character than simple prettiness.
She gazed dispassionately down on the body of her former Lord for several long moments. And Tarma longed to know what was going on in her head.
'I'm afraid I have to agree with your assessment on all counts, Shin'a'in,' she replied. 'I shan't miss him, poor man. Neither will anyone else, to be frank. But this puts us all in a rather delicate position. I appreciate that you could have fled. I appreciate that you didn't--'
'No chance,' Kethry answered, without elaborating. She'd signaled to her partner that her damned ensorcelled blade had flared up at her the heartbeat after Lord Gorley breathed his last. Plainly his Lady would be in danger from his death. Just as plainly, Need expected them to do something about this.
'Well.' Lady Gorley turned away from the body as a thing of no importance, and faced Tarma. 'Let me explain a little something. In the past several years Kendrik has been more and more addicted to the bottle, and less and less capable. The Viden-folk took to bringing me their business, and when Kendrik hired that gang of his and began extracting money from them, I began returning it as soon as it went into the treasury. No one was hurt, and no one was the wiser.'
'What about--' Tarma coughed politely. 'Begging your pardon milady, but that kind of scum generally is bothersome to young women--'
She smiled thinly. 'The men satisfied their lust without rapine -- Kendrik knew I wouldn't stand for that, and I was the one who saw to his comforts. One week of doing without proper food and without his wine taught him to respect my wishes in that, at least. And the one time Kendrik took it into his head to abscond with a Viden-girl -- well, let us just say that his capabilities were not equal to his memories. I smuggled the girl out of his bed and back to her parents as virgin as she'd left.'
'So that's why--'
'Why none of us cared to see things disturbed,' the innkeeper put in, nodding so hard Tarma thought his head was going to come off. 'Things was all right -- we'd warn travelers, and if they chose to disregard the warnings--' he shrugged. '--sheep was meant to be sheared, they say, and fools meant to share the same fate.'
'So what's the problem?' Tarma asked, then realized in the next breath what the problem was. 'Ah -- the bullyboys. Without Kendrik to pay 'em and to keep his hand on 'em--'
Lady Gorley nodded. 'Exactly. They won't heed me. I would be in as much danger from them as my people. We're farm and tradesfolk here; we would be easy prey for them. It will be bad if I keep them, and worse if I discharge them.'
Tarma pursed her lips thoughtfully. 'Your respect, Lady, but I've got no wish to take on a couple dozen bad cases with just me and my partner and less than a day to take them out. But maybe if we put our heads together--'
'You've got until moonrise,' Lady Gorley said, handing a pouch up to Tarma that chinked as she looked inside before stowing it away in her saddlebag. Light streaming from the back door of the inn gave Tarma enough illumination to see that more than half the coins were gold. 'That is really all the time we can give you. And I'm sorry I didn't have much to pay you for your discomfort.'
'It'll be enough,' Tarma assured her. 'Now -- you've got it all straight -- at moonrise you raise the hue and cry after us; you offer fifty gold to the man who brings back our heads, and you turn the lads loose. They're going to hear the word 'gold' and they won't even stop to think -- they'll just head out after us. You do realize this is going to cost you in horses -- they'll take every good mount in your stables.'
Lady Gorley shrugged. 'That can't be helped, and better horses than lives. But can you lay a trail that will keep them following without getting caught yourselves?'
Tarma laughed. 'You ask a Shin'a'in if she can lay a trail? No fear. By the time they get tired of following -- those that I don't lose once their horses founder -- they'll have had second and third thoughts about coming back to Viden. They'll know that you'll never keep them on. They'll think about the kings' men you've likely called in -- and the good armsmen of your neighbors. And they'll be so far from here that they'll give it all up as a bad cause.'
The innkeeper nodded. 'She's right. Lady. They drifted in; they drift out just the same with no easy pickings in sight.'
'What about that little rhymester?' Tarma asked, nodding back at the tavern door. They hadn't noticed the minstrel trying to make himself a part of the wall until it was too late to do anything about him.
'I'll keep him locked up until it's safe to let him go,' the innkeeper replied. 'If I know musickers, he'll have a long gullet for wine. I'll just keep him too happy to move.'
'Very well -- and the gods go with you,' Lady Gorley said, stepping away from the horses.
'Well, Greeneyes,' Tarma smiled crookedly at her partner.
Kethry sighed, and smiled back. 'All right, I'll geas them. But dammit, that means we won't be seeing beds for months!'
