“I swear to you, Evelyn, it is not as bad as you think,” Senneth said. “Just because I cut my hair myself doesn’t mean I’m in danger of losing my soul. You don’t know many mystics, but I assure you they are all ragged vagabonds. Some of them even worse than me.”
“I don’t care about any of
them
,” Evelyn said. “It is
you
I worry about.”
“It’s kind of you,” Senneth said. “But, Evelyn, I am perfectly happy in my life. I would be sorry to see it change.”
Still, in an effort to reassure her hostess, Senneth submitted to the rest of the rehabilitation. The dresser was allowed to give her hair a rather more professional trim and find some narrow ribbons to hold the fine hair from her face. Senneth grudgingly admitted that the style was attractive. She was patient with the seamstress when the woman returned with a flattering green-and-blue-striped dress that still needed to be pinned and tucked against Senneth’s body. She allowed her hands and face to be rubbed with scented creams, she tried on dozens of pairs of fashionable shoes, and she agreed to wear a pair of gold earrings that Evelyn found in her own jewelry box, though she refused to take off the simple gold pendant that she always wore. She also declined Evelyn’s offer to make up her face.
“Still,” Evelyn said, stepping back to survey her, “the transformation is quite impressive. I might almost think you were a Twelfth House serramarra come to give consequence to my little house.”
“I certainly hope that is not what your guests are expecting to meet tonight.”
“Not at all,” Evelyn replied. “I just told them that you were a somewhat distant kinswoman who had been spending an agreeable few days with me.”
“Do they know I’m a mystic?”
“Betony does,” Evelyn said. “She’s my cousin, you know, and we’re quite close. She’s not afraid of magic, and she can be trusted not to repeat secrets.”
Senneth shrugged. “I am what I am,” she said, adding, with dark humor, “And if anyone doesn’t like it, I’ll set them on fire.”
“That will not be necessary, I’m sure,” Evelyn said. “We will have a very agreeable and civilized visit.”
Two
A
bout fifteen minutes into the first luncheon with Evelyn’s guests, Senneth was convinced her hostess was right: There would be no need for incendiary theatrics. Evelyn’s little group of friends appeared to be very much like Evelyn herself: well-behaved, intelligent, friendly people with just enough breeding to make them gracious but not enough consequence to be insufferable. And despite the fact that it had been at least two years since Senneth had attempted to hold her own in such company, she found that she was having no trouble keeping her place in the conversation. In fact, though she didn’t like to admit it, she was almost enjoying herself.
Since this was not a formal meal, Evelyn had made no attempt to keep the numbers even. One set of guests were the Cordwains—Evelyn’s cousin Betony, just as small and outgoing as Evelyn; and Betony’s husband, Albert, a big man with a ready laugh. Accompanying the Cordwains were their nearest neighbors. Degarde Farthess was a slim, intense, and attractive man about Senneth’s own height. His sister Julia, a recent widow, presented an appearance of frailty and confusion barely held in check behind a brave smile. She spent most of the meal trying to get her rambunctious two-year-old daughter, Halie, to sit quietly in her chair, a task that was clearly beyond her. Senneth was a little surprised that anyone would think such a young child would be an asset at a social gathering, but it was clear that everyone in the room was both fond of the little girl and accustomed to her high spirits.
“Do you have children of your own, Senneth?” Julia asked as the first course was being served. Halie was bouncing on Julia’s lap, pulling at her mother’s hair, and reaching small, stubby fingers out to catch at the servants as they glided by.
“I don’t,” Senneth said. “I have often thought I would not have the necessary patience to be a good mother.”
“It doesn’t require patience as much as stamina and iron will,” Degarde put in humorously. “You think of children as being small, angelic creatures who will love you with their entire hearts. And instead they are savages intent on nothing but destruction and getting whatever it is they want—and they can
want
with an astounding ferocity.”
Julia, sitting across from him, laughed and pulled Halie’s curious fingers from her own mouth. Senneth, beside Degarde, turned to him with a smile. “You speak as someone with vast experience,” she said. “Do you have children as well?”
“I have not yet had the fortune of taking a bride,” he replied. Senneth guessed he was a few years younger than she was—perhaps thirty or thirty-one—certainly an age at which a personable young man with a little property might expect to be married. Perhaps he had suffered a bitter disappointment in love. He went on, “But in addition to Halie, I have three nieces and two nephews among my other brothers and sisters. And all of them, may I say, are just as unruly. It has led me to wonder if I might not be too faint of heart to ever attempt the task of parenting.”
“Oh, I found my children a delight at every age!” Evelyn exclaimed. She had two grown sons who were long out of the house. One was a sailor and one was a soldier. “But I admit they were not
easy
children. Particularly at this age.”
“Well, nothing worthwhile
is
easy,” Albert said. Senneth had the distinct impression he was bored by the turn of the conversation. “Farming—commerce—soldiering—it’s all work when you think of it.”
Evelyn turned her attention to him. “Indeed, yes, tell us about your recent business ventures!” she said. “Are you still attempting to come to terms with your Lirren traders?”
“
Attempting
is exactly the word for it,” Albert said a little ruefully. “We have conversations, they show me the raw gems, I indicate my interest, and yet nothing is ever finalized. I can’t determine if they don’t trust
me
or if they don’t trust anyone from this side of the Lireth Mountains. If the quality of the stones wasn’t so fine, and if I didn’t already have a buyer in Ghosenhall who’s interested, I’d be tempted to wash my hands of the whole idea.”
Senneth’s attention had been caught by the first mention of the word
Lirren
. The Lirrenfolk were a fierce, close-knit, insular network of families who lived just across the mountain range that marked the boundary of Gillengaria, and Kianlever was comfortably nestled right up against that range. Still, it was rare that the clans crossed the mountains for any reason whatsoever. “How did you manage to scrape an acquaintance with a Lirren man to begin with?” Senneth asked.
Albert offered a booming laugh. “I’d been tracking a wolf that had been hanging around my property, and he lured me up into the mountains, where I got caught by snow.”
“I was so worried about him,” Betony said.
“I got turned around in the blizzard and went down the wrong slope. Halfway down I came across a campfire and three Lirren men roasting dinner. They were so unfriendly that I figured they’d just as soon kill me as come to my aid, but they let me sit around their fire till the storm passed.”
“The Lirrenfolk don’t like outsiders,” Senneth said.
“Quite obvious!”
“But they are used to offering hospitality to travelers, since that is the only way to cross their land,” she added. “There are no inns and cities like we’re used to, just these small communities of family homesteads. They can be very generous even to strangers—as long as those strangers aren’t from a warring clan.”
“How do you know so much about them?” Julia asked.
Oh, this was the first tricky question that could lead to more tricky questions about Senneth’s complex and unconventional life. She contemplated a lie, but gave it up as being too difficult to maintain if anyone pressed for more details. “I lived with a Lirren family for a time,” she said.
Degarde laid down his fork and stared at her.
“Really,”
he said. “I imagine that is a tale far more fascinating than Albert’s account of his blizzard encounter.”
“Maybe, but I don’t wish to tell it,” she said, smiling. “I’d much rather hear how Albert went from unwanted guest at the campfire to potential trading partner.”
Good manners prevented anyone from indulging curiosity by asking more pointed questions. “Well, I offered to share my rations, which were accepted, and I laid down my weapons to show that I was peaceful,” Albert said. “I happened to be carrying an exceptionally fine dagger, and one of the men at the fire—he looked to be about sixteen—he was quite taken with it. So I said, ‘I’d be happy to leave that weapon with you in return for your kindness in sharing the fire with me.’ That seemed to please all of them—if you can tell anything by the expressions on their faces—and then we all ate the food. And then we all slept. And the next morning the oldest man said if I wanted to return to this very spot in three weeks’ time, he could bring me gems to look over. I formed the opinion,” Albert added, “that merely by not trying to kill anyone in the middle of the night, I had displayed some kind of honor or passed some kind of test.”
Senneth was laughing. “If you had tried to attack any of them while they were sleeping,” she said, “you would most assuredly be dead. They are quite accomplished fighters and always eager to take up weapons. No doubt one of them stayed awake all night, watching to make sure you did not turn violent. Probably the young boy, in fact, who would have happily killed you with your own weapon.”
Betony had a hand pressed to her heart. “I’m glad I knew none of this the whole time he was gone!”
“And nothing you say makes me any more confident that I will ever be able to secure their trade,” Albert said. “I feel that they are still trying to determine if I am worthy of their business, but I don’t know what proof they are looking for. I don’t know what they consider important.”
“Did you return to that spot in three weeks?” Senneth wanted to know. “Did they have jewels to sell you?”
Albert waved a hand dismissively. “Yes—just a few samples—and I handed them coins and everyone was satisfied, but it was such a meager amount. To really make this worthwhile, we need to trade in quantity. I need ten times the number of stones. But they keep stalling.”
“What would you advise him to do?” Degarde asked Senneth. “What would make them trust Albert?”
She thought it over. “What matters to them more than anything is family,” she said. “Generations live together in interconnected clan networks, and they can recite for you how everyone is related. While there are a few people who break free of the clans and have respectable positions within their society, for the most part, they distrust anyone who seems solitary or self-reliant.” She looked at Albert. “Were you accompanied by anyone when you met with them?”
Albert shook his head. “No, I went alone.”
“Then for your next visit, bring along a son or two, perhaps a couple of nephews. A brother, if you have one. None of them need to speak during your negotiations, but they should be very alert and interested in the conversations. And if one or two of them likes to brawl,” she added with a laugh, “that is no bad thing. As long as he can handle himself in a fight and acquit himself with skill.”
Albert looked bemused. “This is not how business is done among the Twelve Houses. I would never offer violence to a man I was trying to strike a deal with!”
“I’m curious,” Degarde said. “You suggested Albert only bring male relatives with him. Are women a liability?”
“Not at all,” Senneth said. “You might see a Lirren woman traveling with her brothers and husband and sons—but she would probably be older and married. The Lirrenfolk are very protective of their women. They do not let their girls marry outside the clans. But they greatly value the advice and wisdom of older women.”
Albert took Betony’s hand in his. “So I should bring my wife along on my next trip.”
Betony looked so alarmed by the prospect that Senneth laughed again. “She would be perfectly welcome, but she would not give you as much status in their eyes as a few rough-and-tumble young kinsmen,” she said.
“Curtis would be happy to go with you,” Betony murmured to her husband. “And Seever! They’d love being told they should pick a fight.”
“It seems like odd advice, but I am willing to try it,” Albert said. “I am getting nowhere using other methods.”
“You should bring Senneth with you next time you negotiate,” Julia suggested. She had lowered Halie to the floor and now the little girl was crawling under the table. Senneth saw Degarde hastily scoot his chair back when Halie started prying at the buckles on his boot.
“An excellent idea!” Betony exclaimed.
“Indeed, yes, you could help me translate Lirren notions into rational behavior,” Albert said.
Senneth laughed, but then she realized he was serious. “Oh—I’m not sure I would be much of an asset,” she demurred.
“Well, you wouldn’t be a hindrance,” Albert said. “I could hardly do
worse
with the Lirrenfolk than I have done so far.”
“Oh, I wish you would!” Degarde said. “Julia and I live a short ride from the Cordwains. We would love to have you among our small circle for a few days.”
“What a most excellent idea,” Evelyn said, giving Senneth a meaningful look. “How enjoyable for Senneth to spend a week or two among you and your friends. They all live a stone’s throw from a most charming town,” Evelyn added for Senneth’s edification. “You would have a most enjoyable visit.”
“Oh, but really—I had no thought of taking such a detour—”
“Are you on a schedule?” Betony asked. “Is someone expecting you? Could you write and ask pardon for a delay?”
This was where the vagabond’s life truly failed you, Senneth thought bitterly. It was so empty that it never offered excuses. In fact, she had no deadlines at all—no reason she could not accompany these people back to their little town and live with them
forever
, should the arrangement seem appealing. “Not exactly, but—it is hard to explain,” she replied somewhat desperately. “I am so used to my solitude—I do not think I would make much of a guest—”