“Now, how do you feel? Better, I’d hope.” Alcesa sat in a large rocker, sipping from a mug of hot tea.
Tessa nodded and sipped from her own mug. The room was full of earth colors, the lamps illuminating a secure, warmly appointed place. “Yes, thank you very much. You and . . .Varian.”
Alcesa smiled at the mention of the man’s name. “Yes, of course, Varian.”
“You’ve known him a long time?”
“Like a son. I first met him when he was still in his teen years. He was a cabin boy, then. Full of cum and vinegar, he was too. He started staying here whenever he put in at Eleusynnia. He’s what you might call the son I never had. . . .” Alcesa smiled, sipped her tea.
“Where’s he now? Will he be back soon? What’s he going to do with me?”
“So many questions! Are you in some kind of trouble, young Tessa? Midnight’s no time to be taking a swim in our harbor.”
“You answer mine with a question of your own.” Tessa paused, pulling her hair away from the side of her face. “He—Varian—he never even asked me anything. He just . . . took care of me.”
“There aren’t many men like Varian,” said Alcesa. “He’s a special one, all right.”
“I’m beginning to think so. . . .” Tessa stared off toward the door where the strange, but gentle, man had exited almost an hour ago. She wondered when he would return and what she would say to him. She wanted to tell this kind old woman what had happened to her, but she feared that it would sound so melodramatic, contrived perhaps. And yet it was true.
She sat staring at the fire, watching the ever-changing weave of the flames, and she became lost in her memories, in the pain and the indignity which had plagued her for most of her years. There was a part of her which wanted to believe that maybe it could be over now that this Varian Hamer, the legendary knight in white armor, had entered her life. But there was something deeper in her soul, a burning distrust and perhaps even a hatred of all of them. All men. It seemed that there was not one among them who was not driven, motivated, or at least influenced by that thing between his legs.
The door opened and she tensed in her chair, almost afraid to look toward the foyer, where he stood. He paused to hang up his cloak and unbuckle his weapons belt, hanging it over a chair in the hallway. He tried to smile as he entered the room.
“Where’ve you been?” asked Alcesa. “Our new guest has been worrying over you.”
“She should worry about herself. I’ve been out tracking down the ID’s of those bastards that were after you.”
“You could have simply asked me. I would have told you who they were.” Tessa’s voice cracked and she felt ashamed.
“And I might not have been able to believe you,” said Varian. “This way, I am convinced. By the way, you’ll not have to worry about anybody looking for you from The Silver Girl. . . .”
“Why not?” Tessa felt tense at the mere mention of the ship’s name.
“I’ve got some friends at the Port Authority. You’re listed as killed during a mishap at sea. Along with the fellows that were ‘escorting’ you in the longboat.” Varian smiled and sat down by the fire. “How about some coffee, Alcesa?”
The large woman, smiling, sprang to her feet. “For you, my Varian, anything!” and she laughed as she glided effortlessly into the kitchen.
In a moment she returned with a large glass stein filled with a rich black liquid. The steam eddied and rolled up from its surface as Varian put it to his lips and drank a large mouthful. “It’s a cold night. Cooler than I’d thought. You’re lucky I was walking down by the docks,” he said to Tessa.
“You do that often. Walk alone down there?”
“No, but tonight I was thinking about something. About an odd . . . ‘man’ I met before sailing out of Mentor. I haven’t been able to get the fellow’s words out of my head since I met him. Walking down by the water lets me think more clearly.”
Tessa did not speak for a few minutes and no one else did either. She watched the man as he sat in the large chair, drinking from the large stein. He was not a huge man, but he gave the impression of being larger than he was because of his whole bearing, his whole way of moving and talking. He was a leader, a thinker, a true anomaly in a world which seemed to have a distinct lack of either of the above. She let her thoughts wander into other areas that were vitally important to her and was thus caught off guard when he spoke to her.
“What’s the matter? What’re you thinking about?”
“Oh, I was wondering what was going to happen to me now. . . .” She hated herself for saying it. It made her sound so damned helpless, so much the woman-in-distress. Gods, she hated that image!
“Can you fight?”
“Fight?”
“Are you trained in any weapons?” Varian’s expression was serious. He was not the kind of man who enjoyed mockery.
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“Any sailing experience? Know how to rig a line?”
Tessa laughed. “No, of course not. Eyck is not a country known for its maritime endeavors.”
Varian shrugged. “It’s not known for much of anything.”
“Now you’re getting the picture. I’m not trained for much of anything. I was in school for a while, studying to be an interpreter. . .
