She halted, looking about uncertainly. How could one bargain in such a place? There were no chairs in which one could lounge disinterestedly, no wine or ale to sip to cover up a moment of thought. Ki would have been more comfortable doing this business in the sun from her wagon. Bird-eyes gave her no time to reflect.
‘You are to take the freight from Dyal to Bitters. Seven crates. They must be delivered before four days have passed from tomorrow. That you must agree to, or pay the consequences. Four days will give the servants time to put the new place in order before the belongings arrive. But we shall not want to do without them for any longer than that.’
‘I’ve not said that I’ll work for you,’ Ki pointed out quietly.
‘I never said I wished you to! Nor would I, if the choice were mine. But the Master has picked you, and won’t be swayed from his decision.’
For the first time, Ki realized that this imperious old woman was not the owner of the mansion, but only the chief servant. The woman’s attitude annoyed her, but she put it down to her age and post. Such as she must expect idleness from the lesser servants. Still, it irked Ki not a little to have the woman take that tone with her, let alone voice such an opinion.
‘I repeat, I have not said that I’ll accept the cargo.’ Ki took pleasure in being perverse now. ‘I conduct my business a bit differently from other teamsters you may have dealt with. I limit the weight of what my team will haul, and I talk half payment in advance for any trip.’ She kept her words cool, but already she was thinking of the hill route that would let her make the journey to Bitters in three days or less.
‘I know your terms, girl!’ snapped Bird-eyes. ‘Do I look like some silly little maid who would hire a teamster sight unseen, with no knowledge of the rates and customs? No, Teamster Ki, you were selected, though, now that I look at you, I cannot say why! The freight will not be heavier than your usual load, and all will be packed securely for you ahead of time. The family wishes you to take the greatest care with this load, to avoid breakage. They will precede you to Bitters, so that they may receive it from you, and inspect the seals to be sure that none are broken.’
Ki raised her brows appraisingly. ‘What do I carry to rate all this caution and mistrust? I’ll warn you, my rates go higher for illegal cargo.’
‘I’ll wager they do, and often, too. Not that it’s any of your business, magpie, but the cargo is household goods; old family items of small value to any save blood relations. You need not fret about them. All will be packed securely. The city gates will not halt you. Your only task is to haul them to their destination, and there receive the rest of your pay. Now, what will you have for a trip to Bitters?’
‘This time of year, thirty dru. In winter it would be a full two tallies. But the year is still mild and the roads unrutted. So thirty dru it shall be, and a bargain to you at that.’ Ki folded her arms sternly and braced herself for the counter-offer.
‘La, a bargain, she says! I warned the old Master, but no, you he would have on the word of one of his beggar friends. What’s his name to come to with the company he keeps, I don’t know. Well, he told me to pay your price. You’ll get your thirty dru advance, but mind, if even a one of those seals be but scratched at, not a copper shard shall you get at Bitters…’
‘I’ll be here for my load at first light tomorrow,’ Ki interrupted. She had expected fifteen dru advance and another fifteen at the end of the haul. But to receive thirty now, and another thirty at Bitters…well, as the old matron had said, that was small bargain to them, but one Ki would not sniff at.
‘Wait,’ Bird-eyes said. Ki had used that tone earlier, when she had directed her team to stand. The matron whirled with a swishing of skirts and was out the door before Ki could utter a word. She listened for the tapping of her feet down the corridor, but heard nothing. The temptation to go to the door and peer out was great, but Ki conquered it. She walked once around the room, but found nothing that she had not seen in her first glance. The ridiculously high windows were a puzzle without clues.
A chink of coins spun her around. The old matron stood beside the table. On it were two fifteen-coin stacks of dru atop a larger square of creamy parchment. Bird-eyes tapped a yellowed fingernail on the edge of the table, then gestured to the items on it.
‘Your advance. And the contract the old Master drew up for its delivery, safe and sound, four nights hence. I will read it to you, and you must make your mark upon it, to show you understand and agree.’
Ki advanced, boots clicking on the black flagging. She silently placed one hand flat on the parchment. With the other she scooped up the stacked coins and transferred them to the worn pouch at her belt. Moving her hand so that she could read the parchment while still pinning it to the table, Ki leaned over it.
The grey light was uncertain. The contract had been written by a strong hand, firm dark strokes across the smoothed surface, in the T’cherian characters. It was brief, but tightly written. Ki must deliver her cargo to the door of Karn Hall, in Bitters, in four days. The cargo must be perfectly intact, no seals broken, and all pieces accounted for. She agreed to make every possible effort to see to its safe arrival. Should she fail to do so, she forfeited the rest of the payment, and must return six dru of the advance. She scowled to herself. If misfortune plagued her, she might finish the trip to Bitters with only twenty-four dru. Possible, but not likely, she told herself. And twenty-four dru was still an ample fee for such a leisurely trip as the hill route would provide. Twenty-four dru were much better than the one copper shard her purse had held this morning.
Ki drew the parchment closer to her and glanced about for a writing tool. The house matron coldly interpreted her look, and drew a small case from a voluminous pocket. Within were brushes and a vial of ink. Ki accepted them just as coldly, dipped the brush, and stroked her name in T’cherian characters. Watching the matron from the corner of her eye, she rashly added the character for a freeborn, and another for one of no political allegiance. The matron covered her amazement well. If anything, she treated Ki more haughtily than before.
‘You should be on your way now.’
‘I intend to take on supplies first,’ Ki informed her.
‘As you will. But, remember, you have only four days for your trip.’
‘Woman, look you. You have seen to your duty. Now let me tend to mine. I’ll return at first light to load the cargo, but I’d like to see it now, to judge the weight. Where is it?’
‘On your wagon.’ The matron turned on her heel. Without a backward glance, she strode from the room. As before, her footsteps made no sound. Ki snorted at the doorway. She waited for a short time by the table, and then paced the room twice. With growing anger, she realized at last that the matron did not intend to return and show her out. She had not gone to fetch the traditional ale that bargains were sealed with. Never before had Ki encountered such rudeness.
She found her own way through the bare and chill hallways, emerging to blink in the brightness of the day. Bird-eyes had spoken the truth. Seven boxes (Ki counted carefully) had been stowed on her wagon. They were of varying sizes, and made of rough yellow wood. Their seals were no more than lumps of lead crimped below the knots of the coarse rope that bound them. It was packing more fit for salt fish than family treasures. Ki sent a glare around the dusty courtyard, but there was no sign of whoever had loaded it. Only the black walls festooned with long dead vines received her scowl.
She swung up onto the wagon and climbed over the boxes, trying to find fault with the way it had been loaded. But it was balanced and steady. An inspection of the ropes lashing it to the wagon revealed knots she would have sworn were her own. It was uncanny. There was the added sting that someone had made so free with her wagon, and she had heard not a sound from her team. It disturbed her. She stood atop the load, frowning down on it. With a shrug, she climbed down and mounted the seat of the wagon. She had thirty dru to spend before she left Dyal.
By nightfall, less than two dru remained to her. The cupboards of her wagon cuddy were comfortably replenished.