking at the jet-back sky, making it bleed—light spurting brightly as day from each jagged wound. Oh Vidor, vhat a night it vas! the Master had expounded with glee.

The shutters were slapping now, comforting the crooked little man. But Vidor realised he would need to close the windows—things that got wet inside the castle stayed wet for too long a time. He would open them once more to the riveting fresh air once the rain had stopped. Such a beautiful night as this should definitely be invited indoors!

Vidor tried to remember his birth date, but could not. But the date itself was really of no consequence; the thrashing weather and the memories it brought filled him with verve and made him exceedingly glad to be alive. And, glad that this was his home. This high-on-the hill sanctuary—Vidor felt very close to the cosmos here.

But he missed The Master. The talks they had, the trips they sometimes took into town…

"Yeth, he wath rethpected there. They uthed to look at me thilly, but I didn't mind. I liked to sthcare them with my funny eearths. And my creaky back—they alwayths got a laugh out of that one. Well, once they got over the thock."

He chuckled at the remembrance; his laugh a delight. Then, a jolt of momentary sadness jabbed at his heart—Vidor decided to leave the past and concentrate on the here-and-now.

Because, in spite of his love for this castle, the neo-gothic edifice was literally falling down around him, and he had little money for repairs. Besides, for some strange reason, no one would come to do the work. And as Vidor was getting on a bit, there were things he just could not do himself.

And then there were the animals, of course. Principally a raven, named Alban, and Bitsa, a Great Dane puppy. These two were his treasured companions.

The Master had kept some critters. After all, he was trying to save them from extinction. That was the whole point. Accelerated evolution, that's what he'd called it—his life’s work, to save as many as he could from the adverse effects of climate change and people change! He'd meant well…

But more creatures were turning up these days—Vidor couldn't fathom why. But they came and they stayed. How on earth was he going to feed them all?

He usually managed to dig up something somewhere, the castle had so many hidden rooms. Truth be told, The Master had been a bit of a hoarder, a doomsday prophet, and had filled every single one of them with all manner of supplies and paraphernalia. Just a precaution, he'd explained. The townsfolk…You know.

Vidor's mind sought for and retrieved a distant memory. He recalled the seeing of lights, a line of flaming lights, marching their way up the hill. You ver too young to remember, The Master had told him, and just as vell. But Vidor had remembered, at least in part.

He shivered, and, calling himself back to the present, he laid some more wood upon the fire, arranging it just so. Pleased he had chopped so much, but again pricked by the certitude that age would at some point preclude his ability.

Vidor allowed the warmth to radiate into his aching joints, pleased also by the gorgeous glow and the shadows the flames threw upon the walls. The fair scent of the burning leaves he'd employed as kindling increased his satisfaction.

"Well, thingth are alright for now. Maybe there are thome more roomth, with thome more goodieth in them. Though I do wonder what thome of it ith. Probably thpare parth. Hopefully thpare parth.

He savoured the wood tang a little longer, pondering his dilemmas.

I thall have to get out in the garden again. Grow thome thpthuds. Or thomething. Hmm, tho much to do. Tho much to do!

CHAPTER 2

OUT FOR THE EVENING

"You're not going out again, are you Vidor? Alban, The Master's raven and now Vidor's pet, enquired. It's pretty blustery out there tonight. If you don't mind me saying so."

Of courth I do not mind, Alban. I am jutht glad I taught you to thpeak. Otherwithe, whom would I converth with?

Just so. And thank you. Alban ruffled his feathers a little; he was rather pleased with his discoursiveness. And, he smiled. If a raven could be said to smile.

"Anyway, I mutht go out. Grotheries are in order."

You know I can find my own food, Vidor, although I do appreciate the fine tidbits you give me. Alban smacked his bill at the memory of some tender morsel.

Yeth, raventh are exthellent hunterth and thcavengerth, but Bittha's domethticated. And hith legth let him down, you know. He'th never been right thinth he wath hit by that carriathe. The Mathter thaved him, but I'm afraid the lizard legth jutht don't do it for him. He jutht hathn't got the right bone and muthle thructure for lizard legth, but it wath all the Mathter had at the time. And, well they do thay that dogth grow into their feet, but I think Bittha hath already done tho, and gone a good wayth pathd it. Great Daneth are rather large creatureth actually.

Vidor continued to prepare for his evening, attending meticulously to the crease in his hat, which he always wore to cover his mismatched ears, his white gloves, and the polish on his wolf-headed cane. He always felt a little better with these accoutrements, hoping they would make up in some way for his abnormalities. But catching himself out, he pushed his self-deprecation aside.

"It'th the other animalth I need to attend to, Alban. Bethidthes, there are other thingth I