Queen's Hunt (River of Souls 2)

He gathered his papers into an untidy stack and brushed away the crumbs from his last hasty snack. Just in time, because the runner returned within moments with a woman and man. Katje and Theo, he recalled. Both of them trusted guards of several years’ service. He waved for them to be seated, but Katje laid two envelopes on his desk with some ceremony before she took a chair.

Gerek regarded the envelopes with caution. Two messages. Both sealed with magic. He took up the one addressed to The Captain and hissed with surprise. Layers upon layers of complicated spells protected it. He recalled his earlier studies of the man, how Dedrick spoke of Kosenmark’s skill with locks and other spells used by couriers to ensure that spies could not intercept their messages.

The second one was wrapped in the usual, ordinary spell set to Gerek Hessler’s touch. He brushed his fingers over the edge of the paper, and the letter folded. His personal instructions, then.

“Wait,” he told the two guards. “Let me know what our lord wishes.”

The first part contained a summary of what they had discussed before. Ship. Six-month voyage. Possibly longer. But then Kosenmark went on to say that its first destination was … Here came a particular longitude and latitude that meant nothing to Gerek, followed by two names that were distinctly Károvín.

Gerek stopped and reread the location. Tur on Osek. Osek was an island settled by Károví and much disputed during the civil wars, if he recalled his history. Tur must be a village on the coast. Very odd, he thought, but then, trust was not an absolute. Kosenmark trusted Gerek enough to handle the ship and the money. If he wanted to keep certain details a secret, it was his privilege.

The rest of the instructions were clear enough. Send two senior guards from the household to join the crew. They would need some

experience with ships. Equally important, they must have at least two years in Kosenmark’s service. Besides observing any suspicious activities, their most important task was to deliver the second letter to the captain with a message.

Tell him to read the instructions only after he has left port. And he must read them alone, in his cabin, from beginning to end, without omitting anything.

There were more instructions about their guest from Fortezzien and for providing money and horses to the two guards. The letter ended abruptly, without a signature or even an initial. Gerek stared at the page, though his mind was on the writer and not the contents. For all the painstaking detail, there were deliberate gaps in the information. He does not trust me, Gerek thought. And then, No, that is not true. He trusts me, but not the situation.

“So,” he said softly. “Do you require mounts this afternoon?”

He had expected them to say no, but Katje immediately smiled. “That would be best.”

Which means the matter is urgent. And he told them, but not me.

Gerek suppressed his frustration and smiled. Not very convincingly, because Theo flinched. “Let me arrange everything,” Gerek said. “Go to the common room and tell the maids to serve you an early supper. I should have money and horses for you within a few hours.”

Alone once more, in the quiet of his office, Gerek rested his head in his hands. He had accomplished much in the past three weeks. He had danced the great dance of secrets. And yet … he wanted nothing more than to hide in a quiet room, well away from this pleasure house and Lord Kosenmark’s intrigues. To forget all about ships and provisions and which men and women he could trust.

I want— I need a day of peace.

If he were to admit the truth, he wanted to sit with Kathe on that bench overlooking the harbor and listen to her so-called babbling. She was clever and kind and true. In her presence, he had a sense of competence, of completeness.

Kathe had not spoken to him in the ten days since Kosenmark departed. He knew she received the book—Hanne had told him about the episode in the kitchen. How the kitchen girls watched, whispering, as the runner handed over the gift. Kathe had thanked the runner, of course, and she smiled at Janna’s teasing, but she had said nothing. Not to Hanne or the other girls. Nor to Gerek himself.

He scribbled out the orders for money for Katje, Theo, and the Fortezzien man. Then he sent a runner to the stables for two fresh mounts, with tack, gear, and fresh provisions. Another runner went off to the agent, alerting him that two new crew members would join the ship’s company, and here was a letter written and sealed to confirm the order. It was a risk, this direct contact between Gerek and the captain, but he could not risk the delay with the usual channels.

Mistress Denk sent back three notes of hand to the bearer, each for the requested amount, each drawn from a different anonymous account. Gerek recorded the transactions and forwarded the notes to their proper recipients. Thereafter he deposited the true records in his magically sealed letter box and, as part of the usual fiction, wrote a new set of receipts for rare books in the official ledger. If anyone examined the records for this household, he thought, they would spend a hundred years untangling the truth.

He trudged down to the guards’ quarters and the office Ivvanus Bek held during Detlef Stadler’s absence. Bek was buried in his own paperwork, but he at once cleared off his desk and made himself available to Maester Hessler. Two guards with ship experience? He would suggest Ralf and Udo. Both had served Lord Kosenmark seven years, both had the requisite skills. Gerek gave directions to reach the ship and handed over the letter for the captain.

One more transaction, and then he would be free for the night. He took a roundabout path from the guards’ quarters, to the far side of the house, and up the stairs to the second floor. His own sense of time said it had to be late at night, but the golden sunlight of late afternoon pouring through the windows gave him the lie. He rounded the first landing and paused to catch his breath. From far off, he heard voices raised in cheerful conversation. Closer by, in one of the private rooms, he heard the sudden cry of pleasure, followed by the whispered words “slower, softer, yes.”

Gerek drew a painful breath and continued up the stairs. Usually he was spared such scenes until much later, but sometimes clients requested early visits. Sex and more sex until we are sated, he thought miserably. Until we hardly notice its delights.

His path took him along a gallery that overlooked the common room. He paused and looked down below. Half a dozen chambermaids were at work, brushing and dusting and sweeping. Several courtesans occupied the couches, while Eduard played at the hammerstrings—his fingers running over the keys in a soft and melancholy tune.

They were all beautiful. All of them trained to pleasure. For a moment, he wondered what it might be like, to be a client of this house, to have a man or woman exert themselves to give him delight. His stomach pinched tight at the thought. No and no. He wanted love, not just passion of the body, he wanted it freely given.

A door below swung open and a woman entered, carrying a tray of wine cups. She bent over to set the tray before the women playing cards. Gerek didn’t need to see her face to recognize Kathe. He knew how she walked, how she swept a hand over a surface, as if to banish dirt and ugliness. As if, he thought, she could order the world into beauty with a gesture.

I love her.

* * *

THE NEXT DAY dawned early and dull, and imminent with rain. Gerek crouched over his desk, wished Lord Kosenmark and all his minions to the darkest corner of the void. He ought to be pleased, he told himself. Katje and Theo had departed with their horses, money, and provisions. Ralf and Udo had set off directly for the ship with the captain’s instructions. He had even remembered to arrange a special signal with the captain, apart from the agent, in case of any emergency.

I should dance with joy, and yet I cannot.