He unbuckled his belt and refastened it over one shoulder so that the hilt of his sword lay between his shoulder-blades.
Up the drainpipe, he thought: it was bored-out wood and quite strong enough, fastened to the stone with bolts. Onto the transom of a window, thence over the eaves and onto the roof. From there, it seemed to Jimmy, the city was theirs. The girl put a hand up and he took it, giving her a lift that helped her scramble up. Then he led her to the deepest shadow he could find, hoping they’d be invisible from the street below.
And not a moment too soon, as around the corner of the alley came four very angry men, now bearing swords or clubs. They looked up and down the street, then took a moment to argue, until the short one pointed one way and then the other, whereupon two men went up the street and two men went down. The man with the moustache shouted, ‘Find them. They’re worth three silvers each!’ He headed up the street, while the other men took off in different directions.
‘Three silvers!’ the girl exclaimed. ‘Those bastards!’
Definitely not the Princess, then.
‘What was that?’ asked Jimmy.
‘That man said he was a thief catcher. They were going to turn me in for a bounty.’
Jimmy was silent for a moment, then said, ‘It’s an old grift. Two or three “citizens” testify you’re a thief, and if you don’t have no one from around here to vouch for you, you’re off for the work gang or worse.’ He paused. ‘Did you happen to catch the name of that fellow with the moustache?’
‘Yes,’ Lorrie replied. ‘He said his name was Gerem Benton.’
‘Ah,’ said Jimmy slowly.
‘You know him?’
‘I know him,’ said Jimmy with a nod. ‘Gerem the Snake. Used to run a confidence game up in Krondor. Thought he was dead.’ He stood up. ‘I’m Jimmy. If you like I’ll escort you home.’
‘I don’t live here,’ the girl said gruffly, then was quiet for a moment. ‘Thank you. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t interfered.’
‘It depends,’ Jimmy said. ‘But nothing good, you can rely on that. So what’s your name?’
‘Uh, Jimmy,’ she said.
The young thief laughed so hard he slipped a couple of yards down the roof. He elbowed his way back up and grinned at her.
‘No, no, that’s my name,’ he said. ‘You weren’t paying attention.’ He leaned a little closer and whispered, ‘I know you’re a girl.’
She looked startled, and her lips parted as though to deny it.
‘I know you are,’ he insisted.
‘How? They certainly didn’t!’
‘Well, I’m more . . . alert, I suppose. Or maybe it’s that you look amazingly like someone I know, and she’s most definitely a girl.’ He gave her shoulder a gentle poke. ‘So, what’s your name?’
‘Lorrie,’ she said, sounding discouraged. ‘Lorrie Merford.’
‘Nice to meet you, Lorrie,’ Jimmy said at his most suave, managing to copy Prince Arutha’s courtly bow in miniature, while lying on slippery red tiles.
She smiled at him. ‘Nice to meet you, too, Jimmy,’ she said.
The sun was now setting, and night was almost upon them. It would be getting harder to see in the gathering darkness, but the young thief crossed his ankles as though they had all the time in the world. Better to let their pursuers get farther away before they themselves moved on.
‘So if you don’t live in the city, where do you live?’ he asked casually.
‘Somewhere you’ve probably never heard of,’ she said. ‘The nearest village is a tiny place named Relling.’
Nope, never heard of it, he thought. Sounds like an early-to-bed-early-to-rise land of honest toil and earthy, peasant virtue. Hope I never have to go there.
‘Were you going to go back there tonight?’ he asked.
‘Uh, no.’ Lorrie shook her head. ‘I’ve got something to do here.’
I’ll bet you do, he thought. He’d also bet it was something her family wouldn’t approve of. Why else would she be in disguise? ‘So where are you staying?’ he asked. ‘As I said, I’ll walk you home.’
With a short laugh she said, ‘I’m not staying anywhere. I just got to Land’s End today and almost the first thing I did was meet Benton and agree to run an errand for him.’ Her voice was rich with self-contempt.
‘Don’t be too hard on yourself,’ Jimmy advised. ‘He’s pretty slick. I’m a stranger here myself, so I don’t know which inns might be good for you. Do you have any money?’
There was a long pause at that. ‘A little,’ she admitted cautiously.
Almost none, Jimmy thought. Poor kid.
‘Well,’ he said, rising, ‘let’s go exploring. Maybe we can find you somewhere really cheap to stay.’ He helped her to her feet and led her back to a place where they could climb down.