her neck. It had a silver chain that went with it. She preferred gold, herself, but that was expensive in Noram, and wearing too much of it would look wrong, given her station in life. Even if she could get it for free on the Moon. So she went with the lesser, but still nice metal. That meant touching her hair however, to move it out of the way at the back of her collar. It was just as gross as she'd imagined. Thinking about it made her itch all over her body too.
When they got to the door it was pulled open quickly, and the very thin, not too tall, man that stood there, blinked at them both for a while before getting who they were.
"Mistress Sara! I... Here, let me take your bags." Without waiting he called out, ringing the front bell, which was normally used to announce a guest had come. "Brian! Germaine! Come and carry for us. Mistress Sara is here! With a friend."
The names were familiar to her at least, belonging to men that had worked at the house for several years now. They were both taller than Roget, by about half a foot, but were about the same age, being thirty or so. They wore house blacks, with white shirts underneath them, and matching gloves. Normally that would have been too warm for where they were, at this time of year, but it was practically cold out for the Capital. As chilly as late Fall, it felt like.
"Thank you. Not to be a pain, but could we have use of the showers, and two baths drawn up? My friend here, Roget, and I have been living rather rough for a while." She managed a smile for the men, who all suddenly seemed worried for some reason. Probably because she looked like someone had locked her in a cage for a long time and that never had a happy tale attached to it.
They all bowed, to both of them and didn't ask questions.
"Very well ma'am. Two rooms?" Erod, the butler, said it totally without inflection. There was no judgment to the words either. If she told the men that they were sharing a bed, it would simply be made up for the night. It was, she realized, that the man didn't know what Roget would be expecting from them however, rather than anything being implied that way.
"Yes, that would be good. Roget is the second assistant of the Ancient Terrance Baker, in regards to Tellerand. Soon he may be the first, so we should make sure that he's comfortable, and has a place to pray? We should only be here for the night."
That got the man next to her a second bow, short and smelling bad as he was, and both of them led to the baths. It wasn't until after the shower, which was heavenly, that she noticed there was a problem.
She was scrubbed clean, and had torn at her hair long enough with a sturdy bone comb to rip out most of the difficult areas that had become part of her, if not all of them. It was that, like most good houses in the Capital, they only had one bathing chamber. Two tubs, each big enough for several people to lounge in had been filled and warmed, using the heating tiles on the side.
It was that poor Roget looked panicked when she finally came in. First he stood, which brought him less than halfway out of the water, then he went wide eyed, looked away from her and actually covered his eyes.
Sara smiled, getting that her being naked was the issue. She was freshly shaved too, and not offensive that way, if a bit too skinny.
"Hey! That's exactly what I was talking about earlier. Everything you just did was exactly wrong for this place. So open up your eyes, take a good look, and then smile. Even if you think I look like an old hag, that last part is important. Otherwise you might make me feel uncomfortable, and like I'm ugly. You don't want to do that, do you?" She was teasing a bit, and trying not to be judgmental. Even Tor had handled that kind of thing better and he was from about as far from a civilized place as you could get without actually living with pigs in your home.
Roget complied, but looked like he was about to be raped. Seriously too. She blinked, but moved to her
When they got to the door it was pulled open quickly, and the very thin, not too tall, man that stood there, blinked at them both for a while before getting who they were.
"Mistress Sara! I... Here, let me take your bags." Without waiting he called out, ringing the front bell, which was normally used to announce a guest had come. "Brian! Germaine! Come and carry for us. Mistress Sara is here! With a friend."
The names were familiar to her at least, belonging to men that had worked at the house for several years now. They were both taller than Roget, by about half a foot, but were about the same age, being thirty or so. They wore house blacks, with white shirts underneath them, and matching gloves. Normally that would have been too warm for where they were, at this time of year, but it was practically cold out for the Capital. As chilly as late Fall, it felt like.
"Thank you. Not to be a pain, but could we have use of the showers, and two baths drawn up? My friend here, Roget, and I have been living rather rough for a while." She managed a smile for the men, who all suddenly seemed worried for some reason. Probably because she looked like someone had locked her in a cage for a long time and that never had a happy tale attached to it.
They all bowed, to both of them and didn't ask questions.
"Very well ma'am. Two rooms?" Erod, the butler, said it totally without inflection. There was no judgment to the words either. If she told the men that they were sharing a bed, it would simply be made up for the night. It was, she realized, that the man didn't know what Roget would be expecting from them however, rather than anything being implied that way.
"Yes, that would be good. Roget is the second assistant of the Ancient Terrance Baker, in regards to Tellerand. Soon he may be the first, so we should make sure that he's comfortable, and has a place to pray? We should only be here for the night."
That got the man next to her a second bow, short and smelling bad as he was, and both of them led to the baths. It wasn't until after the shower, which was heavenly, that she noticed there was a problem.
She was scrubbed clean, and had torn at her hair long enough with a sturdy bone comb to rip out most of the difficult areas that had become part of her, if not all of them. It was that, like most good houses in the Capital, they only had one bathing chamber. Two tubs, each big enough for several people to lounge in had been filled and warmed, using the heating tiles on the side.
It was that poor Roget looked panicked when she finally came in. First he stood, which brought him less than halfway out of the water, then he went wide eyed, looked away from her and actually covered his eyes.
Sara smiled, getting that her being naked was the issue. She was freshly shaved too, and not offensive that way, if a bit too skinny.
"Hey! That's exactly what I was talking about earlier. Everything you just did was exactly wrong for this place. So open up your eyes, take a good look, and then smile. Even if you think I look like an old hag, that last part is important. Otherwise you might make me feel uncomfortable, and like I'm ugly. You don't want to do that, do you?" She was teasing a bit, and trying not to be judgmental. Even Tor had handled that kind of thing better and he was from about as far from a civilized place as you could get without actually living with pigs in your home.
Roget complied, but looked like he was about to be raped. Seriously too. She blinked, but moved to her
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