Neversfall - Ed Gentry [21]
Taennen looked at her and tilted his head to one side. "Truly?"
"When your father is a famous-infamous, really- merchant, you don't see much of him. When you do, there's a lot…"
"To live up to?" Taennen asked.
She nodded and gave a half-smile. "And to live down."
"Still… I'd love that life," he said.
"Maybe," she said. They were approaching the front of the lines. Jhoqo would need to be informed of the goblin's death.
"I meant no offense, Orir. I've just always dreamed of having an honest man as my father. Someone who held the Adama close to his heart and lived his life with it every day," Taennen said.
She nodded. "I understand."
Taennen smiled and said, "My father always said that phrase meant only one of two things: either the person didn't understand, or they didn't want to talk about it anymore."
"He was quotable, wasn't he?" Adeenya said with a smile. "Yes, sir."
"You speak of him as a wise man, yet condemn him as a criminal," she said.
Taennen shrugged. "Wisdom does not equal prudence. That's another of his."
"I'm sorry, Durir. That was much too personal of me," she said.
"No harm done, sir," Taennen said. His pace slowed, and she matched him. She lifted her waterskin to her lips and took a long drink. She offered the skin to Taennen, who declined.
"He was a tinkerer, I guess you could say. He made magical items for folks, mostly things to make life a little easier," Taennen said.
"Sounds like an honest living," Adeenya said.
"Aye, sir. It is, so long as you don't use your talents to provide aid to criminals," he said.
Adeenya waited a moment before leaning in toward him to prompt more details. She didn't need to.
"There was this woman from Var," he continued. "I remember she smelled of sage and lemons, and her clothing was spotless. Even her servant dressed better than I have in my entire life-silks and brocades and exotic fur trim. She came in to pick up her order-a pair of ruby earrings that my father had enchanted to help the wearer hear better. The woman tested the pieces and offered my father her praise and a bonus for the excellent work. I was always heartbright of him, but seeing this regal woman compliment him… I nearly swelled to bursting for him."
"That must have been a wonderful feeling," Adeenya said.
Taennen smiled wryly. "Yes, it was. Father asked the woman if her elderly mother, for whom the earrings had been made, could come by his shop sometime as he would like to make sure they were working well for her," Taennen said. "I remember her laugh. It was like… like that twitching sound a hare makes when it eats, only louder. She said she would be sure to stop by her mother's grave and ask the woman to come to his store. When father asked what she meant, the woman laughed harder and asked if he had really believed that story. When he said he had, the woman called him stupid, and even her servant sneered. She said a fool had never helped her beat her rivals in trade negotiations before, and she hoped he was honored to be the first."
"Eavesdropping? She wanted the earrings to help her eavesdrop on trade competitors?" Adeenya asked. "What did he do?"
"He asked for them back, to reverse the sale, but she refused and left. He didn't even try to stop her. Didn't even go after her," Taennen said.
"And the authorities?" Adeenya said.
"He never informed them," Taennen said, shifting his gaze to the distant tree line.
"Why? They would have believed him. There are trade dispute panels convened for situations like this," she said.
"I asked him to report her. Begged him, actually," Taennen said. "But he said we were too poor to lose the coin she had paid him. So he kept it. I knew it bothered him. It really showed. He aged several years in the few days after that incident." "He felt guilty."
Taennen nodded. "But not enough to do the right thing."
"That must have been hard, growing up with a father you knew had done something illegal."
Taennen turned to look at her and she saw