Rise of a Merchant Prince (39 page)

“Very. I don't even know what time we finished.”

Karli made a noncommittal sound as she spooned mashed vegetables into the mouth of the hungry child.

After a few minutes, Karli said, “I have something to tell you.”

Roo felt his chest tighten. He wondered for a panic-stricken moment if somehow she knew he had betrayed her, and then forced the thought aside. She hadn't suspected anything when he returned from Ravensburg after having tumbled Gwen, and he decided she had no reason to suspect anything now.
Calmly he said, “What is it?”

She said, “I wanted to tell you last night, but you were in such a rush . . .”

“What is it?” Roo repeated.

“We're going to have another baby.”

Roo looked at Karli and saw her eyes were searching his face, looking for a reaction. And he sensed she was fearful of what that reaction would be.

“Wonderful!” He forced himself to sound pleased. He stood, came around the table, and said, “This time a boy.” He kissed her cheek.

“Maybe,” Karli said softly.

Trying to sound jovial, Roo said, “It has to be a boy. Otherwise I'm going to have to have all the signs changed to ‘Avery and Daughters,' and wouldn't that be something to see?”

She smiled weakly. “If a son will make you happy, I hope it's a boy.”

He said, “If it's as wonderful a child as this one, then I'll be happy.”

Karli didn't look convinced, and as Roo started to leave the room, laying his half-drunk cup of coffee on the table, she said, “Aren't you going to eat?”

“No,” he said as he took down his coat from the peg on the wall next to the outer door, “I have to make straight for the office. I have an important letter to write, then I have to come back over here for a meeting at Barret's.”

Without waiting for her to say anything else, he left the house and Karli heard the door slam. She sighed as she attempted to keep most of the food going into the baby's mouth and not onto the floor.

Time passed and life took on a strange but steady tempo. Roo conspired to steal away to Sylvia once or twice a week, while spending a like number of nights each week with his business associates. There had been a horrible scene when she had claimed remorse because he was married, and he had to beg for weeks to get her to agree to see him again. She had at last relented when he had sent her a diamond and emerald necklace that had cost him more gold than he could have imagined only two years before. Sylvia finally admitted she loved him, and Roo had fallen into a routine of illicit love and lying to his wife.

His strengths as a businessman emerged quickly, and rarely did he enter into a bad bargain, and those few he did become enmeshed in created little financial hardship. Over the course of months the Bitter Sea Company grew and prospered.

Roo also learned how best to deploy the skills of those working for him. Duncan was most valuable at ferreting out rumors and keys to trading opportunities among the inns and taverns of the caravansaries and docks. Jason was proving adept at the single most confounding element of business to Roo, the management of funds. There was far more to being a merchant prince than merely buying and selling. Such odd concepts as cross-collateralization and mutually shared risk among non-members of the company, where best to invest gold not being used for purchases, and when to seek safety by simply letting the gold sit—all these were areas of knowledge where Jason showed an uncanny knack, while Roo could barely follow along. Six months after he first bedded Sylvia, Roo's company took control of a countinghouse and began its own banking.

Luis was proving to be a treasure to Roo. He could be as gentle with an angry woman customer as he could be merciless with the toughest teamster. Twice he had to prove to one of the more belligerent that even with one crippled hand he was more than able to enforce his orders.

Dash was the mystery to Roo. He seemed indifferent to any personal gain, but was pleased by the growth of the Bitter Sea Company as much as Roo was. It was as if he was serving the company for the sheer pleasure of seeing it thrive rather than to benefit himself. And upon occasion, he even contrived to involve his brother in some scheme or another. Between the two of them, Jimmy and Dash could be a formidable pair against whom Roo wouldn't wish to find himself pitted.

As Karli grew with what he hoped was his son, Roo felt life could hardly be better save for two sour notes: the continued existence of Tim Jacoby and the absence of his friends from the old days.

Roo sighed.

The baby squirmed in his arms as the priest droned through his incantations and poured scented oil on the baby's forehead. While he was thrilled at having a son, Roo decided that nothing would ever make the naming ceremony any more bearable.

“I name you Helmut Avery,” said the priest at last. Roo handed the child to Karli and kissed her upon the cheek. Then he kissed little Abigail, who was squirming in Mary's arms, and said, “I must rush to the office for a while, but I'll be home in two hours at the latest.”

Karli looked dubious, knowing as she did that her husband often worked impossibly long hours, sometimes throughout the night and the next day, before returning home. “We have guests coming,” she reminded him.

“I remember,” he said as his family left the temple. Walking down the steps, he left Karli behind, saying, “You take the carriage. I'll walk from here.”

Roo made his way along the streets until he was
clear of Temple Square, when he found a public carriage and hired it. Within minutes he was leaving the city, on the road for the Estherbrook estate. He wondered at his foul mood. Sylvia had become such a source of wonder for him that any anger or frustration was left behind. And for reasons he hadn't pursued, her father never seemed to be at home these days, so within minutes of his arrival for supper—or like today, a surprise midday visit—Sylvia would welcome him with open arms and quickly lead him upstairs. Roo was astonished and delighted to discover her appetites matched his own. Occasionally he wondered who had first taught a well-bred young lady like Sylvia so many inventive lovemaking tricks, but she had never volunteered anything of her past before meeting Roo, nor had she asked about his previous experiences.

As the carriage rolled into the Esterbrook estate, Roo realized the cause of his foul mood. Of those who attended Helmut's naming ceremony this day or who would attend the celebration that evening, the one Roo most wished could be there wasn't.

Erik signaled and the column of riders halted. By hand signs, the order to dismount was passed. Erik rode at the head of the column next to Miranda and Bobby de Loungville, while Calis and a man named Renaldo scouted ahead.

The boat had been beached at the location Calis had planned on, and the Captain had been visibly relieved when agents from the distant City of the Serpent River had appeared within days. News from the front was grim.

A great fleet was nearly half completed, and the
armies of the Emerald Queen now held total control of the continent, save the small region south of the Ratn'gary Mountains and some of the western coast. Otherwise, the reports were uniformly dreadful. The Emerald Queen's host was ravaging the entire continent. They were stripping the land of every resource as they sought to create the great fleet they needed to cross the ocean and invade the Kingdom. The deaths of thousands of slaves captured during the war were ignored.

Several minor rebellions among the host of former mercenaries had been crushed mercilessly, with the rebels publicly crucified or impaled before elements of the army. As further punishment, one man in a thousand had been selected by lot to die by being burned alive before his comrades, a further warning that any sign of disobedience would bring only utter destruction.

Erik had thought about the time every man in his squad was held accountable for the other five. Each member of the squad had effectively seen that no one failed, because it would have returned every one of them to the gallows.

The only good news in all of this for Calis's company was that the Emerald Queen's whole attention was turned to the immediate area around the City of the Serpent River, the city of Maharta, and the Riverlands. The area in which Calis and his company were to operate was almost devoid of any sign of her army.

Calis observed that that would probably cease to be the case as they neared their destination. Horses had been secured and brought to the boat. Local clothing had been exchanged for their Brijaner gear,
and six of Calis's agents took the Brijaner longship and moved it down the coast to a fishing village where they had made arrangements to hide it in a large drying shed until the time to escape came.

No one mentioned that few felt that possibility likely.

Now they were in the mountains, having moved through the foothills for a week, and had yet to encounter anything remotely dangerous. Erik had been one of those to flee the Saaur through the tunnels occupied by the Pantathians, and knew some of what they were likely to find, for once it had been determined that Calis's Eagles—whom the Pantathians thought to be only a rebel company of mercenaries—had entered the mountains, a full-scale Saaur occupation of the area had resulted. Erik knew only the bold deception in pretending to be one of the human companies replaced by the Saaur, and moving directly to the front, in the opposite direction from that which logic dictated they take, had saved them on that prior journey.

Renaldo ran up, and between pants reported to de Loungville. “The Captain's found a safe campsite and says we're done for the day.”

Erik glanced around and saw several hours of daylight were left. De Loungville saw the same thing and said, “We're close?”

Renaldo nodded. He pointed through the trees. “There's a ridge there, and from there you can see both the river gorge and the bridge. I take the Captain's word for the latter.”

Erik understood. Calis's vision was far more acute than any human's. But if they could see the gorge, they were but a day's ride from the bridge and
from there to the entrance to the mines, another day's ride. If they decided to abandon the horses, it would be an extra two-day march from the bridge to the caves.

Erik dismounted, feeling mixed emotions; if they rode, things would be easier on the men, but to abandon the horses near the mines was a death sentence for the mounts. They were unlikely to cross the bridge by themselves and on the other side there was no fodder. Some might even fall to their deaths. Erik considered for a moment the irony of worrying more about the horses' survival than his own.

He shrugged off the thought as orders were passed to make camp. The men fell to with the discipline beaten into, taught to, and expected from them. Alfred had been recently promoted to corporal and was reminding Erik more each day of Charlie Foster, the corporal who first made Erik's every day a living hell at Bobby de Loungville's whim. Now, years later, Erik understood that making these men obey without hesitation or thought ensured the best chance for each man's survival and, more important, the achievement of the mission's goals.

When camp was readied, a rotation of guards was established and each man went to eat—trail rations and a cold camp, so as not to risk anyone seeing a fire. Winter was rapidly approacing, so it would be an uncomfortable night for everyone.

While everyone else was eating, Erik inspected the horses and made sure every mount was sound. He also saw that every man was where he was expected to be, then moved to where de Loungville, Calis, and Miranda sat.

Calis indicated Erik should sit. “Horses are fine,”
Erik said. Calis said, “Good. We're going to have to find a place around here to leave them.”

Miranda said, “Why bother?”

Calis shrugged. “I don't discount the chance we may get out of this and need a quick route out of the mountains. If there's a canyon around here with enough grazing for a week or two, I'd like to put the horses there. The heavy snows are not yet upon us, and the horses may prove useful.”

Erik said, “When we passed around the peak at midday, I saw a small valley below us.” He indicated the general direction. “I can't be sure, but I think there is a route down from the trail. A goat path, at least.”

Calis said, “We're going to rest here for a couple of days, so investigate it tomorrow. If there's a way in, put the horses down there.”

Erik was still not comfortable with the Captain, though he had spent enough time with Bobby to speak his mind when he felt the need. Still, if anything, the Captain appreciated direct talk when it concerned the mission. “Captain, why are we waiting? We run the risk of discovery each day we delay.”

Calis said, “We're waiting for someone.”

Miranda said, “I have an agent, and he's trying to find some local men we need to talk to.”

Erik waited and no more was said, so he resigned himself to having to wait to find out who this mysterious agent of Miranda's might be, and who those local men were. He excused himself and rose to go see how the men were doing.

Erik was not surprised to find each man was doing exactly what he was supposed to do and that he needed to instruct none of them. This was the
finest group of soldiers in the history of the Kingdom, according to Lord William and de Loungville, and Erik felt a fierce pride at being included in that number. He downplayed his own role in the creation of this unity, but took credit for his own evolution as a soldier.

He had spent hours reading every book on warfare and tactics and had taken the opportunity to speak with everyone in the palace he could on various military topics. He had even had occasion to discuss such issues with visiting nobles who came to call at the palace. Sometimes they'd chat over supper in the soldiers' commons, sometimes at a state dinner at the Prince's palace, and occasionally in the marshalling yard as some Border Baron or Eastern Duke had observed the training of Calis's Crimson Eagles.

Erik didn't think of himself as being particularly gifted in strategy, supply, or deployment, but he felt he had a knack for leading men, or at least getting them to do what needed to be done without having to resort to bullying and threats the way some officers did. He really enjoyed the feeling that if he led, other men would follow, and he couldn't quite put his finger on why he felt good about that; he just did.

Finishing his inspection, he sat and pulled a ration pack out of his saddlebags. He unwrapped the wax-dipped cloth, ensuring that the flaking pieces of wax fell onto another cloth; he knew that if he didn't inspect the site when they broke camp and make sure than not one flake of wax lingered to betray their passing, de Loungville would. As much as his relationship had changed with Bobby since the fateful day when Bobby had ordered Erik hung, he still was
not exempted from a public dressing-down if the Sergeant Major felt Erik wasn't discharging his duty.

Calis and Miranda approached and Erik said, “Captain?”

“We're going to walk a bit,” said Calis. “Set your sentries and tell them the call sign is two finger snaps and ‘magpie.' Is that clear?”

Erik nodded. “Clear.”

Whoever might blunder into this camp would be warned with two finger snaps by the sentry. If he didn't respond instantly with the word “magpie,” he would be greeted with deadly force. Erik hoped that no itinerant traders or mendicant friars came wandering down that trail for the next few days.

As Calis began to depart, Erik said, “Captain?”

Calis halted. “Yes?”

“Why ‘magpie'?”

Calis indicated Miranda with a nod of his head.

Miranda said, “Because it's the word my agent has, and besides, magpies don't exist on this continent, so no lucky guesses.”

Erik shrugged and returned to eating his supper.

Calis said, “We need to speak of a few things.”

Miranda sat on a fallen tree bole. “Such as?”

Calis sat beside her. “If we survive, do we have a future? You and I, I mean?”

Miranda took his hand in hers. “That is difficult to say.” She sighed. “No, that's impossible even to think about.” She leaned over and kissed him. “We have been special to each other since we met, Calis.” He said nothing. “We have found feelings for each other that few people know.” After another moment of silence she said, “But the future? I don't know if
we'll be alive next week.”

Calis said, “Think on it. I plan on surviving.”

Miranda studied his face in the golden light of the late afternoon sun as it streamed through the trees. She laughed.

“What is so funny?” he asked, his lips turning up in a guarded smile.

“I am,” she said, standing and reaching behind her to unfasten the ties of her dress. “I was always a fool for a pretty blond boy. Now come, warm me up. It's a cold day.”

As her dress fell to her ankles, he rose and wrapped his arms around her, his hands upon her buttocks; he picked her up in his arms, as easily as he would a child. Kissing her between her breasts, he playfully spun her around in a circle, then laid her gently down on the ground and said, “Boy? I'm past a half century of age, woman.”

Miranda laughed. “My mother always said that younger men made enthusiastic lovers but often took themselves far too seriously.”

Calis paused a moment, studying Miranda's face. “You never speak of your mother,” he said softly.

Miranda said nothing for a long time, then laughed. “Get out of your clothes, boy!” she said in mock-command. “The ground is cold!”

Calis smiled broadly. “My father told me always to show respect to my elders.”

Quickly they coupled, losing their fear of what tomorrow might bring in one of the most basic and life-affirming acts possible. For brief moments, their experience was one of shared joy and a denial of death, fear, and misery.

Two finger snaps were quickly followed by the word “magpie,” spoken with a slightly odd accent. Erik was at the sentry point only moments before de Loungville and Calis.

They had waited three days, and Calis had decided that if Miranda's agent didn't show, he would move ahead, regardless. The horses had been moved to a lush valley that would keep them grazing for weeks. Erik also knew that if no one survived to return, the horses would find their way out of the valley and down into the lower meadows as winter approached. That made him feel better for a reason he couldn't articulate. While the mountains of Darkmoor were less impressive than those they now approached, Erik recognized the change in the weather. The nights would quickly fall below freezing and snow would come with the next storm. Winter was almost upon them.