Chapter 13

I ended up spending one more day and a night at the restaurant, since Alva would have her day off after that, and she wanted to make sure that we’d have some time while visiting the other side of the city. Henrik and tired-looking Klaas had left the following day, as did the first mate who had just briefly visited the restaurant before heading back to the ship. That day, I helped with all kinds of small jobs and at the end of the day I even volunteered to help with the dishes.

Once over the initial shock, Alva had admitted that she and the other woman really were lovers. The people at the restaurant knew, but they had made the decision not to care about the private life of adult people as long as they stayed loyal. Somehow Alva had managed to make an assumption about my orientation because of the way I had behaved. However, most of the time I spent assuring her that her secret was safe with me, and that I would not think any differently about her just because she loved a woman - and no, I really didn’t need a boyfriend.

Another good reason to assure her that her secret was safe was that, somehow, I was sure that this tight-knit business would have its ways to protect its own from possible threats. I had no intention of looking like one.

That evening, Alva again came to me carrying a candle - and this time I remained clothed, so I was able to sit next to her.

“I noticed that you kept an eye on the girls in the restaurant.”

There seemed to be that small smile on her face. That simple statement made sure that I did feel a pinch in my heart. A feeling of guilt flashed through me even if I knew that my ladies out there would be okay with me doing much more than looking.

“Since I knew that you weren’t available, I thought that it was okay to look - just look.”

“Why just look? I got a feeling that maybe you aren’t all that inexperienced after all.”

I wondered how much I could - or should - admit to her. On the other hand, if I was going to be renting a room from her lover I’d probably need to build some sort of relationship with her, too. I cleared my throat.

“There were - or are - a few older women...”

“A few? A few! More than one? Did they know about each other? No wonder that you weren’t...”

It seemed that even if I really had not wanted to reveal anything more, she had been able or willing to make some assumptions - which in this case had even been the correct ones. I shrugged.

“Yes - and yes. They did and they didn’t mind. But I don’t really want to talk about what I have been doing with others, it just doesn’t feel right to me.”

That must have been the exactly right answer, since after that she didn’t quite open up, but she told me that she’d had an affair with an older married woman in her home town. Once their secret came out, she took the blame and disappeared to Aston. Like me, she was lucky to find a work in a place where the owners appreciated discretion much more than the orientation of the person. At some point Alva noticed that, besides being an excellent cook, she had become extremely good with reading people - or sensing, as she liked to say.

“Somehow I knew that I could trust you, Stian. I just knew.”

Alva was sitting next to me looking towards the door when she said that - which was a good thing since that shocked me quite a lot. Without consciously doing it I knew I had used the same tactic with Anglon as I had done with the Old Language since I had wanted these people to trust me - and Alva had been able to sense it. Had she been a real magic user, she might have noticed something more. I knew that I had to be much more careful in the future, here. Not all the people would be my friends.

It was early afternoon the following day when Alva and I stopped in front of a three-story building made out of stone and bricks. It occurred to me that Alva’s friend had to be quite a wealthy woman. The building was at the corner of two streets, and the local market was only a few blocks away. Because of the higher ground, the smell of the city wasn’t quite as dominant here as it was closer to the river. Well, it still was quite enough for me.

Inside the house I was then introduced to Mrs. Hansen, a wealthy widow who owned this building, and who had shares in some other businesses as well. However, it was easy to forget those things once you saw her face. A face that had probably once been very beautiful, but that was now ruined by several scars made with some sharp object, maybe a knife used for shaving. Even though the wounds had been healed long ago, the scars would be there for the rest of her life. My initial feeling was pity but it was soon replaced by anger. Anger towards the person who had done that to her.

Her gray eyes had been following me and I was quite sure that she was able to read my feelings without problems. Since Alva had not given me any warning, there had been no way to prepare for what I was going to see.

“A gift from my late husband. He didn’t want other men to look at me longingly because of something he wasn’t able to give himself.”

Her voice was so calm and controlled that it almost gave me shivers. However, I was able to sense that there were more feelings behind that hard surface. Complicated feelings. Then again, there was nothing very complicated in the way I felt. The anger I had felt was replaced by something else - satisfaction. All the time those eyes were locked to mine. I nodded grimly.

“Saves me the trouble. I hope he knew he was dying.”

Blunt. Cruel - and exactly what I felt! I was sure that she had been able to read those feelings from my face.

Mrs. Hansen sadly shook her head.

“Unfortunately not. He had a massive stroke one night and just didn’t wake up one morning. I wasn’t able to help, since I had been beaten unconscious and thrown to the carpet...”

“So, my friend Alva has told me that you have come here to study and would like an accommodation outside the common rooms.”

What then followed was an interrogation, questioning everything over and over, again and again. Had I not practiced my stories with Bellcauniel and Hantaliel multiple times, I would have been in serious trouble. Finally, Mrs. Hansen sighed.

“For certain, you aren’t telling me everything, young man.”

I had to make a quick decision, so I took a deep breath, trying to look a bit pissed.

“For sure I’m not telling everything. A part of the agreement that made it possible for me to come here, was that I’ll never tell exactly where I come from, or who my father is. I have no illusions that the lady of the manor could get my mother killed if her own secrets should come out.”

I had been very careful now, not to add any magic push to my words, but now I hid some convincing thoughts behind the anger I tried to show. What I had seen about this place seemed way too good to be true, almost perfect for me. I wanted a room in this house!

“So, Stian, how many times have you been in the same bed with two woman making love?”

I was prepared for almost anything. Almost. But that question made my head spin and, for a moment, I wasn’t able to form any coherent thought. I might as well have admitted everything, since I was sure that Mrs. Hansen was able to read it from my face. You didn’t need magic, if you were good. Mrs. Hansen was good. Then Alva started giggling and Mrs. Hansen also smiled for the first time since I was there. A small smile which almost made one forget the scars. Almost.

“Sorry to disappoint you, young man but that’s not going to happen here. I’ve had my share of men for this life - and a few more - from my late husband and my Alva isn’t that way at all. With your background, I’m sure that you can easily understand the need of some privacy and all my other tenants value that, too. However, there’s one more thing - how capable are you of defending yourself, if needed?”

Maybe I should have brought my weapons with me, after all. Even if they weren’t allowed inside the city.

“Armed or without arms? Against how many opponents? When you grow up as a bastard, you’d better learn some things quickly.”

Sorry, mother - but Hantaliel and Bellcauniel were sure that I’d need some explanation for my skills. However, from the look on Mrs. Hansen’s face I knew that I’d got the room. I wanted to shout out for joy but decided that a small smile was enough.

During dinner I was introduced to the rest of the tenants, who apparently all knew about Mrs. Hansen and Alva. Two who probably were the most normal people there. Forgetting Stian, of course. What was common about them was that they were older; not really old, but older. They all were introduced only briefly to me, while I was the one who was put on stage. That, together with the former profession of one of the tenants brought another idea to my head. Now here in Aston I might be able to really go into a theater to see a play there. I had read about theater, and I even had the script of one play among the books at the Hidden Valley but I had never seen a real play.

“Stian, do you understand that once you move here you’ll become part of our little family?”

During that one day at the restaurant, I had already learned something important. Of course, Hantaliel had also mentioned it, but since she had always kept some distance from other people, she probably had not really understood the real meaning of the ‘family’ -concept herself. For sure I didn’t really understand it fully, if at all.

“Yes ... and no. I mean that I understand that we, here, form a sort of family; but I probably don’t really understand the concept, not in a way it’s used here.”

Old Miss Dahl snorted and looked at me.