He must have watched and listened for a while before going to the door. Prin said, “You must be Chalmers.”
He shook her hand formally as if she was an adult, then motioned to a chair as he reached for Sara’s hand. “And you must have spoken to someone about me. A protector?”
Sara sat next to Prin. “We did. Our father has need of space.”
“Should I wait to meet with him?” Chalmers asked, not offended, but eager to talk as are all dealing with sales and rentals.
“We will do the initial investigation, if we buy or not. I’d like to tell you what he has in Evelyn because we’re looking for something similar,” Sara said.
Chalmers hesitated. “I’m not familiar with that city.”
“Across the sea and then a trip of several days by horseback. But no matter, he is a spice merchant and has need of both a place to live and a warehouse.” Sara sat back and waited.
“So, I have the opportunity for two transactions, today. Very nice. Detail his needs, and I’ll try to find what might fit his requirements.”
Sara said, “I fear I misled you. At home, he has a small warehouse about fifty paces long, and above it is the living quarters. It should be a secure building in a part of the city where others keep valuables, so there are protection and safety for his goods.”
“So, your father’s salt is not pilfered?” Chalmers smirked.
Sara turned slowly to face him as a lion might do before springing onto an antelope. “Sir, are you aware that there are spices worth more than their equal weight in silver? Or that a few spices sell for as much as the same weight of gold, and then there are the very rare spices worth even more. Dealing in those spices is costly. By the time they are located, harvested, processed, and shipped across oceans the expenses soar, as do the prices.”
Chalmers’ face paled.
Prin said smugly, “There you go telling people to rob us again, Sara. Just let him think there’s salt in the warehouse, and we won’t have to hire as many guards.”
“Fifty paces long, you said? And secure?”
“With living quarters. My father likes to sleep where his wealth is,” Sara said after glaring at Prin as if she was angry at her.
“In a beautiful area of town,” Prin added.
“Rent or buy?”
“Yes,” Prin said before Sara could answer. “We will consider either if the deal is right, but of course, we’ll have to find what we want at a bargain price, or we have to run it past our father.”
“I don’t have exactly what you’re looking for, but if you’re up to a little renovation, there is a building that might fill your needs. There is another also, and they are close to each other.”
They agreed to look, and they followed the portly man out onto the street in the direction of the steeple again. Prin noted the difference in the dress and manner of the people they passed on the streets, from those nearer the waterfront. More of the people on the street wore clothing to display their wealth, and the paving stones were swept clean by others, and servants rushed about performing their master’s tasks. Trees lined both sides of the streets, so the people didn’t have to walk in the harsh sun, and she had no doubt that in winter the leaves would fall off and allow the weak sun to warm them.
However, the buildings didn’t impress her. She saw no decoration, no ornate doors, and nothing to tell one building from another. The stone walls climbed the heights of two stories, but the lower part of the walls had no windows.
Chalmers noticed Sara’s interest. He said, “I’m not sure what you’re used to in Evelyn, but here in Indore, our wealth and status is displayed inside our homes and buildings.”
“Then how do I know one from another?” Sara asked.
“How does a thief? He might enter a poor house instead of wealthy, but will not know until inside. Of course, these streets, and the people on them do tell of wealth, so all is not hidden.”
“We are not looking for a wealthy neighborhood,” Prin said.
He reached a nondescript building and held the door open for them to enter. Outside it appeared like most other buildings in the area, but inside was an entry of exotic, contrasting woods, walls of sandalwood, and ceilings of carved plaster. The place reeked of expensive scents. The furniture, carvings, statues, and paintings in sight were worth more than an entire village in Wren.
Sara said, “My father is a businessman. He is not interested in impressing visitors.”
Chalmers was not put off in the least. He pulled the door closed behind them and waved an arm in the direction he wanted to go. They walked in silence, for two blocks. He paused at a solid oak door and used a key on a rusted lock the size of his palm. “I think you might like this.” He threw the door open, and light flooded the inside.
The floor was a pale gray stone, the room was long and narrow, only five or six paces wide, but over fifty long, Prin guessed. The ceiling was open to the blackened beams of the two-story roof. It had the musty smell of a building not in use over time, as well as the faint scent of smoke. A few pigeons circled high up, and a hole in the roof told where they had entered.
Another door stood at the far end, a sturdy double door that opened the full width of the room. Sara said, “No living quarters?”
“None, but the building is as secure as a bank. It was recently used to store carriages, and at this end, a second story once stood. Unfortunately, it burned several years ago, but the stone walls were not harmed, the roof is solid, and most of the smell of the fire has dissipated.”
“You will rent or sell it?” Sara asked.
“I prefer to rent. You provide whatever improvements you wish, and when you leave, I own a more expensive building. We both win.”
“Do you have others?” Prin asked, rolling her eyes.
“Not as large, nor where the city patrols as heavily, both night and day, but yes.”
Sara said, “The roof leaks and must be repaired, I see no well, and we would have to build the improvements and then abandon them for a loss. Perhaps you should pay us to move here instead of us paying you?”
Prin liked the change in Sara’s attitude. She’d taken the warning from the soldier and now used it. Chalmers told her a price for renting the space—an opening gambit.
Sara said, “That is more than I would pay a year for this hollow building.” But she was dealing with a professional, and she probably knew he would counter.
He said, “Unless you wish a much smaller space, this is it, and you've already heard my best deal. I believe another merchant is hoping to rent it, but I’m a fair man and will rent to the first with a deposit. Nonrefundable, of course.”
Sara turned to Prin. “I like the other building we saw this morning, and we can buy it at a fair price, far cheaper than renting from this scoundrel who is trying to rob two girls new to his city.”
Prin knew the game, too. She said as if considering two options, “The noise from the harbor was louder in that one, but I agree. It is a better bargain, and we would own it.”
“The walls are thicker, too,” Sara said. “You wouldn’t hear anything of the harbor noise inside them. Wait here a moment, I need to check something.”
Chalmers said, “Another building? What other building?”
Prin shrugged and watched the pigeons circling while keeping an eye on Sara. She stood just outside the door and rummaged into her backpack until she pulled the sheet of paper she’d stolen from the billboard. She unfolded it, studied it as if there was something important and private written on it, then returned to them, stuffing the paper back inside as she walked.