Free Prophecy by Sharon Green Page A

unseal the note, and when she saw its contents she was grimly pleased.
    “Lady Hallina,” the note began. “That private matter we discussed has been partially arranged, all but the very last of it. The men are exactly what you’relooking for and are prepared to guarantee results, but insist on a face to face meeting with my principal. I recommend going through with the meeting, as you’reunlikely to find others as qualified as these three. If you agree, you’reto meet them at The Glowflower Inn at ten tonight. Wear a cloak with a hood so that your face will be covered, as there may well be those at the Glowflower who can recognize you. Until we meet again, I remain, your servant, R.”
    Hallina was quite put out over the necessity for a meeting with the ruffians she had simply expected to pay, and almost decided against lowering herself to the point of meeting them where
they
demanded she go. Then the thought came that ruffians of the lowest class would hardly know about the Glowflower, which was an inn frequented by those of
her
class. So her agent had arranged the place for the meeting, guarding her standing as he usually did. Very well, then, she
would
go. In a cause as good as this one, a small bit of inconvenience was best ignored.
    Hallina dined as usual that night, the service of her household being a bit better than usual after the small difficulty of the day before. One of the kitchen girls had given her a dirty plate, and when Hallina had attempted to discipline her over the matter by docking her pay, the slut had dared to suggest that it was Hallina herself who had dirtied the plate. The cheeky little animal had pointed to the warmed rolls, claiming that one was missing, and that meant Hallina had eaten it. More, the little tart had claimed that the crumbs on the plate came from Hallina’s having set the roll there, not from her having been given a dirty plate.
    Insubordination of that sort simply couldn’t be tolerated, so Hallina had given the girl the choice she usually gave erring servants. The girl would be beaten for daring to talk back, of course, and then she would be dismissed. But, if the girl begged nicely enough, Hallina would order her to be beaten twice as hard and she would
not
be dismissed. The choice had been the little peasant’s to make, but Hallina had known which way she would choose. Whenever possible, Hallina hired servants who had families which depended on them. That made them more than a little eager to keep their positions, which in turn produced higher quality service.
    The girl hadn’t wanted to beg, Hallina recalled with a smile as she helped herself to a buttered roll, and the slut had actually choked on the words while doing so. Hallina had made her repeat those words three times, an abject begging of her mistress for a beating twice as hard as the one she’d originally been meant to have, and then Hallina had granted her petition. Hafner had been brought from the stables to do the honors, and the simpleton had done his usual, thorough job. The cheeky little slut’s screams had been quite enjoyable, and by the time Hafner had finished with her she was no longer in the least cheeky.
    Hallina lost herself in pleasant thoughts of scenes like that while she finished her meal, and then she went to the library to sip sherry while her resident harpist played for a while. The music was quite relaxing, but rather than go to bed after listening to it, Hallina went to her apartment and let her maid dress her for going out. Annoyance over
having
to go out made Hallina short with all the servants, but she expected to be back rather quickly. She would tell those ruffians what she wanted of them, they would tell her their price, and then the negotiations would be concluded.
    Her carriage driver had no trouble finding the inn, even though Hallina had only been to it once before. Quite a lot of her peers did frequent the place rather often, but most of them weren’t really members of her