Tor debated keeping Rolph’s title from her, but figured that would be mean. It wasn’t a secret or anything. Not here.
“No, the red haired giant boy is Prince Alphonse Cordes, heir to the throne of Noram. He’s a good guy though, so try not to hold that against him. He’s not here right now, off in the Capital. Some important people were poisoned and he has to help clear that up, I think. The blond woman is the daughter of a big merchant house called Debri. Her name’s Sara, like yours, but she pronounces it all funny. “Sah-ra” not correctly like you do. But she’s OK too. Nice enough. Both friends of mine, though I kind of had a fight with Sara, when one of her best friends said mean things about me which caused us to break off our engagement. Her friend, I mean, Trice. I wasn’t engaged to Sara. We seem to be getting along better now.”
Sorlee stared at him.
“Someone broke up with you? Why? Do you drink or something? Beat on her? You don’t seem like that type.” The girl eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds then smiled. “You’re good looking and can bake, so you have a good career and all. She must be silly if she thinks she’s going to do better.”
Tor grinned.
“Ah now, see, I should have gotten you to talk to her first then. She’s a royal though, Trice, so different standards for things I guess. That was months ago, so I need to move past it, right?”
Tor walked in without stopping so Sorlee did the same her eyes going wide when they got inside.
“Wow this place is… This must be the nicest place in the whole world!”
A few months before, less than a year at least, he would have thought the very same thing himself. It was decorated pretty well, which had nothing to do with him, or if he had it right, Rolph either. Sara maybe? He’d have to ask.
Both the women sat at the shiny black table, a dark red cloth had been put over the top, which made it warmer and a little less oppressive looking. The legs still showed and looked like highly polished stone. Ursala smiled at him when he walked in and Sara waved at Sorlee. That made sense, the entire compound having only a few women. Tor doubted that any of the rest of them were as short as the girl at his side making her easy to identify too.
They put the food on the table carefully, unpacking the high sided tray things that the food was being carried in. Neither of them had eaten in the kitchen, so Tor gestured for the girl to sit next to him. He gave her the small chair and took one of the large ones, because she was a guest. It was important to make guests feel comfortable, right? Even the Queen had gone out of her way when he was a guest and the difference in real position between him and a farm girl, who was also a baker and a prostitute in training, was a lot closer socially if you counted it up logically.
Practically the same really.
He made the introductions carefully, but honesty enough. Ursala seemed a little shocked that Tor asked her to sit with them, but Sara just smiled and offered the girl a plate, telling her to help herself to the food. Everyone had to eat after all. Sara was good like that. Accepting people of different classes easily. It probably came from being a born merchant. Anyone could be a potential costumer after all, so it made sense to get along with everyone, didn’t it?
Tor largely translated while they ate, letting the others talk. He snagged one of the orange rolls for himself, the icing was still a little gooey and the rolls just warm enough to be perfect. Ursala was surprised when Sorlee told Tor how good they were. That went into the story of what he’d been doing that morning which turned into the tale of how Sorlee came to be at the compound.
“Right,” she started the tale when it started, with her father getting hurt when a tree he’d been cutting down with her brothers fell the wrong way. “So, he was busted up pretty bad, and we had to call the doctor in, which costs a lot. That, plus losing his work and a less than great harvest and we were looking at a pretty lean winter. It snows where we live, up north a long ways. So I left home, which means one less person to feed and that way I could find some work to help pay things off so next winter won’t be so bad for everyone. I tried cleaning at first, but cleaning girls don’t get paid much, so I found the madam and made a deal with her. I couldn’t understand it all, but that I get twenty percent of what I bring in, plus room and board and that I get to keep any tips I get fair and full. It’s a lot more money than I’d make cleaning for sure. Only so far I haven’t been doing so well at it. She’s been nice enough, but then I’ve been avoiding her. Mr. Baker said he’d go and talk to her and let her know what’s going on, so’s I won’t be beaten into it and can start gradual like. Get used to it in a way that won’t leave me too sore to do anything for weeks on end.”
The conversation after that went way differently that Tor had thought it would. Instead of shock and outrage at an innocent young girl having to sell herself like that, which Tor had to admit was kind of what he felt about the whole thing, or alternative suggestions as to how to make money, say telling her to have Tor just give it to her for instance, which was what he’d been expecting, the women gave her tips to make having sex easier.
Ursala in particular.
“Well, now that your hymen is broken, all you probably need is a bit of practice and to use lubrication. Some oil will work, cooking oil if you don’t have anything else though I’m sure that the madam has some just for that, it’s what prostitutes pretty much have to do. Too hard to get turned on for each man after all, no matter how wonderful they are. Just use it before you have a client, really, best to do that before they come into the room even. That will leave them with the illusion that they enthuse you personally which men like. Actually pretty much everyone likes to feel appreciated and desirable… Just rub it right inside yourself. You’ll have to clean up each time, but then I imagine you will anyway. Has anyone discussed how not to get pregnant?”
That conversation, which Tor kind of had to stay for, being the translator, opened his eyes more than a little. Ursala certainly knew how to prevent pregnancy at least. Why she hadn’t, Tor didn’t get, but given everything didn’t ask either. He’d rather live without the information than cause her pain in the memory.
Well, embarrassing or not, the girl needed to know things like that, and if the prostitutes couldn’t help her out because of the language barrier, he’d have to. Even if that did mean risking a stroke from all the blushing he was doing. No one teased him about it at least.
What they did do, which he thought was pretty kind of them, considering that they’d just met Sorlee and all, was go with them to the back of the compound to where the… houses, were set up. It was just late enough in the day that the mistress was awake and they didn’t even have to wait long to see her. She came in, dressed well enough that it looked like she’d planned on guests, but not so well that she didn’t look a little embarrassed when she saw the two women waiting for her.
“Ah! You must be the ladies with Prince Alphonse! Then you would be…” The woman, who looked to be in her mid forties, just slightly plump, enough to accentuate her curves rather than make her look heavy, regarded him baldly for a few seconds.
“Master Tor?” Her voice sounded a little awed for some reason.
“Just Tor, but yeah, that’s me.” He gave her his best polite grin.
The woman curtsied and held it for an awfully long time, so finally he bowed back, not knowing if that was the right move of not, but at least she took it as a sign that she could stand up straight. Sorlee looked at him with a scowl.
“Are you someone important? If I find out you’ve been fooling me all day I’ll…” She waved a fist at him which got everyone else to look at her in shock suddenly.
“Not really, some people think so, but I haven’t been fooling you. I told you who I was and even that I make magical devices. I probably should have spelled everything out for you, but I kind of wanted you to just like me for me, you know? So, really, no hitting.” Tor said this with a chuckle, shying away from the proffered blow with hands raised and a playful smile.