Page 54 of Unrivaled
She accepted the note with thanks as the boy set it beside her, dusting off her fingers delicately.Brian shot her a disapproving look that could’ve come straight from an older sibling.She sighed and picked up the bread again to finish her meal.
He wasn’t the worst of them.
“I’ve thought more about your ideas about a city-wide basic allowance,” Brian said.I immediately regretted giving him even a sliver of goodwill.
That one had been a topic ofmuchdebate during our training sessions.I’d had her in my grips in a potentially lethal choke, and she’d been arguing with me about markets stabilizing and price gougers as if I knew or cared.Albeit she’d only made that mistake once, but I hadn’t forgotten it.
“And I just can’t see a way to make it work without extending it to the provinces.Then you’ve got all the issues of delivering the allowance and the corruption we both know you’ll always have to fight against.”
She nodded, holding up a single finger to ask him to wait as she finished chewing.He did so, biting into his own dinner.I considered getting up and hunting myself some pie, but knowing what I did about the value of every single one of those apples—knowing she was so set on getting this wheat that it’d happen, somehow—I didn’t.
But next harvest, I wanted the biggest, most liberally spiced pie.I would put it in front of her.We’d dig into it together and talk about this time of chaos and upheaval.She’d wince when I reminded her of her dreams about how wide to make the walkways.Just like she did now when I reminded her of the dreams she had about road drainage.
“The only way around I can see,” she said, “is instead of providing money, we provide access to basic services.”
“Resources,” he reminded her.“Maintenance.Responsibility.”
“I have responsibility regardless,” she said with a wave of her hand.“That’swhyI’m doing this.Maintenance provides jobs.As for resources…” She winced.“My coffersarehealthy, Brian.”
He shook his head a little, but it was with resignation.“The elite hate you already.”
It was a reminder Brian uttered many times a day.
“You’ll still have issues with corruption, waste,” he added.“Which is why we favored allowance.”
My head ached.I resisted the urge to rest it on the table.
I needed to shoot, stab or otherwise murder something, or I’d turn into a merchant too.
“We have clean water, access to the bathhouse,” she said, ignoring him.“All I’d need is community kitchens, housing, healing, and education.”
“‘All I need,’” he repeated, grinning.
“Healing and education will come with the mages,” she said, ignoring him again.“Meanwhile, I have houses sitting empty.If I get in now and take control a majority of the housing—any properties where the landlords have died, I’m thinking—it reduces the scuffling.I can pay carpenters to keep them in good repair.They won’t be fancy, but they just need to be warm and safe.That’s all.”
He sighed.“You don’t have carpenters.”
“I’ve got people who can learn,” she said stubbornly.“And if I have jobs for carpenters, and they know they’ll be fed and warm…”
He shrugged.“Either way, my lady, you’re making a rod for your own back.And it’s made of gold.”
“It’s fortunate her posture is good, isn’t it?”I asked, because she was starting to look disheartened.“It’s easier to check on a house or soup pot than a bag of coins,” I told her, and she blinked at me.“You can always change tactics later.”
Brian considered that, frowning.“Itwouldbe easier to sell off the land you seize later.You’ll find the keep’s kitchen doesn’t work when people are spread throughout the whole city, though.”
“I don’t want people coming to the keep for their meals.”She tore off a little bit of bread and sat it to the side.“I want there to be neighborhood hubs, overseen by community leaders.I shouldn’t need to do more than make sure they all get bread and meat.”
He shrugged.“I don’t like it.But you know that.”
“I do.”
“Prove me wrong.”He smiled at the challenge.“It won’t be the first time you’ve done so.”
The sun had fallen while they’d been talking, and by the time Brian left the moon hung heavily in the sky, lighting our way through the big, arching windows.Two guards trailed after us, irritating, unsubtle reminders of the Butcher’s influence.
In her tower, Audrey relaxed, opening up the clockwork sleeve and withdrawing the message.“It’s Raider’s Ban,” she said, surprised.“I didn’t expect a response for quite some time.”
“Mayhap they’re planning a rebellion,” I offered, then regretted it when her expression fell.“Oh, stop it.”I took the roll from her hands, unravelling it.“Chay was staggering around like a deer shot, Audrey.You did the right thing and you know it.He’ll probably be terribly sorry when he comes back.”Or he wasn’t the man either of us had thought he was.
