Page 131 of Swordheart
The clerk gulped. “Ah… well… no, I…”
Zale’s voice grew clipped. “And why not? In the event of a contest to the will, it is accepted legal practice to seal the property to prevent theft, is it not?”
“Yes, but… well, that is…” The clerk glanced at Malva, then took a deep breath. “No, you’re absolutely right, your honor. I will order the constables to seal the property at once.”
“But that’s where we’re staying!” cried Malva.
“Then let us hope that irreparable damage has not already occurred,” said Zale.
Malva began to turn blotchy and red.
Halla coughed. “Someone will need to feed the chickens,”she said. “And the servants—well, if there’s any still working there—oh dear, they shouldn’t lose wages for this…”
“I am certain that provision can be made for the chickens,” said Zale gravely. Sarkis, who had been as silent as a statue, coughed. “Should the servants wish to speak with Mistress Halla, please inform them that we will be staying at the temple.”
“But where will we—”
“Now,” Zale continued, nodding to the clerk, “as regards the challenge, I would ask that judgment be delayed until the deceased’s friend Bartholomew arrives. He is heading here directly from Amalcross, and should be no more than a day or two behind us. He is the witness on this will and can speak to the mental state of the deceased at the time of writing it.”
“Certainly,” gasped the clerk, sensing a reprieve.
“Tomorrow, I will wish to go over the extent of the property named in the will with you, if that will be acceptable?”
“Yes, yes of course.” The clerk stood up straighter. Property records, at least, he understood.
“Then we will leave you to your duties,” said Zale, inclining their head. “Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”
“Where are we to stay?” shouted Malva in the priest’s face.
Zale looked at her, then removed a handkerchief from their robes and silently wiped their face, as if removing flecks of spittle. Malva’s flush deepened.
“That,madam,” said Zale, after folding the handkerchief into a precise square, “is not my client’s concern.”
They swept out of the room. Halla would likely have stayed, rooted in place, but Sarkis put a hand on her shoulder and steered her out in the priest’s wake.
“Zale,” she started to say, but they raised a hand for silence. Halla, brimming with incredulous laughter, could barely climb onto the wagon. It was not until Brindle had brought the ox to ahalt outside the churchyard that the priest exhaled and slumped back against the seat.
“That,” they said, grinning, “wasfun.”
“You were amazing!”
“She is not wrong. I have been on battlefields with less mayhem.”
“Ah, well.” Zale waved a hand. “I so rarely get the chance for a full dramatic legal scene. The Rat cannot blame me for taking the opportunity now and again.” They sighed, putting their hand to their heart. “Tomorrow, I fear, will not be nearly so exciting, though a good deal more essential.”
“Do you need me there?” asked Halla.
“You may certainly attend if you wish, but it’s dry business,” Zale said. “We will go through deed records and maps to determine the extent of your great-uncle’s holdings, and thus precisely what will come to you. It may be that there is something in there that we could offer to those wretched people, something you would not miss, and get them to simply go away… though I confess, after that scene, I am inclined to leave them with nothing at all.”
“I wouldloveit if they simply went away,” said Halla.With all of Silas’s property, I imagine I wouldn’t miss any of it, if it meant that they didn’t come back and bother me every time the wind blew. Although I suppose that might mean a smaller dowry for my nieces…still…
“We shall keep that as an option, then,” said Zale firmly. “And now, let us go meet your priest and tell him that we are invading his stable for the foreseeable future.”
CHAPTER 42
The priest of the Four-Faced God was almost pathetically delighted to see Zale. “A colleague!” he said. “Of course—of course—as long as you like, certainly—please, put your ox in the stable—oh dear, I only have one guest room, I’m so sorry, but we can put the novices out and change the sheets and—”
Zale took his hand and patted the back kindly. “That will not be necessary at all, Father. We have a wagon that travels with us, and I would not see your novices suffer in the cold. A stall for the ox and a meal or two is all that we will impose upon you.”
