Wine of the Gods 08: Dark Lady (3 page)

"
Well if it isn't Miss Hoity-toity, too good for the baronet."

And there he was, the one person she least wanted to ever meet again.

A pair of Imperial Officers were with him, young men about his age.

"
Come entertain us at dinner, and after," he smirked. "I understand your social status has suffered a serious loss." He grabbed her chin and forced her head around. "Excellent. That should be enough to school you. I was afraid Father had lost his temper and marred you."

Liz jerked away, furious, frightened enough to realize that this time she'd better watch her tongue.

"Roger, leave the girl alone, I swear you're worse than those panting lapdogs in the Palace."

"
Now Kurt, if you're not . . . up to it, fine. But no reason, Franklin and I can't enjoy the privileges of our stations."

Kurt
sent an icy glare at Roger's back. "Do not . . . "

"
Ah, there you are Liz," Lady Quicksilver swept into the group. "I rather thought you were taking your time. Go fetch my dinner. Now." It was a royal command and Liz jumped to obey before realizing she was being rescued. And in trouble. Lady's companions were supposed to be above reproach. Tarts were not allowed to raise lady's children.

"
Sorry about my lazy maid, Officers. Girls these days!" She gave them a stiff polite nod and walked away.

Liz slipped into the kitchen.
"Can I take a tray to M'lady?"

"
Of course, dear, the Imperial troops have arrived. Thank God they are only here for the two weeks." Madam Cordes loaded teapot, breads, a bowl of soup, a plate of chicken and potatoes, and a side dish of peas on a tray and chivvied her out of the kitchen. Liz hustled down the corridor and through the open door, dread starting to turn her stomach.

The l
ady was pacing. "I hate men like that. I hate them!"

Liz gulped. Wasn't she in trouble?

"Oh, certainly not, dear. I could feel your distress and panic. So, was that the baron's son?"

"
Oh yes."

She snorted.
"Well. You're best off out of there. Sit down, you're trembling, help me eat this, goodness, did she expect me to eat it all? Good thing I'm hungry, after all."

The l
ady shuffled meat and peas and placed the side dish with half of each in front of Liz.

"
Liz . . . tell me more about this world. Start with why the troops are here."

Liz blinked.
World? Must be an expression, where she comes from. How very odd.
"They, well some troop or other, come by three times a year. They train with the local troops and the citizen's militia, so we're ready if either the Marchessaus come back down from the northwest, or the Arbolians decide to add us to their empire. Some times bandits form up a large group and cause problems too. So we all fight. Well, the able bodied over fourteen and under fifty. The women are supposed to be either archers, healers, watchers or couriers, but a lot of them get sent off to be cooks and such. I'm not very good with a bow, so I mostly ran courier duty. They're early, on account of the mild winter we've had."

"
Hmm, all right, how will that affect me, as a visitor." Her brows drew together. "Not that I have the slightest idea of where to go when I've finished visiting."

"
I don't know." Liz admitted. "I suppose you could ride courier duty with me."

"
Well, I don't know where anything is, and I have a baby, so perhaps I had better look into the healing part of your organization, in the unlikely event anyone expects me to join in."

"
Umm, M'lady? Where are you going?"

"
Away. I . . . am fleeing, and I don't really remember why." She frowned and her eyes were distant. "I don't remember. I don't have anyplace to go
to
, so I suppose I'll stay here for a bit, and move on when it seems like time to go. I must have wandered around the hills west of here for almost a month before I spotted smoke from the town. Not a bad way to live, but a bit boring."

"
Oh, umm, if this were a normal winter, you wouldn't say that."

"
Perhaps not. So, does everyone just drop all their work and go do this militia stuff?"

"
Only for a few hours on three afternoons. Then we have a festival day, with all the groups working together. It won't start for a week. They'll drill with the baron's men for the first week. They're the important part, the militia is a last ditch, desperate sort of thing." Liz tapped her fingers. "I don't have a horse for the courier's group, anyway."

"
Take Phantom, he'll be ready for some exercise in a week, if not sooner".

Liz gulped.
"He's, um, a bit heavy for the courier's."

The l
ady smirked. "He's also fast. You'll see."

They picked through the meal, fed and changed Quail, and
sought their beds.

As she drifted off, Liz wondered a bit at the
sudden turn her fortunes had taken. How long would it last, and what she would do, where she would go, if this strange lady left as abruptly as she'd arrived?

Tuesday, February 17, 3493 AD

Jeramtown, Arrival

T
he bath was occupied by officers. Liz scowled and went to the kitchen for hot water. So the lady managed, if not a bath, at least to get clean. She opted first for her riding clothes, and Quail on her shoulder, sought the barn. Phantom was as big and black as Liz remembered, and when she led him out into the yard, even the bright morning sun couldn't point up any faults to his conformation.

A straggle of the troops came out and admired him too.

"Where did you find a horse like that?" One of the young officers from last night, the closest one to nice, walked around the stallion.

"
I bred him myself, in the Kingdom of the West, which, as the tavern keeper mentioned, isn't known here. I suppose it could be so far west it's east."

"
Never heard of it." The officer circled the horse again. "Will you sell him?"

"
No." The lady looked at Liz. "Do you have any ideas about the going rates for stud fees around here?"

"
For him? Twenty crits, at least, no doubt going up after he's got foals on the ground to point at for quality."

The officer sighed.
"I'll be sending some mares. Be sure of it. Lady?"

"
Quicksilver. December Quicksilver, my daughter Quail, and my companion, Miss Elizabeth Hinton."

"
Captain Kurt Alpha, at your service." He nodded politely.

Liz wheezed a bit, as she suddenly realized one of the King's sons had been sent to command the exercises this year. The one they were all talking about.

More of the Imperial troops were coming out, so the lady told Liz to put Phantom away, and they strolled out to the street. "Now tell me about money. What can I buy for a crit, and where shall I take gold coins to swap them for local currency?"

"
The Exchange, M'lady. Everything is bought and sold through the Exchange. Would you like to see it?"

"
Yes, I would, but perhaps I should change into a skirt, and bring some of the gold."

She simply exchanged pants for the red skirt, keeping even the boots, and pulling a sack out of the saddle bags, she followed Liz back out to the street. Jeramtown had good stone roads, with raised pedestrian walks along both sides. The
lady eyed a pram being pushed down the sidewalk. "I think I need one of those." She patted the quiet baby on her shoulder.

Liz was carrying a basket full of diapers and nodded enthusiastically.

***

The Exchange was an interesting place. Rather like a bank, it also bought and sold commodities in bulk. Warehouses full of wool, silos full of grain. Something called cotton was being actively traded at the moment, judging from the chalk boards. Cattle, sheep,
and pigs, not present, but apparently being bid on for delivery to various places.

December Quicksilver made note of the names and commodities, as Liz led her over to a corner where a board noted prices for gold, silver,
copper, tin and lead.

"
And how may I help you ladies today?" The title was definitely due to a quick once over of her business-like appearance and possibly demeanor, and possibly the maid.

December handed the baby to Liz and brought out
the bag with about half her gold coinage. "I've been abroad, and need to exchange this for something a bit more useful locally."

The clerk raised his eyebrows, and quickly brought out a scale and tall glass column
half full of water, with a scale marked up the side.

He weighed the coins,
and measured their volume. "Twenty-four carat gold, sixty-nine point 3 ounces at ninety-two crit per ounce will be six thousand, three hundred, seventy-five and sixty pence. How would you like this paid?"

"
Liz, how much money do I need in hand? I'd as soon bank any extra."

Liz appeared to be hyperventilating.
"M'lady, you could buy a house for that!"

"
If you would like to open an account, the Exchange bank has offices in every baron's seat and city in the nation, and in Arbolia and New Caledonia as well."

"
It sounds like an account would be an excellent idea. I'll take the three hundred seventy-five and sixty in cash. Or, wait a bit, how about taxes? There are always taxes."

That took more explanations, a visit to another clerk, and forms filled out all around.

She finally received a passbook that contained the record of her deposit and constituted her identification and guaranteed her access to the money, plus a receipt from the Mayor's Office for taxes paid to date, and instructions about the annual summary.

The coinage was delivered in a leather satchel, and
weighed nearly as much as all the gold. Much bulkier, of course.

"
So, how about we find one of those things? Prams?" December prodded Liz back into action.

The Jeramtown Market provided a pram, two pheasant feathers, and three bolts of marvelously light soft material woven from cotton. No wonder there was a major market for it. It wo
uld be a hit in . . . someplace. Some city she couldn't remember.

They ate lunch in a cafe, outdoors on the sidewalk, where she could people watch.
"So, Liz, how much does a lady's companion earn?"

Liz shook her head
in ignorance. "I always wanted to be a regular courier rider, except they don't take women. And I read so much, my mother thought I should be a maid in the baron's house, because I could borrow books from the baron's library. That didn't work out at all. But it paid two crit a month."

"
Two a
month
." December was aghast. "All right, let's start at six for a lady's companion. I expect we'll work up from there. Umm, how much, roughly would you expect my two rooms and some meals at the tavern to run?"

"
Half crit a day, with all meals and the horse and feed. One of those gold coins is good for well over a month, almost two."

"
Hmm, all right. How about a horse? A nice riding horse, nothing incredible."

"
Thirty or forty crit. Phantom is worth hundreds. Maybe
thousands
, if he's fertile and produces good foals."

"
Oh, yes, I've been very pleased with his foals." A memory of pinto foals frolicking flashed by and faded. Pintos?

Liz helped her dig through the coinage to pay the bill, and took a m
onth's pay in advance with wide-eyed astonishment. She took it all in pence rather than crit coins. All the coins were lightweight copper, zinc and tin alloys.

They wandered the market for hours, as the poor girl replaced things she'd had to abandon at home. It wasn't until the very end, when they stopped to watch a juggler and a magician entertain the crowd that December realized what was missing.

Magic.

She'd felt no magic all day. She been
'listening,' herself, knew when a merchant was cheating, knew that the clerk at the exchange gave her full value. But she hadn't felt any other magic. Not even the sort of subconscious usage of the untrained. It was very odd, and she'd probably better think about it before she did anything noticeable.

By the time th
ey returned to the tavern, the pram was full of everything except Quail, who was definitely cranky. Feeding and a nap took care of that.

December
eyed the "privy" with a censorious eye. It couldn't possibly be hygienic, right inside the building. And with water in it! No matter the piped in water from the rain cistern, that somehow sucked everything away. The little basin with the water tap was nice, if a bit off putting, in the same little closet with the toilet. At least they kept the baths separate, down by the kitchen, with a big hot water tank. But for now she washed her hands and face, then laid down and napped along with the baby.

***

Liz changed clothes, filled up her wardrobe with ready-mades, and walked down the street to the laundry, toting a large basketful. She been rinsing the diapers in the privvy, as they came off the baby, but a good boiling was in order. And her cottons, and the lady's linens and wools . . . where was she from, that they had no cotton? Liz hadn't been to the public laundry here often. The Baron had a laundry of his own, but the principles were the same. Boil the diapers. Cold wash and hang the wools, gently, then the linens and cottons, with a lot of thumping and rubbing for the heavier cloth. Ironing.

S
he sat and chatted, while other people did the work, for the lady's coin.

Actually she mostly listened, because most of the young women seemed to have spent the morning oogling the troops.

The officers were most admired. Two captains and six lieutenants. And the prince was most discussed.

"
They say he was badly hurt last year." Titters.

"
They say he caught a spear in the wrong spot and was gelded." One of the more earthy women said.

"
Oooo! Is that why they annulled the engagement to that Princess from Arbolia?"

"
Princess Augusta. Yep, although I figure that was a good thing anyway you look at it."

"
Not if they use that as an excuse to take offense and start a war over it."

"
If they want to start a war, they'll find an excuse, or create one." Liz put in.

"
How true." The lady running the diapers through the mangle nodded. "My man always says they have a war nearly every decade, and they'd be making up their minds which country was next, almost any time now. Of course, he's been saying that for years."

"
Well, gelded or not, I thought he was handsome, and the troops looked very good this morning." The blonde girl was dressed like a ladies maid, and Liz wondered if she ought to have bought a different type of clothes.

"
The Arbolians won't attack, we'd be too expensive a bite to chew. And even if they did, they'd hit the center, try for the capital right away, not bother with us out here in the west." The pretty brunette was slightly powdered with flour. A baker's daughter, or possibly a very young wife.

A woman minding chi
ldren of about two and five snickered. "Most likely the first we'd hear about would be a letter to the Mayor about the new address to send the taxes to."

That brought a round of laughter, and a few more absurd suggestions about how and when they'd hear a
bout the fall of their king. Liz thought of the bright officer this morning, and wondered if the king was much like the son.

Finally, with everything ironed and folded, she made her way back to the
tavern and the rooms at the back. The baby was awake, and the lady was speaking quietly to her. Liz put everything away quietly, and they walked out for an early dinner. The eight officers were eating as well. A working dinner of some sort, as they were tracing things on the table top and listening intently to the prince. The other captain looked a bit put out. She couldn't catch anything but random comments.

"
. . . try again tomorrow, Franklin, maybe you can . . . "

"
. . . shouldn't need to . . . "

"
They have nothing to go on but stupid rumors, the . . . "

"
. . . combine practice with a long sweep to the south next week . . . "

"
So, tell me, Liz, who is in charge of the militia's medical team. I was thinking perhaps I should speak to her?"

Liz blinked at the lady.
"Him. Doctor Easler always heads the emergency staff. Women just do the nursing."

"
Goodness," the lady blinked as if she was surprised. "Well, then perhaps I should speak to him?"

The serving girl had heard them and shook her head.
"He's mean. Best thing is to just show up and get your name on the list, so you get credit for participating. Without any patients to actually nurse, we don't do much of anything."

"
Hmm, how about showing up with a baby?" the lady asked.

"
Oh, you'll get sent right back, M'lady. The doctor doesn't much like hearing a baby crying."

"
Well, it'll still work better than archer or courier." The lady turned to the girl. "Now what was that I smelled baking earlier?"

"
Peach pie, M'lady, last of this years crop. Two pieces?"

"
I going to get fat, even feeding the baby."

The lady looked over at Liz.
"How about tomorrow we take a ride? You can see how Phantom moves."

Liz could feel herself grinning.
"Oh yes. I'd like that very much."

"
Does the tavern have a horse we could rent?"