The Invisible Hands - Part 1: Gambit (48 page)

40
“What do you say we begin with a pitcher of that light, blond stuff?

Don’t drink too much though. Remember, you are going to steal my money.”

“And I will. I will. It’s as good as gone. Order the beer already.”

The next few days they continued to go into the city. Rullio was content. Merw kept him entertained with incessant chatter. With all his going to and fro, the boy walked about triple the distance the count did, yet he seemed tireless. He needed regular refueling though, and Rullio obliged by buying him warm honey waffles, spicy meatballs on a stick, pieces of fish fried in batter, and sugar coated nuts. All of which disappeared into Merw’s mouth as soon as they were paid for. Rullio never would have thought that feeding someone could be this satisfying, and he began to understand Merw’s father.

There was but one problem. He hadn’t learned very much about the military situation. Anaxantis would be expecting some kind of assessment of the situation soon, and then there was the high king. The latter would almost certainly want him to remain at the warlord’s court, which meant he needed to get his letters patent for the county of Aldemon and make arrangements with the Royal Administration concerning its management. To make all that go smoothly, he would have 40
to prove his continued usefulness to his Glorious Majesty. Furthermore, he had to find an inconspicuous way to gather intelligence about the king’s plans for the Northern Marches. In effect, Rullio found himself between a rock, called Tanahkos, and a hard place, also called Tanahkos.

“Bwah, bwah,” Merw complained, “no matter how often I rinse my hands and try to clean my lips, they stay sticky.”

He was dipping his hands in a public fountain in a small square.

“It’s the honey, kitten. It’s gooey stuff.”

“I need warm water and soap. I need a fucking bath. I feel dirty.”

“Wash my dick, Rullio, wash my dick,” Merw cried out.

They sat, facing each other, in the tub.

“That’ll make it all sticky, my little alley cat.” Rullio grinned.

“You’ll just have to be careful, won’t you? Use the sponge. It’s the best feeling ever having that animal caress your dick.” Merw grinned back at the count. “You can make it sticky later, you old, ugly man.”

Rullio leaned over and used the sponge to wash the boy’s face.

Merw protested in loud, gargling tones.

“I thought your mouth was in more urgent need of cleaning,” the count said, wrapping the sponge around Merw’s member and softly rubbing it.

They were both leaning back in the still warm water.

“Merw,” Rullio said, not sure how to break the subject to the boy, “I’ve told you I’m here to gather information for my friend’s brother. I 41
also told you I still have to take possession of my demesne of Aldemon, didn’t I?”

Merw nodded, not certain what Rullio was trying to tell him.

“It looks like I’ll have to go to Fort Nira, to the high king, to accomplish these tasks.”

“Ah, oh, all right. When are we leaving?”

Rullio didn’t answer. Merw turned white.

“You’re leaving me,” he cried out. There was both disappointment and resignation in his accusation. “You’re leaving me,” he repeated, very softly now. He hung his head, dipping the tips of his light brown hair in the water. “And why wouldn’t you? They all left me after a while.”

“Merw, kitten—”

“Take me with you, Rullio. Please, take me with you. There is nothing in this city for me. I know. I know. I am loud and I blabber on and on, but I can learn to be quiet. I’ll be so quiet you won’t even know I’m there. I’ll be like your shadow. Only there when you need me. For whatever. And I don’t need that much food. I don’t need three meals every day of the week. Or honey waffles. Or meat. I have survived on one meal every two days. One meal a day would be plenty for me. It would be more than enough, a luxury even. It doesn’t need to be fancy either. Just coarse bread and lard. And you need a personal servant, Rullio. You’re a fucking count. Every count has at least one servant to go with him. To take care of his horse. To polish his boots. To carry his things. To announce him. Someone to call him ‘My Lord Count.’ I can do all that for you, Rullio. And I won’t ask much. Nothing. I’m not jealous either. I understand if you’ve gotten tired of me…” He looked up, tears in his eyes. “I understand, I really do.”

Rullio stood up, leaned over and helped Merw up as well. He grabbed a large towel, lying on a stool near the bathtub, draped it 41
around the both of them, and embraced the boy, pressing their naked

bodies together.

“Please, Rullio,” Merw continued pleading, “you’ll see, from now on I’ll be no trouble—”

Rullio smothered the rest of his sentence with a kiss on his lips.

Merw looked up in surprise.

“You are no trouble at all, kitten, and you never were. But you can’t ride a horse, and it would take us forever to get to Fort Nira and back.

I simply don’t have that kind of time. Tell you what. You stay here, and wait for my return. The Guild Merchant Station, where my horse is stabled, provides elementary riding lessons. I’ll pay for them, and you can learn the basics during my absence. I’ll pay for the room as well—”

“And baths?” Merw asked in a timid voice.

Rullio shook his head, smiling.

“Of course. I know how you like to keep clean.”

“I’ll need riding boots.”

Rullio sighed.

“We’ll get them, and some other things you’ll need as well.”

Merw threw his arms around Rullio’s neck, making the towel drop in the water. He pecked him on the lips.

“Oh, this is great. This is fucking great, Rullio. This is fucking, fucking great.” Standing upright, his eyes fell upon the count’s chest. He stared at Rullio in wonder. “Did you know your nipples are all hard?”

41
The next day they went to buy Merw an appropriate riding outfit, a

small sword, a dagger and a leather purse. The last item made the boy look quizzically at Rullio, since he had nothing to put in it, but he hung it on his brand new belt anyway.

Rullio looked him over.

“If I didn’t know you for the alley cat you are, I would think you were a right proper young gentleman,” he said.

Merw straightened his back and grinned.

“They’re very elegant clothes, Rullio. You’ve got taste, I’ll say that for you.”

He pranced around, beaming excitedly, and made a formal bow.

They ate lunch in one of the better taverns at the center of the city.

“I’m leaving tomorrow, Merw. I’ll try to be back as soon as I can, but even so the journey is likely to take me a few weeks. Maybe as long as a full month even. The room is paid for and—” Merw was about to ask something, but Rullio continued before he could voice his question. “And I paid for a daily hot bath as well. I told the landlord that I 41
left you in charge of my possessions and that I expected him to treat you as he would treat me.”

Merw nodded and took a bite out of a rabbit leg, dripping with an oily garlic and walnut sauce.

“Just a little too much rosemary to my taste, but very nice nevertheless,” he murmured. “Tender too.”

“Pay attention, will you? I’ll leave you some money for daily necessities like candy and such, sufficient for a week. Be careful with it.

Every Monday you can go to my bankers and they’ll give you money for the rest of the week. We’ll go there after we’ve eaten so you’ll know where it is, and I’ll make the arrangements. If you run into any trouble, any trouble at all, I want you to go to them. They’ll know what to do. Is that clear so far?”

Merw nodded again, wiping some sauce from his chin.

“Before I leave tomorrow we will arrange for your daily riding lessons. They will give you something to do and keep you out of mischief.

I’ll also give you some salve. It stinks a bit, but it is most efficient.”

“Salve? For what?”

“You’ll know soon enough, kitten, and you won’t mind the smell either I think.”

“If you say so.” Merw shrugged.

“I do. And another thing. Rosemary? Really, Merw, rosemary? You told me your family was poor.”

Merw smirked knowingly.

“Ah, yes, but Dad and me, we did a little poaching, in the Royal Forest, now and again, didn’t we?” He wagged his finger. “While my father set traps for hares, I collected wild herbs, beechnuts and chestnuts, some hazelnuts even. Mother insisted on putting rosemary in the

41
hare stew. It was one of the few luxuries we permitted ourselves. Dad and me, we didn’t like the stuff though. Not that she cared.”

Rullio found himself reluctant to go. He watched as Merw happily slaughtered an apple pie, putting a large dollop of cream on each piece and then devouring them one by one, in quick succession, as if they threatened to run away.

They sat in the tavern of the Merchant Guild House, near a window that looked out over the courtyard. Rullio had made the arrangements for Merw’s riding lessons and ordered his horse to be made ready for the journey to Fort Nira.

“Try to stay out of trouble while I’m away, kitten,” he said.

Merw swallowed a large piece of pie and nodded.

“I survived for years without a single sarth to my name. I think I can manage,” he replied. He patted his purse, now full of coins.

“Yeah, that’s what’s worrying me. Don’t get overconfident.” Rullio pointed to the purse. “That may seem like a lot of money to you, but it really isn’t.”

“You want me to be parsimonious with it?”

41
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. It’s there to be used. I just want

you to realize that it is limited.”

“I know about limits, Rullio.”

“Hm. And though it is not all that much, all the same it might be very tempting for some of your previous, ah, associates.”

“I was not planning on looking them up, though I kind of liked the idea of showing my clean self in new clothes. But I thought about it for some time, and it would be rather cruel. Better they think I disappeared. Better for them and better for me.”

Rullio smiled.

“You’re a very wise alley cat, Merw. Just be punctual for your riding lessons and lie low for the rest of the day. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.” Rullio studied Merw’s face. “You’ve got a bit of cream in the corner of your mouth… other side.”

Merw licked the cream away and looked up, his dark green eyes boring deep into the count’s.

“You are coming back, aren’t you, Rullio? They’re not going to say at your banker’s, one day, that the money has run out and that they don’t know your whereabouts, are they?”

Rullio laid his hand on Merw’s and maintained eye contact.

“No, they’re not. Not if I have anything to say about it. Merw, you must understand that there are always risks involved. An accident, robbers… The high king could be displeased with my services.

However, I don’t think anything untoward will happen.”

“Yeah, see? I’d much rather be coming with you. I could fucking defend you, you know?” Merw waved a finger under Rullio’s nose.

“I’m sure you could, and I appreciate the thought. But it’s all for the best. I’ll be back before you know it. You just see to it that by the time I return you can stay upright on a horse for more than an hour.”