with the exception of Shea, all got a cut of the profits.
Shea’s lips tightened. They were going to ignore her advice. Again.
She forked up some vegetables and stuffed them in her mouth to avoid saying something unwise.
“It’s true that it would look bad to return without finalizing the agreement,” Dane said slowly. His eyes flashed to Shea who was chewing busily. “What makes you think we should leave?”
Shea paused in the midst of cutting the chicken and raised her eyes to find everybody staring at her. She swallowed the food already in her mouth and brought her cup up to take a cool drink of mead, using the time to turn the reasons over in her head.
“Almost nobody was on the streets on my way home,” she said, finally able to figure out what had been bothering her on the walk home. “It was nearly dinner time but even so, how many times have those streets been totally empty? The one person I saw made it a point to avoid looking at me.”
She paused to meet the men’s eyes to see that they were listening. Or some of them were anyway.
“The elders have been stalling since we got here. It doesn’t take ten days for a simple trade agreement. All we had to do was trade the tali for the wheat. They’re waiting for something. Something big and we’re not going to want to be around when that something arrives.”
Dane’s head tilted as he considered her words. Her observations had merit. They’d all felt the tension in the town over the last few days.
“We’ll stay the night,” he decided. Shea pressed her lips together as Paul smiled smugly. It wasn’t her place to argue further. They asked for her opinion. She’d given it. On the trail her decisions carried weight, but in town it was the expedition leader’s show. “First thing tomorrow we’ll talk to the elders again, and if they continue to stall, we’ll leave.”
Shea felt a weight lift off her shoulders.
“But Dane-” Paul’s argument ended when Dane lifted a hand.
“I’m the expedition leader. Me.” His face was deadly serious.
Shea couldn’t help but feel a bit of respect for the normally easy going Dane. Since their return from Edgecomb, he’d changed. He was less likely to spend his time flirting and actually listened before opening his mouth.
“While in town, my decisions go. If you’re not happy with the way I lead, you can take it up with the elders when we return. Until then, keep your mouth shut and do your job.” To the others, he said, “Pack everything you can tonight. I don’t want any delays when it’s time to leave.”
There were a few grumbles, but they faded as Dane stared each man down. No one challenged him.
Shea tried to be happy with the decision. She really did. It was very close to what she wanted. They would be leaving one way or another tomorrow.
Her eyes turned to the window.
A feeling in her gut said tomorrow would be too late. That whatever everybody was waiting for would have arrived.
When she was finished, Shea carried her plate to the kitchen and scooped the scraps into the garbage before placing the plate in the sink. Chairs scraped across the floor as the others rose and began to clear the table.
“Guess you’re pleased that the boy is dancing on your strings,” Paul said, shouldering her aside. He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering at her breasts and hips before curling his lip in disgust. “You must have a cunt of gold to influence the ladies’ man of Birdon Leaf. And here we all thought you were some type of ice princess.”
Shea blinked at the man in disbelief. Before she could say anything, much less act. Witt grabbed Paul by the back of the neck and slammed him face first into the wood countertop. There was a whine of pain as Witt leaned close and ground the man’s face further into the wood.
“You must be some kind of stupid, boy, to be pulling this shit on a pathfinder. The very person responsible for getting us through rough country. If she wanted to, she could lead us into a beast’s nest and leave us there. Nobody would ever know what happened to you.” There was another groan as Witt picked him up and slammed him back down. “The amount of disrespect for both our pathfinder and the expedition leader that I just heard come out of your mouth infuriates me. I