Chapter 31- There is always a bigger first Part 2

  Alyssa finished putting her clothes into the returned dresser in the guest bedroom. The rest of the staff were staying in the stand-alone house. Lord Kelly needed one room for guests, but she made sure she would have the remaining room. It was important to her job that she be around should lord Kelly need her, or should any important developments happen in the house. Considering he spent most of his time outdoors, she started rethinking her plans.

  She wasn’t sure what to expect when given the position; she knew that the new lord was wilder and not as “cultured” as some of the other lords. She was doing her best to teach him everything he needed to know for court, but it was a mountain of a task.

  He was not dim, but he had a considerable amount to learn, especially considering he was only given a week’s reprieve instead of the typical month. Lord and Lady Heartbran had told her that her lord would not need it since he didn’t have any furniture to move in.

  After packing away her clothes, she headed down the stairs to the kitchen. George was cleaning up the kitchen, but a plate of stew, vegetables, and bread was waiting for her. She signed a thank you to him, and he nodded. She then signed, asking if he had seen anything. He signed back that lord Kelley had sat in his chair until dinner was served, then headed to bed. She thanked him and ate her dinner.

  George was not family, but they had been friends for a while. When she was put on assignment to lord Kelley, she had traded a few favors to get him on the staff. Amanda had been a handful, but it was worth it to have someone she knew and could trust. Once she was done with dinner, she signed to George that she was going outside for a brisk walk and would be back soon. George gave her a lantern, took her dishes, and wished her well.

  Once done, she walked a few hundred yards down the road until she found a carriage on the side of the road with a knight providing look-out. She handed the lantern to the guard and slipped in. Inside was merchant Evergreen and Cassia Sandridge.

  “About time you arrived,” said Cassia, her old employer and heir to house Sandridge, though Cassia made it clear she was still to report to her despite her new assignment.

  “I had to take care of a few things.”

  “A poor job you are doing so far.” Merchant Evergreen interjected.

  “I cannot make him do anything; he is a lord.” Alyssa retorted.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “The furniture was supposed to be our leverage; all you had to do was get him to agree to a few simple tasks in exchange for some wood and cloth.” Merchant Evergreen grumbled.

  “You pressed him too hard. He is a wilder. He probably doesn’t understand the importance of furniture to begin with.” Alyssa seethed.

  “Enough, both of you. We are not here to talk about what has failed. Alyssa, what I want to know is why in Hades he is taking a ride with the Ashmores. They are sticking their nose into the middle of our plans, and I want to know why.”

  She reported, “Lord Kelley mentions they are paying him to take them through the dungeon. The furniture is a gift.”

  “Did he say anything else?” Alyssa shook her head no.

  “Well, I need you to find out more. We need to correct course before it goes too far afield. Lady Heartbran will not be pleased to know that we let him ally with their rivals after all the concessions they gave us. Merchant Evergreen, did the Ashmores say anything to you?”

  He scoffed, “They didn’t say much. They threaten me. If I didn’t give the furniture back, they would’ve blackmailed me.”

  Cassia blinked, “So? They don’t hold the retainer contract.”

  Merchant Evergreen grumbled for a second, “It’s a subtle threat, nothing that could be taken before the Heartbrans.”

  “So empty threats.” Cassia summarized.

  Alyssa knew the problem and why merchant Evergreen is so reluctant to speak about it. The Ashmores trade has only increased over the last five years. He could barely keep up with what they needed. Their increase in trade accounts for over half the trade of the entire estate.

  Most of what they traded in were raw materials like food or wool, but that made it almost just as dangerous. If they left him, they could easily hire a new merchant at a lucrative rate who could outcompete him. On the other hand, they could also give him bulk orders, which would mean he would need to hire other merchants.

  On the surface, it’s simple, but if they wanted him to fail a few hundred trade orders, and a month away from the estate would see him lose his position on retainer. He could also subcontract a merchant, but then he would need to charge higher rates and hope that the Ashmore continues to put business his way.

  The result was that the Ashmore branch controlled too much of the trade inside the estate to ignore them, over a couple of hundred gold in furniture. The merchant, of course, didn’t want to say this because it would look bad. The Sandridges’ greatest rival was the Ashmore house. If Cassia thought the Ashmore had merchant Evergreen under their thumb, she would eliminate him.

  Fortunately for merchant Evergreen, the Ashmores didn’t pull this trick too often. They saved it for a few critical moments when it would hurt their rivals but keep the susceptible merchant in the estate.

  “Well, I promise you, my threats will not be empty. Evergreen, you are supposed to be some kind of brilliant merchant; come up with a new deal. Alyssa, I want you to keep a tight eye on the wilder. This collecting poop thing is quite grotesque; maybe we can do something with that.”

  Alyssa bowed in her seat and exited the carriage to the cold, biting wind of the night. It is supposed to be warm out, but the cold feels like it bites to her core as she takes the lantern back. She started the long walk home.