Ordermaster (58 page)

"Think I'd pay a clipped copper for that?" The woman snorted.

   
"For a friend. Jeka helped him, and he said you helped her. He said that you'd been through hard times. You lost your sister. Everyone thought she drowned in the harbor. Jeka told my friend that she almost drowned as a child. She was afraid of water, and wouldn't go near it."

"What do you want?"

 
  
"I want to give you a position in my house, as a helper to the cook and as a server for dinners. I'll pay you well, maybe not so much as you get at the White Pony, but you'll keep every copper, and you'll have a room of your own in a place where Egen won't find you. Even if he did, he'd have to cross his father and his brother to hurt you."

"He would? How's that?"

   
"I'm the Austran envoy here in Brysta. I've been here less than two eightdays."

"Sure..."

   
Kharl sighed. "Do you think that I'd go to the White Pony, and climb over Tenderer's walls just to find someone for bed? Besides, you need a bath."

   
Abruptly, Enelya laughed, if softly. After a moment, she said, "How are you going to get me to your place safe-like?"

   
Kharl gestured to the wall. "I have three guards and my secretary waiting to see if you'll accept the offer."

There was a long sigh. "Guess I've got little choice."

   
"Ah . .. the knife ..." Kharl said. "If you want to keep it, then you go over the wall first."

"I'll keep it."

   
Kharl stepped back until he was almost against the stone wall. "Then you may go first."

Enelya nodded, then nimbly climbed the wall.

   
Kharl followed, half-amazed that the woman was waiting in the ser-viceway when he descended. Then, the four men had stepped back.

   
"This is Enelya. I've offered her a position as a retainer at the residence. You're not to mention her name to anyone except to people in the house."

"Yes, ser."

   
Kharl, his order-senses half on Enelya, led the way back to the residence. He did make one detour, to avoid another set of patrollers, but in half a glass, they stood in the back hall of the residence as Kharl rang the bell for Fundal.

   
The steward appeared, dressed in his trousers and boots, and in a hastily donned tunic.

Fundal looked from Kharl to the bedraggled Enelya. "Ser?"

   
"This is Enelya. She's going to help Khelaya ... and you, when she's not working in the kitchen. She has some experience serving, but it's mostly in taverns."

"Ah ... ser," stammered the steward.

   
"It's not like that," Kharl snapped. "She once helped someone I knew. Someone I owe a lot to. There's a man after her who'd kill her if he could. I'm paying a debt, and I don't want a word about her going out of the residence. It does, and you go with it." Kharl's last words were cold.

Fundal took a step backward and swallowed.

   
"She'll need some better clothes, but I imagine Khelaya can help with that, and she's to have something to eat and a chance to clean up."

   
"Ah ..." Fundal kept glancing from the woman to Kharl, then back to Enelya.

"Fundal..." Kharl sighed.

   
"You seen what's happening to women here?" asked Demyst, glaring at the steward.

Surprised by the undercaptain's statement, Kharl glanced at Demyst.

   
"I have," came another voice-Khelaya's. The cook stepped into the foyer. She nodded to Kharl. "Begging your pardon, Lord Kharl, but I was

checking the marinade." Her eyes went to Enelya. Her voice softened. "You need a bath, woman, and some clean clothes. We'll take care of you." She looked back toward the men. "There won't be any words out of the kitchen, and it's about time we got more help around here, ser, especially if you want functions."

Kharl suppressed a grin.

   
Khelaya looked at Kharl. "Lord Kharl... best you lay out that set of garments for cleaning. Look like you've been crawling through alleys."

"We have," Kharl replied. "And I will."

   
He was smiling as he headed upstairs. He only hoped that Enelya would realize that she was safer in the residence than anywhere else.

LXVIII

JXharl woke on fiveday to a gray drizzle outside his open windows. The air was so warm that he was covered in sweat, even though he had thrown off the light sheet sometime in the night. He struggled to his feet and to the bath chamber. There, after shaving, he splashed his face with cool water, knowing that the relief would be momentary and the afternoon would be even steamier.

   
Had Enelya stayed or sneaked off? He'd already decided that he would not pursue her if she had. One chance was enough. Still... he wondered what she really felt.

   
After dressing, but not with either waistcoat or jacket, he slipped down the back stairs to the kitchen, using his sight shield to conceal himself. There, in the rear washroom, off the kitchen, Enelya was scrubbing something, actually humming to herself. She wore a faded maroon shirt and gray trousers. Her dark hair was tied back.

   
Khelaya moved to the door, less than a rod from where Kharl observed through his order-senses. For a moment, she stood watching the younger woman, unaware of the concealed mage. Then she cleared her throat. "How's that coming?"

   
"Need more pumice, but it'll be clean. Hasn't been in a while, looks like."

   
"Way it ought to be, but never have enough people here to do things right." Khelaya snorted. "You stay here, and you'll be a big help. Don't really have enough retainers here for a proper envoy's residence. Lucky we are that Lord Kharl's a practical sort."

"Lord Kharl. .. that was Lord Kharl that found me?"

"Large as life."

"He's really the envoy from Austra?"

   
"Don't know of none other. Good enough sort, but don't mess with him. Set Fundal right about who had the best goods. I'd been telling Fundal that for years. Never listened to me. Lord Kharl had him straightened out in less 'n day."

"What kind of lord is he?"

   
"Can't rightly say. He's Lord Kharl of Cantyl, and he did a lot for Lord Ghrant when some of the lords rebelled. He's some sort of advocate or something, too. Say he was an officer on a trading ship when he was younger."

"I wonder..."

"What's that?"

   
"He knew about me. He said that he was paying back a favor because I'd been good to someone else. But... he knew where I was."

"He just showed up where you were hiding?" asked Khelaya.

"Like he knew all about it."

"Someone musta told him. Do you know who?"

   
"I'm not sure ... there was an old man, a beggar ... he was with a girl I grew up with in Sagana ... I was hiding where she'd been. She got a better place here in Brysta. Never said how ... Told me not to say where. Haven't. Won't."

"I'm not askin'," Khelaya said with a laugh.

   
Behind his sight shield, Kharl winced. Old man? Maybe he'd just looked that way when he'd been hiding from Egen while he had been waiting for the Seastag to return to Brysta.

"Tellin' you like it is."

   
"Just count yourself fortunate." Khelaya sniffed. "Sun doesn't always shine down the alleys." After a moment, she added, "There's more pumice in the storeroom. You can get it."

Enelya rose from beside the scrubbing tub. "I'll be right back."

   
Kharl slipped away and up the rear stairs before releasing the sight shield. Then he made his way down the main staircase and to the breakfast room. Old man?

   
He had barely seated himself before both Fundal and Khelaya entered the breakfast nook, almost behind Kharl.

"Lord Kharl, ser?" began the steward.

"Yes?"

"About Enelya, ser?" asked Fundal. "You never said ..."

   
Kharl studied the two. Fundal shifted his weight from boot to boot. Khelaya wore a faint smile above the batter-stained apron.

   
"How much to pay her?" Kharl frowned. "Isn't there a standard wage for servers? Or wasn't there?"

   
"Last one we had was Chovara," Khelaya said. "She got a silver an eightday. That was two seasons back, though."

   
Kharl reflected. Khelaya received three silvers an eightday, as well as a large room in the rear quarters. "She's getting a room and food."

"Better than she had," said Fundal.

   
"She needs better clothes," added Khelaya, "if you want her to serve at functions."

"What do you two think?" Kharl nodded at Fundal.

"Silver an eightday."

"Silver and three," suggested Khelaya.

   
"How about a silver and two?" Kharl said. "But she gets three silvers for better clothes. Just this one time."

The two exchanged glances. Then both nodded.

   
"Why don't you both tell her?" Kharl paused, then added, "I checked the ledgers. You've both been paid the same amount for over two years. Isn't that right?"

"Yes, ser."

   
"Starting this eightday, you each get more. A silver an eightday more. Each. For now." Both smiled.

   
"And you can promise Enelya that she can look forward to more if you are both satisfied with her work."

"Yes, ser."

   
After Fundal had left, Kharl reminded himself that he also needed to raise Mantar's wages, but less than those of Khelaya and Fundal. From what he could see, Fundal and Khelaya were doing most of the work, although the steward did the dirty cleaning when he thought Kharl would not be needing him, something Kharl had become first aware of when he and Demyst had inspected the empty barracks spaces. He didn't know

about the gardener. He'd have to talk that over with Fundal and perhaps Mantar.

   
Khelaya returned with a platter of fresh egg toast and ham slices, and a small pitcher of redberry syrup. "Here you are, ser."

"Thank you." He paused. "Do you think she'll work out?"

"I'd say so, ser, but the proof's in the pie."

Kharl laughed softly. Wasn't that always so?

   
After breakfast, he ushered Erdyl into the study, closing the door behind him.

The secretary waited, a faintly quizzical look on his unlined face.

"Erdyl... I have another task for you."

"Ser?"

   
"The Tenderer's place we passed last night. .. there's a tannery just above it."

Erdyl's quizzical smile faded.

   
"My neighbor raises cattle and sheep. I'd like to know what the rates are for hides here. See if you can get an idea from the tanner."

"Ser?"

"You have cattle at Norbruel, don't you?"

"Well... yes, ser."

   
"Then use that, too. Complain that I don't know anything, if you have to, but see what you can find out, about how their prices are, about what they see in the city, but get them to talk about anything, the more the better. And see if he'll tell you anything about why the Tenderer's place is boarded up. I've never heard of anyone shutting down a Tenderer. Brysta doesn't feel right, but..." Kharl did not want to explain. "Keep your eyes open, for just about anything. Oh ... take Alynar or Cevor, but leave them outside and out of sight when you talk to the tanner. The tanner's name-I had it here somewhere ..." Kharl walked to the desk where he shuffled through the small stack of papers, before looking up. He hadn't looked, but didn't want Erdyl to know that. "Drenzel, that's it."

"You want me to do that now?"

   
"The sooner the better. I'm going over to the Hall of Justice for a while. I'd have you come with me, but it would be better if you and Alynar or Cevor rode."

"Yes, ser."

Kharl could sense that Erdyl was puzzled, but Kharl didn't want to

tell him much, not until he'd talked to Drenzel and reported back to Kharl.

   
Kharl had to wait half a glass before Mantar had the carriage ready, because he'd forgotten to tell anyone.

   
After a glass or so that morning in the Hall of Justice library, Kharl slipped back downstairs into the Hall, to hear several trials held by Lur-tedd, the other lord justicer, who, as he recalled, was supposed to be more closely tied to Overcaptain Osten. After two very long glasses in the hot Hall, when the second trial was completed, and one Astolan had been convicted of disturbing the peace-and sentenced to a season in the quarries-Kharl had come to two conclusions.