“You don’t get it, cutie. To him, everyone’s a commoner. He changes the law to suit his whims. When he’d finished with me, he left me here and sold me to Idaline to keep as his personal whore. I’m his property. And if you go to Pyrinn after Kramoris you’re as good as dead ‘cause he’s got something Egeslic wants and woe be to whoever tries to take it from him.”
Lars looked at her for a moment, unsure what to say. His mission had suddenly taken a very dangerous turn.
“Get those thoughts out of your head, cutie. It’s death to go to Pyrinn, and somewhere some girl loves you as much as I loved Arles. Whatever you promised, whatever word you gave, it’s not worth your life. Or hers. Or your future.”
“I don’t have a girl,” Lars said, grabbing her arm again. “But I’m about to buy me one.”
“What?! Have you lost your mind? Idaline will never sell me! Lord Egeslic’s one of her better customers!”
“Everyone has a price,” Lars whispered in her ear. “Let’s find out what hers is, shall we?”
Idaline stood near the door, greeting incoming customers and tucking their payments into her bodice. She glanced over, forcing a smile as Lars dragged Viveca toward her. “Has she caused a problem, young sir? She’s been reprimanded several times about her teeth, but I’d be happy to beat her again.”
“No,” Lars said, smiling, “you see, I like her so much I must take her with me. Tis a long journey to Lattalok after all and I need someone to keep my bedroll warm.”
“Ah. Sorry, but my girls are for rent only, not for sale.”
“I insist.”
“Cutie, no, you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Idaline’s eyes narrowed. “It appears she wants to stay.”
Lars laughed, holding Viveca close against him. “Oh, she’ll change her tune once I wear her out. How much? Fifty crown?”
“Pah! She makes that in a slow phase.”
“Name your price then.” He ran a finger along Viveca’s collarbones, wondering how he could remain so calm even though he had never touched a woman before. “I must have her for my own.”
“You’re crazy,” Viveca said.
Idaline looked him over. “You’d dip deep into your pockets for a mouthy, biting whore? I’ve got other girls that would suit you better. Be more compliant. Be more, ah, exhausting and far less trouble.”
“It’s a matter of principle,” Lars said, glancing at Viveca. “Her, and only her. How much to take her with me?”
Greed shone in Idaline’s eyes. “Seventy five hundred crown, and she’s all yours.”
Lars choked back a cough. “Seventy five hundred?” But I’ve got less than two thousand!
“That’s three summers of her income, sweetie, assuming she lives that long. I’m not gonna give away a good money maker like Viv for a couple of platinum you know.”
“Surely there is some room for negotiation?”
Viveca rolled her eyes. “You don’t have seventy five hundred, do you, cutie?”
“Not with me,” he grumbled.
“Then I guess you’ll just have to pay the regular rate,” Idaline said with a wink. “You can have her again, one more for the road, let’s say, for another seven crown.”
“Yeah, and for twenty more I’ll save myself for you until next time,” Viveca said, her arms crossing over her chest. “Remain a virgin just for you!”
Idaline slapped her across the face. “Your mouth will be the death of you Viv. This here ain’t no fool farmer.”
Frowning, Lars reached into his pocket again and pulled out a ten crown coin. “I can handle it from here,” he said. When Idaline nodded and took the coin, he dragged Viveca back to the room and slammed the door.
“Why didn’t you tell me you’d cost several thousand crown?”
She sashayed toward the bed. “You never asked my sale price, cutie. I want to know why you’d spend that kind of money on me anyway.”
He started pacing the room. “Maybe it’s because I do have principles. Someone voluntarily doing this is one thing, but being sold into it is another matter entirely.”
Viveca sat on the bed and stared at him. “Did you see those two little girls in there? Surely you did. One is eight, the other barely seven summers, and they scream every time a man chooses them. You think they volunteered? Or Leili? The girl from Astaria? She was dragged here in chains. Or Bec or Frian or Milly? What about—”
“Stop it!” he said, turning to look at her. “I can’t save everyone.”
She leaned back on the bed and contemplated him. “Then how do you decide? Who’s worth saving and who do you leave behind?”
“I... I don’t know,” he said, raking his fingers through his hair.
“Until you decide that, cutie, you’d better let things lie. Stay the hell away from Pyrinn and whore houses and orphanages and slave pits, all right? Go on back to wherever it was you came from. You’ll be a lot happier.” She looked him over again and smiled. “You done talking yet? You paid for a toss. A ten crowner even. Special treatment. I won’t bite unless you want me to.”
“Stop it. I’m not going to lay with you and you know it.” He started pacing again, mind churning. “How many girls are here against their will?”
She picked at the shellac on her fingernails. “Ten, maybe twelve.”
“At seventy five hundred apiece?” Goddess, that’s seventy five to ninety thousand crown! Dubric is gonna have my hide!
“More or less, yeah, that’s probably a safe guess.” She sat up and stared at him. “Do you actually have seventy five thousand crown? A kid like you?”
“No, but I could get it.”
She fell back onto the bed again. “Bull piss. How you gonna get it? Steal it? Beg daddy for an advance on your inheritance? You might have principles, cutie, but that’s an insane amount of money to spend on a dozen half-used-up whores.”
He stopped his pacing and walked toward her. “I give you my word. When I finish this mission I will come back for you and the others.”
She rolled away, leaving her back toward him. “Lord Egeslic will chew you up and suck your bones dry. You won’t come back.”
“I’ll come back,” he said. “We’re just a day behind Kramoris and with luck we’ll catch him tomorrow or the day after. I’ll finish my mission without ever laying eyes on Egeslic then come back for you and your friends.”
“I’ve heard promises like yours before and I’m not listening to a dead man again.”
“I’ll come back. You have my word,” he said then walked through the door, leaving Viveca and her doubts laying alone on the bed.
Castle Faldorrah
Dien had searched high and low for Gilby, everywhere he could think to look, but the little dipdingle was nowhere to be found. He seriously considered calling for a complete lockdown of the castle and a room-by-room search, but he wasn’t quite that desperate. Yet.
He sat in the great hall nursing an ale and not liking where his thoughts kept taking him. Fynbelle had been chasing after Gilby since she could walk and if anyone could find the worthless little dip, Fyn could. Any way he looked at it, it meant trouble. Damn stinking trouble.