Count Renaud's Controis

Alden of Ashcombe has earned a name. Now he must discover what it costs to carry responsibility for others.
Service in the household of Count Renaud de Villiers brings Alden into a very different world from the tournament fields on which he first made his reputation.
Here, knowing how to fight is not enough.
Men must be chosen for what they can actually do. Horses must arrive fit enough to work. Supplies must reach the right place. Scouts may disagree while both tell the truth. Orders can be overtaken by events before the messenger carrying them has even arrived.
And a commander must still decide.
As Alden is entrusted with increasing responsibility, he discovers that command is rarely a choice between right and wrong. More often it means choosing between imperfect alternatives while knowing that every decision carries a price.
Then apparently unrelated disturbances begin to form a pattern.
Roads are watched. Messages disappear. Armed men move without banners. Information travels faster than it should.
And someone appears to know far too much about Count Renaud's movements, and about Alden himself.