Taniel (The Taverner's Daughter I)

71: Hanrey regroups

Hanrey, hunched over his desk, idly scratched in the margins of the ledger with a dried out nib. The letter leaned casually against the paperweight, taunting him. The empty flask sat by his elbow. He could refill it, he thought, but the edge was off his fear now, and seeking more grog would be stupid.

Rita would be back soon, checking him. He eyed the meat sandwich she left on an earlier visit. Though dried about the edges, if he ate it would forestall more nagging. He reached across and lifted a crust. Green tomato pickles swayed him.

On the first bite, his sister came in. He exaggerated his chewing and slipped the telltale flask back in the drawer, making way for the tray she carried.

Her eyes followed the flask. "Good, you're eating," she said, pouring the tea. She put a cup in front of him, her shrewd gaze gauging his inebriation level.

"Thanks," he mumbled, trying not to breathe at her.

"I'm dying for a cuppa." She sat across from him, her face forced into a cheery smile. "The common room was a madhouse for a while. Erin did not come in." She took a cautious sip. "I went to her lodgings and her stuff is gone. Bit of a coincidence, wouldn't you say?"

He grimaced, unable to bother with how the barmaid could be involved with Taniel vanishing.

"And you, you're in here, hiding." Rita pursed her lips.

"Sorry."

"Peter got a mate to help out front and that little lass next door will come do dinners."

Hanrey stopped listening. "What should I do?" He sounded pathetic. "What if Taniel doesn't want to be found."

"Of course, she does." Her eyes glittered with unshed tears. "Drink up. We will think of something."

They sipped in silence until Rita slapped the desk. "You must petition the Grandmaster Wizard," she said. "Ask him for help."

He frowned. "But, you said they probably took her."

"Not the Grandmaster's wizards. They don't need to steal her." Rita put her cup down firmly. "You make the wizards find her."

"It'll take weeks to ride to the citadel. What if I see the head fellow, up on the hill?" Hanrey nodded vaguely in the direction of Watchward Skerby.

"We can't trust anyone, Hanrey."

"Should I take that with me?" Hanrey pointed at Cissie's letter.

"The letter for Tan?" Rita turned the missive in her hands. She peered at the impression in the green wax. "I've seen this family crest before. Not in wax, though. Where's your magnifier?"

He found the glass in the drawer by his knee and passed it to Rita.

Her face scrunched.

"Did you see this?" Her eyes did their popping thing and, entranced for a moment, he almost lost the thread of the conversation.

"Oh. Notary Bates raved on this morning and said he had never seen the like. He did a thing with charcoal and paper."

She wrinkled her nose but did not ask him to elaborate. "I wish I remember where..." She jumped to her feet, her eyes wide. "I've got it."

His heart skipped.

"It was carved into a headboard." Closing her eyes, she rubbed a temple while searching her memory. "Umm, I delivered herbs to a townhouse... to their midwife, not one of ours. I needed a signature and got shown into the bedroom, and by mistake from the way I was hustled out."