The Thief's Gamble (Einarinn 1) by Juliet E. McKenna Page B

ducks.' Shiv poured himself a small measure of barley spirits and sat down with a sigh.
    'So, how long are we going to be here?'
    'I've sent a message to a chap called Conall who lives over in Eyhorne. He's been working with some of the early records from Hadrumal and I'd like him to take a look at those books you found. That was good thinking.'
    'If you tell me what's really going on, I might be able to pick up more useful things,' I said casually. 'Unless Darni won't let you.'
    Shiv laughed and ignored the bait. 'We'll probably be here for a couple of days, so make the most of the rest. We'll be heading into Dalasor next so it'll be camping and cooking on open fires not feather beds and clean linen.'
    'I thought all Dalasor had to offer was grass, sheep and cattle.'
    'Have you never been there?'
    'I make a living gambling and moving on, Shiv.' I refilled my glass. 'There's not a lot of use me getting into a game where the minimum stake is ten goats.'
    Shiv laughed again and took a sip of his drink. I looked at him in the soft lamplight and felt a warm quiver. He was quite handsome really, even allowing for the not inconsiderable glow I was feeling from the mead. I crossed the room and joined him on the settle by the fire.
    'Harna was saying she's seen a lot of you since Spring Equinox. That's a long time to be away from home.'
    Shiv stretched out and closed his eyes. 'It is,' he agreed, 'but Pered's very understanding.'
    I blinked. 'Pered?'
    A faint, fond smile curled round Shiv's lips. 'My lover. He's an illuminator for a copyist in Hadrumal. We've been together for six years now, so he's used to my being away.'
    I took another drink to cover my confusion and sought wildly for a way of turning the conversation. At least I hadn't made a fool of myself.
    'You're not from Hadrumal originally though, are you? Your accent's nothing like Darni's but I can't place it.'
    'No, I'm from western Caladhria, the fens beyond Kevil.'
    I remembered something Halice once told me; where everyone else tells jokes about Caladhrians, Caladhrians tell jokes about Kevilmen.
    'Drianon! You must really have been a fish up a tree there!' My mouth was definitely running away with my brain tonight; I put down my goblet.
    'What do you mean? Because I'm a mage or because I'm…' Shiv opened his eyes and gave me a wicked grin. 'How does a lady put it in Vanam nowadays? One who scents his handkerchiefs? A man who doesn't cross the dance floor? Or do you favour the more literal descriptions? Rump-rustler? Sack-arse?' he said with relish and a flash of his eyes.
    Well if he wasn't bothered, why should I be? 'Both, I suppose.'
    'Oh, Caladhria's not as backward as you people think.'
    'Come off it,' I scoffed. 'Half the Caladhrian houses I've been to don't even have chimneys. How many people in your village used oil-lamps?'
    'Rush-lights work perfectly well. Why should they change?' His serious tone nearly fooled me but I saw the glint in his eye. 'But you're right; my family did not know what to do with me. There was no unpleasantness, I just felt like a pig in a cowshed. My uncle had a cousin whose wife was able to recommend me to a mage in Kevil and he sent me off to Hadrumal.' Shiv's eyes looked inward. 'That was fifteen years ago, half a lifetime.'
    I'd forgotten Caladhria was like that; if your grandmother knew a man whose brother's sons had once sold your cousin a horse, you're as good as related. It makes for a difficult place to work my sort of business but it has its good points; I've never seen children begging on the streets there. A memory struck me.
    'Why've you been chatting up every serving-girl we've met, if you're — er — otherwise inclined?'
    'They tend to expect it and a friendly girl can tell you useful things.'
    That was fair comment; I've batted my eyelashes at enough men I've no intention of touching let alone anything more.
    'Can you imagine Geris trying to spread a little charm around? Or Darni?'
    I laughed at the picture. 'What