Page 45 of The Prisoner's Gambit
“New one?” an old woman with pale gray hair and wrinkled blue skin said as she made her way around the room refilling several emptied decanters with a sweetly aromatic wine.
“Came in just this afternoon,” Vaxxa confirmed.
The old woman laughed. “Well, thatisa first impression to remember. Nice to meet you, girl. My name’s Marga.”
“Maureen.”
“Hm, strange name,” Marga said.
“Well, on Ear—”
“Inmyopinion, strange is good,” she continued. “Maureen.You know,I rather like it.”
Maureen couldn’t help but chuckle. This woman was a slightly odd ray of unexpected brightness in an otherwise dark time, and a much needed source of cheer.
“I’m pretty attached to it,” Maureen replied with a grin. “And nice to meet you too.”
Marga looked around the room. The three of them were alone. She reached into her pocket and withdrew a small metal cup no larger than what a child would use and poured a little of the wine in it, offering it to her new friend.
Maureen looked unsure.
“Go on, girl,” Marga said. “It’s one of the few times we can indulge a little.”
Vaxxa took the cup from her and downed a little sip. “Oh, that’s a nice one.”
“It is, isn’t it,” Marga agreed.
Maureen shrugged and accepted the cup. “Wow, that’s got some kick,” she said as the liquid threaded its warming path down her throat to her belly. “Man, that’s really good.”
Marga took the cup and finished the last of it then wiped it clean with a rag and tucked it back in her pocket. “Don’t tell the others,” she said with a conspiratorial wink. “Not everyone under Tormik rule appreciates the bending of the rules.”
“But we try to enjoy what we can when we can,” Vaxxa added. “And as our job mostly consists of cleaning, carrying the mistress’s shopping, and serving wine, occasionally the opportunity presents itself to insert a little something nice into our day.”
“She means the good food and wine,” Marga jokingly clarified.
“I figured.”
“But not in front of anyone you don’t know and trust implicitly,” Vaxxa added. “Andneverin front of the mistress.”
Maureen had already figured that bit out in just her first few minutes on the job. “Yeah, she seems a bit high strung.”
“You do not want her attentions singled on you,” Marga said. “Believe me. I have known her since she was a young woman, and she has only grown more temperamental as she’s aged.”
“Wait, how long have you been working here? Are you not indentured like me?”
“Oh, I am. But I’m getting closer to earning out and having my indenture fully paid off. And when I do finally leave, I will have a nice little nest egg tucked away and waiting for me.”
Maureen did some quick mental math. The Mistress Tormik was no spring chicken. And if Marga had been with her since she was a young woman, that meant…
“Marga, you didn’t answer me. How long?”
“Oh, after the first few decades they all start to blur together. But what matters is in just a few more years I’ll be out and on my own. It’s going to be a wonderful thing, I just know it.”
Maureen’s mind was racing. “So you’re telling me you never bonded? There’s no one in your life with a matching Infala?”
“Child, I’vealwaysbeen unbonded. Always will be, I figure. At least until I’m out and on my own. But I’m an old woman now, and Infala mating is for the young.”
“And let’s not forget, once a servant is bonded, their indenture must end by law,” Vaxxa added. “A mated pair may not be bound in servitude. Basic Dotharian edicts make that very clear.”
