The Trikingdom Ch. 11

"Thank you," she said. "I know the idea of sex for money is hard for you to accept as a Paladin."

"It is," he responded, "but so are a lot of issues that come with being a duke." He was finally nude and his large cock was bobbing up and down in front of him.

"Is that for me?" Careena asked innocently.

"Yes," Kalas replied with a smile.

"Then come here and let me reward you for being such an understanding husband."

Kalas eagerly joined his wife in bed.

***

Two days later, Careena sat with Cilas going over possible locations for the new brothel. Cilas had scouted out the empty buildings in the city, searching for a suitable one, and had come back with a list for the Duchess to consider. The Duchess, of course, couldn't be linked to the purchase of the property, but the assassin was used to coming and going unnoticed.

"I think the one on the hill is the best," Cilas suggested. "It's in the nicer part of the city and needs the least work."

"No," the Duchess disagreed. "It's too close to the manor. Besides, I want to be in the poorer quarter, in a building that needs work. That way we kill two birds with one stone; we open a brothel, and fix up the area at the same time."

"Then how about the one near the wharf," he suggested. "There's no businesses left in the area, except fishmongers. Everything else has dried up and gone."

"I like it," Careena agreed. "We'll keep the fisherman's coins in the area, and draw others in as well."

"Good," Cilas said scribbling in a ledger. "Now that the easy part is over, we need to select a proprietor."

"Yes," she said. "I've been giving it some thought, but I have been unable to come up with someone I trust enough to run the establishment."

"Milady, may I make a suggestion?" Cilas asked.

"Of course you may, Cilas. I would appreciate any insight you have in the matter."

"I think Zella would make a good choice, Milady," he said nodding his head.

"Zella?" she questioned. "I hadn't thought of having a woman run the brothel."

"She's someone we can trust, and her face is virtually unknown in the city. She can pose as a former whore who decided to open her own shop," Cilas explained.

Careena thought about it, and couldn't come up with any reasons why it wouldn't work. "She'll need protection," she said.

"Yes," Cilas agreed nodding, "but I've also been training her. She can take care of herself, but we'll need to hire guards. Most brothel's employ them."

"All right," the Duchess agreed. "I trust you, and I know the relationship the two of you have and that you trust her."

"Thank you, Milady," he said enthusiastically. "It will be good for her. I find that if she's busy playing a roll, she doesn't lapse into her old submissive demeanor."

"You're welcome, Cilas. But I suspect this will be harder on the two of you than you expect. You won't be able to see one another as often as you do now," she reminded him.

Cilas laughed. "Don't worry about that, Duchess. I will have a way to see her as often as I like."

"I have no doubt that you will," she was forced to agree with the small assassin.

***

The front of the newest brothel in Genoise was getting a fresh coat of paint while its proprietor stood outside regarding the building with fascination. Zella knew she wasn't truly the owner of the establishment, but it felt like it belonged to her. She had never owned anything in her life, and she was still a little shocked at what had transpired over the last couple of days.

Cilas had coached her for hours on what to do when she went to the claim office for the deed to the place. Then the Duchess had explained what improvements to have made and how the building should look, which she had to relay to the workmen. The coin for all this had come from the ducal coffers, of course, so everything really belonged to the Duke and Duchess, but they were going to let her make the day to day decisions on how it was run.

She motioned to the two guards that Cilas had insisted she hire, indicating that she was going inside. They were mostly for show. One of them drank so much daily that she wondered if he could see straight and the other was so old that she doubted he could handle his own sword with any authority. She could defend herself, but she knew once the brothel was open and full of girls and patrons she would have to hire adequate protection.

More work was going on inside and as soon as she entered she felt a half dozen pairs of eyes on her. Harlund, the foreman, quickly walked over to her. He was a large man with intelligent eyes. She had found him to be very respectful and knowledgeable about his craft. Cilas had recommended using him as he had done work for the Duke and Duchess on the manor previously.

"Welcome, Madame Zella," he said enthusiastically. "Come to check on our progress?"

"Yes, Mr. Harlund. I was curious to see how things were coming along," she responded smiling. She was looking around the room at all the activity and returning the stares of the workers at the same time. Most of them looked away when her gaze fell upon them giving her a small sense of power.

"Don't mind them, Madame Zella," Harlund said quietly. "They're just a bit curious is all. After you were here the last time, they all wanted me to ask you if you'd be working alongside the other girls, but I told them you were retired and that it was impolite to think of your employer that way."

"It's all right, Mr. Harlund. A little curiosity won't do me any harm," she assured him. "Besides, right now I'm the only woman working here. If I can't find any girls I may end up on my back," she said with a laugh. Harlund laughed along with her, although he couldn't tell if she was joking or not. In reality finding women to work in the brothel was turning out to be the hardest part of the plan. She was unknown, and the girls working in the other establishments had been unwilling to change venues despite the terrible working conditions they had now. She just needed one girl to come work for her and spread the word to the others.

"Madame, I don't wish to question you, but are you sure about the name?" Harlund asked for about the twentieth time. "They're getting ready to pain it on the front now, and this will be your last opportunity to change your mind."

" I'm sure," Zella assured him. "I want patrons to know the class of establishment I'm running."

"Yes, Madame, but she may get angry, and she's not a woman I'd want angry with me. I'm just trying to look out for you is all," he said.

"I thank you for your concern, Mr. Harlund, but if Duchess Careena has a problem with me naming my brothel 'The Duchess' she can march down here and discuss it with me like two proper ladies. She should be flattered that I have such a high opinion of her." The name had actually been Careena's idea. She would pretend that the name bothered her, and press Zella to change it. Zella would refuse and the Duchess would chafe at the name from then on. Word about the new brothel would get out to the public and no one would imagine that the Duke and Duchess had any part in its opening.

"Very good, Madame Zella," Harlund sighed. "Would you like a tour?"

"I would love one," she said.

He showed her the different rooms, and all the progress that had been made. The bones of the structure were good, but a lot of things needed to be replaced. She was disappointed with her room. It was much smaller and would be nowhere near as lavish as the room she had in the manor but it was worth it to gain the responsibility the Duchess was placing on her. Her room was on the main floor, behind the bar and next to the kitchen. The girls' rooms were up on the second floor circling the perimeter of the building so that you could see all the doors from the bar or the gaming tables.

She sighed when she realized she was going to have to hire dealers as well as girls. This was going to be harder than she thought, but it felt good to have a task and be useful. Living in the manor had been good, but she had been itching to get out and see what the world was like. She would miss being with Cilas all the time, but he promised to come see her as often as he could and he assured her, in a few years, it wouldn't be necessary to hide their relationship.

After the tour, she went back to the inn where she had been staying since her supposed "arrival" in Genoise. The innkeeper was an old lecher, and propositioned her every time he saw her, offering to reduce her rent in exchange for favors. It came as no surprise then, when she entered the inn she found the barmaid behind the counter sucking the wrinkled old man off. The young woman appeared to be doing it reluctantly and was certainly not enjoying herself.

They were both surprised to see her, and the barmaid, Esmer, got to her feet extremely embarrassed and ran away. The old man leered at her and asked if she would like to finish him off since she interrupted Esmer. Zella almost slapped the man, but controlled herself and headed toward her room. The people of this city could treat women worse than the slavers of Remar.

There was a knock at her door shortly after she entered her room. She had been going through some papers in advance of meeting Cilas later that afternoon. She knew her two guards wouldn't allow any one near her door they didn't seem as safe, so she had no compunction opening it without finding out who it was first. She was surprised to see Esmer standing there, still red faced and unable to look her in the eye.

"Come in, dear girl, come in," Zella urged, pulling the young woman inside.

"I just wanted to apologize for what you saw earlier, Madame," the young woman said apologetically.

"No need to apologize," Zella assured her, "but I couldn't help but notice that you seemed a bit distressed."

Esmer nodded, finally looking at the other woman. "Mr. Hammond has been after me ever since I started working here. I've managed to fend him off until today. He threatened to fire me if I didn't do that for him. Ever since you arrived he's been real worked up."

Zella listened and sympathized. It distressed her to think her presence had been the impetus for the scene she witnessed.

"If you hadn't shown up, I'm sure he would have had me bent over the bar with my knickers down in a matter of moments. Thank you for your timely arrival, Madame," the young woman said.

"I'm glad I could intervene," Zella responded sincerely. "You need to find different employment."

"I know, Madame Zella, but work is hard to come by these days. It took me weeks to find this job. Who would hire me if I quit?"

"I would," Zella said proudly.

The young woman blushed. "I'm sorry Madame, but I couldn't do what you do."

"I wouldn't ask you to," Zella said. "I will have need of a barmaid and you could help in other ways too."

"I don't know, Madame. What else could I do?"

Zella explained to Esmer the trouble she had been having finding girls to work in the brothel and that if she came to work at the Duchess, she could spread the word about what a fair employer she was. Esmer was known and recognized in the city among the working class. The people would trust her word and perhaps Zella could get inroads into the community.

"I'll even give you an advance so you can quit this job straight away," Zella said offering Esmer a few coins. It was more than the young woman made in a month and her eyes lit up at the sight.

"You have a deal, Madame," the young woman said snatching up the offered coins.

A few moments after Esmer left, she could hear Mr. Hammond outside her door arguing with her guards. The guards were good enough to discourage the angry man from making too much of a scene, but Zella made a note never to be alone with him. She didn't want to hurt the man, no matter how despicable she thought him.

***

Two weeks later, Zella stood in the in the middle of her bar surveying the small crowd that had come the opening night of The Duchess. Esmer had been instrumental, and had quickly been elevated from barmaid to manager of the kitchen. They had only managed to get three girls to fill the ten rooms they had available, but she was confident they would attract more.

Everyone was laughing and having a good time, several card games were going, and all three girls were busy with clients in their rooms. It was a better opening than she imagined a few weeks prior when she had so many questions and few answers.

"There's a woman here to see you, Madame," Esmer whispered, startling Zella at her elbow. "She's older but says she's looking for work. She's in your office."

Zella sighed. They had been visited by many applicants that had been unsuitable for work. An old woman had no place in her brothel except in the kitchens which was already fully staffed. "I'll get rid of her," Zella grumbled.

The woman in her office was old and bent with long, unkempt gray hair cascading down her shoulders. She was toying with a walking stick between her legs as she sat in a chair. She didn't appear to notice that Zella had entered, and Zella assumed the woman was hard of hearing.

"Hello, I'm afraid we're not hiring at the moment," Zella began. The woman looked up with eyes that belied her age. Her eyes were bright and full of life, and contained an intelligence she had seen in only one woman. "Duchess!" Zella hissed as she recognized the other woman.

Careena smiled and stood, leaning heavily on the cane as if she sincerely needed it. "From the sounds I hear on the other side of that door, I assume the opening is a success," the Duchess stated. "I was tempted to take a peek, but couldn't risk being recognized."

"I don't think anyone would recognize you, My Lady," Zella laughed.

"You can thank Cilas for that," the Duchess said. "He helped me with the makeup. How did you recognize me?"

"Your eyes," Zella told her. "If you had kept your head down I probably still wouldn't know who you are."

The Duchess nodded her head knowingly. "Cilas said the same thing. He advised me to not look anyone in the eye. He said they didn't match the rest of my disguise but that there was nothing he could do about it."

"You do a masterful job pulling it off," Zella complimented, "but surely you didn't go through all this trouble just to see how we're doing. You would have found out tomorrow anyway."

The Duchess nodded. "You're right. Lina has been asking uncomfortable questions and I wanted to warn you."

Zella sighed. Lina was the one person, not already in on the secret, who would notice her absence. Their common history as slaves didn't make them friends, but it did make them more aware of each other.

"She's noticed your absence," the Duchess said.

"She could unintentionally spoil everything," Zella grumbled.

"Or intentionally," the Duchess commented. "I don't trust her. She hasn't assimilated as well as you have."

Zella nodded. "She was acting strange before I left too," Zella added. "I thought, perhaps, that she was just trying to figure out her identity."

"She may be," the Duchess said, "but I'm not sure I like what she's becoming. I don't have any proof, but I believe she wants to hurt me. I don't think she's forgiven me for not allowing her to serve my husband."

"I'll keep an eye out for her," Zella assured the Duchess.

"Please do. I don't want her to hurt you to get at me," Careena said with a sad smile.

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself," Zella said.

"So Cilas assured me," the Duchess responded. "Although, if you looked carefully at all the patrons in your bar I'm sure you'd recognize his familiar face hiding in a mug of ale. He's much better at acting than I am."

Zella smiled wide at the thought of her love hiding right under her nose. "I'll try to spot him. It will upset him terribly if I penetrate his disguise."

"I have to go," the Duchess said moving towards the back door. "The Duke is waiting for me on the street. "

"The Duke is here too!" Zella exclaimed.

"Yes, and he refused to dress up," the Duchess frowned. "He's not comfortable with skulking in the shadows. He's just wearing a cloak with the hood pulled down to cover his face. I did manage to convince him to leave his armor and sword behind though."

For some reason, the Duke unarmed and unarmored sent a shiver down Zella's spine. She didn't know the big man well, but she couldn't recall ever seeing him unadorned in his paladin armor. The Duchess seemed unconcerned as she left through the kitchen which gave Zella a little comfort.

The night was crisp and colder than Careena remembered as she stepped outside. Her husband's hulking form was easily recognizable in the dim moonlight as he leaned against a railing overlooking the docks. He was doing his best to blend in, but it was hard with his size. She wordlessly approached and leaned against the rail next to him.

"Ready to go home?" he asked quietly.

The night was cold, but clear and Careena wasn't looking forward to immediately returning to the responsibilities that awaited them at the manor. "Can we walk a while?" she asked. "I want to see what it's like out here at night."

Kalas shrugged and followed her lead. It should be safe enough now that they had increased the guard patrols in the dock district. They headed down the dock towards the beach, passing few people on the way. The new guards' presence was felt, and a normally loud and raucous street was quiet.

In years past there had been high class inns and brothels on the beach south of the docks, but since the only way to reach them had been to travel through the dock district, they had all been abandoned. This was the reason for the increased patrols in the dock district. The inns and brothels along the beach had been a major source of income for the city.

Careena continued to play the part of an elderly woman as Kalas walked solidly beside her. They drew stares from the few people out that late, but it was doubtful any of them would associate the pair with the young duke and duchess.

There was no sign of anyone when they reached the beach; there was no longer any reason for citizens to walk this far south at this time of night. Careena gave her husband a questioning glance and he shrugged his shoulders. She took this to mean it was all right to keep going, so she continued walking out onto the only sandy beach in the Trikingdom.

It was eerily quiet; the only sounds they heard were the waves and the sand crunching under her cane and his heavy boots. Burned out, empty buildings loomed close on one side as if mocking their attempts to resurrect the city, while the vastness of the ocean on the other reminded them of how insignificant two people could be.

"We need to concentrate on this area next," Careena commented as her eyes went from one building to the next.

"Yes, Cilas and I were discussing it this morning," he agreed. "The problem is, the city doesn't have enough revenue to fix up the buildings yet, so without tenants in them it will be difficult."

"And we can't get tenants with the buildings in such disrepair," she added finishing the discussion they had all had time and time again. "Maybe we should have opened the brothel here."

"No, the location you chose is the right one," Kalas responded. "Right now, this is too far off the beaten path."

"So how do we fix it?" she asked.

"Cilas thinks we need to attract someone to repair several of the inns at the same time," he replied.

Careena chuckled. "There are few with that kind of coin, and those that have it are smart enough not to spend it opening inns," she said.

"That's why we would need to give them some incentive," Kalas said.

"What kind of incentive?" Careena asked skeptically.

"Tax breaks, assurance against losses...whatever it would take to get them to build," he replied.

Careena was silent for a moment, and even though he couldn't see her face, Kalas could feel that she was thinking. "The city wouldn't make any money that way," she finally voiced.