She would not have the connections in the court to gain permission to change her house from a living-place to a residence and commercial establishment. Someone else might. If she found the right broker, she might even be able to trade the value of the place as initial payment on a better home without actually having to sell it. That was what Faro thought, and it seemed worth the trial. What could they lose? The worst that could happen would be that the broker wasn't interested in such a proposal. The best, that she would want it immediately. And it wasn't as if they had a great deal to move. In fact, there wasn't anything that Faro couldn't carry to a new establishment in one trip. All else was conjuration.
The broker, one Antione Sibelle, recognized her immediately, as soon as she entered the woman's office. That was something she had not expected.
"By the stars, it's Xylina, isn't it? The young woman who bested that monster in the arena a few days ago?" The middle-aged broker rose from behind her desk to give Xylina the handclasp of full citizens, as her secretary remained impassively at his own desk in an unobtrusive corner. Xylina envied her the smooth linen tunic and breeches she wore, the same blue as her own outfit, but obviously not conjured. Other than that, the broker was past her prime, but still fit; her neat, short hair about half gray and half brown, and the hand that took Xylina's was the hand of a worker, not soft, but strong.
The office was a very pleasant place. It was paved with blue and white tiles, and with plastered walls that had been painted with murals of girls exercising and playing games in a garden. It was well-ventilated by a window which took up nearly the entire wall that looked out onto a garden . It was cool, and comfortable, and faintly scented with flowers from the garden. It held the brokers desk, a case holding rolled documents behind that desk, a chair for the broker and one for her desk, and a smaller desk and chair in the corner for the broker's slave-scribe.
One day, perhaps, Xylina would have an office like this, and Faro would have a comfortable desk of his own from which to oversee her business.
"A thousand congratulations, Xylina-" she continued effusively. Her clasp was firm and dry; it felt honest, at least. "My goodness, people are still talking about you! And you are Elibet Harmonia's daughter, aren't you?" At Xylina's nod, she smiled. "Ah, I thought so! Tragic, that earthquake-your mother wasn't the only loss, though she was sorely missed. You have her look about you, the hair especially, but I'm sure you know that."
Xylina tried not to show her feeling of sudden disorientation, but it was a difficult task. She hadn't expected this total stranger to be privy to her own past-or at least, part of it. Antione spoke of her mother as if she had known her personally. That was more than Xylina could say, in many ways. She had only observed her mother as a child; this woman had known her as one adult knows another.
"Here, come, take a seat-" the broker said, directing her to the armless chair before the simple wooden desk. "Now, what can I do for you?"
"I'd like to sell my house and purchase something in either the Moonflower or the Blue Lantern quarters," she said carefully. She and Faro had paced the entire city yesterday after all, she with an eye to the property itself, and he talking to the household slaves and getting a feel for what the relative prices were in the area. It was in those two quarters-one old and currently out of fashion, one that was brand-new, built to hold the people who had been displaced by those whose houses had been bought by the freedmen, and who had not yet gained a fashionable status-they found properties that seemed to match their requirements.
"As it happens, I am handling homes in both those districts," Antione replied, her brown eyes shrewd and knowing. "You have a good eye for value, Xylina; I consider both those quarters to be undervalued at the moment. Now, what have you to offer me?"
Now came the moment of truth. How persuasive could she be? She would not admit that her home had once been a stable; it no longer looked as if it had housed horses. "At the moment," she admitted, "my property is very modest. I have my own house-which is at the edge of the Wall, in the Glass Fountain quarter. It is not a very big house, but it does have some potential, I think."
Here she outlined what she and Faro had discussed: how it could be converted to a variety of businesses, and which businesses the quarter lacked. Antione pursed her lips thoughtfully and nodded, her graying curls bobbing over her broad forehead, as she followed Xylina's arguments.
"If one put in any kind of commercial establishment one would have to get the permission of the Queen or her council first," Antione pointed out. "But-that is really a small matter, and I suspect it could be done at the level of the privy secretary. It seems to me that it wouldn't be a handicap. I could manage such permission, for instance."
Xylina smiled, for this was just exactly what Faro had told her. Already his advice had proved apt.
Then she added the idea that had come to her as they walked here this morning. It was an elaboration on something she and Faro had discussed, but she felt rather proud of it. "If it were my investment, I would put in a tavern," she concluded. "The advantage would be twofold. A woman who was only a fair magician could sell conjured wine and beer, for there is no one in that quarter who is able to conjure any such thing. That is one way that one could actually sell conjurations legally, I think."
"And one can become just as drunk on a conjuration," Antione said, with a chuckle. "Indeed, I am told that the hangover is not so bad! There are several taverns selling only conjured products in the city."
"There was another notion that I had. Perhaps if someone with court connections could obtain permission from the Queen to cut a door in the wall at the back, she could also sell her conjurations to the freedmen," Xylina said, feeling a bit audacious. "Perhaps I am wrong, but it seems to me that this would actually be safer than the current policy of allowing the demons to sell them real liquor, for if they became drunk and threatened to cause trouble, the woman in question could simply banish her own conjuration-"
"Rendering them instantly sober!" Antione applauded her forethought. "You are correct, this does make your property potentially far more valuable than it would appear." She scratched her temple, and seemed to be thinking. "Were you actually willing to trade the property outright for a portion of the price of a new residence?"
Xylina nodded, wondering if she dared hope-
"Well, as it happens, I personally have a small house in Moonflower Quarter which I own and have been renting." She made a face of distaste. "I have not been as successful at getting the kind of tenants as I had hoped for. It has been vacant for three months now; it might be smaller than you had wanted, but the advantage is that it is already furnished."
Xylina caught her breath, then schooled her face in an expression of simple interest. Furnished? That meant that she would never have to conjure furnishings again. That daily chore might have sharpened her conjuration facility, but she would be glad to let it go. For furnishings, she would be willing to sacrifice a fair amount of space.
"Now as it happens, my own daughter has about the level of conjuration such a venture as your tavern would require," Antione continued, her eyes bright with speculation. "She has been working for me, but to be frank, her talents do not extend to managing property."