Free Prophecy by Sharon Green Page B

circle of friends. They were the sort who flitted about the fringes of true people of quality, having no idea how to join them, half the time not even making the effort. But they did belong to families with standing and power, so they had to be dismissed with a smile rather than with a stiffly turned shoulder. It would never do to insult the wrong person…
    An inn servant helped Hallina from her carriage, making no effort to see her face under the deliberately draped hood of her cloak. The carriage was an unmarked one, of course, a precaution Hallina would have taken no matter the circumstances. Those ruffians might have decided to learn who she was in order to demand gold from her for keeping silent, but she would quickly disabuse them of
that
notion. They would
not
know who she was, only that she was completely willing to hire others to kill
them
as easily as she hired
them
to see to her required chore. Once they understood that they were really at her mercy, the negotiations would go a good deal more smoothly.
    Hallina walked through the door held open by the inn servant, then had to pause in mid stride. She had no idea how to find the men she was to meet, as her agent’s letter had provided no details. It was infuriating that the thought hadn’t occurred to her sooner, as now she would certainly have to turn around and go home with nothing to show for the time she’d spent—
    “Good evening, my lady, and please come this way,” a girl’s voice said from Hallina’s right, startling her. Hallina turned to see an inn servant, but one who was dressed a bit better than the average. The female could well be a hostess for the gaming it was said the inn sometimes provided, and that annoyed Hallina even more.
    “I haven’t come for your foolish gaming,” she snapped, making only a small effort to keep her voice down and her face in the shadow of her hood. “I’m here for another reason entirely, so stop—”
    “Yes, my lady, I’m well aware of that,” the snip had the nerve to interrupt, although she did do it rather gently. “You’ve come to meet with three gentlemen, and they’renow awaiting your pleasure. If you’ll be so good as to follow me, I’ll take you to the rooms they’ve reserved.”
    “Just a moment,” Hallina said, stopping the female in her tracks. “How do you know that I’m the one the three … gentlemen are waiting for?”
    “I was instructed to look for a regal but unattended lady, one who would be wearing a cloak and hood,” the girl responded with modestly downcast eyes. “Is it possible I’ve mistaken you for someone else?”
    “Regal,” Hallina murmured, a good deal more than pleased. Then she raised her voice to add, “No, my girl, you aren’t mistaken. Lead me to the place I’m awaited.”
    The girl curtsied slowly and properly, then began to walk again. Rather than going directly to the main stairs, the girl led Hallina through a long corridor of a hall before they reached a second staircase. This time they went up, and then turned right. The silence all around was unbroken by anything save the soft shushing of their shoes on the carpeting, dim lamplight creating small pockets of shadow along the way. The upper hall was wider than the lower one had been, and they walked past a number of closed doors before they reached the one at the very end.
    “This knock will announce your presence, my lady,” the girl said as she rapped a bit on the door. “Should you or the gentlemen require anything, the room’s bellpull will summon a servant.”
    The girl performed a second, faster curtsey, then she began to return the way they’d come. Hallina was just as pleased to be rid of her, especially since the door was being opened. Now another knock would not be necessary, nor would the girl have the men’s faces to forget. But as for that part of it, the men’s faces, that is, Hallina needn’t have worried. The man who opened the door widely enough for her to enter wore a