Tal nodded. “I’ll be upstairs. Have Amafi bring up our luggage, then bring the tea.”
Tal went exploring. Within the space of a few minutes he found the girl’s description apt. The small house had a lovely view of the central square of the city, directly across from the road that led up to the Duke of Salador’s castle. At the front of the upper floor, his dining room had two floor-to-ceiling windows, which commanded that view. There were two bedrooms on the floor above, one slightly larger than the other. As he examined what would be his room, Tal realized why this house had been picked by Kaspar’s agent in Salador. It had one unique quality: a small, inconspicuous door that led out to a tiny sitting area on the roof, a little deck surrounded by a low iron fence. It overlooked the city in the opposite direction from the Duke’s castle, affording a clear view of the city rolling down to the harbor. There was a single tiny table and a pair of chairs. While in the shadow in late afternoon, during the summer it would be a lovely place to take a glass of wine at sunset.
It also would be a lovely way to slip in and out of the house without being seen. Tal went to the edge of the tiny deck and looked down. The wrought-iron fence was primarily there to keep someone from inadvertently stepping off. On the bottom of the fence, a series of very sharp spikes pointed downward, probably to keep curious thieves from climbing up and entering through the door. Tal had no doubt that a determined thief could easily circumnavigate the hazard, but he would be more likely to find an easier target than bother, especially if the local thieves knew the house was rented, which meant it contained nothing worth stealing most of the time.
But what intrigued Tal was how easy it would be to get across the narrow alley below to the house opposite, one that appeared conveniently abandoned, if the broken windows were any indication. A stout board of sufficient length and no fear of heights were all that was needed.
Tal would have Amafi look around for such a board, or secure one from a supplier of lumber.
He went back inside to find Amafi unpacking. “Is the house sufficient to your needs, Magnificence?”
“Yes.”
“It has no tub, and the jakes are downstairs to the rear. But they’ve left a very nice pot for night soils.”
Tal shrugged. He had got used to having a copious bathing tub in the room at Kaspar’s citadel, but his home in Roldem had had only a tiny tub. That one was so small he had to sit with knees up to his chin in order to bathe, and it didn’t hold enough water to stay hot for more than a few minutes.
“Find out where the nearest acceptable bathhouse is. I know a few closer to the harbor, from when I lived here before.” For a moment he remembered his time in Salador, with Caleb and Pasko, perhaps the happiest time in his life after the destruction of his village. Perhaps some time in the next week he might revisit a few of their old haunts.
There was one gambling house he particularly liked, down by the fish market, which was a little rough compared to the others, but a friendly, honestly run place where he and Caleb had spent quite a few nights.
He wondered what Caleb was doing. And the others, Robert de Lyis, Pasko, Magnus, Pug, and Miranda…everyone who had taken a near-dead boy from the Orosini Mountains and turned him into what he was today, Baron of the Court Talwin Hawkins, anointed World’s Greatest Swordsman, culinary and wine aficionado, musician, painter, linguist, dancer, and dandy. Bitterly he thought, And add to that list liar, spy, and assassin. And servant of his most hated enemy.
Then he reflected, did he truly hate Kaspar? He hated Kaspar and Captain Havrevulen for what they had done. The Captain he felt no affinity for; given the type of man he was, he did little to earn affection. And his obvious jealousy over Lady Natalia’s preference for Tal’s company kept things cold between the two men. But Kaspar, Kaspar was a different matter.
Kaspar had qualities Tal found attractive; he was brilliant, with perhaps the most complex mind Tal had ever encountered. He had an unusual sense of humor and often took delight in the most mundane and trivial details of life. He was ruthless and without scruple, yet he was caring and generous to those who served him.