The Scrivener's Tale

by Fiona McIntosh

  ‘Will you be all right?’ Cassien asked.

  ‘I’ll eat in the kitchen. I know some of the girls,’ Ham said.

  Cassien grinned. ‘Is there anyone you don’t know in this town, Ham?’ he said, as he moved toward the back stairs. ‘I’ll see you shortly.’

  ‘Have fun,’ Ham said, and Cassien raised an eyebrow as Ham hastily departed.

  ‘Ah, there you are, sir,’ Erris said, arriving from the kitchens and hurrying along three serving girls. ‘Those are for the merchants from Briavel.’ The first girl nodded and the others pushed past. ‘Tell them the ale is with my compliments,’ he called after them, returning his gaze to Cassien. ‘Your visitor was shown upstairs not long ago.’

  Cassien climbed the stairs thinking on the ugly task ahead. If he could depend on her silence he would, but he doubted any whore could be entirely relied upon. He would kill her if he had to. He opened the door quietly, fully expecting to find her rummaging through the room to see if he’d hidden anything beneath loose floorboards or behind the sparse furniture. Instead he found her sitting by a window, her cloak tied around her throat. There was something still about her that immediately captivated him. She cocked her head to one side and regarded him closely.

  He might have smiled, if not for feeling suddenly and intensely annoyed. ‘I am Cassien,’ he said evenly.

  ‘Yes, I presumed that.’ Her voice was slightly raspy in a pleasant way.

  ‘You’re not Penely, are you?’

  She blinked, disconcerted. ‘I was told to come here by Innkeeper Erris. I am Penely.’

  ‘You’re lying. Please leave.’

  ‘What?’ She stood abruptly in a fluid motion and he noticed she was taller than he had first thought, and far slimmer than he’d imagined after gazing at the small window of flesh she’d exposed just beneath the tie of her cloak.

  Cassien motioned to the door. ‘I said leave.’

  ‘I’ve given up several —’

  He threw her a crown and then a second, which she caught deftly, but also with defiance. ‘More than payment for your time. You don’t even have to go back to your brothel sore.’

  She scowled at him. ‘You don’t have the manners to go with those looks.’ She stepped lightly across the room. ‘You missed a good —’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ he cut in, not meaning it for a moment, but his scornful smile made her bristle.

  She pushed past him to the door and Cassien took her arm. The woman hissed, shrank back, clearly afraid of being assaulted. He pulled her closer. ‘Tell the real Penely I still want to meet her and that if she doesn’t come willingly, I will hunt her. And the next time she wants to send a friend, she should colour her friend’s hair with fracca nut. The beetroot and cherlot mix looks far too unnatural. Give her this,’ he said, handing out another crown. ‘She’s safe,’ he lied. ‘I will only hurt her if she doesn’t come willingly.’

  ‘What do you want with her?’ she hissed, clearly giving up on the disguise.

  The skin tightened around his mouth. ‘I have a question. She knew a friend of mine. I also want to know why she’s so afraid that she sent you instead.’

  He could smell her perfume. It was surprisingly light and subtle. This woman smelled like the fresh grass that he rolled around in when playing with Romaine. Her fragrance distracted him. He blinked.

  The woman shook off his grip easily enough. ‘I’m her sister. And she’s frightened.’

  ‘Of what?’

  ‘Strangers like you, with more money than they should have and throwing it around in her name.’

  ‘She’s a whore,’ he said, stung with surprise at the accusation. ‘How else does she get business?’

  The woman prodded him in the chest for the second time that evening. ‘She may earn her living by servicing men’s needs, but that doesn’t give you any right to look down upon her or any of us. Does she bleed? Yes, like any other. Does she have feelings? Yes, just like you. Does she dream? Of course, and it’s not about keeping the likes of you happy. She knows nothing about anyone.’

  ‘Do you know every man she’s pleasured?’

  ‘Near enough. I told you, I’m her sister, and none of her clients should interest you.’

  ‘Let me decide that. I’m warning you, I can find her anywhere.’

  ‘I’m sure you can, but I’ll kill you before you lay a finger on her, stranger.’

  Their faces were close together and her teeth were almost bared … and there was that stillness again. She reminded him of Romaine in a woman’s form.

  ‘What’s your name?’ he asked.

  ‘Vivienne,’ she said curtly.

  ‘Sit, Vivienne. I’ve paid for your time. I demand what I’ve paid for.’

  She flung one of the coins at his feet. ‘And only my time. Touch me again and I’ll scream.’

  ‘I’m sure you will,’ he replied. Then added, ‘Be assured I have no intention of laying a finger on you.’ He said it in a scornful manner, so Vivienne could be left in no doubt that he found her not in the least bit attractive. Cassien decided then and there that he was fast becoming a superior liar.

  She looked down the length of his body. ‘It’s not your finger I’m worried about,’ she said, the sarcasm biting.

  Cassien stepped away, clearing his throat. Damn her! It had been too long. ‘If you sit over there by the window again, then even my massive need can’t reach you.’

  She laughed, in spite of her mood, and returned to her seat. She said nothing, watching him remove his cloak, but he could tell he was making an impression on her, and it wasn’t making her feel any safer. He sat down, placing the cloak in his lap for modesty.

  ‘How is it that you and your sister are prostitutes?’

  ‘How is it you’re such a nosy prick?’

  He gave a soft snort of exasperation. ‘I’m trying to set you at your ease.’

  ‘It’s not working. What do you want with us?’

  ‘Are you older than her?’

  ‘Younger.’ He was surprised. She seemed to know his next question. ‘Penely can wrap most men around her little finger but she needs to be treated like a princess. She’s just not …’ Vivienne thought about this for a few moments. ‘She’s just not tough enough here,’ she said, pointing to her head, ‘for when anyone treats her badly.’

  ‘Isn’t she in the wrong line of work if she’s that fragile?’

  ‘I can assure you, Penely probably makes more money than most of us girls put together. As I told you, she’s exceptionally talented at her work and that means she’s the most popular prostitute in the region. She can pick and choose her customers. She chooses not to meet with you.’

  ‘So she sends her little sister?’

  ‘I offered. I am not scared of you.’

  ‘So I see. Vivienne, do you remember a man by the name of Zeek?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘Your sister spent a somewhat debauched night with him a few moons back. He was a tailor.’

  ‘Yes, I do remember him now. I didn’t know his name. I do recall him but only because he gave her a beautiful shawl of his own design.’

  ‘Well, Zeek is now dead.’

  Her poise crumbled slightly. ‘Of what?’

  ‘Of murder.’

  ‘Shar’s wrath! Why?’

  ‘That’s what I’m trying to establish. He died in my arms. He told me he’d recently been with your sister. I want to know what he told Penely.’

  Vivienne untied her cloak, slipping it back over her shoulders to reveal wide shoulders tapering to a slim waist beneath large, full breasts. Vivienne’s skin was like honeyed milk, smooth and unblemished, but right now her hand was clamped to her throat in anxiety.

  She turned back. ‘Master Cassien, I can assure you my sister knows nothing about murder. Men talk all the time between the sheets. And girls in our business let it wash right over us like water. They’re usually bleating about their wives or their money woes. They all want their mothers! No, not li
ke that,’ she hastily assured him. ‘They just want to be held for a few hours by someone who won’t judge them, someone who likes them in spite of themselves. I’m sure Zeek was like all the others. I seem to remember now that she told me he was desperately drunk, mostly talking nonsense.’

  ‘If she knows nothing, why is she scared to meet me?

  She shrugged again, looked genuinely bewildered. ‘I probably remember more about their conversation than my sister does. Penely takes the “smoke”.’

  ‘The smoke?’

  Her expression turned slightly bemused. ‘Where are you from?’

  ‘Here and there.’

  ‘But obviously not here. And by here I mean Morgravia, or even Briavel. Shar, even the Razor people know about smoking the embers.’

  Cassien cleared his throat lightly. ‘I’ve been away for a long time.’

  She regarded him intently before she sighed softly. ‘The embers of the lugara. Do you know it?’

  He wracked his mind. Was sure it was a bark or plant. She didn’t wait. ‘It was brought in from the east, I think. Ever since we opened up all these new trading routes we are seeing spices, plants, fabrics, even foods we’ve never known before. Lugara is a leaf. It takes the pain away.’

  ‘Is your sister injured?’

  She gave a low laugh and it sounded kind to him. ‘No, she is healthy enough, I suppose. The smoke takes away thoughts … the present you could say. Penely needs escape and the lugara delivers that. Some people have beggared themselves in pursuit of it. But you, clearly, are in no fear of it.’

  ‘No,’ he replied, once again reminded of his sheltered former existence. ‘Tell me what she said to you of that time with Zeek. Please, Vivienne, it’s important.’

  ‘It was all silly girls’ talk — nothing relevant, other than a remark she made about some special blades he’d had to commission for a client, but that’s it.’ She flicked a glance at his hip and he was glad he’d taken the precaution of hiding the weapons. ‘The man was very drunk, I recall,’ Vivienne continued, ‘and Penely was the only one of us who could be bothered with him. He paid very well and lavished her with food and that gift. As I say, I never knew his name until you mentioned it. She called him the tailor.’

  Cassien closed his eyes.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Who else did she mention this to?’

  ‘All of us. It was in the common room. She was laughing about Zeek, showing off his shawl.’

  Now Cassien held his head. He’d have to kill them all. ‘There was nothing else,’ she claimed, her frustration escalating again. ‘She’s never mentioned him again. Why is this so important?’

  ‘It’s not. I’m trying to find the clue to his killer,’ he lied.

  Vivienne stood. ‘Leave her alone … please. She’s —’ The woman shook her head. ‘Just leave her.’

  ‘She’s what?’

  ‘She’s dying!’ She began to weep and her voice shook. ‘The smoke is killing her. It’s all she does now — smoke and pleasure men. One feeds the other. Some even pay her with the lugara. It’s sickening!’

  He took a breath. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘No you’re not. You don’t even know her. Like everyone else, you wanted something from her. Well, she’s got nothing more to give. Leave her alone. Let her be in peace.’

  ‘How long?’ he asked, his tone cool.

  Vivienne snatched away a tear. ‘I don’t know. The physic says no more than a moon. So don’t worry, the leaf has done what you came here to do. You can leave with your hands free of her blood.’

  Faster than she could react, Cassien leapt up and in a stride had her in his grip. But Vivienne showed no emotion this time. She stood limply beneath his close fist. ‘It’s what you intended, isn’t it?’

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘You’re a killer, for sure. I see no weapons but I’m not fooled. Other men would have been happy to have me but you’re so obsessed with what you need to discover that you can move past the desire I see in your eyes, trembling through your body. Either you’re being paid to do this or you are frightened enough to want to silence my sister. What does she know, you’re wondering? You probably killed Zeek.’

  ‘Perhaps I should kill you?’

  Her grey gaze looked at him with contempt. ‘Well, I can’t defend myself, but I have taken some steps for protection.’

  He waited.

  ‘Very soon men will come to this door. In fact, they’re already lining the stairs and they’re outside, if you’d like to check.’

  He pushed her away and strode to the window; right enough there were four men looking up at him.

  ‘There’s no way out. So if you kill me, they will kill you and the boy you arrived with.’ His eyes widened. ‘And the woman you visited before you came here. Widow Nance, wasn’t it? I may look defenceless, Master Figaret, but no man’s strength is a match for a woman’s cunning. I am very well liked in this town, and if I am very well liked then Penely is worshipped. It wasn’t hard to conscript men to offer me protection while I had this appointment to keep. Now, I think all of us would judge you’ve had long enough with me for your carnal gratification. They await my safe emergence from your room because I told them I was scared of you.’

  He looked down, knowing he had been outsmarted.

  ‘The boy Ham will already be in the hands of the men.’

  His eyes snapped up to meet hers. ‘You’d better not hurt the child.’

  ‘Who is Hamelyn to you?’

  ‘A friend.’

  ‘What sort of friend? We’re wary of strangers who befriend our children.’

  ‘Hamelyn has nothing to fear from me. I have hired his services, that’s all.’

  ‘What are you afraid of?’ she demanded.

  He looked at her with surprise. ‘Me?’

  She nodded. ‘You came to kill my sister, all right, I have no doubt of that. I know you’re probably the one Zeek had the weapons made for.’

  A fist hammered on the door. ‘Vivienne?’

  ‘Yes,’ she called and moved back from Cassien, out of arm’s reach. ‘Don’t try anything,’ she warned. ‘Come in, Murdo.’

  Cassien sagged inside.

  A huge man stepped in and leered at him. ‘Evening, stranger,’ he said in a mocking tone. He looked at her. ‘You all right?’

  She nodded. ‘Thanks, Murdo. Ham will keep him co-Opérative.’

  ‘What about Nance?’

  She shook her head. ‘The boy is enough.’

  Murdo turned and growled a few low words to the person who was obviously on the other side of the door.

  Vivienne returned her attention to Cassien. ‘I’m not in the habit of hurting children. I had to be sure. He will be safe, but you will be going with Murdo and his men.’

  ‘I’ve heard you’ve got a blade by Wevyr.’ Cassien sighed. ‘I’ve always wanted some of Wevyr’s weapons,’ Murdo baited.

  ‘If I do you’ll have to find it first and if you find it, you’ll have to win it,’ Cassien said calmly.

  Murdo laughed. ‘And you look like you’re in a position to bargain, stranger.’

  ‘Kill the boy, kill Nance, but I can assure you, I can kill Vivienne with a single fist to her face before she can take another step in this room. And if you value her services and she values her life, then you’ll agree to a fair fight. You need not threaten a child or an old woman in order to get to me. I will come willingly but I will not willingly give you my weapon. And every man has a right to fight for what belongs to him. A true man of the Razors would believe that.’

  It was said quietly but Murdo appeared stung, as if his manhood had been questioned. He looked at Vivienne and she nodded.

  ‘We’ll take him from here, Vivienne. You and your sister should be ready for us later. Once we’ve softened him up, we’ll come looking for your pleasuring.’

  Vivienne threw Cassien a look and he wasn’t sure if there was an element of apology in it. ‘I just want you to l
eave Penely alone. She knows nothing of what you seek.’

  Curiously, for all her cunning he trusted Vivienne. Nothing Loup had taught him could prepare him for a woman’s wiles. And now she looked sorry for dragging Murdo into their midst.

  ‘Please assure your sister she is safe. I have nothing further to say to her.’

  Innkeeper Erris had arrived. ‘What is going on here? Vivienne?’

  ‘We were just leaving, Erris,’ she said hurriedly.

  ‘Well, begone all of you. I want no scenes or fights in my inn. We run a safe house here. Murdo, you know how I feel about you and your braves picking on my customers. I won’t have you or your louts coming into my kitchen. You know where I drew that line last time you were down from the mountains.’ He waggled a finger. ‘And you’ve grabbed Hamelyn and terrified my girls.’ He shooed at them. ‘Come on, out! All of you. Master Cassien, I’m sorry that goes for you too. I know you’ve paid. I’ll return your coin.’ He threw some money onto the bed. ‘I can’t have this going on or word will get around that I don’t have control of my own inn. Take it all outside the Yew and sort out your differences.’

  ‘After you,’ Murdo said mockingly to Cassien.

  They filed down the stairs. Hamelyn, waiting below, looked at Cassien with wide, frightened eyes. Before he could speak, Cassien did.

  ‘Hide. You know where.’

  ‘What about —’

  ‘Do you hear?’ Cassien insisted, his tone angry now.

  Hamelyn nodded, pushed past and whispered only for Cassien’s hearing. ‘He is the son of the Razor king, Metheven.’

  ‘Go,’ he said. Then he looked at Murdo. ‘Lead on.’

  They left by a back door that Erris herded them through. Once outside, Murdo shoved Cassien. ‘Follow my men. We’re going to use one of those outhouses,’ he said, pointing his huge jaw in its direction, not far from the inn.

  Vivienne laid her hand on the mountain man’s enormous arm. ‘Murdo, why don’t you come to the brothel now? I have no other customers at the moment. And surely we are done here. I’m not worried about him anymore.’

  Murdo shook off her hand. ‘Go and wait for me, woman! I want to show this fellow that he shouldn’t sneer at Razor men. He might be used to fancy weapons but I’ll make him use an honest blade made in the forges of the mountains. But later I’ll use my fancy weapon on you,’ he promised, and grabbed at her breasts.