"Whandall will think of something." Wess spoke from behind him, possession and pride in her voice.
Vinspel had been killed in a knife fight, ten days back. They'd had to lei I Wess. No man would tell her, or tell any woman, that Vinspel had been lighting for another woman. The other Placehold women liked Wess too, but they would talk.
And now Whandall could only think that no man could keep her from him.
She was the oldest girl in the room. Mother's Mother was leader of the Placehold, but she was somewhere else inside her mind. Mother had been the real leader, usually, when she didn't have flasks and powders. But now she was gone. If Wanshig came back, Elriss would be leader. Now-
Now, Whandall's woman would have the job, honors and duties alike. It came to Whandall that he didn't really know what that meant. He knew that Mother's Mother, then Mother, had kept the keys to the pantry. Neither seemed to cook or sew or clean. Others did that. But without someone to make it happen, they didn't.
Two children began to wail. Wess grabbed the oldest, a six-year-old, and shook him. "Quiet. Let Whandall think," she said. "Go with Rubyflower and get some rocks. All of you, shoosh! Get rocks we can throw from the roof. Not you, Rainier. Get some water for the roof garden. Not drinking water; dirty water will do fine. Come on, all of you-let's get to work."
Whandall nodded. "Rocks. Good," he said. "Shastern, you help Wess. Find some way to barricade the stairway too. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Where are you going?" Shastern asked.
"Pelzed."
He'd have to tell Pelzed how helpless the Placehold was. That would be dangerous, but Pelzed would find out anyway. Better to tell him straight off. Pelzed-Lord Pelzed-owed Whandall a favor. Would he remember? Would he care? But it was the only place Whandall could go.
Pelzed had led a band toward Lord's Town. Whandall couldn't follow there. He'd wait at Pelzed's roofless house.
But Pelzed was back.
Three of Pelzed's women were going through a stack of gatherings.
Pelzed shouted when he saw Whandall. "Whandall! Come have some lea!"
Whandall approached warily. He waved to indicate the loot. "From Lord's Town? Lord."
Pelzed grinned. "Not exactly," he said. "Sit down." ,
"Yes, Lord Pelzed."
"Heard you'd had some trouble," Pelzed said. "Wanshig's gone? Some of the other men."
"Yes, Lord. Lord, you once said you owed me a favor. We need help, Lord."
Pelzed poured tea and pushed the cup over to Whandall. "Tell me."
"All the men are gone, Lord," Whandall said. "There's only me and the younger boys. The women will try to find men, but. , ."
Pelzed nodded. There was no expression in his eyes, at all as he sat lost in thought. Finally he said, "Are you asking for my protection?"
"Yes, Lord."
"Why not ask the Lordsmen?"
"Lord, there are lines a hundred people long in front of every clerk in Peacegiven Square," Whandall said. "And what good would it do? Men come to gather the Placehold. We send for the Lordsmen, and maybe they come and maybe not, but they won't come in time to do us any good. We have our own Lord here. Why go to the Lords of Lordshills?"
"You learn fast," Pelzed said. "All right. We'll protect your cart on Mother's Day and I'll get the word out that anyone gathering at the Place-hold will have to answer to me. And I'll speak to the Lord's clerks in the Square. You'll be all right."
"Thank you, Lord."
"You'll have to control the Placehold. Don't make any new enemies. I can't fight new enemies," Pelzed said. "You remember that."
"Yes, Lord."
"How many boys do you have at Placehold?"
"Eleven, Lord, not including Shastern."
"They'll all join Serpent's Walk," Pelzed said. "Join knowing they owe us."
"Yes, Lord."
"Good." Pelzed sipped more tea. A crafty smile came to his lips. "Don't you want to know what happened?" he asked.
"Oh, yes, Lord," Whandall said. "I saw you going toward the Lordshills."
"So did the Bull Fizzles," Pelzed said. "They were following us. We couldn't shake them and there were too many to fight, so there we were, going out gathering with a bunch of Pizzles following right behind. I had a good plan-wear forester leathers. Wear leathers and make sure we didn't leave any dead behind. They'd never know it was us. But when we got closer we saw Lordsmen. Twenty, maybe more. They had armor, swords, spears, big shields, and we weren't about to gel past them. Kraemar and Roupend were feeling Yangin-Atep's power. They wanted to run in and gather. 1 couldn't control them much longer."
"Is that where you got all that?" Whandall asked. "Lord's Town?"
"No, what I did was let the Bull Fizzles get past me, then go back to the Fizzle streets," Pelzed said. "With our leathers on. Struck a bargain with the kinless there. Kraemar and Roupend got to burn some old houses and stores, the rest of us gathered all this, and the Bull Fizzles never came back. I may even have a new street for Serpent's Walk."
"Lord-was Chief Wulltid killed, then, Lord?"
"No, you know what he's like; he didn't go with his men. He stayed to take his pleasures in his own houses." Pelzed laughed. "I hope he enjoyed himself. He won't like my new arrangements." The grin was wider. "But the Lords will. Bull Fizzle isn't very popular with the Lords right now."
Whandall sipped tea and listened. He tried to imagine himself as Lord Whandall of Serpent's Walk. It was a good picture, and the more he thought about it, the more he liked it. It was a big job and he didn't know how to do it, but he could watch Pelzed and learn.
Wess had moved all his things into the big northeast room. Resalet's clothes were gone. His other things, bronze mirror, drinking cup, were laid out for Whandall's approval.
Wess was wearing a short wool skirt and a thin blouse that opened down to her navel.
Where did you get that? He knew he shouldn't ask. From Vinspel? His hands were on her shoulders. "Nice," he said, and repeated himself: "Nice. Wess, you're beautiful." She must have used the mirror, he thought, and he reached out for the magical thing and looked into it.
There was no trace, now, of that ring-shaped scar. The serpent tattoo was magnificent... alien.
"What did I look like?" he asked. "I stayed clear of you while I was healing." He'd let her see him once. The look in her eyes.
"That scar. I never thought it would heal."
"I found magic," he said. "Wess, I've got to talk to the rest of the house, but first, what have you got done?"
The children were being taken care of.
There was food. This evening's dinner would be huge: they were cooking everything that wouldn't keep. They'd eat as much as they could'. Tomorrow, who knew?
Stashes of rocks were on the roof, and children on guard. Invaders would expect rocks. There should be something else too. Something to startle a gathering band. Boiling water? Too complicated; too much work, and where would they get water? Think of something. Fire would burn on a roof.
The Placehold was nearly empty. Was there some way the place could look busier? All that showed from the street was a blank wall and a wide gate. What men he had, he could move them through that gate more often. "And I couldn't think of anything else," she said. "You?" "I've got Pelzed's protection. The only idea I had. Dark Man's Cup will do us some good, I think. Pelzed killed some friends for not keeping his promises there."