The attic was only partially finished. The rafters were open to the ship-lap roofing. This made the attic an oven in the summer and an icebox in the winter. There are ten small rooms, with the front two being the largest and best. Elanste and Ansenel had the good rooms. The others were arranged as they went. Only the two front rooms were worth disputing.
The stables were surprisingly well kept, and my opinion of Candry went up a notch. The hayloft was well stocked and neatly stacked, and the stalls all had clean straw on the floor. There were no horses when I made my survey, but there were chickens scratching at the floor in search of worms and stray bits of grain.
I returned to the front of the inn through the back hall, noting that even though I had closed the inn for the night, Elanste was busy cooking and cleaning. She saw me in the doorway and motioned me to wait a moment.
“Master Drake, the pantry is low stocked. Lervin, he didn’t believe in carrying much on hand. What do you wish?” Her look was noncommittal, but I get the feeling she disapproved of Lervin’s policy.
“Who do we have an account with?”
She pursed her lips, which warned me of her answer. “No one would offer Lervin credit.”
I let out a long sigh. Typical Lervin. “Very well. Come to the office when you finish what you are doing here.” I went to check the account books. Elanste presented herself before I could do more than crack a book.
“Here is a list of what I believe we need, Master Drake.” Elanste was keeping herself in check, but she was clearly anxious to get out and about for some reason. I reviewed the list, removed a few items that I personally do not care for, liver being one, and substituting others such as bison tongue. I handed her a pouch with ten silver crowns. “Return with receipts and the change,” I commanded, and saw something flicker across her expression. She bobbed a sketchy bow and fled. When I went out to the main room, I found that she had taken Jory along to help carry. This annoyed me, as she didn’t ask permission, but it’s not a major matter. The main room was finally cleaned to my satisfaction, and the staff was now cleaning the rest of the inn.
I was satisfied that the inn was shaping up as I wished, so I decided to deal with a few problems that only I could properly see to, vermin being the most urgent. I sat myself in the center of the main room and stretched out my Mage Sense.
Old anti-vermin spells were still hanging about the inn like the cobwebs they were supposed to prevent. A quick chant renewed the spells and strengthened them. A few screams came from the back rooms as the mice and rats fled. The anti-fire spells were newer, but I strengthened them as well. An old anti-rot spell was just a fragment of what was needed, and I feared the worst because of it. I used my most powerful spell to clear the old spell and replace it with something that would keep the building sound.
Nightfall came softly to the Stooping Falcon. The inn was as clean as one day can make it. Elanste had returned quickly with supplies and prepared a good meal. She had, reluctantly, presented me with receipts and the remainder of the coin. I suspect she had been stealing from Lervin the entire time she has been purchasing his supplies, but that would stop. I gathered the entire staff after supper to inform them of some changes I intended to make.
“First of all, let me say that I am pleased with all of you. You have taken the changes in stride and done well by me. There are more changes on the way. The first will be some construction. I intend to enclose and insulate the rafters. This will necessitate you moving about a bit, but in the end, I think you’ll approve. The carpenters will be starting at the back and working their way forward. The affected individuals will be moving to the back two rooms on the ground floor until your rooms are finished.
“Second, the main room will also be insulated. Too much heat is lost through the roofing. I am going to order some new tables and chairs as well. These are the same tables that were here ten years ago, and they have seen far more abuse than they can stand.” This elicited smiles from the women, who had to clean ever more grime off the tables, and the men who had to double as carpenters to repair damaged chairs.
“Third, and possibly most important, we are going to try and attract a more affluent clientele. I want this place to be comfortable for even the High Lairds and their ladies. This will require a great deal of effort from each and every one of you. The Stooping Falcon has a bad reputation now, and it is not going to change overnight.”
Each of the servants was looking at the others. Letten and Candry looked nervous. This was reasonable considering their low birth. The others were keeping carefully neutral looks on their faces, with the exception of Brandis. She actually looked excited. That makes sense, considering who her father is.
I went up to my room, intending to sleep undisturbed until morning, but Brandis had other plans. She was there, in my bed, covered with only a light sheet.
“Master Drake, I want you to know that I’m not trying to tie your hands. I just want to express my gratitude in the best fashion I know.”
Now, when I am Amberdrake, only another dragon could excite me. But as Drake Standralson, I was as human as the next man, and Brandis is a beautiful young woman. My clothes hadn’t even hit the floor before I was kissing her passionately. She kissed me ardently and the heat of her passion was fire under my fingers. The sheet was ripped away at some point, though whether by her or by me, I couldn’t be sure. We coupled fiercely at first, then slowed to a prolonged stroke that lasted well beyond what I was accustomed to. How Laird Combert could have found fault with her I have no idea, unless he is the type who likes things odd. I found Brandis to be as skilled a lover as I have ever had. And after more than three hundred years alternating between human and dragon form, I’d had more than my share.
The afterglow lasted forever, then she gently slipped from my bed and left, not bothering to cover herself. I enjoyed the sight of a healthy young woman’s body, and I think Brandis knew it. She stopped at my door and gave me a smoldering look, then slipped quietly out. The flushing of a garderrobe and the soft shutting of a door were the last sounds I heard that night.
A crowing cock at the stable door announced morning. I despise cocks and mornings. My feet found the pile of clothing on my floor and the memory of the night before came flooding back. Brandis has given me something to think about. Can I, in good conscious, keep her as my mistress? She is indentured, and generally indentured servants are not used in such ways. Not by ethical men, at least.
My first visitor of the day rendered the question moot.
Brandis knocked discreetly at my office door and peeked in. “Master Drake, you have a visitor. An important one.” Her smile and sparkling eyes warned me, but it was still a shock to see High Laird Shanbelson sitting at the best table in the main room, calmly drinking cava. He had brought along ten men-at-arms, and a large bag sat on the table in front of him. I bowed formally and then welcomed him.
“High Laird Shanbelson, welcome to the Stooping Falcon. I believe I know the reason for your visit. Shall we skip the dance?” As I have stated, I am not a patient man.
The High Laird cleared his throat and loosened his collar. “Yes, I suppose you must realize there is only one reason for me to come down here. I want her back, Drake. I want her free of this place and the life Lervin forced on her. I know what her mother owed.” He paused and pushed the sack across the table to me. “Count it if you like. It’s all there.”
I looked the High Laird in the eye for a moment. “First, tell me why you didn’t just buy her free from Lervin. You can obviously afford it.”
His lips compressed, and his nostrils flared. “Pay blackmail for a bastard daughter? What position would that place me in? What position would it place the others in? If I would pay fifty crowns for a bastard, what would I pay for a legitimate child? No, I couldn’t risk that.” His eyes lifted to Brandis, silently pleading for her understanding. I waved her forward and indicated the sack.
“That is yours, Brandis. What you do with it is your business. If you wish
to buy free and leave, that is your choice. If you wish to buy free and stay, that is also your choice. The law,” I glanced at the High Laird, “is that you must buy yourself free. Your father cannot do it for you.”
Brandis nodded to me, then smiled at her father. “Father, thank you. I understand why you didn’t come forward before. Master Drake has changed things here. We are no longer whores for your enemies and their friends. He wants to make this a better place, and I want to stay.” Then she turned and looked at me. “On my terms, as a paid employee. My mother doesn’t have a place for me anymore, not with her husband and new baby.” She picked up the sack and poured out the coins, the gold glittering in the sunlight that filtered through the windows.
I motioned for her to wait while I went and retrieved the book where the indentured servants’ accounts were kept. They each earned normal wages for their work, but most of the wages went to their accounts. Brandis’ account showed that she had paid five gold crowns, three silver crowns and twenty copper sparks toward her total. She agreed and counted out forty-five crowns into stacks of five on the table. The rest she placed back in the sack and offered it to her father. When he looked confused, she explained.
“Father, I can’t go back. The Brandis you knew is gone. A year at Lervin’s hands did away with her. I can never marry one of your men, not after being a whore, not after what happened.”
“But, Brandy, we want you back. No one blames you for what happened. We all know what Lervin and his cronies did, and why. You don’t have to stay here and live like this.” His face showed his pain, and my respect for him went up a notch. Bastard she might be, but she was his daughter and he loved her.
Brandis came around the table and hugged her father. “The Stooping Falcon is changing, Father. Master Drake is going to make this a decent place, and I want to be part of it. I could never be satisfied being a farm wife, not after this. And no decent man would be satisfied with me. He would have to be a saint to ignore what happened, what I had been, and there are few saints around here.”
Laird Shanbelson stood and hugged his child, the look of pain in his eyes forcing me to look away. “Brandy, are you sure?” he asked in a harsh whisper. “There is no reason for you to stay here.”
“Laird Shanbelson, you may remember something of me from the last time that I was here. I am no whoremonger, nor panderer. If the girls wish to engage in activities that supplement their pay, that is up to them. I will not forbid it, nor require it. Brandis needs time to adjust. Lervin would have kept her for years to force your hand, but Lervin is dead. She has just bought free of a debt that would have taken ten years to pay off any other way.”
“And that is my reason for staying,” Brandis said as she looked at her father. “Master Drake has only been here for two days, but the changes have already begun. I like the way things are going, and I am staying.” Brandis showed her strength in subtle ways, such as standing up to her father.
Laird Shanbelson returned her hug, then turned to go. He gave me an arch look that was warning enough. He valued his children, even a bastard with a hard head. I bowed formally, acknowledging his implied threat.
That night was a celebration. Brandis’ new status was toasted over and over again by her friends. There were few patrons in the main room. Word had spread that I was not selling the girls anymore, and the few people who came in were as much curious as hungry and thirsty. They left early, and when no one else seemed likely to arrive, I closed the door. This was what I had expected. The Falcon’s clientele was going to change from the lowlife scum that Lervin had been a member of to a more respectable crowd. But it would take time, and time I had.
The carpenters arrived bright and early the next morning, which annoyed me far beyond reason. No one should look happy and ready to face the world at sunrise. The master carpenter set a journeyman and two apprentices to finishing the roof and walls in the servants’ rooms, with Jory watching to keep them out of any of the occupied rooms. The master kept one journeyman and two apprentices with him to work the main room. I decided to watch for a while, but watching them measure and cut wood was as boring an occupation as I can think of. It was time for me to take a walk about the city.
The door of the Falcon closed behind me and set me on the road. There was not much of a porch, just two steps worth, and I found myself in mud up to my ankles as soon as I stepped off it. Chanders was not well-off enough to cobble the roads this far out. Only the inner city is paved to any degree, and even there, mud was the rule rather than the exception.
I walked toward the inner city, seeking something familiar. There were inns here that were standing when I was a lad, though they had not stood long before then. The border between the Darendian Empire and the wilderness hadn’t moved more than a league farther out before intrepid (my father said stupid) souls had set up shop in the area that had been kept clear for the archers. Now they were so far in that it was a good twenty-minute walk from the edge of the city to the Falcon, and ten more to the Dragon Gates. At the gates a pair of guards asked me what I wanted in the inner city, and when I could not give them a good enough answer, they turned me away. It’s all right. There’s only one person I wanted to see in there, and I was sure Danlin would be out to see me soon enough.
My wanderings led about the outer city, my feet tracing the familiar routes of years before without conscious thought. I stopped in at some of the inns that had been run by friends and found myself regarded with suspicion. Was I really Drake? Could a man ten-years dead really enter your establishment and ask how your wife is doing? A few close friends greeted me with open arms, but many more treated me like an unclean spirit.
I returned to the Falcon at opening and found a pleasant surprise. Elanste had prepared a fine meal for this night, not the plain boiled bison and vegetables she had fixed the first night. I eat in my office, and that was where Brandis found me. She stood silent for a moment with her hands clasped in front of her, and her shoulders turning back and forth. Damn that was distracting.
“Master Drake, I have another reason for staying. Something I couldn’t say in front of my father.” She bit her lip and blushed a little. “Master Drake, I like having men. Good men. Men like you. Could we, I mean, would you take me as your mistress?” Her eyes were pleading, and it took me a moment to figure out why. Then I realized that she was frightened. She’s afraid I’ll reject her for the same reasons she told her father men would reject her.
I stood and nodded. “I’ve been thinking along those lines as well, Brandy. As an indentured servant, it wouldn’t have been ethical for me to take you as my mistress. But you are free now, and that changes things.” I smiled at the sudden hope in her eyes. “Yes, I would like to have you as my mistress, but there are a few things you must be aware of before we make a pact.
“I have enemies. Powerful enemies from my last visit here, as well as Lervin’s friends now. None of them are as powerful as your father, but there are major lairds among them. Colem Willowby for one, and his lady, Danlin. Danny wants to cut off one of my favorite parts and nail it to a barn door.” I grinned as that registered on Brandis’ face. Apparently, it’s one of her favorite parts as well. “Others are my enemy because of my friendship with Lervin. His death, and the story of his betrayal, may calm a few of them. There are other reasons for some of them to be grateful to me as well, though they might not know it yet.”
“Such as the things Lervin was blackmailing them with?” she asked with a wry twist of her luscious lips. “Don’t look so surprised. Men talk in bed, and my father’s enemies bragged about the things they held over his friends’ heads.” Brandis smiled and kissed me. “Your enemies will likely be friends before long, and those who were friends with Lervin are of no account. I am sure my father is exacting a little revenge on those who used me so badly.” Brandis was relaxing at last.
“Well, then, what do you think I should do? Those documents are mostly embarrassing little bits of old news, but some could get men executed. W
ho gets his secret safe in his hands, and who gets to wonder if I have the information now?” I tried to keep my eyes focused on Brandis’ eyes, but they kept wandering down to her ample breasts.
“It is all dirty information. Information that was obtained by thieves and spies. If it’s my opinion you want, then burn it all. That, or return every bit of it to Lervin’s victims.” Her eyes were flashing with anger. One of the lairds who Lervin had information on was her father.
“Very well, Brandy, we will give everything back. You will do that tomorrow. Tonight, we have a pact to seal.” I stepped forward and took her into my arms, kissing her quickly. “Brandis Signardsdotter, I offer you shelter under my roof. We will share a life, and a bed, with freedom between us should either choose to go.”
Brandis smiled up at me as she took up the spoken contract. “Drake Standralson, Master of the Stooping Falcon, I accept shelter under your roof. We will share a life, and a bed, with freedom between us should either choose to go.” Then she giggled. “Well, that’s a relief.”
“After last night?”
“After this morning. Father almost had me convinced to go. But I meant what I said. I could never go back to being the girl I was. Lervin sold my virginity, and sold my body to anyone he chose. But he never sold my soul, and neither did I. But what man out there would take me? Not everyone expects a virgin, but only a desperate man would marry a whore.” There was a bitter rasp to her voice as she said that. “Or a man who wants nothing more than a whore in his bed. You’re different, I can feel it. Last night, you accepted what I was offering and didn’t hold me when it was time for me to go. I’m not your whore, Drake. I expect to be treated no differently than the others, and to be paid for the work I do around here.” Her eyes were smiling even though she sounds suspiciously like a fishwife bargaining for a pound of cheese.
“Do you expect to sleep in the attic? I hoped you were going to move down with me.” I made my eyes wide and hurt, but she wasn’t fooled by my act.
The Chronicles of Amberdrake Page 38
