*
When she got back to the Shadow headquarters, Eleanor went straight to Ivan’s room.
“Shall we talk over dinner?” he said when he saw her. “I’m almost getting used to the food here, but we could go out if you prefer.”
“Does Nicholas have a better chef?” she asked. “Because I think he might be interested in the latest developments, and we need to finalise our plan.”
Ivan smiled. “I always knew you were a smart girl. Yes, the palace chef is much better – come in for a drink, and I’ll send one of the kids round to let him know to expect us.”
Once he’d dispatched a young Shadow with a message to Nicholas, he poured two large glasses of wine and sat beside Eleanor on the pallet. “Sounds like it’s all going well, then?”
“We’re getting close,” she said. “I’m meeting their boy – or whoever else they send to negotiate – on the full moon.”
“And then?”
“Then we organise the exchange, and make sure we’re ready for them.”
“Good work. Nicholas will be pleased.”
“I hope so.” She swallowed the last mouthful of her wine. “Shall we go and find out?”
The palace chef was not only good but speedy, and their first course was already waiting on the table in Nicholas’s room when they arrived. They sat down to eat straight away and Eleanor kept quiet throughout the meal, allowing Ivan and Nicholas to fill the conversation with meaningless gossip from Venncastle. It was only as they began their dessert that Nicholas asked the reason for the sudden visit.
“Eleanor pointed out that you had a better chef than down in the barracks,” Ivan said.
“Well, of course, and you’re very welcome. But I suspect you had another reason.”
“We’re getting close to our targets,” Eleanor said. “I had my first bite yesterday, and I’m meeting with their representative on the night of the full moon.”
“Do you need backup for that meeting?” Nicholas asked.
“No, I’ll make sure he’s alone before I show myself,” Eleanor said. “And they wouldn’t risk playing games with this – it’s only a preliminary meeting, and the prize we’re dangling in front of them is worth much more than any satisfaction they might get from trying to slit my throat.”
“Well, just shout if you want anyone else to come along.”
“I’ll be fine, and it’ll be a short meeting. My goals are just to check it’s really one of their people rather than someone looking to make a few quick dollars, and then to arrange the details of our sale.”
“And then you’ll need me,” Nicholas said. “I see.”
“Only if you want to be there. If you’d prefer not to take the risk, I’m sure Ivan or I would take the key and play bait.”
Nicholas put down his spoon and leaned across the table towards Eleanor. “You’ve never had anything like this key to take care of,” he said. “So I wouldn’t expect you to understand. But I was given this responsibility, and until I’m too old and have to hand it on, it’s my duty. This is one job no-one can take on for me.”
“Well if that’s how it is, then yes, I’ll need you. Do you have any preferences for dates?”
“The new moon would give us the best cover of darkness,” Ivan said. “That gives us an advantage in ambush, especially if we pick a place we know well.”
“With that much notice they’ll try and arrange an ambush themselves,” Nicholas said. “You can’t give them two weeks to think about the location. No, if we’re arranging this on the full moon, we can’t give them more than a couple of nights to think.”
“We don’t have to give them a meeting place yet,” Eleanor said. “We can give them a date, some rules, and directions for how they can find more information nearer the time. That way we can keep the location up our sleeve until the last moment.”
“I’ll look into a suitable location,” Ivan said. “Since I’ll be in charge of the men on the ground.”
“Okay,” Nicholas agreed. “Eleanor, what else do you need for your meeting?”
“I need to set a price, but that’s not really important. I suggest we demand some fairly basic rules for the meeting – their man has to come alone, we’ll show him the key, and then he has to count out his money before we hand it over. The sort of things we’d insist on if this were real. In practice, we won’t get that far.”
“No, quite. So that sounds fine.”
“And I need to know where we can send them to get the next message, on the day. I think that’s all for now.”
“Where do you think you’ll set this up?” Nicholas asked Ivan.
“Not in the city,” Ivan said. “Maybe out in the pines – there are a couple of possible spots, but I’ll need to head out there to check.”
“I’ll come with you,” Eleanor said. “Unless it clashes with my negotiating meeting.”
“We can take a trip tomorrow,” Ivan said. “Then you’ll definitely be back in plenty of time.”
“If you’re thinking of that side of town, then you can probably set up the preliminary meeting for the old market square,” Nicholas said. “Does that sound okay, Eleanor?”
“That works for me. I think I’m ready, then.”
The next morning Ivan and Eleanor took a pair of horses and rode north, beyond the city limits and into the old pine forest. Ivan led the way along well-worn tracks until they came to a small clearing.
“This was one of my options,” he said as he dismounted and tied his horse to a nearby tree.
Eleanor glanced around, but she couldn’t see much through the dense firs. That, she supposed, was the point.
“So... what? They’ll come here to make the trade, and we’ll lurk between the trees?”
“Come with me,” he said, pushing ice-frosted branches aside to clear a path. “And I’ll show you.”
Revolution (Chronicles of Charanthe #2) Page 37