Devi set the lamp back on the table next to my book and took a slow breath through her nose. “A book that’s only valuable to you,” she said. “And a lamp that’s only valuable to Kilvin.” She shook her head. “This is not an appealing offer.”
I felt a pang as I reached to my shoulder and unclasped my talent pipes and slid them onto the table as well. “Those are silver,” I said. “And hard to come by. They’ll get you into the Eolian free, too.”
“I know what they are.” Devi picked them up and looked them over with a sharp eye. Then she pointed. “You had a ring.”
I froze. “That’s not mine to give.”
Devi laughed. “It’s in your pocket, isn’t it?” She snapped her fingers. “Come now. Let me see it.”
I brought it out of my pocket, but I didn’t hand it over. “I went through a lot of trouble for this,” I said. “It’s the ring Ambrose took from a friend of mine. I’m just waiting to return it to her.”
Devi sat silently, her hand outstretched. After a moment I put the ring onto her palm.
She held it close to the lamp and leaned forward, squinting one eye closed on her pixie face. “That’s a nice stone,” she said appreciatively.
“The setting’s new,” I said miserably.
Devi set the ring carefully on top of the book next to my pipes and hand lamp. “Here is the deal,” she said. “I will keep these items as collateral against your current debt of nine talents. This will last for the space of one year.”
“A year and a day,” I said.
A smile curved the corner of her mouth. “How storybook of you. Very well. This will postpone your repayment for a year and a day. If you have not repaid me by the end of that time, these items will be forfeit, and our debt will be cleared.” Her smile went sharp. “Though I may be persuaded to return them in exchange for certain information.”
I heard the belling tower in the distance and gave a deep sigh. I didn’t have much time for bargaining, as I was already late for my meeting with Threpe. “Fine,” I said, irritated. “But the ring will be kept somewhere safe. You can’t wear it until I’ve defaulted.”
Devi frowned. “You don’t—”
“I am not movable on this point,” I said seriously. “It belongs to a friend. It is precious to her. I would not have her see it on someone else’s hand. Not after everything I did to get it back from Ambrose.”
Devi said nothing, her pixie face set in a grim expression. I put on my own grim expression and met her eye. I do a good grim expression when I need to.
A long moment of silence stretched between us.
“Fine!” she said at last.
We shook hands. “A year and a day,” I said.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
All Wise Men Fear
I stopped by the Eolian where Threpe was waiting for me, practically dancing with impatience. He had, he told me, found a boat heading downriver in less than an hour. What’s more, he had already paid my way as far as Tarbean, where I should easily be able to find passage east.
The two of us hurried to the docks, arriving just as the ship was going through its final preparations. Threpe, red-faced and puffing from our brisk walk, hurried to give me a lifetime’s worth of advice in the space of three minutes.
“The Maer is old, old blood,” he said. “Not like most of the little nobility around these parts who can’t tell you who their great-grandfathers are. So treat him with respect.”
I rolled my eyes. Why did everyone always expect me to behave so poorly?
“And remember,” he said. “If you look like you’re chasing money, they’ll see you as provincial. As soon as that happens no one will take you seriously. You’re there to curry favor. That’s the high-stakes game. Besides, fortune follows favor, as they say. If you get one, you’ll have the other. It’s like what Teccam wrote, ‘The cost of a loaf is a simple thing, and so a loaf is often sought . . .’ ”
“ ‘. . . but some things are past valuing: laughter, land, and love are never bought.’ ” I finished. It was actually a quote from Gregan the Lesser, but I didn’t bother correcting him.
“Hoy there!” a tan, bearded man shouted to us from the deck of the ship. “We got one straggler we’re waitin’ on, and Captain’s angry as an ugly whore. He swears he’ll leave if he ain’t here in two minutes. You’d do well to be aboard by then.” He wandered off without waiting for a reply.
“Address him as your grace,” Threpe continued as if we hadn’t been interrupted. “And remember: speak least if you would be most often heard. Oh!” He drew a sealed letter from his breast pocket. “Here’s your letter of introduction. I may send another copy by post, just so he knows to expect you.”
I gave him a broad smile and gripped his arm. “Thank you, Denn,” I said earnestly. “For everything. I appreciate all of this more than you know.”
Threpe waved the comment aside. “I know you’ll do splendidly. You’re a clever boy. Mind that you find a good tailor when you get there. The fashions will be different. As they say: know a lady by her manner, a man by his cloth.”
I knelt and opened up my lute case. Moving the lute aside, I pressed the lid of the secret compartment and twisted it open. I slid Threpe’s sealed letter inside, where it joined the hollow horn with Nina’s drawing and a small sack of dried apple I had stowed there. There was nothing special about the dried apple, but in my opinion if you have a secret compartment in your lute case and don’t use it to hide things, there is something terribly, terribly wrong with you.
I snapped the clasps closed, refastening the lid, then stood and gathered up my belongings, ready to board the ship.
Threpe gripped my shoulder suddenly. “I almost forgot! Alveron mentioned in one of his letters that the young people in his court gamble. He thinks it’s a deplorable habit, so stay clear of it. And remember, small thaws make great floods, so be twice wary of a slowly changing season.”
I saw someone running down the dock toward us. It was the pinch-faced man who had passed Elodin and me on Stonebridge earlier. He carried a cloth-wrapped package close under one arm.
“I’m guessing that’s their missing sailor,” I said quickly. “I’d better get aboard.” I gave Threpe a quick embrace and tried to get away before he could give me any more advice.
But he caught my sleeve as I turned. “Be careful on your way there,” he said, his expression anxious. “Remember: There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
The sailor passed us and hit the gangplank running, unmindful of how the board jounced and clattered under his feet. I gave Threpe a reassuring smile and followed close on his heels. Two leathery men hauled up the plank, and I returned Threpe’s final wave.
Orders were shouted, men scrambled, and the ship began to move. I turned to face downriver, toward Tarbean, toward the sea.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
A Brief Journey
My route was a simple one. I would head downriver to Tarbean, through the Refting Strait, down the coast toward Junpui, then up the Arrand River. It was more roundabout than going overland, but better in the long run. Even if I were to purchase a post letter and change horses at every opportunity, it would still take me almost three span to reach Severen overland. And most of that time would be in southern Atur and the Small Kingdoms. Only priests and fools expected the roads in that part of the world to be safe.
