I missed when the runner came and took the missives and was now slowly knocking my head against the desk over and over. “Why. Can’t. I. Figure. This. Out. Oh, I’ve lived for hundreds of thousands of years... I’ve learned dozens of languages. Mastered every instrument in this world. Yet some silly little way to hide information from others and I can’t figure it out.” I was well aware that my tone had gone from frustration to petulance. This was all a silly thing anyway. Why did I have to go out of my way to warn him? However, helping him would get the Advisor on my side, his idea to show me off to the other families had merit.
The difference in cleverness had never been so apparent until this moment. The ingenuity of the human mind defeated me like a well prepared group of dragon hunters. Hells, I would take a group of dragon hunters over having to break this. Maybe though I needed this. Maybe the gods were challenging me in order to make me ready for the far future or something. It could be that the very information I sought in the library of the royals, their ancient diaries, would be coded and I would need to figure that out to find the information I needed. I had to trust in the path of the gods in this way.
I stood and started pacing around the room with one journal in hand turning page after page. Slowly but surely reading through the inane information and ramblings. Looking for spelling errors, repeating characters, odd word choices. I turned my brain into overdrive before I was interrupted by a gentle knock on the door.
Angela stepped inside, “Good afternoon sir. Sir Ermine has requested your presence at tea so that he and you can discuss what you will do to entertain his guests in the coming days. Please if you would follow me.”
Taking a reprieve from the source of my frustrations and trying to clear my mind so that it would be a clean slate next time I sat down to keep working on this problem I followed Angela through the home until we arrived on one of the many balconies throughout the home. Two cups of steaming tea sat on the table with a pile of biscuits to savor while enjoying whatever brew they might be providing. I bowed to the table, “May I sit Sir Ermine.”
“Yes please do. I’m sure that we can have much to discuss about how you’ll be entertaining my guests while we are discussing deals. We should also talk about us loaning your skills to other homes and what we might charge for such a display. Some of it is minute details but any way we can bolster the coffers after how much I had to spend to secure forces for my lord would help. In these trying time every bit counts.”
I took my chair slowly and listened to his words as I sampled one of the biscuits, they were hard and crunchy but gave just the right amount of resistance to the teeth. I sipped the black robust tea and the warmth filled me. I hadn’t realized how cold the air had gotten in the study without me lighting anything. “Well, I’m not used to what you would charge a noble for the lending of a minstrel. I only know what I get from working in a tavern. I did do some work for the Rutherfords but they seemed to only want my skills in training their children. Can’t say that worked out for me as well as I had hoped.”
Tracey scoffed, “The Rutherfords are so new to the noble courts. Lesser of lesser family. The head of the family is such a miser he even charges other homes for the meals he hosts at their home here in the capital. A shame on his family and house. Let us not talk about them. They did spread word though of your skill in music, so maybe you can bring together short tales that can entertain for an evening after a meeting.”
He sipped his tea in silence as he made some mental calculations. “I say we loan you for five pence a night. You’ll go after dinners and I’m sure those with children will appreciate a night time story so make them good for children and not overly harsh or speaking of war do you understand. You’ll get a pence for each night plus continued room and board here. Do you agree to these terms?”
I had no choice but to accept. I needed to stay in a noble house for homelessness in this part of the city would no doubt not be tolerated. “That sounds reasonable to me. Where does the rest of the income go? I’m sure a few pence isn’t much to the coffers of the Ursal house.”
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Tracey waved his hand back and forth like spreading unpleasant smoke away from his nose. “I can’t go into the details on the state of the coffers. But let me just tell you that every last bit counts right now. I want to make sure the future is secure for the good duke.” I let the conversation lapse for a moment while we both enjoyed the tea and biscuits.
“When is the first appointment? I’d like to be ready with my instrument already tuned.” I casually pushed my empty cup away and nibbled on the last biscuit idly while waiting for him to finish.
Wiping the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief Tracey stood away from the table. “You have today to yourself, tomorrow and you’ll be asked to entertain our guests. They’ll be coming shortly after luncheon. During tea time after initial negotiations I’ll want you to play some background music for us to enjoy. After that I’ll be hammering down some details and I suspect that some of them might bring children. I would appreciate it if you keep them entertained with the staff of the house. Can you commit to that?”
Finishing my biscuit I sipped the tea in thought. I did want to build in roads and telling some short stories to children would gain my droplets of strength. Two birds with one stone as they say. “I’m more than happy to offer my skills. I appreciate the thought you’ve put in about all this. I hope I live up to your expectations.”
The look of clouded thoughts plagued Tracey’s face as he walked away. The other servants bustled in and started to clean up afternoon tea. I looked at my new clothes and how well they fit on me. It still felt a little strange to be in such a flamboyant outfit compared to my usual richer dark purple colors. To be in something so bright and floral was such a difference. My chosen dark hair and sun kissed skin didn’t blend well with the new outfit and if it wouldn’t be such a drastic change I would alter my skin and hair to mesh better. I’d have to natural desaturate my skin from the dark tan it had become.
As I walked through the home I found Angela once more and she had a large scroll in her arms. She bowed to me deeply, “I’ve found the most recent map of the capital that the house owns. It might need some updating but such an expense would need to be approved by Sir Ermine. I hope it meets your needs.”
“Bring it to my study, I need to take a break away from the master study. I’ll be right there in a moment.” Angela scurried off and I looked for the head servant that led the household. It was like finding a needle in a stack of needles. I needed to know what kind of freedoms I would have while here at the noble quarter and wanted a tutoring of what I could reasonably get away with.
I snagged one of the younger women running about and sighed at the roughness I had just displayed. All this frustration was starting to wear on my nerves, “Could you summon the head servant for me. I have some questions I would like to ask him. Tell him I’ll be in my private study when he is ready.”
I did my best not to drag my feet as I once more headed to a stuffy office that started to feel more like a cage of my own making in comparison to the roads I had been walking on so recently. Angela was nowhere to be seen when I entered the room and I decided to study the map. Looking over it the streets were a lot wider than the lesser districts and each place seemed to have its own grounds around the main home. In comparison the Ursal estate was rather lesser than some of the most extravagant places.
I had aligned myself with what appeared to be a lesser Dukedom or one that was more tight with their coin and didn’t worry about the appearance it would have to the other houses. Something though fired in my mind as I looked at the names of all the estates. The journals had a lot of the same names as these places but not in the context of the actual homes. Could this be one of the many keys to the code? Had I started to make a breakthrough?
My thoughts were dashed by a knock on the door and I spun about. “You summoned me sir?”
I had no idea where my thoughts could have been taking me and now that moment of inspiration was dashed against the rocks like a ship hitting the shore. “Yes, I need to know what my standing would be with the other houses. Am I confined to a lesser role even if I am a guest of the Duke?”
“Unfortunately yes, you have no noble standing or titles at this time and that limits who and where you can talk and go. If for some reason you are able to earn a title or become part of the greater court you would still be on the smallest rungs of society and would have just a little more freedom than most.”
Stroking my chin I would just have to do what I could with time. “Is there a way for me to arrange a meeting with servants of the other houses? Is that something of a possibility?”
Curiosity in his eyes he looked at me with a new light, “Yes, it is uncommon for servants to request the company of one another but it isn’t unheard of. It would have to be in the slower times of the day. Such as after dinner, or afternoon tea. Is there particular houses you would like to talk to? Some of the women here are married to other servants of other homes. That would be the best way for you to arrange a meeting with another person without formal letters. Most of us servants are illiterate. Though I am an exception of course.”
Plans began to form in my head, I could start gathering information from the bottom up. My entertaining the children would do little for me to comprehend the situation but if I could ingratiate myself to the servants that help them I could start looking from the bottom up. What secrets could each house hold. Where would I find the most information about the fate of Profitable? I would find out as best I could.
“That will be all for now. Thank you for your time. Please summon me for dinner.”
“As you will.”
I turned back to the map and started to piece together the thoughts that started to form in my mind. The houses were mentioned more than I expected and in ways that didn’t involve their dealings. Maybe it was short hand for bundles of information. Yes, but what could each house mean?
I whispered to myself, “One step closer.”