Zypheria's Call (A Tanyth Fairport Adventure) (16 page)

Rebecca sucked in a quick breath.

“That helps them that are left behind a bit,” Tanyth said, taking another sip of the nutty ale.

A sour expression crossed Mabel’s face. “Helps with the odds of survival, too, mum. Helps a lot more’n it prob’ly should if you catch my meaning.”

“Oye! Mabel? You run out of ale or somethin’?” Bernard and his companions were all looking in their direction.

Mabel waved her rag at the man in a dismissive gesture. “’S’cuse me, mum. Some around here’s got too little patience and too few manners.”

Tanyth nodded her thanks, but Mabel was already drawing off a fresh pitcher and didn’t see.

Tanyth felt much better for having bathed and Frank was right about the ale. Rebecca helped get her clean and kept the water off her cast. “Just like ole times, eh, mum?” she said, helping Tanyth out of the bath and into some cleaner clothes.

Tanyth smiled remembering the days that one or more of the young women in the village had helped her after Birchwood’s knife had carved a long scar up her center. “Well, not exactly,” she said but smiled. “I appreciate the help.”

Rebecca grinned and skinned out of her own clothing to take advantage of the warm water. “You just relax, mum,” Rebecca said. “I’ll just scrub up a bit and do a little laundry. We’ll be fresh as daisies when Frank gets here.”

Tanyth smiled at the young woman’s cheerfulness.

“An’ thanks for payin’ for the room, mum,” Rebecca said. “I can pay ya back.”

The comment caught Tanyth unaware. “No, no. You’re helpin’ me. Least I can do is pay for the room.”

Rebecca shot her a knowing grin and rolled her shoulders in a shrug. “Well, you prob’ly won’t get much use of it until Frank heads back down the Pike.”

“Not get much use of it?”

Rebecca’s giggle filled the small room before Tanyth realized what the girl was getting at.

“Well, if you’re trying to make an old woman blush, you’re gonna have ta do better’n that,” Tanyth said with a snort and a laugh. “Sadie and Amber cured me o’ that with all the talk of woodboxes.”

Rebecca just giggled some more and ducked her head to rinse off the soap. “Still, mum,” she said. “I don’t think you’ll be spendin’ much time here once Frank arrives.” She made little shooing motions with her fingers. “You scoot. Go rest your bones downstairs and keep an eye out. I’ll finish up here and be down in a bit.”

Tanyth shook her head at the smiling girl and headed back down the stairs. Her legs complained at the unfamiliar movement of walking up and down the narrow stairs. “Funny how riding is so much harder on a body,” she muttered.

In the taproom, she found the crowd had grown a bit and a couple of serving girls had joined Mabel. The light outside had faded to late afternoon and sturdy lanterns mounted on the posts and walls gave the room a warm, cheerful glow. A heavy stone hearth to one side had a small fire kindled for warmth, but few sat by the blaze. She took a seat at a small table just back from the hearth to rest her bones a bit.

One of the serving girls came over immediately. “What can I bring ya, mum? Nice bit of tea?”

Tanyth’s stomach grumbled but over the hubbub, she didn’t think the girl had heard it. “What’s on for dinner then?”

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 Business

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?”