Roo smiled. ‘Considerable.’ He decided the best tack to take with his business rival was to tell him what he already knew, as if being frank. ‘I have lent considerable gold to the Crown, for this coming war, and as a result I find myself somewhat cash-poor.’
Sylvia smiled at Roo, as if everything he said was of vital importance. He returned her smile. ‘I’m not in a position to negotiate on behalf of the Bitter Sea Company without consulting my partners, but I think whatever I might agree to here would be agreeable to them after I explain the way things are.’ He paused to finish his last bite of dinner and dabbed at the corner of his mouth. ‘But I can certainly divest myself of any assets of Avery and Son, and there are several that might serve you as well as those we’ve discussed.’
Jacob smiled. ‘You have,a counteroffer?’
‘In a word, yes,’ Roo said. ‘Since you seem to have a stranglehold on trade to Kesh, I’m considering abandoning my wagon yards in Shamata and my boat facility in Port Shamata. Both are fine facilities, but neither has realized me a coin of profit since I took them over, as you probably know.’ He said the last with a rueful laugh.
‘Well, I do keep abreast of business to the south. I have enjoyed a long and profitable relationship with several prominent Keshian business concerns.’ Jacob pushed his chair back from the table as a servant hurried over to help him up. ‘My knees are not doing well. This weather, I think. When the sky is clear and things are hot and dry, they’re almost as painful as when there’s rain coming.’
Roo nodded as he stood. ‘Would you be interested in those facilities?’ he asked.
‘I’m always interested, Rupert, in increasing my holdings. It is merely a matter of price.’
Roo smiled. ‘As it should be.’
Jacob said, ‘Let us retire to the garden for brandy and then I’ll leave you to my daughter after that; I can’t keep the late hours I used to.’
They moved outside, under a warm and star-filled night.
The garden was fragrant with the blooms of summer, and the night birds and crickets sang.
Roo sniffed his brandy. He was beginning to develop a taste for the distilled wine, but he still couldn’t tell one from Kesh from one that was produced in Darkmoor, though he could tell quality like this one from the poor swill Lord Vasarius served. This one was pungent, tasted as much of wood as any he had tried so far, and gave him a pleasantly warm feeling inside, and the subtle taste of grape and wood lingered in his mouth for long minutes after he swallowed.
Sylvia sat next to Roo, absently letting her hand rest upon his leg, while her father said, ‘Why don’t you prepare a list of particulars and send it over tomorrow?’
‘I will do that,’ said Roo. ‘And as far as the properties here in Krondor you’ve inquired after, there are a few that I might be willing to part with, for the same reason I’m looking to get rid of those in Shamata.’
‘What about Landreth?’
Roo shrugged. ‘Well, I do manage a little trading from the north shore of the Sea of Dreams to Krondor, so they show a better profit. That, too, would depend on price.’
They talked for an hour about business, and then Jacob rose and said, ‘I must to bed. If you’d like, stay and have another brandy. Sylvia will entertain you until you leave. Good night, Rupert.’
The old man left the garden, and after they were alone, Sylvia ran her hand up Roo’s leg. ‘Shall I entertain you?’ she asked playfully.
Roo put down his brandy glass and kissed her. After a moment, he said, ‘Let’s go upstairs.’
‘No,’ she said, ‘I want to stay here.’
‘In the garden?’ he asked.
‘Why not?’ she said, unfastening her bodice. ‘It’s warm and I don’t want to wait.’
They made love under the stars, and when they were done, Sylvia lay upon the grass beside Roo, her head on his chest. ‘You’ve not been coming around enough, Roo.’
Roo was jolted out of his pleasant half-dream state and said, ‘Things are getting frantic’
‘I hear there is war coming,’ said Sylvia.
‘A lot of people are saying that.’
‘Is it true?’
Roo considered what he should say next. At last he said, ‘It’s true, I think, though I don’t know if it’s any time soon. But you should consider going East if you hear of trouble in Krondor.’
‘Krondor?’ she said, playfully nipping his shoulder. ‘I thought Kesh was moving again.’
‘It is,’ said Roo, trying to tell her the truth; he loved her and wanted her safe, but he didn’t entirely trust her because of her loyalty to her father. ‘But this time I don’t think they’re going to move in the Vale.’ He considered what that would do to his negotiations with Jacob. He decided it wouldn’t hurt, so he decided to embellish.
‘You know Lord Vykor was called from Rillanon to Krondor.’