by LeRoy Clary
He smiled and exposed a mouthful of brown teeth, with at least two missing. But the crinkles around his eyes hadn’t gotten there by accident. He stood and gave a half bow, “Tom they call me. Tom, and worse. Now, I’ll bet there’s a story behind the boy’s name. Nobody advertises they are a thief, so that’s one I’d like to hear.”
“We’re going to stay at the Anchor Inn for a day or two. I’ll buy you a mug and tell you a story if you’ll be kind enough to join us.”
“Give me time to get this pile split so that nasty old woman of mine don’t pester me all night, and I’ll be there.”
“Bring her,” Anna said.
His smile grew. “And spoil a good night of storytelling? Not in this lifetime.” He picked up the hatchet, tested the blade with his thumb and a stick of cedar. In a few motions, he had it reduced to eight or nine sticks no larger than her little finger. And he still had all of them on each hand. He looked up and gave her a wink.
When they started walking down the road that sloped until it reached the water of the bay, Thief said, “I like him.”
“I think he liked you too.”
“Was he right about dogs?”
“Yes, he was. Why?”
Thief didn’t talk until the buildings were mostly two stories high, a business on the ground floor and living quarters above. Bakeries, cobblers, dressmakers, and a store selling knives, as well as sharpening them. Thief said, “The man where I used to live. Dogs didn’t like him.”
That drew Anna up short. Thief had never shared any history with her. “Did you like him?”
“He hit me. Then he took me into the drylands and left me.”
“Well, I won’t leave you. Ever.”
“I know.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Anna found the Anchor Inn without asking for directions, although she wished she had become lost, and used that as an excuse to explore the city. She had only visited Shrewsbury in her lifetime, where everyone was hateful and sneaky. Then in Fleming, she had snuck out the back way and headed for the Drylands with the information she and Gray had discovered, so she hadn’t really spent time there. But Racine was different than either. The people were friendly.
The looks she drew were not those directed at a young woman. Unless they looked closely, nobody knew she was a woman until she talked. The looks were the same as directed at Thief. They welcomed, inquired, invited, and a dozen other things, all welcoming them to Racine.
She opened the door and stepped inside, finding most tables were vacant. She took a reluctant Thief’s arm and pulled him inside and onto a bench. The eyes of all inside watched as people always do when a stranger enters. They were judging her and Thief, and she didn’t care.
A woman swirled into the room from an open doorway. Her skirt hung to the floor, and her blouse was full bodied, but she moved quickly and with grace, twice just beyond the reach of a hand searching for her bottom. From the looks of it, they seldom managed, but the art was in the attempt and the smiles and jokes that followed.
Anna wondered briefly how one of those men would react if they found a handful of her bottom. Probably leap to their feet and fall over themselves apologizing. But she didn’t have much time to think about it because the woman was soon at her table.
“Welcome to the Anchor. Something to eat?”
“Yes, and a room to rent for at least one night for my brother and me. And watered wine. More water than wine, if you please.”
“Lamb stew tonight. And bread with chunks of butter.”
Anna realized how hungry she was. “That would be wonderful. You have the room?”
“Course we do, honey. That’s how we make a living. The third door up at the top of the stairs.”
Her chin had briefly pointed to a closed door at the rear of the inn. The stairs must be behind it. They had placed their things on the floor beside the table, and she felt more comfortable with them in her sight than in a room up there. The men sitting, perhaps five, had gone back to their talking, and two of them shuffled tiles across their table in response to rolling a die.
She caught wisps of conversation and loud guffaws in response to jokes. The men were of the same cut. They were seamen, but not the ordinary deckhands. These were masters, owners, and officers. No wonder Tanner felt there was valuable information in this room. These men would be the first to encounter ships from far-off lands, and they were quick to spread tales.
The bowls arrived, along with a round loaf of heavy, dark bread and a healthy slab of butter on the edge of the plate. Two mugs followed, the contents barely pink, but enough to make the local water palatable. Anna took hold of Thief’s arm to prevent him from lifting the bowl and she said, “The room, two more mugs when these are gone, and the food. How much?”
Always set the price first, she’d been taught. The woman flashed a smile that said the price may have been more if she hadn’t asked. Wealthy people deplored asking the costs as if they couldn’t afford it.
“Two full coppers should more than cover it. And that will also cover more wine, should you wish it.”
“Thank you.” She let go of Thief’s arm, and he lifted the bowl and sniffed and examined the contents. He tasted it, and his eyes told the tale. She slowed him from eating it all at once and assured him that he could have more. She tore off a hunk of bread and slathered butter on it and handed it to him.
Thief was in six kinds of heaven. Anna used her knife to spear the larger chunks, then slurped from her bowl and buttered a piece of bread. She tasted the wine. Instead of bitter, she found it sweet, but oddly not thirst quenching. She sipped again and still it didn’t quench her thirst. She wanted more and realized the danger. A wine that made you want more would have you sitting in the Inn all day and night.
The front door opened and like all the others, she turned to see who entered. It was the wood-chopper from the edge of town. He looked at her, then moved past and shook the hand of each man, in turn, passing a few words with each.
They treated him as if he was the owner, or perhaps they worked for him. Anna was still trying to sort things out when he joined her and Thief. “Are you still up for buying an ale or two?”
Anna laughed and said, “It didn’t take you long to get all that wood in the pile split and get here.”
“Ah, there’s enough wood to last a day or two. I tossed the rest behind the shed where my wife won’t see it.” The woman serving food and drink entered and he raised a hand to catch her attention. He called to her, “If I send my old wife back to Downton, will you marry me and bear seventeen boys?”
“Seventeen you say?” the laughter in the room was friendly, and it seemed that Tom was the catalyst for it. She said, “I’m thinking seventeen times in my bed would kill an old man, even one as randy as you. Maybe two boys?”
“Two? He protested. “Only two?”
She sat a mug in front of him and for the rest of the room raised her voice, “You’re right. I don’t think you would survive those two nights in my bed.”
The entire room laughed again, and even Anna had to join in, although she’d never heard a woman speak like that. Thief continued eating, but with a smile. I have a lot to learn.
Tom joined them by pulling out a chair from a table and placing it at theirs. He gave Thief a clap on his back, as if they were the best of friends, then he asked if Anna was still up to buying an ale.
She saw the affectionate reception the others gave him, but more than that, she saw the respect. Everyone in the room deferred to him in subtle ways, allowing him to speak first while they paid attention, shifting in their seats to hear his words, and even the woman who served him did so with more attention to detail than when she served the others.
Anna drew in the knowledge of what she saw and said, “We’re travelers, and now we’re here. I’d think someone who lives here could save us from getting into trouble.”
“And what sort of knowledge might you be seeking?”
His tone had taken on a s
lightly offensive tone as if he thought they might be buying ale for information instead of friendship. She gave him one of her best smiles, trying to look younger and innocent as she bobbed her head from side to side as younger girls do. “We may need to book passage on a ship to Castle Warrington. If you know any good ships with respectable captains that you could recommend, we would appreciate it.”
His smile equaled hers. Tom turned and called to the room at large, “This young miss is in need of a good ship and fair captain. Does anyone know of such a thing?”
The men laughed with good humor. Tom leaned closer to her, “Each of those you see behind me fulfills your requirements. We don’t let the others in here.”
“So I just need to talk to them and find one sailing a ship to where I need?”
“If he’s in here, and drinking with the regulars you see around you, they are good men. Strangers and those on ships not of good quality drink alone at one of the other inns or taverns.”
Anna settled back into her chair. The question had redirected Tom, and she believed he had misunderstood her intentions. She asked, “The men in here will not cheat me? That’s great to know.”
Tom shook his head, “I did not say that. I said the ships are good and the captains fair, but they will not hesitate to take advantage of you. However, they will not cheat you, either.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
Her genuine puzzlement gave pause to Tom. He chose his words carefully, as far as Anna could tell. “Driving a hard business bargain is expected and demanded in their jobs. Cheating is different. They may not give you the best price on a voyage, but they will not go into your cabin and steal your property. Nor will they permit it.”
“Which of them is the cheapest?”
Tom held up his mug for a refill before saying, “Now that is the question, isn’t it? There are a lot of ‘depends’ you have to know if you want a true price.”
“Depends?” I don’t know what those are, Anna admitted.
“Well then, let me explain cheap. Let’s pretend that tall skipper at the end gives you a price of five coppers to sail to Fleming. The man next to him will charge you four. Which is cheaper?”
“That’s silly. The one that charges four coppers.”
“Now comes the ‘depends’ you have to worry about. Suppose the one you chose also charges three coppers for food unless you wish to supply your own. That first skipper includes meals with his five copper fare.”
“I see. The one that charged more is actually cheaper. The other might be cheaper—if you don’t want to eat. But that depends.”
Anna looked to Thief and realized he was listening to every word. She looked at Tom again. “The price depends on what I get for it?”
“Exactly. Cheaper does not always cost less. Now you’ve learned a lesson on how to survive in the real world. Tell me about yourselves.”
She had learned a valuable lesson, but here came the hard part. Tom was smart. Any lies or inconsistencies and he’d notice. Instead of answering his question, she held a hand in front of her mouth and asked, “Have you ever heard of Breslau?”
His jolly demeanor evaporated. “Speaking that word will get you killed in many parts of this land.”
“They’re coming here. The plan was to land troops in Shrewsbury, which is only a day or two sail to the north. From there they plan to spread out and conquer, which means Racine will fall to them within days.” Her voice was low but intense.
She returned to her upright position, a silly smile plastered on her face. A chance glance with the turn of her head found a face peering in from one of the windows. The eyes were centered on her before ducking out of sight. She’d seen the face earlier. On the street. There had been the shop where knives were displayed in the window. One knife caught her eye, and she’d turned quickly to examine the hilt closer, a design of gold vines growing from a silver handle.
He had been there, too. The same face, watching her. He seemed upset that she had seen him, and turned away and walked down an alley. Now that she recalled the incident, and recognizing him, the man moved like a warrior or soldier.
She checked the window again. “Thief, there was a man outside looking at us. He was maybe forty and strong. I saw him earlier, I think. Will you go outside and take a look? See if he’s watching us?”
Tom said, “Use the back door. Go through the kitchen. You’ll see it.”
Thief stood and moved without comment. He didn’t run or hurry but still managed to move quickly.
Tom said, “Expecting trouble?”
“Not really, but in a city this big, seeing the same man twice in one day gives me alarm.”
“Yet, you are seeing me for the second time today. And some might disagree that Racine is properly called a city.”
With her eyes shifting between the window and kitchen door, she said, “That’s different, and you know it. But his eyes were on me.”
“You may remind him of his daughter. There are many possible explanations. That is, unless you are not the innocent one you portray.”
How had he figured that out? She said in her little girl voice, “I am innocent.”
“No, there is more to you than you allow people to see. The questions you asked told me that, let alone mentioning the place we will not speak of again.”
She’d been repeatedly warned that she should never ask questions because others figured out intentions from those questions. The mere mention of Breslau had put Tom on edge, yet he appeared to be a retired seaman and little else, other than the captains at the Inn respected him. In the future, she would ask fewer questions, and if she did, they would be more indirect.
Thief stumbled into the doorway and braced himself by leaning on the doorjamb before shuffling ahead. His face was bleeding and his clothing askew. Anna leaped to her feet and helped him to his seat, despite all the eyes in the room watching.
“What happened?” she hissed.
Thief made a little shake of his head. “He waited at the door. He grabbed me.”
At his pause, she asked, “Then what?”
“Threw me down.”
“That’s all?”
“He pulled up my shirt.”
That told it all or almost all. Someone suspected they were Dragon Clan. How? She reviewed each action since their arrival and could find nothing that might indicate her origin. Did they inspect every new arrival? Were they agents of Breslau? Were they that concerned? If they were, did that mean the invasion was imminent?”
A hundred other questions crossed her mind, and when she managed to bring herself back to the present, Tom was watching her oddly. She said, “I’m sorry. The attack on Thief upset me. Strange welcome to your city.”
“Strange indeed. Even stranger is that you seemed more upset that someone looked at your brother’s back than him being attacked or followed.”
Damn. “I was just trying to think of why he would be attacked. We have little money and nothing of value. I guess my mind was off somewhere else.”
Tom didn’t smile or even try to hide his thoughts. “Somewhere far away, as if you were on the other side of an ocean.”
She watched him stand and walk to the door without thanking her for the ale or even saying good evening. He just walked out, and the door closed firmly behind him. Other eyes were still watching, and they had noticed Tom’s abrupt departure also. The scowls were not as friendly as they had been.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Anna placed the copper coins on the table to pay for the room and food at the Anchor Inn, also leaving a thin copper for the woman who served them, and said to Thief, “We need to get to sleep. Big day tomorrow.”
Thief had mostly recovered from the attack in the alley and reached for his backpack. Anna took hers, and they went through the door at the back of the room and up the stairs. At the top, doors lined one side of the narrow hallway. The doors had no handles, only wooden latches.
In their room were four beds, one in each corn
er with a clear space in the center for changing and a chest for storage. Remembering what she had been told to do, she immediately shoved one bed to block the door and motioned for Thief to sleep in it. A table under a small window held a vase and a single red flower of a kind she didn’t’ recognize. It looked forlorn, although she suspected it was intended to dress up the room.
The table also held a pitcher of water, a bowl for washing, one candle, and holder, and under it stood a covered chamber pot on a small shelf. She moved the flower aside and peeked outside. People moved about on the street, but not as many as she expected. With the darkness came few reasons to be out. Stores were closed, all but the Inn and saloons serving sailors closer to the ships. Beyond that, she saw no reason to roam the streets of a quiet small town.
She shifted to the other side of the window and looked out at the street in the other direction. A woman paced at a corner and called to any men passing. Two sailors stumbled past her but kept on walking. A man carried a package and hurried as if he wanted to get off the street as fast as possible, but she did not see the warrior who had been at the window of the inn.
Thief stood in the center of the room, watching her. When she noticed him, she said, “Get into your bed.”
The beds were homemade cots, frames of hardwood with canvas stretched between rails. He removed the belt with his knife and unrolled his blanket. He removed the knife from the sheath and pulled his blanket over himself, his hand holding the knife, then he turned his face away, which was looking at the door.
Anna glanced at her pack and remembered she’d cut her blanket into strips to wash the wounds of the dragons, as well as them. Tomorrow she would find where to buy another, and a ground sheet. The damp had seeped into her blanket one time too many. Inside her pack, she found a heavy wool shirt that she used as a coat. Folded, it made an acceptable pillow, but before laying on the cot she looked outside again, searching for the man who lifted Thief’s shirt.
