most of Hythria, she had no power over the common, baseborn daughter of a slave.
Serves her right , Luciena thought. Let her see what it feels like to have all her illusions shattered .
It took Luciena the better part of the morning to reach the financial district and then another hour of waiting around before she was allowed in to see Farlian Kell. He had never kept her waiting before and she was hot, sticky and quite out of sorts by the time she was shown into his presence.
The old man rose to his feet as she entered the room, clearly suffering from the gout that had plagued him for much of his adult life—certainly as long as Luciena had known him. He smiled wanly and bade her take a seat, before lowering himself back down to his own seat and lifting his swollen foot onto the padded footstool under the desk.
“This is a pleasant surprise,” he said, as he shifted his foot into a more comfortable position. “I didn’t really expect to see you so soon, Luciena. Shouldn’t you still be in mourning?”
“I am in mourning, Master Kell,” she said. “Mostly for my inheritance.”
Farlian seemed a little put out by her tone. “Is there a problem? Surely, anything your mother had was left to you? I know your father made excellent provision for you.”
“Well, that’s the problem, you see. My mother had nothing. If my father left me anything, I see no sign of it.”
Farlian shook his head. “That’s not possible.”
“Not only is it possible, it’s happened. My inheritance is substantial, Master Kell. The problem is, I owe it, rather than having it owed to me.”
“But how could this happen?” Farlian asked, clearly confused. “There was more than enough put aside for your living expenses.”
“I was hoping you could tell me,” Luciena replied. “I thought maybe Princess Marla decided to—
”
“Absolutely not!” Farlian declared emphatically.
“How can you be so sure? You said yourself, the monthly stipend my father left us was more than enough to cover our expenses. Yet according to the household accounts, two years ago the stipend simply ceased. We’ve been living on borrowed money ever since.”
“Then it must have something to do with your mother’s investments, Luciena,” Farlian told her.
“I can promise you, Princess Marla has never once attempted to interfere in the provision of your upkeep.”
“What investments?” Luciena scoffed. “My mother was a court’esa , Master Kell. She knew about keeping a man satisfied and she was a very proficient linguist, but she had no notion of finances and certainly no clue about investing money.”
“Be that as it may,” Farlian shrugged, “she obviously fancied herself a little more knowledgeable about money than you give her credit for.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Luciena, the monthly stipend your father left you stopped two years ago because your mother asked for the remaining money to be paid in a lump sum. She said she had some investments she wanted to make and believed the return on her money would be significantly more than the allowance your father had left her to run the household.”
“And you just gave her the money?” Luciena gasped, appalled her mother had been able to ask such a boon. And, what was worse, had been given it.
“Your mother was very determined, Luciena.”
“But she was a slave! Surely it’s illegal to hand that sort of money over to a slave?”
“Normally, yes,” Farlian agreed. “But your father had specifically granted her control over your stipend in his will, to allow her to maintain your house and provide for you. I certainly couldn’t have given her any other money, but there was nothing to stop her taking what was legally left in her care.”
He sighed, seeming to take pity on her. “Is there nothing in the accounts indicating the type of investments your mother made?”
“Nothing,” Luciena sighed, shaking her head. “Just debts. Even the
Serves her right , Luciena thought. Let her see what it feels like to have all her illusions shattered .
It took Luciena the better part of the morning to reach the financial district and then another hour of waiting around before she was allowed in to see Farlian Kell. He had never kept her waiting before and she was hot, sticky and quite out of sorts by the time she was shown into his presence.
The old man rose to his feet as she entered the room, clearly suffering from the gout that had plagued him for much of his adult life—certainly as long as Luciena had known him. He smiled wanly and bade her take a seat, before lowering himself back down to his own seat and lifting his swollen foot onto the padded footstool under the desk.
“This is a pleasant surprise,” he said, as he shifted his foot into a more comfortable position. “I didn’t really expect to see you so soon, Luciena. Shouldn’t you still be in mourning?”
“I am in mourning, Master Kell,” she said. “Mostly for my inheritance.”
Farlian seemed a little put out by her tone. “Is there a problem? Surely, anything your mother had was left to you? I know your father made excellent provision for you.”
“Well, that’s the problem, you see. My mother had nothing. If my father left me anything, I see no sign of it.”
Farlian shook his head. “That’s not possible.”
“Not only is it possible, it’s happened. My inheritance is substantial, Master Kell. The problem is, I owe it, rather than having it owed to me.”
“But how could this happen?” Farlian asked, clearly confused. “There was more than enough put aside for your living expenses.”
“I was hoping you could tell me,” Luciena replied. “I thought maybe Princess Marla decided to—
”
“Absolutely not!” Farlian declared emphatically.
“How can you be so sure? You said yourself, the monthly stipend my father left us was more than enough to cover our expenses. Yet according to the household accounts, two years ago the stipend simply ceased. We’ve been living on borrowed money ever since.”
“Then it must have something to do with your mother’s investments, Luciena,” Farlian told her.
“I can promise you, Princess Marla has never once attempted to interfere in the provision of your upkeep.”
“What investments?” Luciena scoffed. “My mother was a court’esa , Master Kell. She knew about keeping a man satisfied and she was a very proficient linguist, but she had no notion of finances and certainly no clue about investing money.”
“Be that as it may,” Farlian shrugged, “she obviously fancied herself a little more knowledgeable about money than you give her credit for.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Luciena, the monthly stipend your father left you stopped two years ago because your mother asked for the remaining money to be paid in a lump sum. She said she had some investments she wanted to make and believed the return on her money would be significantly more than the allowance your father had left her to run the household.”
“And you just gave her the money?” Luciena gasped, appalled her mother had been able to ask such a boon. And, what was worse, had been given it.
“Your mother was very determined, Luciena.”
“But she was a slave! Surely it’s illegal to hand that sort of money over to a slave?”
“Normally, yes,” Farlian agreed. “But your father had specifically granted her control over your stipend in his will, to allow her to maintain your house and provide for you. I certainly couldn’t have given her any other money, but there was nothing to stop her taking what was legally left in her care.”
He sighed, seeming to take pity on her. “Is there nothing in the accounts indicating the type of investments your mother made?”
“Nothing,” Luciena sighed, shaking her head. “Just debts. Even the
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