brown skirt that reached all the way to the floor and a white cotton shirt, she was tall, lean, and despite her advancing years, looked as if she could labor alongside any man. Her once-black hair was now streaked with gray and wrapped in a tight bun.
Lydia looked disapprovingly at Millet. “What business do you have in Lord Starfinder's chambers?”
“Fetch Barty, Randson, and Trevor,” ordered Millet. “I have something to tell you.”
“Trevor's cooking supper,” said Lydia.
Millet's faced hardened. “Then tell him to stop.”
Lydia glared at Millet for a moment, then stormed off toward the kitchen. A few minutes later she returned. A thinly built old man wearing a tan shirt and trousers trailed behind, covered from head to toe in flour. The old man beamed when he saw Millet.
“Good to see you, old friend,” said Trevor. He looked at Dina. “I see your taste in company has improved.”
Dina stood and introduced herself. Trevor bowed and started to take a seat on the couch.
“I'll not have you getting flour all over the furniture,” shouted Lydia.
“Calm down woman,” said Trevor. “I'll clean it.”
“You sit, too,” Millet said to Lydia.
The front door opened and Barty and his son entered. Millet motioned for them to sit as well.
Millet retrieved the parchment Lee had given him when they were all seated, and handed it to Lydia. She and the others read it for several minutes then handed it back to Millet.
“I don't know who Lee Nal' Thain is,” said Lydia. “But if you think for one minute that-”
“You know full well who Lee Nal' Thain is,” Millet countered. “As do the rest of you.” He stood. “Lee has given me rights to his lands and titles. That includes this estate.”
Lydia huffed. “And what do you intend to do with these ‘rights,’ might I ask?”
Millet thought he heard a slight quiver in the woman's voice.
“Before I reveal my intentions, tell me about the faithful.”
Lydia took a deep breath. “About a week after you and Lord Starfinder left Sharpstone, three oddly dressed men came to the door inquiring as to your whereabouts, and the whereabouts of master Stedding. They sounded like those folks from Baltria to me, but they wore black cloaks and kept their faces hidden with their hoods. I've never trusted people who won't show their faces. Anyway, I told them you had all left and didn't know where you had gone, or when you'd return. At the time I didn't think much on it. Lord Starfinder has had odd people call on him before, and he's always taken an interest in young Gewey, but when I went to market a few days later, I noticed they were still around, asking questions.
“Still, what could I do? They weren't causing trouble and no one seemed to mind them. All the same I told the staff to keep an eye on them.” She looked at Barty.
“Ah, yes,” said Barty. “When Lydia told me about these characters I made sure I knew what they were up to. I even had my boy follow them a few times. Like Lydia said, at first they didn't do anything other than ask questions. And other than causing rumors to fly, they didn't make trouble. In fact, the way they let their coins pass freely, people actually started to take a liking to them. Especially Mayor Freidly. He had them over at his house almost every night.
“It wasn't long before they started comin' 'round here again.” Barty's lip curled in anger. “This time they were more forceful. They insisted that someone here knew where Lord Starfinder was, and demanded to know.” He puffed out his chest. “Well, my friend, no one bullies me. I snatched up my shovel and ran them off.”
“And you were a fool for it,” snapped Lydia. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”
Barty ignored her comment. “After that, they didn't come back. I'd see them watching people coming in and out, but that was as close as they came. I guess I scared 'em good enough.”
“And it's the reason we don't know anything,” scolded Lydia. She turned to Millet. “If you work for Lord Starfinder, you had just as well be an elf. No one says a word to us anymore.”
“They still talk to me,” said Trevor. “One of the advantages to being an old man.”
Millet smiled. “What do they say?”
“First, you should know what went on after Barty ran those fellows off.” Trevor leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs. “From what I heard, they didn't