Masterson said, “I have no idea. We still need grain buyers from the Free Cities to show up and start running up the price.
“Not for a few more days, I hope,” said Roo. “We still need to buy a few more cheap options.” He lowered his voice. “Duncan reports word is starting to spread that wheat from the outlying farms isn’t coming in. In a few days no one will be making offers. We need to finish this today, by tomorrow at the latest.”
“I’m out of gold, and I’ve put up everything I own as security to the moneylenders,” said Masterson. He laughed. “I should be scared to death, but the truth is I haven’t felt this happy since I was a boy running through the city with the City Watch hot on my tail!”
Roo said, “I know what you mean. It’s . . . like putting your life on the line for one toss of the knucklebones.”
“Never cared for dice,” said Masterson. “Always preferred cards. Lin-lan or pokiir. You against the other fellows.”
Roo said, “I’ve got gold coming from Salador. Another ten thousand, if we need it.”
“We’re going to need it,” said Hume, who had just walked up. “We’re so overbought now we don’t have the coppers to pay for our coffee.” He leaned over. “Keep it on you, in case we all need to make a quick escape.”
Roo laughed. “I don’t think that’s going to happen. Any minute I expect we’ll see what we’ve all been waiting for, and when that happens . . .” He grinned. He held out his hand, palm up, then suddenly closed it, saying, “We have them!”
A few minutes later a waiter appeared with two notes. Masterson opened the first one and said, “Amested’s agreed and he’s in for ten thousand. He is just about popping to know what we’re doing, gentlemen.”
Crowley walked over and sat down. “What’s that? Amested’s?”
“Yes, he’s in,” said Masterson.
“What’s the other note?” asked Roo.
Masterson opened it and read it, then grinned. “Here it is.”
“What does it say?” demanded Crowley impatiently.
“A syndicate is offering us thirty thousand bushels at two silver for three bushels secured by a ten percent option.”
Roo slammed his hand on the table. “It’s them. It has to be. The greedy bastards couldn’t resist. They’re ours.”
Masterson did some calculations. “Not quite.” He sat back, blowing out his breath, his cheeks puffing out. “We don’t have enough gold.”
Roo groaned. “How short are we?”
Masterson calculated. “We could use that ten thousand gold pieces you have coming from Salador.”
“Is that enough?”
“Almost,” said Masterson. “But we’d still be two thousand gold short.”
Roo groaned. “I need to get out of here.” He stood up. “I’ll think of something.”
He left his companions and walked down the stairs through the heart of the coffee house. He stepped outside and found the streets relatively uncrowded. Catching sight of the house where he had hidden the silk that launched his career, he crossed the street, avoiding puddles. It had rained hard the night before, which was partially responsible for the light traffic in the city.
Reaching the porch of the abandoned house, Roo saw that no one had replaced the broken hasp on the lock he had forced. Whoever owned the place had merely stuck the screws back into the stripped-out holes as if the sight of the lock on the door would keep the curious out. As there was nothing inside worth stealing, thought Roo as he pushed open the door, it was probably a safe bet.
He wandered through the house, again finding some sense of place there. He hadn’t said anything to Karli, but when he was rich he intended to buy this house. Having quarters close to Barret’s was appealing to him, for he had already decided that while the freight company would be the heart of his business empire, it would be only one of many ventures he would embark on.
Trading at Barret’s was like nothing he had ever encountered before; it was gambling on a scale undreamed of by any soldier losing his pay in an alehouse. It was intoxicating, and Roo was drunk with possibilities.
He sat there a long time, listening to the rain when it came, and the sounds of the city, as the light faded and the day trailed off. When at last he decided he needed to return, it was near sundown.
He left the house and crossed the street to find Dash waiting for him. Dash said, “Luis says the first load of wheat has shown up. One of the villages outside of Land’s End harvested early.”
Roo swore. “Do we have room for it in our warehouse?”
“Barely, if we push everything else outside into the yard and street.”
Roo said, “This could turn ugly. We don’t have the gold to rent storage at the docks and there’s no ship in from the Free Cities.”
“There is,” said Dash.
“What?” asked Roo.