Moira made a face but nodded her agreement.
“How much do you intend to give her?” I asked worriedly.
Lady Thornbear frowned. “Too much, I’m afraid. No one is really sure how much is necessary. Given the high stakes, I plan to push the limit. I will have to make sure you are as drunk as you can possibly manage, without endangering your life. The hangover afterward will probably be quite memorable.”
I gulped. “For how long?”
“One day might be enough, but two days to be sure. You will hate me by the time this is over, Mordecai,” she replied as she poured another measure of liquid torture into my cup.
I forced myself to drink the terrible stuff before finally broaching the topic that had been on my mind, “Years ago, Genevieve told me that you learned your herbal lore from your mother, but that isn’t really true is it?”
Elise flinched, almost as if she had been struck, and then her features hardened. “Dorian, take little Moira for a walk for a few minutes.”
He balked at that, “I don’t think she should be walking right now, Mother.”
“Then carry her, dolt! I didn’t mean she should have to walk herself!” snapped his mother suddenly.
Dorian gathered my daughter into his large arms and carried her out. His manner told me that his mother’s words had stung his pride, but he wouldn’t argue with her. Dorian’s father, Gram, had been very strict about obedience and respect in their family.
After he had gone, Elise sighed. “Honestly, he’s just like his father, a good man, but his mind follows a very direct course.” She paused then, as if to see if I would prompt her, but I waited silently for her to begin again. “You are right. While I did learn some rudimentary lessons from my mother she is not the one who taught me most of what I know on the subject.”
I nodded.
Whatever she had to say was obviously painful, that was easy enough to see from her expression as she continued, “When I was fourteen my parents sent me to study at the church in Albamarl. I was born to a low ranking knight in the service of Duke Tremont. I was the youngest of three children and since my father couldn’t afford to provide a good dowry, for me they decided I should seek my vocation in the service of the Lady of the Evening Star.”
“What my parents did not know, but which you have probably realized, through your dealings with Father Tonnsdale, is that the Church of Millicenth specialized in a number of secret and illegal practices. Though at the time I was hardly more than a child, I shudder now to remember some of the shameful things I was taught to do then.”
Father Tonnsdale was the priest of Millicenth who had poisoned my parents and nearly poisoned the Lancaster family years ago, shortly after I had first discovered my abilities. He was also, as she had surmised, the first clue that had led me to wonder about her knowledge of poisons. “It isn’t my place to judge your past, Elise,” I reassured her, “You were always kind to me, almost a second mother, but life has taught me a number of hard lessons as well. I simply want to learn as much as I can.”
Her eyes held mine for a moment, and then she forged ahead, “Initially I was given mostly drudge work, along with the standard classes they put most of the girls in, but as time passed, and my body filled out, I was sent to work in the brothels. My instructors also noticed my excellent memory and aptitude for learning, so I was given more advanced instruction in healing as well as herbal lore.”
The look on my face was probably incredulous, despite my attempts to keep my features smooth. Dorian’s mother was a prostitute!?
Elise looked downward, “There’s no need to make that face, Mordecai. I’m sure you never expected to learn that Gram Thornbear’s widow was a paid pleasure girl, but the facts are rarely what we would wish them to be. At the time, I was not proud of my work, though I did at times take some pleasure in it myself. I will not lie about that. It was distasteful, but it was not entirely as terrible as some may think. I was well-fed, and my treatment as a prostitute was many times better than as a common drudge for the church.”
It was probably a toss-up to decide who was more embarrassed at the revelation of her prior work as a lady of the evening. In fact, looking upon the term, I began to realize that perhaps that was why they were called ‘ladies of the evening’, though I had never realized that the church venerating the ‘Lady of the Evening Star’ had operated brothels. It was yet another glaring reminder that I was more naïve than I thought I was. Marcus would probably laugh to know that I hadn’t been aware of the reason they were called ladies of the evening.
Elise watched my face carefully, “You seem deep in thought. Does it shock you to learn of my shameful past?”
I almost stumbled over my words, as I struggled to correct her misimpression, “No! Uh, well a bit, yes. But truly, my biggest shock was learning that the church dabbled in prostitution.”
“So you’re saying you always expected I had been a wanton?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“No, of course not!” I said immediately, but I was wise enough to know she was merely teasing me now, probably to ease her own tension at revealing such a shocking secret. I turned the tables on her by responding with complete sincerity, “Elise, I have always held you in high regard. I never knew your past, but the woman that raised Dorian, that loved Gram, and that looked kindly upon me as a common child playing amongst his betters, that woman is still in front of me. Nothing in what you have told me so far has changed that in the slightest.”
Her eyes filled with tears, but just as Rose would have, she looked away to hide her face, “You speak well, Mordecai, but wait until I have finished my tale before you grant me such kindness. Your opinion may change.”
I started to protest, but she held up her hand. “Let me continue,” she said. “In spite of your ignorance, which probably speaks well of you, it is common knowledge that many of the brothels, particularly in Albamarl, are operated by the Church of Millicenth, or rather they were. Your ban upon the churches in the capital has probably had some effect there. I would be surprised if they did not still have some interest in the remaining brothels still operating in the capital.”
“But why?” I interjected, “I gave up my illusions about the righteous nature of the religions of the shining gods years ago, but it seems to me that prostitution runs counter to their ‘public’ image. Why would the church deliberately tarnish its image in such a way?”
“Your illusion was based upon childhood teachings. I assure you, adult society always knew and accepted their other ‘doings’. The brothels were considered, at least publicly, to be a service to the suffering of unmarried or unhappy men. Privately, they were centers for gathering information. The pillow talk collected by the whores in those dens of pleasure was carefully sifted and refined, for use by the church elders. That information was a resource more valuable than gold, and it could be used to control and maneuver, to blackmail and inform.”
“By the time I was sixteen, I was one of the more accomplished and sought after whores in service to the church, but my talents extended far beyond the simple pleasures of the body. It had been determined that I had the wit and talent necessary to be taught additional skills. I was trained in the hidden secrets of the church. They taught me the art of gathering information, the techniques of assassination, and the lore of poisons. The devotees of the Lady had been studying the poisoner’s arts since their inception before the Sundering, and I was perhaps their most able student.”
She had finally reached the heart of what I had suspected, though I still wasn’t comfortable with the way she had said ‘assassination’. “How did…” I said slowly, letting my words trail off.