Skillful Death (42 page)

“Go ahead.” His face softens, but he’s still way too serious.

I give him the rundown of what Laurette told me that day. At first, he just narrows his eyes and listens. By the end, he’s nodding along.

“I didn’t realize they were making contact back then,” he says. “We can assume that anything you know, they know.”

“Who’s that?”

“The other Providentials.”

D
OM
RAISED
D
IKI
IN
a pauper’s house, with pauper’s clothes, but when she went to monastery for classes, he sent her to the best one. Everyone assumed that Dom’s rich friend Pemba probably paid her way. Pemba, with no wife or children, couldn’t seem to find enough ways to spend all his money. He traveled extensively for his work, setting up new conferences under Dom’s secret guidance. Pemba still kept a lavish house and full staff in the village.

When Diki’s school bills were paid promptly, people credited Pemba.
 

Diki excelled at learning, and had many friends in the classroom. When school ended for the day, and children grouped up to play, Diki had no friends. Parents never forbade their children from associating with Diki, but the kids seemed to understand her position. Diki didn’t seem to mind. Dom was always there to walk her home when the school let out.

Some girls were allowed to live at the monastery, and worked to reduce their tuition. Diki lobbied for that privilege, but Dom wouldn’t allow it. She saw it as a way to spend more time with her friends, but Dom couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing his daughter every evening.

The monks taught Diki to read and write. They taught her basic math, and history. From them, she learned the names of the village leaders, going back to before Denpa was a boy. At home, Diki learned business. She learned of budgets, and forecasting, and economics. Diki learned to listen to reports from Pemba and Tashi, and understand the news they told. She could also intuit the market forces which had precipitated those events.
 

She learned to reason as well as Dom, and learned to argue far better than he.

“At the end of the summer, I’ll need to move to the city to continue my education,” Diki stated one evening.

“No,” Dom said.
 

“I don’t understand. You’ve always stressed education above all else, and you know I cannot continue my education here.”

“I’ve always stressed learning,” Dom said. “Anywhere you are, there’s something to learn.”

“Desire to learn to comes from a passion for the subject. You have a passion for metallurgy and plumbing, and you’re constantly learning and honing your expertise for that business.”

Dom closed his eyes and reopened them after a slow blink. When had Diki become the young woman who sat across from him? When did she tie her hair back behind her head instead of leaving the soft black curls to frame her face?

“True. And I have much more to teach you. Things that I learned before you entered the world are so dim now that I could almost forget them. We will re-learn them together.”

“But that’s not my passion, Father,” Diki said. “I want to learn more about business and finance. I want to help you grow your enterprise with Pemba and Tashi. You’re at the limits of your expertise. I have no mentor here.”

“Our business is as large as it needs to be. Does Pemba need another mansion? Tashi practically owns half the village and rents it back to our neighbors. Would you have him own the other half as well?”

“Perhaps my dreams are bigger than this village?”

“We have everything we need here.”

“You have everything. What do I have? I want to see new places and learn more,” Diki said.

“You can go with Pemba to the next conference. He invited you twice.”

“I don’t care about your conference. I want to move to the city.”

“You’ll be an outcast there, just an upstart villager.”

“I’m an outcast here!” Diki said, nearly shouting now. “You’re so careful to hide your standing. Nobody can know of your wealth. Where does that leave me? I have to pretend to be the child of a beggar, squatting in his master’s abandoned house?”

“I own this house.”

“And nobody knows it,” Diki said.

“It’s not important what others think of you. You can’t measure yourself by their standards. If a big house is important to them, then they’re not the kind of people you want to associate with. Find peace in simplicity, Diki. Find joy in being with the ones you love.”

“And who will love me? Who is in my life? I have you. Even my great aunt’s family barely recognizes me. They’re afraid to acknowledge me because of you. To everyone else, I’m scenery. I have to start fresh somewhere new, where I can be a real person.”

“Then I’ll move with you,” Dom said.

“No,” Diki said. “I have to do this alone.”

“I have no people, darling. It’s not like I can send you into the mountains to live with your cousins. Your grandparents on your mother’s side are long dead, and your great aunt doesn’t even speak with anyone still in the mountains. If we had family somewhere else it would be different, but your only family is your great aunt and her children.”

“Jetsan has people in the city,” Diki said.

“Jetsan is not your blood,” Dom said.

“He’s married to my great aunt. Isn’t that close enough to blood?”

Dom felt a shadow pass over his heart. Diki had maneuvered him into this position.
 

“I’ve spoken with him, and he sent a letter to his sister. Their daughter recently married and they have an extra room. They’re asking a very reasonable rent,” Diki said.

“Where would you study?” Dom asked. The fire in his voice was extinguished. A minute before, he would have never entertained this notion. Now the question flopped from his mouth like a foregone conclusion.

“There is an accounting school which now accepts women. I will study in the mornings and apprentice at a local firm each afternoon. Many businessmen have studied there. Some of the factory owners whom Pemba does business with are alumni.”

“And could I visit you there?” Dom asked.
 

“Of course, Daddy. There is a textile mill near the river that gives a tour. You would be fascinated with that.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I’ve been talking to people,” she said. “I’m not so ignorant that I can’t follow up on my own dreams.”

“No, darling, I know. I just didn’t realize how fully-formed your dreams had become, and how far away they’d take you.”

“Oh, Daddy,” Diki said, smiling. “It’s really not that far. If you get on a fast boat, you can be there, two days; three at the most. I’ll have to get new things when I’m there, so I’ll need to bring along plenty of funds.”

Diki pulled out her journal and opened it to where a ribbon marked her place. She began writing.
 

“I’ll need money for tuition, of course. Rent will include breakfast and supper, but I’ll need money for lunches. They charge for books, and supplies. Is it reasonable to include a small budget for entertainment?” she asked.

“Pardon?”

“Oh, travel expenses! How could I forget? And, like I said, I’ll need a new wardrobe and furnishings. I’ll want to spend a couple of days to see what people are wearing in the city before I do all that. Don’t you think, Daddy?”

“Yes. Of course.” Dom watched Diki’s flashing hand, making her list and estimating expenses. He wondered if Tara’s father had felt the same emotions—but no, Tara’s father was dead by the time she left to go live with distant relatives in a strange place. Dom wondered if that made him more, or less, lucky. “I will go with you, and see you settled.”

“No, Daddy, no,” she said. “I need to make my way on my own. This is my opportunity to make a fresh start in a new place. You can visit me after I’m all set up, then you’ll be much more comfortable when you see how well I’ve adapted.”

“I will go with you, or you’ll pay your own way through school.” Dom considered himself a firm, but fair parent. He didn’t often deny Diki her wishes, but she was a reasonable child, so he wasn’t often put in a position to.

“Daddy, you can’t mean that. You would deny your only daughter a good education because of a trip? You’ll just come visit me after I’ve been settled for a while. Let me get my place in order, get some clothes, start my classes, settle into a routine, and then I’ll send word that it’s a good time to visit. I’ve heard that the classes get really difficult around the new year, so I’ll need to focus until...”

When her desires clashed with Dom’s, Diki knew to fill every space with her words until he relented. This time, Dom wasn’t going to be swayed by her fast talk.

He interrupted and said, “No. I will go with you, and see you settled, and meet Jetsan’s sister. Then you will have my blessing and the funds you need.”

“If you’re sure. It’s a long trip by boat. I know you like to swim, but you’re also a bit afraid of the water. Remember those nightmares you’ve had about the river? Have you ever been on a long boat ride before?”

“I have not, and neither have you,” Dom said. He was wrong, but he didn’t realize it yet. “We will experience it together.”

“Did I say Jetsan’s sister or Jetsan’s people? He has family in the city, but I’m not sure I would say it’s his sister.”

“You said both people and sister,” Dom said. “Which is it?”

“I think it’s his family. Perhaps a cousin? I’m not exactly sure. We’ll find out when we get there.”

“You’ll find out tomorrow, from Jetsan. You’ll ask him to send for a letter of invitation from them which we will take with us,” Dom said. Diki was a very smart girl, she ought to know how these things worked, Dom thought.

“Yes, of course,” Diki said.
 

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♠

Diki got her letter, and completed her list, and ticked off every item before she turned her attention to Dom. Over his protests, she took him to a tailor to have a new suit crafted for the trip. They worked with a young couple, who had only been in business for a couple of months. The young tailors were the most willing to work at transforming Dom from beggar to businessman. The resulting apparel, created with Diki’s guidance, didn’t strike Dom as appropriate for a middle-aged professional, but the young people approved. Dom wrapped up his new suit and carried it home under his arm.

Pemba offered to come along on the journey, but Dom refused. He wanted to spend his time exclusively with his daughter without competing for her affection. Diki worshipped Pemba, and she was forced to settle for his extensive consultation on her travel plans. He was an expert traveler, and knew all the tricks to getting the best service.

Tashi warned Dom from the trip. Although Dom had been out of the plumbing and manufacturing business for ten years, Tashi warned that his rivals might still spot him in the city.

“They’ll think you’re planning a resurgence,” Tashi warned Dom.

“They don’t even know that I have a part in the conferences and expositions,” Dom said.

“It doesn’t matter. The only reason you’ve stayed alive all these years is because you’ve been a humble peasant in a rural village. If they see you walking around the city near the textile district, they’ll believe you’re up to no good.”

“Who would even recognize me now?” Dom asked. “My hair is falling out. I’m old and plump. I haven’t been relevant since Diki was an infant.”

“People who are successful in business have no conscience and long memories. Years ago, you shook that industry when it was small and fairly weak. Now, those same businessmen who burned down your factory and squeezed out your holdings are titans. They eliminate threats every day to maintain their monopolies. I know first hand. I manage their trade association, and I’m privy to all of their underhanded machinations.”

“You see the dark side in everything,” Dom said. “It cannot be as bad as all that. I’m just a father, seeing his daughter safely off to school. Who could begrudge me that?”

“It is as bad as I say and worse,” Tashi said. “Do you remember the name Torma? The name I gave you so you could transform yourself? They remember the name. Just two years ago, another man named Torma wanted to open a factory up-river. They denied him entry into the association until he changed his name. You think they don’t remember you? They won’t even allow your name to be spoken in their meetings. You are not a difficult man to spot. You look different, you walk different, and your eyes are different. They call you Torma, but they remember the bear who almost destroyed their livelihood.”

“I guess I didn’t realize it was that bad,” Dom said.

“You were blind to it even then. You’ve grown more blind now. You only see your beautiful daughter.”

“You’ve grown more cautious with age.”

“I’ve grown wiser, and less reckless,” Tashi said. “When will you?”

♣
   
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♠

Dom didn’t tell Diki about the warnings. He didn’t want to restart her arguments. With a month before their departure, Dom shaved his head. He spent all his time in the sun, and increased his portions at every meal. His skin darkened and his face grew even more plump, disguising his features with a layer of fat, or so he hoped. Diki warned him that he would soon outgrow his new suit.