I could picture Elias delivering all of that in his condescending tone. “So, what? He’s not going to let you do it?”
“I can survey it, but he wants to see it himself—at least from a distance. He’s supposed to come out today and bring some climbing gear from another supplier in town that was closed yesterday. He made it clear, of course, that it was a terrible inconvenience for him.”
“Of course.” I sighed. “And here I thought this was going to be a nice day.”
It was a nice day. The work was so second nature now that I could do it automatically and spend time talking with Cedric. We talked about the future, what we’d do in Westhaven, what we’d name our children with their yet-to-be-determined religious futures. The happy mood evaporated when Elias rode up with a few cronies in tow.
“No ball gown today, huh?” he asked. “From a distance, I wouldn’t even think you’re a woman at all.”
“Do you have the gear?” Cedric asked pointedly.
Elias nodded to one of his men, who threw down a pile of ropes and spikes. “The gold you left didn’t entirely cover it. We’ll be adding it to your account.”
Cedric managed a tight smile. “Of course.”
Elias gestured impatiently. “Well, then, let’s see this fortune you think you’ve found. I don’t have all day.”
We went to the far side of the claim, opposite the river. The sparse vegetation thinned out even more here as the rocky land took hold. Cedric pointed to the base of the outcropping in question. It was no mountain, but it was still high enough to make me uneasy. The jagged, uneven surface was equally disconcerting.
“Sully says this is just what Davis Mitchell had on his claim when he made his big strike,” Cedric said.
Elias squinted up. “Sully? You mean George Sullivan? I’d hardly consider him an expert. He’s been out here a year with no luck.”
“But he knew Davis Mitchell,” Cedric pointed out. “And saw his claim.”
Davis Mitchell was a legendary figure in Hadisen. He’d made a huge fortune in gold and eventually returned to Osfro to live on his earnings. If there was even a remote chance this might yield the same, it had to be investigated.
“And,” added Cedric, “this is the edge of my property. If there’s gold here—”
“Mister Doyle’s property,” corrected Elias. “You only work it.”
Cedric was undaunted. “If there’s gold here, it’s likely part of a vein that runs up through those foothills and into that mountain stretch. Those don’t have any leases, right? Mister Doyle could hire workers directly and wouldn’t have to split it with a claimholder.”
“No end of trouble to mine those mountains,” grumbled Elias. But I could see the gleam in his eyes as he contemplated the possibility. “Fine. Climb that beast, and see what’s up there. Report your findings to me immediately. If there’s anything worthwhile there, Mister Doyle will help make arrangements for a proper extraction when he returns from Cape Triumph. And don’t start spreading rumors until you’re absolutely sure what it’s holding.”
“Of course,” Cedric said, again keeping his tone polite in spite of Elias’s snide tone.
An awkward silence fell between us all, and then Elias said, “Well, aren’t you going to invite us into your home for some refreshment? We came all this way to help you.”
I flinched, remembering that Cedric had an Alanzan diamond on the wall. “It’s so cramped in there,” I said. “Hardly any room between the bed and the stove. I’ll go bring you something and you can enjoy it out here on this beautiful day.”
Elias eyed me askance. “How kind of you. And how fortunate you’re so familiar with the shanty and its bed.”
I smiled sweetly. “I’ll be right back.”
I walked away calmly, like some dutiful young lady serving the menfolk. Once inside Cedric’s shanty, I hastily closed the door and performed a frantic search. I pulled the diamond down and shoved it in a trunk he’d brought from Cape Triumph. It held a pack of Deanzan cards, though they at least were at the bottom of the trunk. I wrapped them in a shirt to make them harder to find and deemed the house safe should anyone come in.
Refreshment options were meager, as Elias no doubt knew. This was a power play. I’d seen canteens on their horses, and he and his men probably had snacks far better than anything we could muster. Cedric’s stove was quirky at best, which was why Mistress Marshall’s food always seemed so indulgent to him. I wrapped up some corn bread that she’d given Cedric and brought it outside with cups and a pitcher of water. The water had come from a good well on the claim, but it had long grown warm in this weather.
Nonetheless, I served it with all the grace and courtesy drilled into us in all of the Glittering Court’s “good hostess” lessons. I even earned a gruff “thanks” from one of Elias’s otherwise silent men. A brief exchange of glances with Cedric told him all he needed to know. It was unlikely that Elias would search the shanty, but nothing obvious would point to the Alanzans.
“You should’ve never had that diamond out,” I told Cedric, once our visitors had left. “This is as bad as the open rituals.”
He pushed sweaty hair out of his face and nodded. “You’re right.”
“Did you just agree with me?”
“I agree with you all the time. You’re an astute and intelligent woman. Smarter than me.”