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When I came home, a cracked pottery vase with a bunch of red gillyflowers in it sat in front of my door. In spite of myself, I smiled. Rosto, seemingly, doesn’t hold a grudge. And the flowers give a nice, spicy scent to my room.
Thursday, April 23, 246
We had just handed off the Rogue’s Happy Bag tonight when we got word of a brawl at the Doxie’s Skirt. We hobbled ten loobies and my nose was broken. It was healed at the kennel. I’m in no mood to write of my day – I’m going to bed.
Saturday, April 25, 246
Day.
No more word on the Shadow Snake since the 21st. Kora and I have talked with seven families. I have talked with three. All are true victims of the Snake.
After watch.
No more word on diggers. If anyone is hiring them, they are keeping it quiet. Last night Tunstall said over supper, “Sad thing for us, we got us some smart Rats. Stupid ones would have talked. They’d let word get out that they wanted diggers. Mayhap Crookshank has hired a crew already and he’s got them locked away, mining his fire opals under guard. And mayhap Crookshank knows we’re watching. If he checked his desk, he knows someone took those Shadow Snake notes. So he’s bound to be extra careful. But he’ll slip. Or them that does his dirty work will slip. We’ll have him then.”
I have to believe Tunstall. He’s been doing this for years. He knows best.
I just fear that each morning I’ll open my shutters and there will be new pigeons there with new ghosts, whispering about the pink city rock.
Tuesday, April 28, 246
Nothing. Nothing.
NOTHING!!!!!
Pox and murrain on the Snake, on Crookshank, on this curst city that keeps its secrets so close! Not another word will I write until I have SOMETHING!
Wednesday, April 29, 246
Dawn.
The funniest thing happened last night, though I was too sour to write it then. I came home from Granny’s early and knocked on Kora’s door to see if she was about and wanted to put together some kind of supper. She answered it in only her shift, though the day was cool and rainy. Moreover, I saw Ersken pulling on his breeches behind her.
“Come back in a little bit,” she said with a bashful smile. “We’ll be able to come up with a decent supper between the three of us. Aniki’s got something doing with Dawull and his people, so she’s not home.”
I looked past her at Ersken and wiggled my eyebrows. He blushed! Kora, seeing what I did, laughed and gave me a shove.
“Rosto?” I asked softly. I didn’t want Ersken ending up on the wrong end of Rosto the Piper’s blades.
“I’m my own mot and can say who shares my bed,” Kora told me. “Rosto knows.” She smiled. “We’re still friends, just not bed friends. I’ve someone cuddlier now.”
That was more than I needed to know, in truth. I backed up and let Kora shut the door.
Noon.
When we had breakfast this morning, Rosto presented Ersken with a sausage and bowed. I got the giggles whilst Verene stared at me.
“Would you like one?” Rosto asked me, holding up the sausage. I could only shake my head no whilst Ersken blushed.
It was nice to have aught to giggle about after having no news from Granny at all yesterday.
I am glad for Ersken and Kora both, particularly if Rosto’s nose isn’t out of joint. I don’t know if it will last, but Kora will treat Ersken well. And I think if she ends it, she will be kind.
I feel a bit lonely, seeing them together, but not so lonely as to tell Rosto I’ll be his second mot. Aniki seems happy to have him to herself, and I’m not so lonely as to start canoodling with a rusher.
Thursday, April 30, 246 Beltane
I must write about today, because so much has happened. I think the only way I can write it is to write of my watch, and do so as I lived it, without knowing how it will end. Elsewise, I’ll be unable to put it down sensibly, and there are things I want to remember.
We were out in force tonight. For Beltane, with the bonfires at sunset, a third of the Day and Night Watches are added to the Evening Watch. That’s when the most folk are out and about. Everyone who celebrates the day wants a chance to leap over the embers in hopes of a fruitful harvest of some kind. After the embers comes the fire, as the saying goes, whether folk are a pair before they came to the bonfire or just for the night. Even if people don’t want more children, they hope fertility will mean coin in their pockets and good fortune in the coming year.
With so many couples occupied and so many priests and priestesses to bless the goings-on, the robbers, foists, and cutpurses were also out. Beltane is a thieves’ holiday.
I was happy to be on duty with my Dogs. Canoodling is one of those things that’s more fun in the doing. I’ve done it once and kissed a bit, but never in public. Bagging Rats for Beltane was more to my taste. Besides, I’ve no one I wish to canoodle with.
Goodwin, Tunstall, Pounce, and me were on Koskynen Street when we heard noise in an alley leading off to Pottage Lane. The flicker of light told us whoever was in there had a torch. Tunstall put out a hand to warn us to wait. Pounce ran forward to the alley’s opening. He howled as if he was in battle with other cats and dashed back.
“On’y cats fightin’,” someone in the alley muttered. “Git ‘er earrings!” Thanks to Pounce, we knew we had found robbers.
Goodwin nodded. We all took our batons in one hand and our saps in the other. I was nervous. I hate it when I can’t see what we’re getting into. I quickly checked my gorget to make sure it was firmly tied. The thing bothered me, but suddenly I was glad for it.
Goodwin whispered, “Cooper, stay back unless it looks like one of us is about to get killed.” She strode forward as if she owned that alley. “In the King’s name!” she cried.
Tunstall was at weapon’s length to her side. I moved off to her right so no one could dodge around her. I hated keeping back, but I knew my orders.
There were four rushers. I knew them all from the Court of the Rogue. They were Kayfer’s men. They had planted a torch in the ground, the better to see what they did. A man dressed as richly as a noble lay on the ground, a big purple knot on the side of his head. They had stripped him of his weapons, his belt, even his boots. One of them held a well-dressed lady from behind, one hand over her mouth, another around her waist. Two more Rats were stripping off her rings, bracelets, and necklace. The fourth was cutting away the embroidered strips on her dress.
The fourth Rat was the first to drop what he did and unsheathe his sword. He was too slow to turn as Goodwin darted by him. She struck the back of his neck with her sap. He folded like wet cloth onto the muddy ground. The next Rat dropped the lady’s left arm and drew his sword. Goodwin raised her baton to block him.
The one who had been stripping the lady’s remaining arm of jewelry dropped it, leaving both her arms free. Now he drew his blade, dodging Tunstall as Tunstall struck with his baton. Tunstall turned as the Rat went into open ground to fight, keeping his baton between him and the sword.
The lady, her hands now loose, sank her nails into the hand over her mouth. The Rat who still held her grabbed one of her arms, but he couldn’t hold both and grip her waist. He lifted her off the ground, his mistake. Now she could kick back at him with both feet, and she did. A pity she wasn’t wearing clogs or pattens. She might have hurt him bad if she’d worn those instead of her pretty leather slippers.
The one Goodwin had struck down tried to stand. He fell sideways against her, knocking her aside. She stumbled and dropped to one knee, getting her baton up as she braced for a hit from the attacker. He saw his chance and lunged at her, blade raised.
I know it was cracknobbed, but I wasn’t close enough to use my baton, and I could see her baton was at the wrong angle. He’d have her.
I threw my sap at his head. He was moving, and I’m not that good at throwing small things. Of course I missed. He did swerve to dodge my sap. He looked about him. Tunstall folded his man over his baton and struck him on th
e head with his sap.
The Rat hanging on to the lady must not have been a thinker. He’d not yet seen it was time to kill her or dump her and run. He was still trying to get control of her. She finally got her teeth into the hand over her mouth. He grunted with pain and tried to shake her teeth loose, but she would not let go.
Goodwin put her whistle to her mouth and blew the call for help from Dogs.
