Read Online Jovah's Angel by Sharon Shinn - Free Book Online Page A

“The manpower.”
    â€œCome now, you have manpower,” Alleya said. “I believe there are any number of idle tenant farmers who could be usefully employed in digging you a reasonable road to the river.”
    â€œBut the
cost
,” Aaron complained impatiently. “You can’t realize—”
    Alleya spread her hands again. “Charge more for your wine and your vegetables,” she said. “Isn’t that how a merchant always covers his expenses? Besides,” she added, smiling good-humoredly, as if they were all in on a joke, “I happen to know your new harvesting equipment is saving you a fortune in labor costs and actual produce recovery. Half again as much yield in some crops, because the machinery is so efficient—isn’t that right? So surely you can afford a little extra outlay, one-time only, to build your necessary roads. It’s a business expense, is it not, gentlemen?”
    She kept her expression mild and reasonable as she waited for them to refute her. They could not, of course. She saw a frown take shape on Aaron’s face as he gradually realized she had too many points in her favor; Emmanuel was, as usual, way ahead of him.
    The last person she expected to hear from at this juncture was Samuel, but now he spoke up. “There is another solution, if you’re so set on shipping from the northernmost point of the river,” he said.
    Aaron swung quickly his way; Emmanuel eyed him more warily. “What is it?” asked the younger man.
    â€œFreight your merchandise through the Edori territory, and paythem a passage fee,” Samuel proposed. “Don’t you think that would work, Alleya?”
    It was all Alleya could do to keep from laughing aloud. It was sensible, charming, and completely unpalatable to the Manadavvi. “I think the Edori would be quite interested,” she said. “They probably wouldn’t charge much, you know. The Edori have no head for business.”
    â€œPay the
Edori
so I can take my wagons across their land?” Aaron exclaimed. “I’d rather walk it all the way to the ferry at Semorrah!”
    â€œWell, that’s your choice, too,” Alleya said smoothly. “Actually, I think you have any number of solutions to consider. All workable. Go back. Talk to the others. I’m sure you’ll find that one or the other of these suggestions will be acceptable to everyone.”
    After that, it was barely three minutes before the Manadavvi made the briefest of farewells and exited without a backward look. Just as well. They were scarcely out of sight before Alleya and Samuel began laughing so hard that they could not speak. Alleya felt the tears come to her eyes, and still she could not repress the hysteria.
    â€œNo head for
business
—” Samuel choked out once, and that set her off again. She was blinded by laughing; she didn’t see him approach, and so his hug of congratulations caught her completely by surprise. But she welcomed it. She thought she deserved it. Her second victory of the day, and this one actually worth recording.
    But there were still setbacks to contend with—namely, the failure of the music machine. Late in the afternoon, Alleya set out for Velora to see if, by chance, anyone there could give her advice.
    Velora was a bustling, happy, cosmopolitan town nestled up to the foot of the imposing Velo mountain from which the Eyrie had been carved. The city had sprung up centuries ago specifically to accommodate the angels and the petitioners who visited them there, so it possessed a welcome, friendly air and a multitude of amenities. It was often compared to Luminaux (though it had no real hope of eclipsing that fabled city), and everyone who visited Velora fell in love with it.
    Years past, the only drawback to Velora was that there was no easy way to ascend from the city to the angel hold on the mountaintop,for the steep cliffs were impassable. Angels