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Our carter drew up before the gates of Guards House. A pair of Dogs came forward as Goodwin slid down from her seat. She showed them the gold insignia she wore around her neck. "We've orders to present ourselves to my Lord Deputy Provost," she told them. "Sergeant Nestor Haryse was to set an appointment for us – Goodwin and Cooper."
The Dogs unloaded our gear while I saw to Achoo and Slapper. Goodwin slipped our carter some extra coins, which won us a big grin.
"Bless you, mistress, and you, girl! Stands to reason a friend o' Dale's would be as openhanded as him!" He gave us a cheerful wave and turned the cart, heading back toward the river docks.
One of the guard Dogs led us inside, to a desk sergeant. He took charge of us and our gear, sending word of our arrival to Sir Lionel. He also gave the fish eye to Slapper and Achoo. I ignored the fish eye. If Dogs have to report here as soon as they arrive in town, the sergeant must see they come with all kinds of gear and family.
We didn't wait long before the runner came back, saying we were to follow him to Sir Lionel's office. That was when I turned to my animals. "You're to wait," I said, quietly, so Master Fish Eye didn't hear. "Understand? Tunggu. I mean it. Folk don't cut me extra yardage here. Tunggu. Turun, while I'm thinking of it." Achoo lay down with a patient sigh. Slapper relieved himself on my trunk.
I followed Goodwin, looking back as I left the room. Mother's mercy, both of them stayed where I'd put them. Pounce never would have done that, just because he was a cat.
The runner showed us into Sir Lionel's office. The walls and ceiling were made of fine, polished wood, the moldings well carved. The only other decorations were maps of the city, one for each Guard District. There were maps, too, of the outlying districts. Unlike Corus, which is a command of itself, the Deputy Provosts are in charge of countryside as well as the cities and towns where they are situated. Sir Lionel's reach covers the same area as the district governor's, north along the River Tellerun to opposite the city of Arenaver, east to the Great Road North, then south to the outskirts of Corus.
For all he is a Deputy Provost and a noble, his office is plainer than my Watch Commander's. There are no carpets on the stones of the floor. There are no hangings on the bare spaces of the walls. The windows have horn panes, not glass. For now they stood open, letting in courtyard noises. One bookcase has some volumes of law. The candlesticks are brass. So too are the inkwell and quill stand.
Two men came in. Nestor was one, dressed in full uniform. He gave Goodwin and me the tiniest of nods. The other was Sir Lionel of Trebond, the Deputy Provost for Port Caynn District. Goodwin and I bowed. He was two inches taller than me, with deep-set brown eyes, a long nose, and a thin mouth. He was lean, and his cheeks were red and weathered. His ginger-colored hair was combed straight back from his high forehead and hung in a slight curl below his ears, as if that curl was all it was allowed. I had a notion he was a hunter, better with hawks than with a boar spear. He dressed well in a calf-length tunic of gray wool. The embroideries at his hems and cuffs were modest, black and white sea lions on strips of blue. The needlework looked like something a daughter might make for him.
Goodwin stepped up to Sir Lionel's desk and held out our orders. He took them, holding them a moment while he looked her over, like a man about to buy a horse. Then he did the same to me. I tucked my hand in my skirt, where I could feel the lump of my fire opal through the cloth. I squeezed it. I'd not had to impress anyone for a long time now.
"Corporal Goodwin I know, though hardly out of uniform," Sir Lionel said. He had a thin, tough voice. I would not want to be guilty of breaking his rules. "You would be Rebakah Cooper, then," he said, and raised his eyebrows. "You are too young for such a mission."
I could feel myself blushing. I knew that, but Lord Gershom had disagreed. Wasn't that good enough for his Deputy Provost?
"Permission to speak," Goodwin said.
Sir Lionel nodded.
"Cooper is a good Dog, and she's my partner," Goodwin explained. "She's been partners with Senior Guardsman Tunstall and me in the bad cases we've hunted down this last year. She would surprise you."
"We'll see." Sir Lionel broke the seal on our orders and read them. I tried not to fidget. I wasn't used to being left standing like this, any more than Goodwin was. Either Sir Lionel had a stick up his bum, or other districts go to pains to say you might be good in your home district but we do things different.
I risked a peek at Nestor. He stood with his legs planted apart, his hands clasped loosely in front of him. He looked as if he could stand like that all day and never cramp up. I eased my feet apart some to balance my weight better.
Sir Lionel set down our orders. He finally said, "You may sit, all three of you." We settled in the uncomfortable guest chairs.
"We've had some trouble with counterfeits, largely in the better class of houses of pleasure and some of the jewelers' shops," Sir Lionel told us.
Houses of pleasure? Good Goddess, the man meant bordels. Why didn't he just say so?
"If, as the report sent to me claims, the coins are spread by gambling, I have heard nothing of it. Still, successful gamblers like to spend their winnings. Those are the first places they go. We've heard no warnings from the Silversmith's Bank." Sir Lionel's eyes went to Nestor. "You have a thought, Sergeant?"
"Only that it's hardly to the banks' advantage to report an increase of coles, Sir Lionel," Nestor said. "They'd be the first ones under investigation. Their stock of coin would be locked up until it could be examined for fakes."
"True enough," Sir Lionel replied. To Goodwin and me he said, "I will meet with those of my Watch Commanders that I trust with this news tonight. We'll create a plan to hunt the counterfeiters here. Lord Gershom has made it plain that he wishes the two of you to have a more roving hunt, letting your instincts take you across Guard Districts if need be. To that end, I am turning you over to Sergeant Haryse's guidance. He can give out the tale that you are assigned to his watch district, though you will not be assigned to a particular watch. He is also familiar with the less... law-abiding parts of the city, and is respected there. Sometimes I think he is too fond of those areas, which is why he will not accept promotion away from the streets."
"I feel as if I do more good in the street, Sir Lionel," replied Nestor. "All of my friends are there."
"Impudent Dog," muttered Sir Lionel. To us he said, "Sergeant Haryse will handle your communications with my office and with my lord Gershom. It would look ill for two loose Dogs, as you must appear to be, to deal regularly with Guards House. I believe Sergeant Haryse has found you lodgings. He will also advise you in all other matters, including assistance, should you need it."
"Discreetly," Nestor murmured.
"Above all, discreetly," Sir Lionel agreed. "We do not wish to start a panic. You must take care not to start false rumors and panics, Guardswomen. We have a peaceful city here, and I will not tolerate the creation of agitation among my citizens by you outsiders."
"Permission to speak," Goodwin said a second time.
"Granted," replied Sir Lionel.
"With respect, Sir Knight, you are uncomfortable with our presence," Goodwin went on, as formal as I'd ever heard her. "Given the long history of cooperation between Corus and Port Caynn, I'm not sure why. Only good has ever come from our districts working together."
Sir Lionel shook his head. "I have no problems in working with Corus, Corporal Goodwin. My problem lies in first, the fact that we have a peace here, and I fear that you will break it, and second, in the fact that both of you are women. I would be far happier if my lord Gershom had sent men. I feel, along with others, that women's souls are more tender, more vulnerable." He stopped and looked at Goodwin and me. "Neither of you has the least notion of what I mean. Life on the street has coarsened this young girl as it has coarsened you, Corporal. I can only pray the Gentle Mother that you two do not create so much trouble that my people are put at risk getting you out. Take care in your investigations. At the first sign o
f difficulty, call on us for help."
He nodded, cool as snow after such an astounding speech. Nestor and Goodwin rose. Goodwin had to poke me with her foot to make me realize I had to get up, so dazed was I. We were dismissed.
Nestor led us back to the desk sergeant. "We'll take your gear to your lodgings," he said over his shoulder. "Then I thought you might want a decent supper before you turn in for the night. Is that well with you?"
"It depends on those two," Goodwin said, jerking her thumb at Achoo and Slapper. "They came with us."
Rubbing the top of his head, Nestor looked at the animals.
"Watch the pigeon," the desk sergeant warned. "One of the lads tried to shoo 'im off and got pecked in the nose for his trouble."
"He's a watch pigeon," Goodwin said, straight-faced. "Mean as a snake, but easier to feed."
The desk sergeant laughed.
"Actually, I am acquainted with Slapper," Nestor said. "The last time I tried to feed him, he bit me. Twice. Now, I didn't get to meet the hound properly in Corus."
"Achoo, bangkit" I ordered. "Berdiri." Achoo sat up at attention, her chin high, her eyes straight ahead. "She's a scent hound, about two years old."
"Pleased to meet you," Nestor told Achoo.
"Achoo?" asked the desk sergeant, coming down from his tall chair. "The Achoo?"
"There's only one Achoo amongst the Corus scent hounds, sir," I replied.
The sergeant crouched before her. "We borrowed her a year back, Nestor. She sniffed out them dreamrose smugglers for us. This is a fine hound, and someone's been treatin' her like scummer." He glared at me with ice-blue eyes. His gray mustache seemed to bristle at me. My tongue froze in my mouth.
"Sergeant Axman here was a handler of scent hounds before they nailed him to this desk," Nestor explained. "He breeds them now for us."
"What's the likes of Achoo Curlypaws doin' with a junior Dog?" the sergeant demanded. "No offense, youngster, but with her record, this hound ought to have a senior handler."
Achoo made the smallest of grumbling noises deep in her throat. It could have been a growl, it could have been a low whine. She has very good manners.
I looked at the hound. Achoo Curlypaws? I had no notion she even had a last name! When I get home, I need to go to the scent hounds' kennels and read all the paper they have about her. NOTE – MUST DO SOON!
Goodwin told the sergeant, "Her last senior handler treated Achoo like scummer. Then he dumped her on Cooper when Cooper objected. It's only been in the last few days that Achoo's wounds have healed under Beka's care."
"May I say hello?" Nestor asked. "Aside from Master Pounce, I've never petted a legend before."
"Kawan, Achoo," I said, pointing to Nestor. She wagged her tail. I pointed to the sergeant. "Kawan. You can say hello," I told them. I could tell Sergeant Axman wanted to look her over, but he was too polite to ask. Now he could do so.
Once Nestor was friends with Achoo, he and Goodwin went to get a cart from the stable yard. Sergeant Axman was still petting Achoo, crooning to her in some soft language that Achoo seemed to like very much. I dug the remains of a roll from my pocket and fed them to Slapper. For once, he didn't try to pummel me with his wings or peck at me while he ate.
I was thinking about Sir Lionel's peculiar notions about women. I've never heard such puke, not from anyone. Who was this Gentle Mother? Another face of the Great Goddess?
I wished so badly that Pounce had been there to explain. Instead I whispered to Slapper, "He said me'n Goodwin are coarsened. And he said women's souls are more vulnerable and tender! Has he never seen a mot bowl over some cove that's bothering her?"
"It's this cult of the Gentle Mother teachin' that women are delicate souls." Axman swiveled so he could look up at me. "You're supposed to be too pure to dirty yourselves with combat." He barked a laugh. "Tell 'at to my old woman. She's been in His Majesty's navy since she was old enough to tie knots. Some of these lady knights'll cut you from crown to cod, you even look at 'em disrespec'ful."
He couldn't be too bad if Achoo liked him. I nodded. "I know one who does that if you get between her and her end-of-day ale."
"Exac'ly so. There's a sergeant in Corus, Ahuda – " he said.
I grinned. "She's my Watch Sergeant."
He grinned back, showing three missing teeth. "She's a caution, that 'un. If we had five like her here, there'd be no Rats in all the city."
Goodwin and Nestor returned. "Then we'd die of boredom, Sarge," Nestor said. We gathered up our things and hauled them out to the cart. Just to show Goodwin I could, I carried my trunk myself.
"Cooper, you were actually conversing," Goodwin said as we climbed into the cart. Nestor took the reins and glanced back at me.
"He heard me telling Slapper about that Gentle Mother stuff. He was explaining it to me, but it's still moonsongs, far as I can tell." I settled Achoo in the cart. Slapper waited until we were sitting still, then landed in a corner, muttering to himself.
Nestor said, "Why are you talking to pigeons, Beka? Where's Pounce?"
And here I'd thought I wouldn't have to explain it anymore. Wearily I told Nestor why Pounce wasn't traveling with me. He whistled when I was done. "We'll just have to see to it that you have so much to do, you'll hardly miss him," he told me. He waved to the Dogs on guard as we rattled through the gate. "Serenity, that runs Ladyshearth Lodgings, has an understanding with the Provost's Guards regarding payment. That's where you'll stay. It's on Coates Lane, about five blocks from my house, on the edge of Deep Harbor District. The walk to the kennel and the heart of things is easy. The area's a safe one, though, and the house itself is very safe. Several of our woman Dogs stay there."
He turned off High Street, bound downhill, into the southwestern part of the city on that side of the ridge. Below lay the deep harbor, its blue water sparkling. The big oceangoing ships were scattered over the harbor waters and tied up at the docks, preparing for the night. Some were sailing out between the great breakwaters, taking the evening tide out to sea. I'd loved watching the big ships on my last two visits. They look beautiful, like low-skimming gulls.
I'd already memorized the map Lord Gershom had given us, using the tricks we learned in training. Going by that, we now entered the South Hills District. Tradesfolk lived hereabouts, from the looks of the shops and the dwellings, much like where Goodwin and her man live back in Corus. Very tidy, very respectable. I felt like a flea on the bum of a nobleman's dog.
Ladyshearth Lodgings was near the northern edge of South Hills District, on Coates Lane. I could tell just by looking that this place was too costly for me to afford on my own. It was set off the street, behind a waist-high stone fence. As we approached and passed through the open gate, I noticed that some of the stones had magical runes cut into their faces as protection from thieves and the like. The house itself was stone on the ground floor, wood painted with moon designs for the two upper stories, and a roof that was tiled, not thatched. Even the shutters had been painted with the three moons, crescent, full, and dark. An herb garden was planted around the front of the house.
A short, plump woman in a flour-smutched wool dress came out of the open front door. The mot wore a linen head cloth that covered her hair, but from her brows the color was dark and going to gray.
"Tinggal," I ordered Achoo while Goodwin and Nestor climbed down from the cart. I shouldered my own pack and gathered a couple of Goodwin's.
"Welcome," the woman said. "I'm Serenity. Don't bother with 'Daughter' talk. I'm not a priestess at home. I hope you like the rooms I set aside for you. Nestor says you'll be with us for an indefinite time, so I tried to give you something comfortable." Chattering to Goodwin, she led us inside and up to the second story. "Just press your thumbs to the lock hole to the right of the door. Then the locks will only ever open to you or to me. The spell is one of my best and has never failed me. I will let the maid in to clean, unless you wish to do that yourself. Set your chamber pots and laundry outside the door of a morning, and th
e maids will tend to them. You may also take your meals here, if you like. Breakfast is from dawn until nine of the clock." She steered Goodwin through one door and me through the next. Nestor followed me with my trunk and set it on the floor.
I stared after her as she bustled off, Nestor following her downstairs. Magicked locks? The room itself was more than I was used to. There were fresh rushes on the floor. The bed was made up with a good blanket and better coverlet, and clean linens were stacked on shelves over the bed. Two chairs with fat cushions sat on either side of a hearth – a hearth! Only wealthy folk have hearths in their bedchambers! There was a stand with a washbasin, a spotless chamber pot, and a large table and chair I could use for meals or writing. Embroidered hangings brightened the walls. I opened the shutters and found myself looking over a vegetable garden, a bit of grazing, a shed for animals, and a chicken coop. The birds scratched on a bare patch of dirt. Along a corner of the yard flowed one of the city's many streams, crossed by a small bridge.
I closed and bolted the shutters and went into Goodwin's rooms. I sank onto her bed. "Gods be thanked the Provost's Guard pays for this, Goodwin! I could never afford it," I told her. "My room probably costs for a week what I pay for two months at Mistress Trout's! What if I break something?"
She shook her head. "Cooper, you worry too much. We've been given an open hunt. That means we use our own judgment about the money, and we have lodgings where we can feel safe. My lord must truly believe you won't spend foolishly. Normally only ten-year Dogs or older are put on open hunts. If your dress is torn, they pay for a new one. If you need to feed old Slapper, they will pay – he's your Birdie, after all!" She punched me lightly on the shoulder. "Let's help Nestor bring up the rest of our things. He says his lodger prepared supper tonight, to welcome us. Enjoy this while it lasts. You'll hate going back to your old ways."
But I like my old ways, I thought, trudging down stairs that were doubtless scrubbed every day. I'm used to them.
Nestor met me in the door. He had Slapper in both hands as the bird twisted, trying to get his beak in Nestor's flesh. "What's the matter?" he asked, his eyes twinkling at me. "Is this place fancier than you're used to?" I nodded. "Cheer up, Beka. I'll wager you'll get plenty of hunts when you're in muck and ice to your eyebrows. Enjoy this while you can."
