Jareth was quickly running out of patience. “I have told you my name,” he said. “I have shown you the document sent to me by my uncle. You will open the gate or the six of us will kick it down and throw you into the river. Do you understand?”
The eye disappeared. Jareth looked at Aidric and the others, a wry expression on his face as he wondered if he was goingto have to make good on his threat. But he was saved from a decision when the bolt to the gate was thrown and the panel on the right lurched open.
An old man with dirty white hair stood in the gap.
“My name is Henbury,” he said. “I have been the majordomo at Redhill since I was a young man. Ye must understand that men will do or say anything to come inside and rob us.”
Jareth couldn’t fault the old man being careful. “I assure you, we are not here to rob you,” he said. “My uncle has left me this home and his property. I have come to claim my property.”
“As ye should,” the old man said. “Welcome to Redcliffe Manor.”
Everyone stepped in through the gate, looking around. Especially Jareth—he liked what he saw.
“It is well kept,” he observed. “This isn’t the only property in town, however. Am I correct in my understanding of that?”
“Ye are.”
“Then mayhap you can explain everything to me.”
The old man shook his head. “Ye must see Desdra for that,” he said. “She has been expecting ye.”
“Who is Desdra?”
“Lord Chester’s scribe.”
“Very well,” Jareth said. “Will you announce me to Desdra?”
“She is at The Feast, my lord.”
Jareth had no idea what that meant. “What feast?”
“TheFeast. Aphrodite’s Feast.”
“I do not know what that is or where it is.”
The old man pointed back toward the city center, northward. “It isThe Feast, my lord,” he said as if Jareth should already know. “Only the greatest enterprise the world has ever seen. Ye do not know this?”
“Tell me what The Feast is.”
The old man looked at him. Then he looked at the men around him. “It is a place for men,” he explained. “A place where men find women to take comfort with. And food to eat. The very best food! Aphrodite’s Feast is famous for the finest food and drink in all of England. Lord Chester would have Spanish wine brought over—great barrels of it—because the customers demand it.”
Jareth still wasn’t clear on what he was talking about. “A tavern?” he said.
“Nay,” Orion said quietly. He’d been listening to the explanation and had a suspicion what the establishment was all about. “Henbury, is this a place where a man can pay to lie with a woman?”
Henbury nodded without hesitation. “If he wishes,” he said. “But he can also pay to dance with her or eat with her. Whatever he desires. Have ye truly not heard of it?”
Orion looked at Jareth. “It seems that your uncle has left you a brothel.”
Jareth hadn’t expected to hear that. He wasn’t naïve by any stretch of the imagination, but Orion had figured it out before he did. Perhaps because a brothel, in his noble family, had never entered his mind. Shocked, he lifted his eyebrows.
“Isthatwhat it is?” he said incredulously, looking at Henbury. “A strumpet house?”
He didn’t seem pleased, which puzzled Henbury. He could see that the rest of the men were a little surprised by the news, so he once again pointed toward the city center.
“Desdra is there, waiting for ye,” he said. “She will tell ye everything. Ye’ll find Aphrodite’s Feast on the Avenue of the Jews. Where the metalsmiths are.”
Jareth just stood there for a moment, astounded. Then he started to shake his head. “I cannot believe this,” he said. “My uncle keptwhores?”
