‘What we need to do,’ Lauzeta said at last, ‘is agree some sort of formula that’ll allow us to work this out scientifically. I mean, I wouldn’t want you to think we’re just pulling a figure out of the air.’
‘You mean,’ the delegate replied, ‘you want more money, but you don’t know how much more money.’ He stood up, and the rest of his entourage immediately did the same. ‘Perhaps when you’ve thought of a figure you’d be kind enough to let me know. In the meantime, I’d be grateful if you could tell me whether we should continue loading our ships, or whether you want them unloaded again.’
‘I-’ Lauzeta didn’t appear to have anything to say. There was a moment of embarrassed silence; then Runo Lavador, who’d been sitting still and cringing quietly for most of the meeting, jumped to his feet. ‘Probably it’d be best if you unloaded,’ he said. ‘I mean, until we’ve finalised this payment business-’
‘Excuse me.’ The delegate had spoken quite softly, but everybody in the room was looking at him. With a tone of voice like that, there wasn’t really any need to shout. ‘May I ask who you are, and what standing you have within the Association?’
A faint mist of panic clouded Lavador’s face; he dispelled it with a visible effort. ‘I’m Runo Lavador,’ he said. ‘And I’m just an ordinary ship-owner, that’s all. But I’m pretty sure I’m speaking for all of us. Isn’t that right?’ He looked round at his colleagues, none of whom moved an inch. ‘I’m sure you understand,’ he said.
The delegate looked at him for a count of three. ‘Very well,’ he said, and walked briskly out of the room, followed in no particular order by the rest of the party. Lauzeta waited till the doors closed behind them.
‘Well, how was I supposed to know?’ he said, before anyone else could say anything. ‘And you weren’t helping,’ he added, glowering at Lavador. ‘A right bunch of fools you made us look.’
‘I made us look?’
As the shouting match quickly gathered momentum, Venart slipped away as unobtrusively as he could. He was sorely tempted to run after the delegates and apologise; but that wouldn’t help, either. In fact, he couldn’t think of any sensible action except going straight home, so he did that.
‘Well?’ Vetriz called out from the counting house as he walked in through the front door. ‘How did it go?’
‘Terrible,’ Venart replied, dropping into a chair. ‘Couldn’t have gone worse if we’d really tried.’
‘Oh.’ Vetriz appeared in the doorway and leaned against the frame. ‘That well,’ she said. ‘Why aren’t I surprised?’
Venart stretched out his legs and stacked his feet on a small, low table. ‘I think now would be a good time to go abroad,’ he said, ‘until this whole mess has been sorted out. Unfortunately, we can’t, of course, on account of not having a ship. Well, if ever I happen to meet Cens Lauzeta in a dark alley-’
‘What happened?’
Venart told her. ‘So,’ he summarised, ‘one way and another we’ve contrived to put their backs up something rotten. You should have seen the look of contempt on that man’s face as he walked out. Never seen anything quite like it.’
‘Oh, well,’ Vetriz replied. ‘They’ll just have to sort it all out again, won’t they? Look on the bright side; if they decide the deal’s off, we’ll still have the ship and the money we’ve already got out of them. If the worst comes to the worst, we’ll just have to send Cens round in a hair shirt and make him do a bit of grovelling.’
Venart sighed. ‘I suppose so,’ he said. ‘But I ask you, for so-called representatives of a commercial nation, we do know how to make ourselves look ignorant.’ He reached over and pulled a handful of grapes off the bunch that lay in a shallow wooden bowl on the table. ‘Getting things wrong is one thing,’ he said as he munched. ‘Getting everything wrong all at the same time, though; now that’s a class act.’
Vetriz smiled. ‘Well,’ she said, ‘if it’s any consolation I’ve just been doing the books for this quarter, and we’re down twelve per cent on this time last year, so I guess Cens did have a point, of sorts. Of course, last year things were unusually busy, so strictly speaking it’s not a fair comparison. In any event, I reckon we should go out for dinner to celebrate.’
‘Celebrate what? Doing worse than last year? Offending the Empire?’
‘Why not? Who says you can only celebrate something nice?’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
‘Cinnamon,’ said the prefect of Ap’ Escatoy, after a long, tense silence. ‘Cinnamon, but probably not the domestic variety. In fact, I’d say probably Cuir Halla. Am I right?’
‘Close enough,’ replied the chief administrator, with his mouth full. ‘In fact, it’s a new variety. My man on the Island sent me a box with the dispatches. I believe it comes from the south-west, but that’s as much as he could tell me.’
‘A new variety,’ the prefect repeated, brushing crumbs off his fingertips. ‘I have to admit, you surprise me. What are the prospects for securing a regular supply?’
The chief administrator nodded to the cooks, indicating that they could go. ‘I’m not sure,’ he said. ‘The way the Islanders do business is so erratic, I can’t tell whether it was a one-off purchase or part of a long-standing arrangement. They will insist on treating everything to do with business as a game. It’s part of the childish streak that permeates everything they do.’
The prefect looked up. ‘That sounds faintly endearing, ’ he said.
‘Maybe. I just find it irritating, to be honest with you. Childishness is endearing in children. In grown-ups, it’s annoying.’
‘I suppose so,’ the prefect said, putting down his plate. ‘Still, it’s refreshing to come across people who so obviously enjoy what they do. I imagine this is by way of introducing your report.’
‘It’s a good illustration, certainly.’ The administrator sat down opposite his superior, his elbows on his knees. ‘Personally, I don’t find delaying the invasion and thereby possibly jeopardising our forces in the interior to be even remotely endearing. We should have seventy thousand men in Perimadeia by now, and instead they’re lolling about in the camp here, forgetting why they’re there and what they’re meant to be doing. To be frank, it’s playing havoc with my budget and making the Empire look ridiculous.’
The prefect sighed. ‘That’s intolerable, I agree.’
‘And that’s by no means the worst part of it,’ the administrator went on, fidgeting with a small brass dish he’d picked up off the table. ‘Temrai’s marching this way; what if he somehow manages to defeat our field army? How are we going to explain that?’
‘Ah.’ The prefect smiled. ‘It’s not as bad as that. Apparently he’s stopped dead in his tracks and is building a fortress. Remarkably impressive rate of progress, I have to admit. Really, they’re such an energetic people; quite unlike most nomadic tribes I’ve encountered. When this is over, I think I’d like to study them a little more closely. Part of the reason for having an Empire in the first place is to enjoy the strange people you come across, surely.’
‘With respect,’ said the administrator severely, ‘I think the wine-tasting can wait till after the vintage. I agree, if Temrai’s halted his advance it takes the pressure off us to a certain extent. But even so; if we’d been able to proceed according to the original schedule, they wouldn’t have got that far and we wouldn’t be facing the prospect of digging them out of this new model anthill they’re building. The plain fact is, these Islanders are going to cost us lives, money and time. We can’t afford to let that go by.’
The prefect sighed. ‘I suppose not,’ he said. ‘Something has to be done, I agree.’ He closed his eyes as an aid to concentration. ‘It’s a nuisance that we can’t crew the ships ourselves. Relying on their crews is going to slow things down even further. Can’t we recruit sailors somewhere else?’
‘I’ve considered that,’ the adminstrator said. ‘Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. We might be able to find enough men to make up the numbers, but I couldn’t guarantee the quality. Typically, those Island ships are difficult to handle unless you know what you’re doing. I wouldn’t want to take the risk of using inexperienced crews.’