Page 38 of Pretense

The woman didn’t soften, exactly. But she gave a little nod. “As it so happens, I had a tenant leave less than an hour ago. I haven’t had a chance to clean his rooms, however. If you can come back tomorrow, I can show you the rooms then.”

Edmund made a wincing expression. “This is the only day my sister and I have a morning off at the same time. Is there any way we can tour the rooms now? We won’t hold their state against you in any way. Your boarding house is so conveniently situated near the palace, after all.”

“My family has been running a boarding house here for five generations, due to its convenient location.” For some reason, the woman’s sharp features broke into a self-satisfied smile. “Let me show you up.”

The woman spun and marched back into the house. Edmund motioned for Jalissa to go first, and Jalissa walked into the boarding house. As Edmund entered after her, he leaned close, whispering, “Stay sharp. Note everything.”

Then the woman was ascending the stairs with abrupt, firm steps, and Jalissa followed, running her hand up the banister. They climbed flight after flight, though it was nothing compared to all the stairs in Ellonahshinel.

“This is it.” The landlady pushed the door open. As soon as she stepped inside the room, her nose wrinkled. “I’m afraid it’s in a sorry state.”

“I can assure you that my mother will keep up the place in a much more respectable fashion than your last tenant.” Edmund spoke from behind Jalissa. How was he thinking of these answers so quickly?

“She would be an improvement. This morning, he let off fireworks. Inside the room. That I was the last straw. I hustled him out of here promptly, I can assure you.” The woman sniffed, sending a glare in the direction of the small fireplace next to the door. “Feel free to look around. I will have it neat as a pin by the time your family is ready to move in.”

Jalissa pushed into the room. A wave of scents slammed into her, and it took all her princess practice to keep moving.

The place reeked of human occupation. A mix of body odor and a musty stench, despite the open window in the parlor. And something just a little bit floral that Jalissa could not identify.

But over that was the sulfuric tang of gunpowder. There were the remnants of something in the fireplace next to the door that could have been fireworks. The reek of gunpowder emanated strongly from that direction. Though, there was a hint of a deeper, different whiff of gunpowder that hung over the rest of the room.

The landlady glanced around again, then gave a huff. “He even left the window open, the blighter.” She bustled across the room and slammed the window shut.

A window, Jalissa noted, that faced the market street where Essie had been shot.

The woman gave another, louder huff and rubbed her fingers together, black smudges showing on her fingertips. “And he left it terribly filthy. I can assure you, I run a respectable establishment.”

“I’m sure.” Edmund started strolling around the room. He paused for a moment by the now closed window, swiping his handkerchief over the window before he slipped it into his pocket.

He meandered over to the kitchen, going through it while striking up a conversation with the landlady. Now that Edmund had seemingly gained her trust, she started up a rant on her previous tenant and the female company he used to bring up there, impugning the reputation of her “decent establishment.”

Jalissa shook herself, headed across the room, and entered the bedroom. The blankets on the bed remained rumpled, but she did not find any clothes strewn about or personal items left behind. Whoever this assassin was, he was careful. Besides the faint whiff of a floral scent, no doubt the lingering perfume of one of the assassin’s female visitors, there was nothing of interest here.

Here, too, the window was open. Jalissa peered out, taking in the view of the palace gates. From here, a screening line of trees protected the front of the palace while the wall guarded the rest of it. There were only the narrow openings between the wrought iron bars of the gate for the assassin to sight his target.

With a shiver, Jalissa turned away and returned to the main parlor. Edmund was nodding as he peered around the kitchen. The landlady seemed to be giving him a description of the last tenant. How Edmund had worked that into a natural conversation, Jalissa did not know.

“Sha—” No, she could not call him brother in elvish. Nor could she call him Edmund. “Eddie.” She hoped the trace of her elvish accent was less noticeable to the landlady than it was to her. “There is a lovely view of the palace gate from the bedroom.”

From across the room in the small kitchen area, Edmund flashed her a grin, then winked where the landlady would not see. “Mother will love it. And she will be able to watch the girls go into town from the window in the parlor. Yes, this will do nicely, I think.”

While Edmund and the landlady discussed rent and the terms, Jalissa wandered around the room one last time, trying to fix every detail in her memory. She was not sure what she was supposed to be looking for. Besides the gunpowder residue on the windows, nothing struck her as a sign that a skilled assassin had been here.

When Edmund finished up, Jalissa trailed him down the stairs, the now smiling landlady in their wake. Neither of them spoke until the landlady shut the door behind them and they had strolled around the corner, headed in the direction of the palace.

Edmund frowned at her. “Eddie? Really?”

“It was all I could think to call you.” Jalissa shrugged, then glanced up at him. “You do not like it? Essie prefers her nickname. You do not?”

Edmund shook his head. “No. I was called Eddie growing up, but I never liked it. Nor do I like Ed. Perhaps I have a bit of elf in me, that I prefer my full name.”

Nicknames were rather strange, and Jalissa could not really see Edmund as an Ed or Eddie either. He was Edmund, the rather sneaky Escarlish spy prince.

All the lies had soured her stomach, especially the part that would hurt that woman’s business. The landlady, after all, did not appear to know she had harbored an assassin.

Jalissa turned to Edmund, frowning. “That poor woman now expects tenants that will never show.”

Edmund waved that away. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she has tenants. I’m sure there’s at least one servant at the palace with family outside of Aldon who would love to come to visit for a week or two at the expense of the crown.”

---