Emily managed a nervous smile, trying to silently convey the impression that she’d pay for his remark later. “My aunties-in-law,” she said. “They’re here to help me sell my wares.”
She hoped the guard would fill the rest of the story in himself. Caleb would be in the army or on the run. He wouldn’t be a traitor–Easterbrook was in the Crown Lands–but he wouldn’t be available. And the older women were there to make sure Emily didn’t do anything her husband wouldn’t like while she was in the city. No one would bat an eyelid if a girl–even a grown woman–was slapped around by her older relatives. Emily had long since come to realize that it was often the older women who maintained the sexual status quo.
The guard eyed the cart meaningfully, then leaned forward until he was invading her personal space. Emily leaned back, trying to breathe out without making it obvious. The guard’s lips twisted in disgust as he caught a sniff of her breath. If he’d wanted to force a kiss, right in front of her elderly relatives, he’d changed his mind. Emily didn’t blame him. She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss a man who smelled like he’d been eating rotting fish for lunch.
He poked the small pile of clothes, blankets and other wares, then shrugged. “How long will you be staying?”
“Two days,” Emily said. “My husband wants me home.”
The guard made a rude face. “I’ll write you a chit for two days,” he said, removing a small notebook from his belt. “If you need to stay in the city for longer, report to the local guardhouse for an extension. If you are found in the city without a valid chit, you will be detained.”
“Yes, My Lord,” Emily said, bowing her head.
“Very good.” The guard smirked, clearly enjoying her submission. “Good luck selling your wares.”
Emily took the chit and scanned it quickly, feeling a chill running down her spine. The New Learning hadn’t been meant for this. There had been limits to how far the population could be registered, regulated and controlled before she’d introduced the New Learning…now, Zangaria was halfway to adopting ID cards and other social devices to keep the population under control. It would be only a matter of time until they learnt how to take and check fingerprints. God knew she’d used fingerprints herself, back in Second Year…
The guard cleared his throat. “You may go.”
“Thank you, My Lord,” Emily managed. She put the chit in her pouch as the inner portcullis cranked open. “May the gods heap blessings upon you.”
She ignored the guard’s smirk–calculated to make her blood boil–and cracked the whip instead. The oxen started to inch forward, moving so slowly that Emily was sure they were trying to get them caught. If the guards decided to search the cart again…it felt like an eternity before they were out onto the street, heading away from the gatehouse as if they were being chased by a tortoise…
It felt, very much, as though they’d stepped into a nightmare.
Chapter Ten
THE STREETS WERE QUIET, VERY QUIET.
Emily felt an icy chill running down her spine as she guided the oxen along the cobbled street. Alexis was normally a lively city, with a population of nearly half a million aristocrats, freemen, apprentices, serfs and slaves–not to mention thousands of visitors from all over the country–but it felt as though the city was too frightened to breathe. Half the shops were shuttered, small groups of soldiers loitered on every street corner and there were hardly any civilians on the streets. The only people in clear view were other guests, she thought, all heading towards the marketplace. She had no idea what, if anything, they’d find there.
“Keep us going,” Jade muttered. “We need to get this lot to market.”
“And find a place to stay,” Cat said, quietly. “What does that chit say?”
“Three women, with a cart and two oxen,” Emily said. She had no doubt that someone was already forging chits–there was no magic attached to the paper, as far as she could tell–but it would take them some time to make contacts. “You may have to stay in those disguises.”
She gritted her teeth as they moved further into the city, the castle looming over them like a horrific blackened nightmare. She’d seen it before, of course, but she’d never realized just how thoroughly it dominated the city. Randor could rain cannonballs on his people if they rebelled against him, while the castle–perched on a giant rocky promontory–would be very difficult to assault. Someone–Robert the Bruce, she thought–had managed to climb up the rock and capture Edinburgh Castle, but it would be difficult to manage against an alert foe.
The streets became more active as they approached the market place, much to her relief, but the soldiers were everywhere. She couldn’t see any young women at all, not even any clearly underage children. Hell, there weren’t many young men either. It beggared belief that Randor had managed to conscript an entire city, but…she shook her head, firmly. The young men were probably just keeping out of sight. They didn’t want to be harassed any more than their female counterparts.
Or they’re planning something, she thought. Paren wasn’t the only person who wanted to overthrow the king.
She looked back at Jade. “Now what?”
“Now we abandon the cart, change our clothes and make our way down to the docks,” Jade said, practically. “They can’t be watching everywhere.”
Emily nodded, although she didn’t feel remotely safe. There were just too many soldiers on the streets. She knew, from Sergeant Miles, that holding an entire city could take a small army, but Randor seemed to have a small army. And yet, if he was expending it on the city, he wouldn’t be in any position to take the war to his enemies. She rather hoped that meant Randor was relying on people allowing their perceptions to fill the gaps in his military formations. An appearance of omnipresence might be enough to keep the city’s population from challenging him…
She parked the cart on the edge of the market place, where the streets started to turn darker and the stench of rotting fish wafted up from the docks. The two boys ducked into an alleyway and hastily changed their clothes, concealing their swords in their bags. Emily watched with some amusement as they checked their clothes, then hurried into the nearest shop. Jade must have scouted the shop out earlier, because he had no trouble in selling the cart, its contents and the oxen to the owner. The shopkeeper didn’t ask any questions.
He probably wants some fresh meat, Emily thought. Very few of the locals would eat horse, but ox was quite another matter. The shopkeeper was probably a smuggler as well as everything else. And if he can give us some papers…
“We should be fine for the next few days,” Jade said, as he emerged. He held a couple of chits in one hand. “This should pass muster, as long as they don’t realize there are several copies running around.”
Emily had to smile. If there was one advantage to the vast numbers of printing shops that had opened their doors in Alexis, it was that nearly all government paperwork could be copied and forged relatively quickly. The chits were nothing more than residence permits, without even names…she couldn’t help wondering if Randor realized just how many holes there were in his system. But then, he was trying to set it up very quickly. He probably planned to close the loopholes later.
She cleared her throat. “What about me?”
“Resident women don’t have chits,” Jade said, tightly. “The king doesn’t seem to require it, as long as the woman has a responsible male guardian.”