by Sharon Green
“And tonight I’ll feel ill enough to have a pair of serving girls watch me carefully throughout the night,” Eltrina murmured as she forced herself erect so that she might get herself the tea she really needed. “It will cost me more than a little silver to have them here to prove I never leave the room, but money is no problem at the moment. Beginning tomorrow, it will never be a problem again.”
That would have made her laugh if laughing hadn’t been so painful, but at least Eltrina could smile. She really did know the man she’d been married to, and Grall never advertised his problems to anyone who didn’t absolutely need to know. For that reason she’d taken a chance and gone to their bank, and had found that withdrawing money had been as easy as ever. The bankers knew nothing about the trouble between her and Grall, which meant he also hadn’t gotten around to divorcing her. When he was found dead tomorrow morning and no one was able to prove a charge of murder against her, she would inherit everything that had been his.
“And once his estate is mine, I’ll spend every copper of it in order to get even with those peasants—and with the Five,” Eltrina said, not shouting but no longer whispering. “What I went through was their fault, and I’m going to pay them all back. But those peasants aren’t available right now, so I’ll just have to start with the Five. Someone will know how to reach them, someone I can bribe to make sure I have my revenge. And it might even be a good idea to spread the word about how legitimate their Seating is … spreading it among the peasants, that is. I wonder what they’ll do if the entire city rises against them…”
That time Eltrina did laugh, but the pain was more than worth it.
CHAPTER SIX
“What do you mean, you won’t be coming back again until you have further word from your men?” Lady Hallina Mardimil snapped to the man Ravence, her patience completely gone. “I’m paying you gold to report to me, so you’ll report when I tell you to.”
“Making the trip to this house just to say that I haven’t heard anything more is a waste of my time,” the annoying little peasant countered, a dismissiveness in his tone that Hallina was growing to recognize—and detest. “I told you two days ago that my men believed the people with your son are heading for a place called Widdertown, where it’s assumed they’ll stay for a while. Whether the while is short or long depends on what their plans are, but if there’s an opportunity to reach your son, my men will take it. They won’t report again until they make the attempt or miss their chance, and that’s when I’ll be back.”
“You haven’t yet said anything about the men I asked you to find and hire,” Hallina pointed out, refusing to agree to his stance without an argument. “Since that matter is still pending, you have more to do than simply wait for a pigeon to deliver a message to you.”
“I believe I’ve already told you that the sort of men you want aren’t available through me,” Ravence replied, actually having the nerve to sigh. “My business is the confidential settling of private, personal matters, not the hiring of thugs. Even if the thugs are supposed to be ‘fearless and capable and adept at all forms of mayhem.’”
“Are you daring to mock me?” Hallina demanded, feeling her face grow warm with embarrassment at the thought. “For someone whose agents are preparing to abduct my son for me, peasant, you have much too high an opinion of yourself!”
“My men aren’t going to abduct your son, they’resimply going to return him here,” Ravence replied, not in the least disturbed. “If, after he speaks with you, he tries to leave again, they’ll do nothing to stop him. I happen to feel that a parent has the right to have one final word with his or her child before that child severs all relations, and for that reason I’m here right now. Otherwise I really would have been too busy to accommodate you.”
“I see,” Hallina responded, delighted that she hadn’t told this detestable peasant her true plans. Once Clarion was in her hands again and back under control of that drug, she’d make certain that he never found it possible to leave a second time … unless it became necessary to sacrifice him to save herself. “Well, in that case I won’t detain you. Your—very important business matters shouldn’t be kept waiting.”
“No, they shouldn’t,” he agreed as he rose, straightening the vest which covered part of his paunch. “As soon as I have any word, I’ll contact you again.”
Hallina sat in her chair and watched as the man bowed briefly and then left, now more than eager to see him go. She’d been counting on the man to find the … thugs, as he called them, for her, and he’d failed her. But she refused to give up the rest of her plans, the ones that would begin to take just vengeance on those horrible, ill-mannered children on the throne. She would simply have to find suitable tools elsewhere.
Thought of what the new Five had put her through this last time she spoke with them sent Hallina to her feet and pacing. She’d gone to the palace to pass on the information which Ravence had brought her two days ago, but rather than being admitted at once she’d been made to wait like a commoner. Then, when she’d finally been permitted into the august presences, her information had been thrown back in her face.
“We already know that your son and his friends are in the west, Lady Hallina,” that Kambil Arstin had said dismissively, giving her only a fraction of his attention. “You were supposed to provide information we don’t have.”
“The name of the place they’ll soon be is Widdertown,” Hallina had replied stiffly, biding her time while pretending not to be insulted. “Unless I’m mistaken, that is information you don’t already have.”
“Yes, you’reright, we weren’t told about that town,” the creature had replied, now looking straight at her. “The information may or may not do us any good, but you still have our thanks for providing it. And, if it should prove to be valuable, you’ll have more than simple thanks. Now you may leave us.”
Hallina had had no choice but to allow herself to be dismissed, something no one had ever dared to do to her before. She’d been determined even before that to teach those creatures a lesson, but after being treated like a peasant, the determination had become obsession. She wanted those five hurt, no matter what they were supposed to be capable of doing with their talent…
“If only those peasants I used the last time hadn’t dropped out of sight,” Hallina muttered as she went to the teacup she’d abandoned when Ravence had arrived. She spilled the cold tea into the pot near the service meant for that purpose, then poured a fresh cup. “Their efforts were more than satisfactory, but my agent feels I may have paid them too much. They’ve apparently gone off to enjoy all that silver, and probably won’t be available again until they’ve spent it all.”
But the man had promised to find others to take their place, so Hallina only had to wait until he did. She’d tried her hand at it by speaking to Ravence, but the fool of a peasant hadn’t even asked how much she was willing to pay. When peasants pretended to respectability, they were even more tiresome than usual…
A knock came at the sitting room door, and when Hallina gave her permission to enter, one of the servants appeared.
“Your pardon, Lady Hallina, but a note has been left for you,” the man said with a bow. “An urchin delivered it, and didn’t even wait to be tipped.”
“The child was probably too stupid to understand about tipping,” Hallina remarked, holding out her hand. “Give me the note.”
The servant did so and then retired, closing the door again behind him. Hallina put her cup aside to unseal the note, and when she saw its contents she was grimly pleased.
“Lady Hallina,” the note began. “That private matter we discussed has been partially arranged, all but the very last of it. The men are exactly what you’relooking for and are prepared to guarantee results, but insist on a face to face meeting with my principal. I recommend going through with the meeting, as you’reunlikely to find others as qualified as these three. If you agree, you’reto meet them at The Glowflower Inn at ten tonight. Wear a cloak with a hood so th
at your face will be covered, as there may well be those at the Glowflower who can recognize you. Until we meet again, I remain, your servant, R.”
Hallina was quite put out over the necessity for a meeting with the ruffians she had simply expected to pay, and almost decided against lowering herself to the point of meeting them where they demanded she go. Then the thought came that ruffians of the lowest class would hardly know about the Glowflower, which was an inn frequented by those of her class. So her agent had arranged the place for the meeting, guarding her standing as he usually did. Very well, then, she would go. In a cause as good as this one, a small bit of inconvenience was best ignored.
Hallina dined as usual that night, the service of her household being a bit better than usual after the small difficulty of the day before. One of the kitchen girls had given her a dirty plate, and when Hallina had attempted to discipline her over the matter by docking her pay, the slut had dared to suggest that it was Hallina herself who had dirtied the plate. The cheeky little animal had pointed to the warmed rolls, claiming that one was missing, and that meant Hallina had eaten it. More, the little tart had claimed that the crumbs on the plate came from Hallina’s having set the roll there, not from her having been given a dirty plate.
Insubordination of that sort simply couldn’t be tolerated, so Hallina had given the girl the choice she usually gave erring servants. The girl would be beaten for daring to talk back, of course, and then she would be dismissed. But, if the girl begged nicely enough, Hallina would order her to be beaten twice as hard and she would not be dismissed. The choice had been the little peasant’s to make, but Hallina had known which way she would choose. Whenever possible, Hallina hired servants who had families which depended on them. That made them more than a little eager to keep their positions, which in turn produced higher quality service.
The girl hadn’t wanted to beg, Hallina recalled with a smile as she helped herself to a buttered roll, and the slut had actually choked on the words while doing so. Hallina had made her repeat those words three times, an abject begging of her mistress for a beating twice as hard as the one she’d originally been meant to have, and then Hallina had granted her petition. Hafner had been brought from the stables to do the honors, and the simpleton had done his usual, thorough job. The cheeky little slut’s screams had been quite enjoyable, and by the time Hafner had finished with her she was no longer in the least cheeky.
Hallina lost herself in pleasant thoughts of scenes like that while she finished her meal, and then she went to the library to sip sherry while her resident harpist played for a while. The music was quite relaxing, but rather than go to bed after listening to it, Hallina went to her apartment and let her maid dress her for going out. Annoyance over having to go out made Hallina short with all the servants, but she expected to be back rather quickly. She would tell those ruffians what she wanted of them, they would tell her their price, and then the negotiations would be concluded.
Her carriage driver had no trouble finding the inn, even though Hallina had only been to it once before. Quite a lot of her peers did frequent the place rather often, but most of them weren’t really members of her circle of friends. They were the sort who flitted about the fringes of true people of quality, having no idea how to join them, half the time not even making the effort. But they did belong to families with standing and power, so they had to be dismissed with a smile rather than with a stiffly turned shoulder. It would never do to insult the wrong person…
An inn servant helped Hallina from her carriage, making no effort to see her face under the deliberately draped hood of her cloak. The carriage was an unmarked one, of course, a precaution Hallina would have taken no matter the circumstances. Those ruffians might have decided to learn who she was in order to demand gold from her for keeping silent, but she would quickly disabuse them of that notion. They would not know who she was, only that she was completely willing to hire others to kill them as easily as she hired them to see to her required chore. Once they understood that they were really at her mercy, the negotiations would go a good deal more smoothly.
Hallina walked through the door held open by the inn servant, then had to pause in mid stride. She had no idea how to find the men she was to meet, as her agent’s letter had provided no details. It was infuriating that the thought hadn’t occurred to her sooner, as now she would certainly have to turn around and go home with nothing to show for the time she’d spent—
“Good evening, my lady, and please come this way,” a girl’s voice said from Hallina’s right, startling her. Hallina turned to see an inn servant, but one who was dressed a bit better than the average. The female could well be a hostess for the gaming it was said the inn sometimes provided, and that annoyed Hallina even more.
“I haven’t come for your foolish gaming,” she snapped, making only a small effort to keep her voice down and her face in the shadow of her hood. “I’m here for another reason entirely, so stop—”
“Yes, my lady, I’m well aware of that,” the snip had the nerve to interrupt, although she did do it rather gently. “You’ve come to meet with three gentlemen, and they’renow awaiting your pleasure. If you’ll be so good as to follow me, I’ll take you to the rooms they’ve reserved.”
“Just a moment,” Hallina said, stopping the female in her tracks. “How do you know that I’m the one the three … gentlemen are waiting for?”
“I was instructed to look for a regal but unattended lady, one who would be wearing a cloak and hood,” the girl responded with modestly downcast eyes. “Is it possible I’ve mistaken you for someone else?”
“Regal,” Hallina murmured, a good deal more than pleased. Then she raised her voice to add, “No, my girl, you aren’t mistaken. Lead me to the place I’m awaited.”
The girl curtsied slowly and properly, then began to walk again. Rather than going directly to the main stairs, the girl led Hallina through a long corridor of a hall before they reached a second staircase. This time they went up, and then turned right. The silence all around was unbroken by anything save the soft shushing of their shoes on the carpeting, dim lamplight creating small pockets of shadow along the way. The upper hall was wider than the lower one had been, and they walked past a number of closed doors before they reached the one at the very end.
“This knock will announce your presence, my lady,” the girl said as she rapped a bit on the door. “Should you or the gentlemen require anything, the room’s bellpull will summon a servant.”
The girl performed a second, faster curtsey, then she began to return the way they’d come. Hallina was just as pleased to be rid of her, especially since the door was being opened. Now another knock would not be necessary, nor would the girl have the men’s faces to forget. But as for that part of it, the men’s faces, that is, Hallina needn’t have worried. The man who opened the door widely enough for her to enter wore a leather and silk privacy mask. No wonder the girl had thought them gentlemen…
The room Hallina entered was furnished rather better than the average inn sitting room, the decor obviously expensive but properly subdued. The other two men in it were just as large as the one who had opened the door, and they also wore distinctive privacy masks. The two rose when she entered, actually giving the impression that they were, indeed, gentlemen rather than ruffians, but Hallina wasn’t fooled.
“I detest spending my time among rabble, so we will make this meeting extremely brief,” she announced once the door was closed behind her, stopping in the middle of the room. “I will tell you the results I’m after, and you may name your price.”
“All right, Lady, we’relistening,” one of the two who had risen from a couch agreed, and oddly enough there was quiet amusement in his voice. “Go ahead and tell us what you’relooking for in the way of results.”
“I want our precious Five taught a lesson in manners,” Hallina obliged, ignoring the possible amusement. “It’s true that they’restrongly talented, but in all other ways they’rejust ordinary hu
man beings. You will hire other men to assist you and you will enter the palace unobserved, and then you will separate and render each member of the Five quickly unconscious. At that point their talent will be useless, so you will proceed to beat them so badly that they will need to be carried to bed when they awaken. I don’t want them slain, you understand, merely punished.”
“That’s rather odd,” the same man responded, scratching at the bottom part of his cheek with one finger. “There seems to be a plague of people wanting other people punished rather than slain these days. Is this a new style which has recently come into popular favor?”
“You weren’t told to be impertinent, you were told to quote a price!” Hallina replied sharply, disliking the peasant’s entire attitude. “As soon as we’ve agreed on that our business will be finished and I’ll be able to leave, so get on with it!”
“In the face of such gentle courtesy, how can I possibly refuse?” the man returned in what was almost a murmur, his amusement now clear and definite behind the insolence of his manner. “Our price for doing what you want done would be well beyond the ability of any mortal to pay, as what you ask is foolishly impossible and would mean our lives to attempt. Just because the Five are under constant guard doesn’t mean they need that guard to protect them, something anyone but a fool would know.”
“How dare you,” Hallina growled, entirely out of patience with the useless animal. “Trying to hide your own lack of courage behind pointless insult will get you nothing, not even a common farewell. As we have nothing more to talk about, I’ll simply take my leave.”
Hallina’s chin was as high as ever when she turned to march out of the room, but stopping short became necessary when she discovered the third man, the one who had opened the door, directly behind her. When the buffoon refused to step out of her way she tried herself to walk around him, but a single sideways shift brought him directly into her path again. That brought Hallina’s anger out in full force, and she whirled around to glare at the one who had done all the speaking.
