She looked at a pile of ledgers and pulled forth one bound in wood with iron edges. It actually had a lock on it, and she pulled forth a small key from the chatelaine she bore on a belt around her waist. It was the name for a collection of keys that chatelaines or housekeepers usually had, keys to every door or lock within their domain. Curiously, Jareth watched as she unlocked the small iron lock on the book and then opened it.
“That is an interesting ledger,” he said. “What’s in it?”
She was carefully turning the pages. “This is an accounting of every penny your family has made since your ancestor bought his first cog and decided to bring goods from France.”
He peered at the very old, very thick book. “How long ago was that?”
She looked at him. “Don’t you know?”
He shook his head. “Lady, I had no knowledge of any of this until I received my uncle’s missive,” he said frankly. “I did not even know about The Feast until yesterday, so in answer to your question, I know nothing about his establishment. This is my mother’s side of the family and she simply never spoke of it. Any of it.”
She smiled at him. “Then let me be the first to tell you,” she said. “And the only reason I know the story is because Lord Chester told me, but his grandfather six times over was the one who bought the first boat. He had a little merchant stall in the city and he evidently married into a family of merchants, so he went into business with his wife’s father, I was told. His name was Damien de Long and he was very enterprising. He’s the one who purchased this building, or at least what it used to be, and built Aphrodite’s Feast around it. The other things came after that.”
His brow furrowed. “What ‘other things’?”
She looked back to the ledger. “Would you like an accounting of it all?”
“You may as well.”
She began to flip through some of the pages. “In addition to Aphrodite’s Feast, you also own Redcliffe Manor,” she said, reading from the ledger. “Additionally, there is a very large merchant stall on the Street of the Merchants, run by a man named Marston, that is very lucrative. It is the most popular merchant stall in the entire shire.”
“Marston?” Jareth repeated. “Who is that?”
She answered without hesitation. “Some say he was Lord Chester’s lover for many years,” she said. “If he was, that relationship was over before I came. Marston is a lovely man and quite devoted to Lord Chester. He manages the stall quite ably.”
“Is he trustworthy?”
“Extremely.”
That made Jareth feel better. “I will go and meet the man,” he said. “Does he know about me?”
“He does.”
“Is that a full accounting?”
“Nay,” she said, shaking her head. “You also own eight cogs that bring goods to and from France. You have two cogs arriving in the next day or two, and you will have to be there to meet them and take an accounting of the goods. The captains know that Lord Chester has died, so we do not want anyone taking advantage of the situation.”
“Stealing?”
She shrugged. “Possibly,” she said. “The captains are all good men, but a couple of them must be watched.”
“How are they paid?”
“A percentage of the goods they have brought,” she said. “I will do the sums for you, but you will pay them. And stressthat their loyalty will be rewarded. You’re big enough, and frightening enough, that they will not want to cheat you.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Smart,” he said. “Is that all? The cogs and the stall?”
“Not yet,” she said. “Along with the cogs, you also own two properties toward the mouth of the River Avon. Two castles, on either side of the river, that guard the waterway from the pirates that like to roam the Bristol Channel from time to time. Portbury Castle is the larger of the two, commanded by a man who served your grandfather. The other, Long Cross Castle, is on the north side of the river and is a small garrison. Just a tower, really. Between the two of them, there are about four hundred soldiers.”
She was still looking at the ledger when she realized Jareth hadn’t said anything. When she finally looked up at him, he had the oddest expression on his face. Something between surprise and awe.
“What?” she said, concerned. “What is it?”
He shook his head. Then he laughed softly. “I have two castles.”
“You do.”
“And four hundred soldiers?”
