Ruth’s cane clicked on the cobblestones as she went down the main street from the market. It was a beautifully carved piece of wood, shod with silver and a clear crystal, and although she didn’t really need it she enjoyed it both as an accessory and as a prod to remove pedestrians from her path. Her stride wasn’t as long as it used to be, though, and it annoyed her to think of how the porters following her had to check their stride even with their burdens. She frowned as she thought of days gone by, gracefully strolling the avenues of New Albion as a young, pretty socialite, visiting the markets in preparation for a Harvest Ball on an similar evening many years ago. It was unusual for commoners to be invited to such events, but her father was wealthy, and at the end of the day gold was thicker than blood. At least that’s what Father had said when she asked him how the invitation had been arranged.
Mayor Chen had dispatched Advisor Wu to attend special duties beyond the Ohr in a little hamlet called Basilisk Bluff. The mayor’s brother was the landlord there, and the settlement was becoming a place of greater strategic importance with the recent influx of settlers. Thank goodness she wasn’t going; she had duties to attend in the office and she preferred the small comforts she had here in town. Also, a jarring three day wagon ride didn’t appeal at all. Advisor Wu wasn’t pleased to be going, either. He intended to maintain a suitable lifestyle during his travels, so he’d given Ruth a sizable list of items he wanted for the trip, and she was almost finished with her purchases. Just one more stop.
Sadly, her life in New Albion had been a fairy tale with a bad ending. Father’s fall from grace and reversal of fortune happened a few months after that magical autumn. He found out the hard way that blood was pretty thick after all, and his family suffered for his hubris. Mother passed from a malady the following winter, as there was no longer money to pay for a decent healer. Father died under mysterious circumstances soon after. Ruth suspected he’d gotten involved with criminals in an effort to rebuild his fortune. Maybe it had been an attempt to save Mother, but the end result didn’t matter to her. In less than a year and a half she’d gone from rich and adored to destitute and friendless. Fortunately, she’d taken the time to learn her letters and numbers or otherwise she might have ended up on some very unfortunate career paths. A former business partner of her father’s took her in and hired her as a bookkeeper in a counting house.
Fitzgerran’s Sundries had all manner of useful things but he charged premium prices. Ms. Pargeter was notorious for fiercely haggling a bargain price, and the market place behind her was full of shaken merchants who’d been vanquished by her today. She’d saved this shop for last, and was especially looking forward to the verbal fencing that would garner some good deals here. One of the porters opened the door for her and she went in, walking up to the counter with her posture rigid and her eyes focused straight ahead. The proprietor, Hans, was finishing a sale to some prospectors, but it looked as though he would still be a moment. He noticed her entrance, of course, and while he was talking he glanced her way and tried to catch her eye. She kept her eyes forward and frowned a little more deeply. It would be a very satisfying start to the proceedings if he thought she was in a temper.
In some ways the counting house suited her. She liked the order, the rules, and the rigid accountability. Everything was laid out clearly and sensibly, but the wages were small, leaving her few social prospects (not that anybody suited her tastes), and she felt working for a commoner had an inherent job insecurity. Still, she stayed and distinguished herself for a number of years until a new opportunity arose. She took a position with a well-to-do merchant as both a bookkeeper and purveyor. Again her service was exemplary and she made a better wage, but she knew that serving another commoner would never do for the long term.
Adviser Wu only needed a few items, but Ruth made sure to divulge her list in the most inconvenient manner possible, forcing Hans into a near scramble to get everything together. Not much had changed in this shop over the years, and she had a good idea where everything was kept.
Ruth’s second employer eventually sent her to Amber to oversee his expanding enterprise. Leaving New Albion was bittersweet, and while she grew to appreciate the orderly if sleepy frontier town she knew she needed something more. And then she heard about a job she truly desired. The advisor to the mayor of Amber, one Tuxill Wu, needed an assistant. He had a reputation, though. He was intolerant of failure, merciless to fools, a strict taskmaster, and he expected people (that is, commoners) to know their place. Others had unsuccessfully attempted to fill the position, but it sounded promising to Ruth. She was able, hardworking, and she’d certainly learned the place of a commoner early in life. She paid a messenger to arrange introductions and waited on his reply.
Hans finally assembled everything on her list and named a price. Preposterous! She would have charged a similar price when she’d run the store (that was two managers ago) but she certainly wasn’t going to pay that. Now for the attack. A litany of perceived mistreatments during her visit and a colorful description of defects (merchandise and personal) filled the air over the following quarter hour. He held his own during the barrage and came close to losing his temper only once, when a well-dressed customer came and left without ever being greeted. In the end she got the price slightly reduced while Hans still made a tidy profit. She was actually somewhat impressed with Mr. Fitzgerran’s conduct during the transaction. Peace was achieved and gold changed hands.
A different kind of peace began with her tenure under Advisor Wu. Tuxill Wu was famous for his bad temper, but Ruth Pargeter gave perfect service and he had no cause for complaint. To his surprise and eventual delight she even anticipated problems before he did, and as she bolstered his successes his reputation (both professional and personal) improved. She was the proverbial mouse who’d removed the thorn from the lion’s paw, and as Tuxill’s star ascended she became respected in her new role both by Tuxill and by the residents of Amber.
She’d found her place in the world; she was superior to the rabble around her, and a distinguished, respected servant to her high born betters. She left Fitzgerran’s shop and sighed contentedly. The sounds and smells of the village washed over her as she took a moment to appreciate the benefits she’d earned from living her well ordered life. She then tapped her cane sharply on the stones, brushed some servant aside with a sweep and a soft jab, and then strode back to her office to finish preparing for the Advisor’s journey, porters in tow.