Jess Gildersleeve's page

"As there is no need to retire immediately now, would you like to play a few hands of Towers? Or perhaps Bounder?"

Governor Gildersleeve looks delighted at the suggestion. "A Bounder man! Do you carry your own dice, or will you trust mine? Here, Mr. Arrow! Clear all this away; we need the table for Bounder! Well... leave the wine, yes. Look lively, man!"

After dinner, the governor calls for wine and seems in no hurry to bid her guests goodnight. Read, likewise, seems intent to outwait Tendal and be left alone with Governor Gildersleeve; he is therefore taken aback when the port-governor suggests, "Mr. Deverin, I make no bones about the safety of a well-dressed stranger on the streets of the Cove after dark. You're welcome to stay the night ... and I can find a spare cot for your man, of course."

"If I may, I will send a note and see if the offer for dinner is still open the day before I depart."

"Oh, a note," the Governor lilts. "Do. Mr. Arrow depises notes. He's always sure they're about him. I'll be sure to give him several significant glances while I'm reading it."

As Tendal gets to his feet, the sound of the front door's heavy knocker sounds again, and Governor Gildersleeve looks intrigued. "Now who can that be? What a busy morning."

Tendal leans back in his chair, eyes narrowed. "So, you are a sort of constable then? Ensuring the peace of the town but staying out of the way of commerce? Curious. I don't think I have ever met an official who didn't have her fingers dipped into the pot. Most commendable and refreshing actually." Tendal said, eyebrows raised.

"Cynicism," the Governor sighs. "That's what Korvosa and Sandpoint breed in you. It may be said there's no honor among thieves, but Overlord Cromarcky has proven quite adept at instilling a code among pirates ... if only because he has demonstrated that there is more profit in cooperation than in disarray." She downs the rest of the cocoa in her mug at a dash. "Have a look around the port if you wish. You're welcome back for dinner, and I'll write an introduction to the Overlord if you'd like to go to Riddleport and negotiate business."

The Governor gives the tapping spoon an annoyed frown. "I wouldn't presume to know what arrangements the Overlord might or might not already have in place for getting goods to market," she replies a little sharply, "but if I did know, it's more than my position is worth to tell tales on your competition."

"Not to put to fine a point on it Governor, but how do you sell anything that is...discovered...on the sea? I don't imagine that you all come back here to the Cove and simply sit in a circle at the tavern paying one another for your goods. They must re-enter the marketplace somehow?" he said, languidly.

Tendal reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and a small box from which he extracted a small pinch of snuff. After the snort and subsequent violent sneeze, he looked back up at the lady across the table to see if his pause had the effect he was looking for.

"I can't imagine that you are making a significant income from your business as it stands. Without a legitimate and trustworthy shipper, it can't be easy to squeeze profit from your efforts..." he finished, leadingly.

"I catch your meaning," she replies. "You think we might benefit from a re-entry of our 'liberated' goods into the legitimate marketplace." She shrugs delicately. "That's really not for me to say, Mr. Deverin. The Overlord handles foreign relations; I'm more interested in domestic intercourse." She smiles at Tendal across the breakfast dishes.

"Where did this excellent jam come from?" he says, mainly to himself, popping the last bit of bread and marmalade into his mouth, then chewing in silence, enjoying the tang of the jam.

"Northern Qadira, I believe," Governor Gildersleeve remarks, with a glance at the pot. "It is hard to come by in these climes."

She takes another bite of the marmaladed bread and goes on, somewhat muffled. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but I shouldn't trust anyone in Roderic's Cove, if I were you. We are, after all, pirates, and you are, as I understand things, a representative of a legitimate shipper. That makes us rather natural enemies, as the spider said to the fly. Still," she takes a sip of cocoa and continues, "as a representative of Overlord Cromarcky, I am in a position to offer your ships his protection, in exchange for a reasonable fee, of course: quite less than the risk of losing an entire ship and its crew and cargo."

"We do have some Sczarni operatives in town," she admits. "Like rats in the cargo hold or weevils in the biscuit, they're almost impossible to eradicate. You can generally tell them, though, by the way they don't look like sailors. I believe they're based in the Churlwood like the goblins, so as long as you don't cross the river, you shouldn't be in any real danger."

"Mister Tendal Deverin, may I introduce Jess Gildersleeve? I'm sorry, madame, to have no knowledge of title or proper address."

"Captain if we're at sea, Governor, otherwise," the lady replies with a wry smile. "As the breakfast table doesn't seem to be rocking, Governor Gildersleeve will do."

"I am here because my family sees interest in working with persons of power in ports where we trade. Rather than smuggling and skulking, we have made effective contracts and thus enriched both ourselves and our clients. This has worked well in Korvosa, Sandpoint, and other locations across Varisia."

"Sandpoint!?" Governor Gildersleeve repeats with some amusement. "I must admit, this is the first time I've heard it mentioned in the same breath as Korvosa. Glass and goblins is all I've heard it known for. We have goblins here too, of course," she admits. "Keep them in check by offering a bounty per ear. Makes good bait, goblin-flesh does; at least that's what we tell the fisherfolk we sell them to." She offers Tendal a sly wink before glancing up at Gristav still standing beside the table. "If you don't need your man to butter your bread or pour your cocoa," she offers, "Mr. Arrow will take him in the kitchen and give him a spot of breakfast as well, won't you, Mr. Arrow?"

"As for my complaints, I have none," he continued. "I don't actually find that complaints aid the digestion of anyone, so I don't think it fair for me to subject you to them. Besideswich I have only just arrived here, so I haven't had a chance to form an opinion that could be considered a complaint."

"As for why I am here, I have found that open discussion of interest between those who have authority in a town," he pointed with his cane at the seated woman, "and those who are interested in a full and productive future relationship," he said as he tapped the cane to his brow in a small salute, "both ends up being fruitful in the future as well as elucidating any areas that might become problematic. And so, here I am."

"Well, Mr. Deverin," the woman drawls, "if you haven't any complaints to serve with it, I'm going to have surplus marmalade. The only gentlemanly thing to do is to have a seat and help me eat it. Mr. Arrow, a plate for Mr. Deverin! He'll be joining me for breakfast." Her eyes direct Tendal to the chair at her left. "Now, tell me about this ... relationship you're envisioning us having."

The breakfast room is sunny and so full of light that one doesn't immediately realize that the many eastern-facing windows haven't been recently cleaned and some are cracked. Seated at the head of a long, narrow gilt table is a rangy, raw-boned woman a little on the sunny side of forty. Her dark brown hair is hanging loosely and has yet to show a thread of silver. An assortment of delicate porcelain dishes, the source of the inviting aromas, are arranged on the table in front of her plate, which contains a brined, smoked kipper, topped with a fried egg, and a couple of thick slices of brown bread.

The woman's sharp eyes rake over Tendal as he enters. "Tradehouse of Magnimar, you say? You don't look like a complaint from a tradehouse. Where's your paunch and your walrus moustache? Well, Mr. Deverin? What complaints have you to lodge against me this morning?"