of them, hand enumerating his points as if he threw dice.
"First, this will be a cash purchase. I will
give a single hardcopy list of the items and types we will have,
and one or another of my associates will see them and count them
with one of you. This will occur once, when we are through I will
retain my list and the invoice will will indicate that Cash Buyer
acquired Lot 1 and Lot 2, assuming that is the case. Is this
clear?"
"If you discover discrepancies after, how
will you ask for adjustment?"
Joshu was concerned; it did not take a
talent to hear it in his voice.
"My people and I are our own witness, gentle
sir. We agree on the count with you as we work, and that is the
agreed count. There will be no discrepancy."
Beba shrugged. The buyer wished no name on
the invoice and no record of exact purchases. Perhaps when the time
came, Cash Buyer might agree to lower the recorded purchase price
as well, that Management would not extract a tithe.
Joshu paused, glancing at the associates,
then to her.
She repeated her shrug and added a nod,
Joshu forwarded the nod to Conrad.
"Price being agreed on site, I have no
problem with this approach."
"Yes. We are agreed on this."
"The second requirement is
Lot 2. I must be able to put hands on one of the objects I would
purchase, for the sake of determining authenticity. The catalog is
quite convincing, of course, but you could hardly allow a Sinners
Rug to be in the open, where believers might yet cause it harm.
You are certain ,
are you not? You have the provenance . . . "
He looked at Beba. The colors in his face
got steely rather than angry, and his question was not to be
ignored, whoever he was. She felt a flutter of dread and
deliberately calmed herself. The customer had done his research. Of
course he had.
" I
am the provenance,"she said quite evenly.
"The rug we have on hand, and on sale for the right price, that rug
has been in my family for most of four generations, sir. I have the
affirmations, the court actions, and the family images from start
to finish, if they be required."
"You keep it for more than the curiosity
sake then? It is not merely an artifact to show off to top
buyers?"
His colors wavered and for a moment Beba
wondered if he could read her so well as she could read him, if her
colors showed through to him, or her scents, or if her muscles had
betrayed her.
She sighed, and sipped daintily at her wine.
Her very good wine, sitting with the unfinished portion of her very
good meal."Sir, that is a question I ask myself. Yes, the rug is
for sale. It is my inheritance, and since my mother, and her mother
too, have left this place, it is mine to deal with. Having not sold
it, I cannot say we have used it for more than show."
He looked at her with interest, the steel
gone now, and he bowed.
"I do not mean to question your heritage,
lady, yet, as carpets are what I learned from my father, I must see
before I may buy, in his honor."
She shuddered even as she nodded. Under
that, under all of that so gently said, was blood.
*
The room was quieter than at full-shift,
with the lighting at quarter except in their own brightly lit area.
The carpet hangers were locked as they'd left them and it took both
Joshu and Beba to unlatch the sealing bar for the high-end items.
As they were doing that Conrad was giving instructions and copies
of his list to his associates, and inspecting the floor carts that
Joshu commandeered from the hall fleet. Conrad clearly planned to
buy and load tonight enough goods to furnish a small planetary
store's opening; if that was the case and he was paying in cash,
there ought be no impediment.
As they finished unlimbering the specialty
show rack Joshu murmured, "Life's work, Beba, for a family. Know
your worth! No less than three cantra for the rug if his cash is
Liaden!"
Three cantra clear had long been their plan;
how often had they had an entire extra cantra in place when
necessity would appear and eat it away? Yet such a
"First, this will be a cash purchase. I will
give a single hardcopy list of the items and types we will have,
and one or another of my associates will see them and count them
with one of you. This will occur once, when we are through I will
retain my list and the invoice will will indicate that Cash Buyer
acquired Lot 1 and Lot 2, assuming that is the case. Is this
clear?"
"If you discover discrepancies after, how
will you ask for adjustment?"
Joshu was concerned; it did not take a
talent to hear it in his voice.
"My people and I are our own witness, gentle
sir. We agree on the count with you as we work, and that is the
agreed count. There will be no discrepancy."
Beba shrugged. The buyer wished no name on
the invoice and no record of exact purchases. Perhaps when the time
came, Cash Buyer might agree to lower the recorded purchase price
as well, that Management would not extract a tithe.
Joshu paused, glancing at the associates,
then to her.
She repeated her shrug and added a nod,
Joshu forwarded the nod to Conrad.
"Price being agreed on site, I have no
problem with this approach."
"Yes. We are agreed on this."
"The second requirement is
Lot 2. I must be able to put hands on one of the objects I would
purchase, for the sake of determining authenticity. The catalog is
quite convincing, of course, but you could hardly allow a Sinners
Rug to be in the open, where believers might yet cause it harm.
You are certain ,
are you not? You have the provenance . . . "
He looked at Beba. The colors in his face
got steely rather than angry, and his question was not to be
ignored, whoever he was. She felt a flutter of dread and
deliberately calmed herself. The customer had done his research. Of
course he had.
" I
am the provenance,"she said quite evenly.
"The rug we have on hand, and on sale for the right price, that rug
has been in my family for most of four generations, sir. I have the
affirmations, the court actions, and the family images from start
to finish, if they be required."
"You keep it for more than the curiosity
sake then? It is not merely an artifact to show off to top
buyers?"
His colors wavered and for a moment Beba
wondered if he could read her so well as she could read him, if her
colors showed through to him, or her scents, or if her muscles had
betrayed her.
She sighed, and sipped daintily at her wine.
Her very good wine, sitting with the unfinished portion of her very
good meal."Sir, that is a question I ask myself. Yes, the rug is
for sale. It is my inheritance, and since my mother, and her mother
too, have left this place, it is mine to deal with. Having not sold
it, I cannot say we have used it for more than show."
He looked at her with interest, the steel
gone now, and he bowed.
"I do not mean to question your heritage,
lady, yet, as carpets are what I learned from my father, I must see
before I may buy, in his honor."
She shuddered even as she nodded. Under
that, under all of that so gently said, was blood.
*
The room was quieter than at full-shift,
with the lighting at quarter except in their own brightly lit area.
The carpet hangers were locked as they'd left them and it took both
Joshu and Beba to unlatch the sealing bar for the high-end items.
As they were doing that Conrad was giving instructions and copies
of his list to his associates, and inspecting the floor carts that
Joshu commandeered from the hall fleet. Conrad clearly planned to
buy and load tonight enough goods to furnish a small planetary
store's opening; if that was the case and he was paying in cash,
there ought be no impediment.
As they finished unlimbering the specialty
show rack Joshu murmured, "Life's work, Beba, for a family. Know
your worth! No less than three cantra for the rug if his cash is
Liaden!"
Three cantra clear had long been their plan;
how often had they had an entire extra cantra in place when
necessity would appear and eat it away? Yet such a
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