The Gentleman Bastard Series (215 page)

“Stage-mistress,” said Jenora. “Costumes, scenery, props. If it doesn’t walk around on its own legs, it’s my business.”

“And assuming,” said Locke, “that a miracle occurred, and the gods themselves transported Moncraine out of gaol, would we have work for the summer?”

“We’ve lost some rehearsal time,” said Sylvanus, easing himself onto his back with a sigh.

“That sounds like a hint at a
yes
,” said Locke.

“The real problem is money,” said Mistress Gloriano. “I invested in Moncraine two years ago for my niece’s sake, and he’s still down to me for twelve royals. And I’m the
least
troublesome of those he’s bound to—”

“Money troubles can be finessed,” said Locke.

“There’s no credit to be had,” said Alondo. “None of us can buy so much as a grain of rice on a promise. We can find scut-work to stay fed, or even do morality plays in the streets, but the company has no funds … for scribing, for costumes, masks, lights—”

“And we have no venue, nor transport to it,” said Jenora. “There’s two rooms of old props and clothes we can work with, all stored here, but we’ll make a laughingstock of ourselves if we’re seen hauling it around on foot.”

“More of a laughingstock,” muttered Alondo.

“We have a wagon,” said Locke. “Give us a moment.” He pulled Jean and Sabetha away from the tattered remnants of the Moncraine Company.

“That’s a lot of our money sewn up in the wagon and horses,” said Jean.

“I know,” said Locke. “What if we sold two horses and kept the other pair?”

“Taking care of them is going to use up more time and money we hadn’t planned on spending,” said Sabetha.

“Yeah,” said Locke, “but if we can’t get this troupe back to work, we might as well turn around and roll straight back to Camorr. If that’s the plan, I’m sure as hell going to develop a speech impediment when we explain things to Chains.”

“Hardly our fault Moncraine punched a swell,” said Jean.

“Chains will expect more from us than a quick sniff around before we give up,” said Sabetha. “We were sent here
expressly
to restore Moncraine’s fortunes. We’ve got to pry him out of this mess somehow.”

“And what if we can’t?” said Jean softly.

“Then at least we tried,” said Locke. “Sabetha’s right. It’s one thing to go home with our options exhausted; it’s another to fold at the first sign of trouble.”

“We’ll need more money,” said Sabetha. “I don’t see much chance of any thoughtful schemes just yet, but pockets are pockets and purses are purses. If we—”

“No,” said Locke. “We can’t be thieves, remember? We’ve got more trouble than we bargained for just pretending to be actors.”

The expression on Sabetha’s face was so dangerous that Locke became aware of it, like the heat from an oil lamp, before he even turned to see it. He put his hands up, palms out.

“Sabetha, I know what you’re thinking.… I’ve been dwelling on what you said, believe me. I can’t insist that you follow my orders. But I am asking you to consider my points, and let me convince you.”

Her expression softened. “Maybe there’s hope for you after all,” she said. “So make your case.”

“We don’t
know
this place,” said Locke. “We don’t know the constables, the gangs, or the hiding places. What would we think of some asshole from the outlands trying to come it the slick coat-teaser back in Camorr? We’d laugh at the yokel and watch him hang. Well, in Espara
we’re
the yokels. And if we make a mistake, there’s no Secret Peace to fall back on.

“It’s not that we might not need to clutch and tease a bit,” he continued. “Just not
yet
. Not until we’ve learned our way around.”

“I see your point,” she said. “In fact, I’m sure you’re right. Maybe I’m a little too used to the conveniences of home.”

She put out her hand, and Locke, after a moment, smiled and shook it firmly.

“Who the hell are you people,” said Jean, “and where did you get those excellent Locke and Sabetha disguises?”

“Quit gaping, Jean. Let’s move fast,” said Sabetha sweetly. “We need horses sold, horses stabled, Moncraine freed, money changed, and rooms. And that’s just off the top of my head.”

“Mistress Gloriano,” Locke yelled, turning back toward her, “we don’t mean to put you to any trouble, but we need rooms in a hurry so we can unload our wagon.”

“You’re really staying, then?”

“Of course,” said Locke. “And keep a tab separate from the rest of the company. We’ll pay actual money.”

For a few days at least
, he thought.

“Well,” said Mistress Gloriano, as though coming out of a trance. “I’ve no shortage of rooms.”

“Giacomo,” shouted Sabetha, “Castellano!”

Calo and Galdo came at a near-run and skidded to a halt in front of Sylvanus.

“These are the Asino brothers,” said Sabetha. “You two, find out where Mistress Gloriano’s putting us, and get our things heaved out of the wagon as quick as you can.”

“What, first we’re the bloody wagon guards, now we’re fuckin’ stevedores?” said Calo. “You want a foot massage and some chilled wine while you watch us work?”

“We’ve all got jobs,” said Sabetha, “and if you touch my feet I’ll cut your ears off.
Move!
”

The next fifteen minutes were a blur of activity for everyone except Sylvanus, for whom they were merely a blur. Jean took a moment to pitch a little tent over the prostrate actor using the wagon tarp and some sticks, and then the Gentlemen Bastards heaved their possessions into two rooms selected by Mistress Gloriano. These were fine examples of how middle age, while charming in some humans, is less endearing in wood-panel construction and unpreserved wall tapestries. The twins claimed one room, Locke and Jean the other, and Sabetha accepted Jenora’s invitation to share her room down the corridor.

Once the wagon was emptied, Jean selected the less healthy pair of horses and with Jenora’s aid got them stabled. Alondo claimed to have a cousin working as a hostler near the Jalaan Gate, so Jean enlisted the young actor to help walk the best two horses back to the caravan staging area for resale.

“Now,” Locke said to Mistress Gloriano, “we need Jasmer back. For that I think we’ll need a solicitor.”

“I suppose it can’t be helped,” she said. “I’ve given Jasmer so much slack these past few years in the hope my investment might find its way home again.”

“Let him have a bit more,” said Locke. “We’re here now, for what it’s worth. And we
need
a Moncraine play. There’s no work for us back home.”

“I had wondered at the nature of your devotion. Jasmer’s a Syresti, you know. Capricious and moody. Barely reliable! Not an even-tempered Okanti like myself or Jenora. Let me tell you, boy, if I knew then what a hole I’d be throwing my money down—”

“Yes, I’m sure you’re quite right,” said Locke in a placating tone of voice. “But a solicitor …?”

“There is a fellow,” said Mistress Gloriano, “back up the avenue the way you came. Stay-Awake Salvard, he’s called, on account of his peculiar hours. He’s done papers for me. I wouldn’t go so far as to accuse him of being a gentleman. Works for a lot of … colorful sorts.”

“That’s good,” said Locke. “That’s great. We’re colorful sorts.”

2

“ETIENNE DELANCARRE Domingo Salvard,” said Sabetha, reading out loud from the lantern-lit plaque beside the building’s street entrance. “Master solicitor, bonded law-scribe, authorized notary, executor of wills and estates, Vadran translator and transcriber. Fortunes assured, justice delivered, enemies confounded. Reasonable rates.”

Locke and Sabetha alone had come on this errand, after washing the smell of the road from their more accessible parts and swapping their filthy caravan clothes for less offensive outfits. Salvard’s office was perched on the edge of the increasing desolation that led to Solace Hill, a way station between the couth and uncouth districts of the city.

The comfortless wooden furniture and empty walls inside seemed, to Locke’s eye, to indicate a certain desire to avoid giving rowdy clientele any objects for vandalism. A thin man with slicked-back hair sat behind a little podium, and near the stairs on the far side of the room lounged an uncommonly large woman. Her quilted black tunic had obvious armor panels behind the facing.

“Evening,” said the thin man. “Appointment?”

“Do we really need one?” said Sabetha. “We’re on urgent business.”

“Two coppins consultation fee,” said the thin man, “plus one for expedited consideration.”

“We’re just in from Camorr,” said Locke. “We haven’t changed our money yet.”

“Camorri barons accepted,” said the thin man. “One-for-one basis, plus one for changing fee.”

Locke shook four copper coins out of his purse. The clerk inked a quill and began scrawling on a card.

“Names?”

“Verena Gallante,” said Sabetha, “and Lucaza de Barra.”

“Camorri subjects?”

“Yes.”

The clerk set down his quill, slid open a hatch in the wall behind him, placed the card within this compartment, and turned a hand crank. A miniature dumbwaiter went up, and a minute later the muffled jingling of a bell could be heard from within the shaft.

“Weapons not allowed upstairs,” said the clerk, rapping his knuckles on the surface of his podium. “Cheerfully guarded here. Arms out for search.”

The big woman gave them both a thorough pat-down. A garrote or a fruit-paring blade might have slipped through, but Etienne Delancarre Domingo Salvard clearly had strong feelings about allowing anything more conveniently deadly into his presence.

“They’re clean,” said the woman, with a half-smile. “Of weapons, that is.”

“Proceed,” said the clerk, pointing to the stairs. “Pleasant consultation.”

Stay-Awake Salvard sat behind a desk that completely bisected the floor of his office, ensuring that anyone attempting to leap at him would have one final obstacle to surmount while he escaped or armed himself. Locke wondered if it was the nature of his clients or the quality of his advice that had made him such a cautious fellow.

“Have a seat. You two are a bit young to be caught up in the grasping tentacles of the law, aren’t you?” Salvard was a wiry man in his forties with a leonine mane of graying hair, swept back as though he’d just spent twenty minutes on a galloping horse. His nose was built to support the weight of optics much heavier than the dainty piece actually perched there. Two pipes rested in wooden cradles on his cluttered desk, framing him in gray pillars of aromatic smoke. “Or is it some matter of a marriage, perhaps?”

“Certainly not,” said Sabetha. “We have a friend in trouble.”

“Supply the details.”

“He struck a gentleman above his station,” said Sabetha.

“Is your friend taken? Or has he fled?”

“They put him in something called the Weeping Tower,” said Locke.

“Tricky. I’m afraid the weight of the law is against him, and he should expect to be trimmed like a hedge,” said Salvard. “But these incidents can sometimes be portrayed in a sympathetic light. What else should I know?”

“He’s a bit of a drunkard,” said Locke.

“Many of my clients have crawled inside a bottle for solace. It’s no unusual challenge.”

“And he’s a member of a night-skinned race,” said Locke. “A black Syresti.”

“A noble people, as ancient as our own, with many admirers at court.”

“Our friend is … next to penniless.”

“Yet obviously he has allies,” said Salvard warmly, extending his arms toward Locke and Sabetha, “who can be relied upon to take up his interests. My fee schedules are quite elastic. Anything else?”

“He’s the owner and manager of a theatrical troupe.”

Salvard lost his smile. He took a long pull on his left-hand pipe, set it down, then smoked its counterpart. He alternated pipes several times, staring at Locke and Sabetha. Finally, he said, “So, we’re talking about Jasmer Moncraine, then?”

“You know him?” said Locke.

“I should have guessed his identity sooner from the particulars, save for the fact that you genuinely seemed to want him back. That put me off the true scent. What’s your interest in his cause?”

“We’re actors, engaged by him for the summer,” said Sabetha. “We’ve only just arrived in the city.”

“My condolences. I have one piece of relevant advice.”

“Anything,” said Sabetha.

“Many men in low trades adapt to the loss of a hand and wear hooks. In Jasmer’s case, his vanity will never allow it. If you’re still in Espara next summer as his stump heals, get him a simple leather cap for it, and—”

“We need him back
now
,” said Sabetha. “We need him out of custody.”

“Well, you won’t get him, not through the workings of anyone in my profession. Now, now, my dear, it pains me to see that look on your face as much as it pains me to refuse work, so let me explain. My happy fortune is your hard luck. You must have heard of Amilio Basanti.”

“Actually, no,” said Locke.

“You truly are fresh off the wagon, aren’t you? Basanti is the impresario of the city’s other major company of actors, the stable and successful one. In a fortnight, Demoiselle Amilyn Basanti, his youngest sister, will become Mistress Amilyn
Salvard
.”

“Oh,” said Sabetha.

“If I were to become an advocate for the very rival my future brother-by-bonding loathes so famously, well, surely you can see that the effect upon my marital relations could only be … chilling.”

“Can you recommend someone who wouldn’t be at cross-purposes?” said Locke.

“There are five other solicitors-at-law in Espara,” said Salvard, “and none of them will touch the case. You must understand, if I weren’t taking a bride I’d argue it for pleasure. I
enjoy
annoying magistrates, and I handle even the lowest and most difficult clients. No offense. My peers, however, prefer to win their cases, and this one cannot be won.”

“But those excuses you just came up with—”

“Could
mitigate
the situation, perhaps. Surely you understand that those of elevated blood don’t keep laws on the books that would require them to take abuse from their inferiors. I wouldn’t cite law; I’d beg for mercy! I’d spin yarns about destitute friends and children. But since I’m not going to do those things, Moncraine’s trial will last about as long as this conversation.”