“Yes, sir,” said the groom, and he disappeared through the small door. A moment later the gate swung wide.
Roo rode into the grounds of the Estherbrook estate and he was dutifully impressed. The house was located on a hillside on the eastern edge of the city, high enough above the next estate that it felt almost rural, though it had taken Roo only a half hour to ride there. The high stone wall had masked the house from his view as he had ridden up the narrow road, except for a small tower of some sort.
Now Roo could see that the tower was actually a constructed observation platform, with a small peaked roof, but with windows looking in four directions. Roo wondered why it was there, then considered it was a perfect place from which to observe the comings and goings at both the caravansarais to the southeast and ships in the harbor. Two moons had risen, and Roo saw a glint of metal and smiled to himself as he dismounted and handed the reins of his horse to the groom. Estherbrook must have one of those clever viewing glasses up there.
The house otherwise was what he had expected. Two stories in height, it was large, but not palatial by any measure. There were gardens, as Roo could smell blooms in the evening. Lights appeared at several windows and there were sounds of activity from within.
Roo knocked on the door and it opened a moment later. Expecting a servant, Roo was rendered nearly breathless by the sight of Sylvia Estherbrook herself answering his knock.
“Mr. Avery,” she said with a smile that made his stomach hurt. She wore a deep-plunging gown that revealed she wasn’t quite as slender as Roo had thought. It was a pale blue designed to highlight her eyes.
She wore a necklace of diamonds and no other jewelry. Roo barely got “hello” out as he stepped inside.
“May I take your cloak?” she asked.
Roo fumbled with the tie at his neck and then finally got the new cloak unfastened. “Father is waiting for you in his private room. Down the hail and to the left,” she said, pointing out the way. “I’ll hang this up and see to supper.”
Roo watched as she vanished through a door to the right, and he forced himself to take a deep breath. Totally intoxicated by the sight of the girl, he knew that dealing with her father was as dangerous as going into combat.
Roo made his way along the hall, glancing through two open doors to see modest rooms with single beds, tables, and nightstands. Servant’s quarters? he wondered.
He reached the large door at the end of the hall, barely seen in the dim hallway—only a single candle on a table halfway along the hall’s length illuminated the way. From inside, a voice said, “Enter, please.”
Roo opened the large door and stepped inside. Jacob Esterbrook was rising from behind a large desk in the middle of what Roo could only consider a library. He had seen a room in the Prince’s palace once when he was training there that had as many books, and was astonished to discover that someone who wasn’t royalty had this many in his possession. The room was lit by a pair of candles, one on Estherbrook’s desk and another on a reading stand set against the wall opposite the door, two pools of light in the otherwise dark library.
As he approached the desk, in the dim light Roo saw another figure standing near the wall. Then Roo saw there were two men in the darkness. They stepped forward and Roo’s hand reflexively went to his side, where his knife usually hung.
“Now, now,” said Estherbrook as if reassuring a pair of children. Into the light came Tim Jacoby, and a younger man, one who looked enough like him that he could only be his brother.
“Mr. Avery, I believe you’ve already met Timothy Jacoby. This other gentleman is his brother, Randolph.” He glanced toward the door and said, “They were just leaving.”
Roo stood stiffly as if ready to defend himself. Tim Jacoby said nothing, but his brother said, “Mr. Avery?” with a nod of his head.
“Mr. Jacoby,” Roo responded, nodding back. Neither man offered to shake the other’s hand.
Tim turned as they walked toward the door and said, “I will be in touch, Jacob.”
“I expect you will, Timothy,” said Estherbrook. “Give my regards to your father.”
“I will,” answered Tim.
Estherbrook said, “We took a bit longer to finish our business than I had anticipated. I’m sorry if their presence here caused you any alarm.”
Roo said, “It was unexpected.”
“Sit,” said Estherbrook, motioning Roo to a chair at the other side of his large desk. “We have a bit of time before Sylvia fetches us for supper.”