Zypheria's Call (A Tanyth Fairport Adventure)

by Nathan Lowell

  The girl shook her head. “Stew for now, mum, but there’s a joint of lamb roastin’ for later. There’s bread and cheese, o’ course.”

  “Bread and cheese then, and another pint of your ale, please.”

  The girl looked at her in surprise. “Ale, mum?”

  Tanyth laughed. “Ale, please.”

  The girl shrugged. “Ale it is, mum.”

  In moments the girl returned with a rough loaf of dark bread and a slab of hard cheese on a board. She slid the board onto the table, and slapped a tankard of ale down beside it. “Four coppers, please, mum.”

  Tanyth counted out five and the girl smiled. “Enjoy your meal, mum.”

  Tanyth took a sip of the ale and used her belt knife to hack an end off the loaf. She was startled by a rattling of metal on metal. She looked over to see the serving girl throw another handful of coppers into the metal can. She huffed a laugh and muttered, “Wonder how they count that?”

  A man at the next table leaned over and spoke to her. “As a successful afternoon, how would you count it?”

  Tanyth looked over at the man. He seemed innocuous enough, but something in his air set her teeth on edge. His clothes were a bit too new, a bit too clean to belong to a carter or driver. His hands seemed too white. “Aye, that would be, I suppose,” she said and turned back to her bread and cheese.

  The man didn’t appear to take the point. “New in town?” he asked.

  Tanyth looked at him and nodded. “Yeah. Just got in this afternoon. First time here. On my way to North Haven.”

  The man nodded and sipped his own ale. “Long way for a woman on her own.”

  Tanyth took a bite of cheese and washed it down with ale. “Not as far as all that.”

  “Ships don’t come cheap.” He took a swig of ale without looking in her direction.

  She chuckled. “Lucky I only want a ticket. Not in the market for a whole ship this season.”

  “Tickets aren’t cheap either.”

  Tanyth turned to the man and gave him a look up and down. “So I’ve heard,” she said.

  The man returned her look and took another sip of his ale.

  “And the city clerk takes a dim view of people doing work for wages that don’t get taxed?” Tanyth asked.

  The man shrugged. “Well, that’s true everywhere.”

  Tanyth nodded. “At least true here.”

  “Yes, definitely true here.”

  “Well, if you see the city clerk and he asks about me, please give him my regards and tell him I’ll be gone soon’s I can get a ticket out.” Tanyth turned back to her bread and cheese.

  The man didn’t answer for a long while. Tanyth heard his cup snap down on the table and he stood. As he walked by, he looked down at her. “You’ll be awhile yet, mum. North Haven is still ice bound and probably won’t be taking traffic for at least a couple more weeks.”

  Tanyth frowned up at the man. “So I’ve heard.”

  He gave an oily smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Enjoy your stay in Kleesport, mum.” He left with a mocking salute with his index finger before heading for the door.

  The barmaid came over with a fresh mug of ale. “You all right, mum?” she asked, her eyes darting to the door and back again.

  “Yes, my dear, fine. Is everybody in Kleesport so interested in how much money you’re worth?”

  The girl shook her head. “Only the tax collectors and the King’s Own,” she said. “Might as well be one and the same, if ya ask me.” She sniffed toward the door as if smelling a foul odor. “Ale’s on the house, mum. Sorry he bothered ya.”

  “He was no more bother than the average flea on a dog,” she said, “but I don’t want you to get in trouble.” Tanyth slipped a couple of coppers onto the table.

  “We only get in trouble when we charge for it, mum. So far they ain’t figured out a way to tax what we give away for free.” The girl gave Tanyth a saucy grin and a quick wink.

  Tanyth laughed at the girl’s cheeky grin and toasted her with the fresh mug of ale. “In that case, to your health, my dear.”

  “Thank ya, mum. You just holler for Betsy if you need something. I’ll take good care of ya.”

  Tanyth inclined her head in thanks, noticing that Betsy palmed the coppers before she left the table.

  Tanyth bent to carve another chunk of the heavy, dark bread when another person walked up to her table. “You stayin’ out of trouble, old woman?”

  She looked up to find Frank looking down at her, a crooked grin on his face and a half eaten apple in his hand. “Who you callin’ old?” She stood and gave him a hug. “Seems like a long time since I left ya this morning. Pull up a chair. I’ll buy you an ale,” she said.

  “Was this your doin’?” he asked holding up the apple.

  “Yeah. I see you got it all right.”

  “Lady nearly beaned me with it. Good toss but I had my hands full of reins.”

  “How’d you catch it?”

  “She hit me in the chest and it fell into my lap. I caught it with my legs.” His bemused expression made her giggle. “You get us a room?”

  “Well, I got me and Rebecca a room,” she said. “Mostly people been pretty concerned about how much money I got and why I’m not shackled to some likely male.”

  Frank arched an eyebrow. “Bad as that?”

  Tanyth gave a shrug. “Go see what your friend Mabel has to say, get settled. I’ll hold down the table and tell ya about it when you get back.”

  Frank’s mouth screwed into a grimace. “Deal,” he said. “Be right back.”

  Tanyth watched him amble over to the bar and get a warm greeting from Mabel. They glanced in her direction and she raised her mug in greeting. She couldn’t hear the conversation over the growing babble in the taproom, but Mabel looked serious and Frank nodded a lot. Eventually, they came to some kind of agreement and Frank sauntered back to her table with an amused expression.

  “Apparently, they aren’t much on unmarried women sharin’ rooms with men,” he said, hooking a chair with his foot and pulling it out to sit on.

  Tanyth snickered. “Probably wonderin’ how they tax that.”

  Frank barked a short laugh.

  “She happy now?” Tanyth asked, glancing at Mabel who watched them from her vantage at the bar.

  Frank nodded. “Yeah. But I’m on the other end of the hall from you.”

  “Just as well,” Tanyth said. “Rebecca’s got enough to giggle about without noises through the walls.”

  Frank laughed. “Well there’s that.” He looked her up and down. “You been here long enough to get a bath?”

  She smirked. “Rebecca, too. She’s doing a bit of laundry now. You probably wanna look into one yourself.”

  He looked down at himself and nodded. “Two weeks on the Pike’ll do that to ya.”

  She laughed. “Speaking of two weeks on the Pike, how’d you get the lorry wagon into town?” she asked.

  He cocked his head. “Drove it. Why?”

  “I got stopped at the plaza by the King’s Own and asked my business. Everybody goin’ in with goods had a tag on. I never saw you with any tag.”

  Frank scowled. “They stopped you? What for?”

  “Warnin’ about vagrancy laws and to tell me about the taxes.”

  Frank sighed and shook his head. “I swear it gets worse every year.”

  “So? Where’s your tag?” Tanyth asked.

  “I don’t need one. William registered the wagon and the tax number’s carved into the wood beside the driver’s seat.” He shrugged. “I also drove around the plaza and went in the brickyard gate. Less traffic and they all know me over there.”

  Tanyth offered the board with bread and cheese. “Snack?”

  He shook his head. “I’ll go get cleaned up a bit before eatin’. Mabel says they’re roasting lamb tonight. It’s a house specialty.” He stood and, with a nod, went off in search of his bath.

  Chapter Thirteen:

  Getting Down To Businessr />
  Tanyth woke with the dawn and rolled over to find Frank still asleep and snoring softly. She grinned and slipped from beneath the covers. After sleeping on the ground, the beds at the Broken Gate were a welcome change. The tick smelled relatively fresh and if not filled with the same sweet grass she’d been used to in Ravenwood, it appeared to be free of vermin and broad enough to accommodate them both without undue crowding.

  “Not that you mind a little crowdin’,” she murmured. She glanced at Frank again but he’d barely stirred.

  She slipped into some fresh clothes and stepped into the hall, closing and locking the door behind her. She pocketed the key and followed the smell of baking bread down to the taproom to see what kind of breakfast came with the room. She found Mabel bustling about with a pair of the girls sweeping the floors and cleaning off the tables.

  “Good morning, mum!” Mabel called as she saw Tanyth coming down the stairs. “You’re an early bird, aren’t you?”

  Tanyth smiled. “Comes from too many winters on the road. Travelin’ don’t get done while you’re curled up in bed.”

  “Guess that’s true, mum, but I do enjoy the occasional lie about with the mister. Kinda decadent like.” She looked around at the taproom. “Course, that don’t happen much with all this.”

  Tanyth nodded in sympathy. “I can see why.”

  Mabel finished wiping down the table and tossed her rag into a bucket on the floor. “Well, can I get you some tea, mum? A roll and cheese?”

  “Thank you, Mabel, a bit of tea would be most appreciated. Get my brain in gear this morning.”

  Mabel nodded, took her bucket and elbowed through to the kitchen. “I’ll be right back, mum. Won’t take but a moment.”

  Tanyth watched the two girls—Elly and another that she didn’t recognize—working on the last of the tables. They smiled at her as they took up brooms and set about sweeping down the large room, shepherding the dirt toward the hearth, their straw brooms making little scritch-scritching sounds on the worn floorboards. Tanyth stepped aside and took a seat out of harm’s way just in time for Mabel to come back from the kitchen with a sturdy china pot and two mugs.

  “Here we go, mum.” She set the pot on the table and took a seat with her. “I’m ready for my tea as well. Do you mind if I join you?”

  Tanyth smiled. “It’s your place. Help yourself.”

  Mabel grinned back. “Well, I don’t wanna impose, but I do so miss conversation...” She stopped, coloring a bit about the ears as she covered her confusion by pouring tea into the mugs.

  The two girls finished sweeping and put their brooms away. Mabel saw and called to them. “Thank you, girls. Your tea’s on the work table in the kitchen.”

  They each gave a short curtsey then scurried off to their breakfasts.

  Mabel looked across at Tanyth. “They’re good girls, really. Just need a bit of direction now and again.” She blew across the mouth of her mug before taking a sip. “And somebody to keep ’em on the straight and narrow, if you know what I mean, mum.”

  Tanyth took a sip of her own tea, nearly scalding her tongue on the hot brew, and nodded. “I suspect it’s hard with so many men here all the time.”

  Mabel gave her head a little sideways shake. “Odd but the carters and drivers that we get behave pretty good. Most are too fat or too old...” Mabel fetched up on that with a glance across at Tanyth. “No offense, mum.”

  “None taken.”

  “Your Frank’s a fine gentleman, he is. Been comin’ here for three or four years, I think.”

  “Well, he’s not my Frank.” Tanyth said over the top of her mug. “I’m just kinda borrowin’ him for a time. I need to give him back when I’m done.”

  Mabel blinked at her as if not quite sure what to make of the statement.

  “I’ll be taking passage to North Haven as soon as I can. He’ll be heading back to Ravenwood when he finishes his business.”

  “Ravenwood, is it? That what they decided on for a name?”

  “Yeah. Seems to suit. They built an inn out there last winter. Should make things a little easier for ’em.”

  “Do tell! Sounds like it’s turning into quite the little township.” Mabel sipped her tea. “Frank don’t talk about it much, but once in a while we get him chattin’ in an evenin’.”

  They sipped tea quietly for a few moments before Mabel asked, “What’s in North Haven?”

  “Just passin’ through on the way north. I need to visit somebody up there.”

  “My goodness! Nothin’ north of North Haven that I ever hear tell of,” she said. “Nothin’ but woods and mountains and more woods and mountains.”

  Tanyth grinned. “Well, I’m heading up to Lammas Wood, so I guess that’s part of the woods.”

  “Just you and the girl out into the wilderness like that, mum?” Mabel seemed shocked.

  “You know Lammas Wood?”

  Mabel shook her head. “Not me, mum. Only what I hear. Stories and whatnot around the fire.”

  “What kinda stories?” Tanyth asked, making conversation and not really expecting any answers.

  Mabel leaned in and lowered her voice. “Well, mum, I hear there’s bears there. And wolves.”

  Tanyth smiled at the seriousness of the woman’s tone. “Can’t say as I’m surprised. That’s where the bearskins and wolf pelts come from. Figger they must grow up there.”

  Mabel nodded and sipped her tea. “Still, mum, some of the stories the men tell ’bout what happens up there...”

  “Well, men. You know how they can be. Strong enough in groups, but scared of the dark by themselves, some of them.”

  Mabel rocked back in her chair with a hearty laugh and took a deep pull from her tea. “Well, that’s true enough, mum. And they do come up with some outlandish stories at times, I swear.” She gave a half smile and arched an eyebrow in Tanyth’s direction. “Still, good to snuggle up to on a cold winter night, eh, mum?”

  Tanyth toasted the younger woman with her mug. “I’ll drink to that,” she said with a smile.

  A man wearing a dark green shirt rolled up to his elbows and a pair of work pants held up with suspenders walked into the taproom from the kitchen. He nodded a greeting to Tanyth and Mabel reached out to take his hand. “Mother Fairport, this here’s my husband, Matt. Matt, this is Mother Fairport. She’s stayin’ with us for a few days.”

  Matt knuckled his forehead, the scent of horse wafting from him. “Good mornin’, Mother Fairport. Pleased to meet ya.”

  “Matt,” she nodded. “Nice to meet you, too. Frank tells my you run a fine stable.”

  “Frank Crane?” he asked. “Nice of ’im. Got a crack team, he does. And ’e knows how to treat ’em. Better’n some treat their wives.”

  Mabel coughed and looked up to her husband. “Something you needed, my dear?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he said, reminded of his errand. “When Toby comes down, tell him his mare’s set. Your brother finished shoeing last night and she’s ready to get back on the road.”

  Mabel nodded. “Sure will. He’ll be glad to be movin’ again.”

  “Thanks,” he said and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. “Pleasure to meet you, mum,” he said to Tanyth. As he turned to walk back through the kitchen, Mabel gave him a pat on the backside. He smiled back at her from the door.

  Mabel saw Tanyth looking and gave her a shy smile. “Fifteen winters we been together. He still warms me just by lookin’.”

  Tanyth smiled and thought of the old man asleep in her bed. She took a pull from her mug and remembered that she’d locked him in. “Speakin’ of men. I better go let Frank out. He’ll want to be getting’ on with his day, I wager.”

  Mabel snickered. “You locked him in?”

  Tanyth stood and smiled down at her. “Well, good man like that, you don’t want him wanderin’ around loose on his own now, do ya?”

  Mabel laughed and waved her off. “We’ll have a full breakfast here in another hour or so. Bring him down and we’ll fee
d him up for ya. He’ll need his strength.”

  Tanyth laughed at that and headed back up the stairs to see if the man in question was awake. As she climbed, she pondered how she might wake him if he weren’t.

  Tanyth’s staff echoed a bit in the cavernous office belonging to George Pendleton, Esq. She felt a bit unsure of herself among the fine furnishings and walls with paintings on them. A large, glazed window gave George Pendleton, Esq. a fine view of the docks over the roofs of a few low buildings. Tanyth turned to face the florid-faced man standing behind the ornate carved-wood desk.

  “Mr. Crane, always a pleasure. How can I help you today?”

  Frank shook Pendleton’s offered hand. “Nothing for me, Mr. Pendleton. This is Tanyth Fairport. She’s the one you need to help today.”

  Mr. Pendleton looked from Frank to Tanyth and back again. “Certainly, and what might I do for Mother Fairport today, Mr. Crane?”

  Tanyth stepped in front of Frank and said, “You can start by talking to me directly, young man.”

  Mr. Pendleton looked Tanyth up and down once very slowly. The touches of gray at his temples told Tanyth he probably wasn’t used to being called young man. His sour expression told her he didn’t much like it.

  “Madame, it is simply not appropriate for you to take that tone with me.”

  Tanyth smiled. “Good. At least we agree that tone is important. I have business with you, Mr. Pendleton. I’ve brought Frank along to vouch for me. You know he’s an agent of William Mapleton’s company?”

  Mr. Pendleton blinked rapidly several times, glancing up at Frank and then back at Tanyth. “Yes, madame. He is.”

  “Excellent,” she said and pulled the sealed envelope from her coat pocket. “I was instructed by Mr. Mapleton to present this to you so I can arrange passage to North Haven.”

  Mr. Pendleton looked at the envelope as if it might be a snake, or perhaps a mud pie. “Madame, this is the Royal Bank, not a booking office.” He scowled at Tanyth as if mortally insulted.

  “Mr. Pendleton, perhaps you might read the letter from William?” Frank suggested. “I believe it will clear up any...um...misunderstandin’s you might have about Mother Fairport here.”